The case for using a background on video calls

I used to be a purist about video call backgrounds. The effect sometimes looks obvious. I know most computers couldn't possibly handle the processing power to perfectly detect people vs backgrounds but it always felt distracting seeing body parts of callers getting cut off. If this happened on a TV show or movie, you'd be completely taken out of the story.

I told myself some day I'd just hook up a nice camera with a proper shallow depth of field lens to hide my cluttered background. That will probably never happen. I don't have the money and space for such a long term setup.

Then it clicked. Maybe backgrounds aren't really about hiding a cluttered background. I don't think I would ever use a fake background at the office but what if using a background while working at home was a nice barrier to help keep work life and personal life separate.

I come from a company that prides itself on being a family company but why should I have access into the homes of other people. For all I know the corporate overlords are also peaking into video calls as well. Should they be given access to my home?

I've come up with a middle ground that's kind of silly but also feels like nothing's changed. I took a picture of my space and added digital noise.

It's the same image you'd normally but I don't have to worry about my cat walking by or reflections in the mirror. The noise obscures the room a bit but I might have to tweak this or take a new picture 6 months from now when the sun starts rising from a different angle and the exposure of my face looks very off.

Re: YouTube Premium price hike

It is true. I've given up Netflix and Disney Plus. There's just no way I'm giving up YouTube.

I use YouTube for entertainment and research.

The other day I was putting together some furniture from Ikea. The paper instructions aren't great but lo and behold someone had already done the hard work of demonstrating how to assembly this furniture and documented the process on YouTube.

It is unfortunate that YouTube is basically a monopoly for everything. Vlogging, movie trailers, recipes, tutorials. Twitch is a strong competitor for gaming live streaming though.

source: https://9to5google.com/2026/04/12/youtube-premium-price-hike-2/

Company Retreat

I can't believe they did it again.

The show really hit home for me. I know exactly what it means to be in a family company that is on the verge of being acquired.

I wasn't sure if the finale was going to be as emotional as the first season's but once Stephanie Hodge spoke about the challenges of being an older actor, I really lost it. It wasn't a messy sobbing but I did realize how much I had become engaged in the characters in this story.

It's short and worth the journey. What more can I say?

Also, the name isn't Work Retreat! I've been saying that this whole time.

trailer

Super Mario Galaxy

It's really unfortunate that producers feel like an intellectual property is so bulletproof that they don't have to put any effort into making a coherent story.

The first Mario movie was pretty mediocre and unfortunately made so much money the people behind the sequel felt there was no urgency to make a better movie.

I think it would be fantastic if a Japanese studio was given a chance to adapt the story for the big screen. Call me crazy.

source: rottentomatoes.com 

El Pollo Loco is doing very well

I have loved the Pollo Bowl for many years. It's very good, well priced, and very filling.

Doing well in Washington and New Mexico certainly seems like a good sign.

 source: latimes.com

Flickr is hosting a festival in Minneapolis called "Mode"

I am currently a Flickr subscriber. I've been using the service for a long time because I can't think of any other service that lets you post unlimited pictures in full resolution.

The service has languished, failing to keep up with competitors like Google Photos and Amazon when it comes to very useful features like face group. If you take pictures of people regularly and want to find all the pictures you've taken of them throughout the years, there is no easy way unless you 've been diligent enough to manually tag them.

Flickr could easily be the Instagram people miss (just pictures and no ads) but unfortunately it feels very out of touch with what users actually want.

Power users would greatly benefit from features like advanced search filters like camera make/model, focal length, ISO, aperture, and location. The meta data is all there in uploads. Just leverage it!

source: dpreview.com

Instagram launches on Google TV

I have no plans to install this.

• Instagram is always behind TikTok
• Browsing comments is not fun on a TV
• This is another Meta product and Meta is not a good company
• 9:16 content on a large TV is so annoying

source: 9to5google.com