Remote viewing and control of Apple products

Technology to the rescue again, and I'm impressed this time. I have always been a Windows man, I got used to the plethora of utilities and programs readily available everywhere for just about every need you might have, and with Dragon being the best, and unfortunately, somewhat only full service voice program that totally controls the operating system including mouse functions and pressing keys and combinations of keys on the keyboard, in addition to voice dictation, I just never seriously looked at trying Macintosh computers. I have always heard rumors of something called Parallels which supposedly allows you to run the Windows version of things like Dragon, but it never seemed fully baked and totally usable full-time in the Macintosh ecosystem. But, something changed recently where I wanted to give it a go. That thing being iPhone mirroring. I love VNC and other technologies that allow you to operate a different computer or device remotely. Software like this allows me to use my mouse and my voice through Dragon to remotely control other Windows computers on my network, and remotely off-site using things like TeamViewer. However, these things really don't work with Apple products. Even android phones and tablets can be controlled remotely through TeamViewer, with full functionality with the mouse and somewhat with Dragon typing things. Finally, as of late last year sometime, Apple finally enabled screen mirroring and control of iPhones. But, ONLY through Mac machines. Okay, not ideal, but getting somewhere. But how do I operate the Mac without a friend typing and moving the mouse physically for me? I know there are accessibility options to help with some of this stuff, but nothing would match the freedom and ability I have doing it remotely through my Windows machine. I didn't think this was possible. I was wrong. I don't know how long this device has been on the market, but I am pretty salty I am just now finding out about it, and is less than $100. It is called Comet and it is a Remote KVM device. I know, I didn't know what that meant either, but it is a simple box which plugs directly into your router using the included network cable, and features a HDMI input and a USB C port. All you have to do is plug the HDMI output of the Mac into this magic box (included), and attach the included USB C cable to one of the ports on the Mac. That's it, no software, nothing else is needed. No subscription necessary, and all you have to do is load up a browser on any network computer and type in the IP address of the Comet (or the URL provided in the manual) and after creating a simple password the magic happens. Without any fuss or headaches or configuration, whatever the Mac doing, will appear on your browser. Your keyboard and mouse work just like you were there in front of the Mac, and full control just happens. Since it doesn't depend on software of any kind, and simply appears to the remote computer as a display monitor and standard keyboard and mouse, it works in any mode that the Mac is in, even video. Sound is also transferred to the remote computer, and you can even allow your microphone to be used. I don't know how this magic happens, but this gives so much freedom no matter what I want to control. I imagine this would work on any device that has HDMI output, I'm thinking iPhone directly, a Roku streaming box, or maybe even a fire stick, though navigation might be a little tricky. But, through the Mac, I can now control my iPhone using the iPhone mirroring functionality. Technology to the rescue!

My journey from faith to atheism

I might have a unique perspective because I was pretty heavily involved in the church earlier in my life, and my faith had a profound impact on me throughout my later teens up through my early 30's, but now I find myself totally turned off and would categorize myself as an atheist.  Growing up I was very sickly and really struggled with pneumonia and illnesses so I really felt like I was going to live a very short life, and not that great of one.  As soon as I tasted the Manna from heaven and started reading the Bible and learning all I could from Christian teachers, I was hooked.  I moved off to college and quickly joined The Navigators (a college focused ministry at the time) and it helped shape my next entire decade.  After college I got heavily involved with a small local church made friends and led Bible studies and started pursuing other places I could serve.

At the time, for me, my faith seemed to answer the question I thought I was asking in the first portion of my life, namely what is the point of living, especially when life appears to be very short and has the challenges I have, and is there any reason to hope that there is something better than this that awaits me?  My walk with Jesus gave me the comfort of having a purpose in this life, and a promised future beyond this life that will be much better than this one.  I thought that was all I was asking and all I was needing, and for the better part of 15 years, it was enough.

But, I kept living and I seemed to be more getting stable in my ability to avoid bad illnesses and pneumonia.  My life no longer seemed to be ending anytime soon, and I started wanting more with my time here.  I wanted things and prayed for things that my God seemed to be deliberately keeping me from.  Things like a career, a wife, a family, things that other people just naturally fell into.  It took several years, but slowly my faith was starting to wane, especially as I dabbled in some of the fun things this life has to offer, things that were forbidden when a follower of Jesus.  Let's just say I waited until my 30s to really start living and to sow my wild oats and it hasn't ended yet :-)

I have tried off and on throughout the years since to try to recapture and get back into the faith I once held, but my entire being rejects it now, almost like an allergic reaction.  I know all the answers that anyone ever tries to give me, and I have heard nothing new under the sun that piques my interest to dive back into Scripture.  And now, with politics being so intertwined in the mix (which I personally find abhorrent and totally against what Jesus teaches), I am driven further and further away from ever reconsidering where I find myself.

Am I happier now?  Yes and no.  I am lonelier now, I don't have that friend I can talk to at any moment now, and when terrible things happen I don't have an outlet or a connection to something higher than myself that has the power to change things.  I have to rely on myself more and in some ways that gives me agency and focus which are certainly positive traits to have, and it makes me feel good knowing that I can do this on my own.  But which one would I choose if I could just snap my fingers and make it happen?  If I had to be honest, I would probably choose to go back to the faith.  Unfortunately, faith isn't something you can just turn back on, believe me I have tried.