My main computer at home was a 15-inch MacBook Pro from 2010 until last year. Actually, I had two 15-inch MacBook Pros for most of that time – but I replaced them both last year, one with an M1 Mac mini and the other with a 13-inch MacBook Air.

I’m very happy with the Mini, but the Air is a bit underpowered, and the 13-inch screen is small. So I was looking forward to today’s Apple announcements.

As rumored, they came out with a 14-inch and a 16-inch MacBook Pro; the 14-inch is the same size as the Air but has a bigger screen; the 16-inch is the same size as my old 15-inch, but with a bigger screen. And even the base model of either of them is much much faster than this Air.

But I’m not sure the new machines are really what I need. The bigger screens are very attractive – but the new computers are heavier than this one (¾ pound for the 14-inch and nearly 2 pounds for the 16-inch). And, if I’m being honest, I rarely need more computing power than this Air gives me – and if I did, an M1 Air is the same weight as this one and quite a bit less expensive than the new Pros.

I may change my mind when I actually see one of the new machines in person – but so far, my wallet is safe.

Local salmon season has ended, and our fish market contact didn’t have any halibut this weekend, so we decided to try something unusual for us – Pacific sea bass. I didn’t have any recipes which specifically called for sea bass; the New York Times did, of course, and we tried Bass Fillets Baked With Ginger and Sesame Oil.

We weren’t terribly impressed – it was ok, but uninspiring. If we make it again, I’ll try doubling the amount of ginger-garlic paste and sesame oil. The recipe also only calls for cooking the fish for 7 minutes; fortunately, I read the comments before cooking the fish – they were unanimous in suggesting 15 minutes, and that was barely long enough.

On a brighter note, it’s raining! Not much rain, but it’s the first we’ve seen here for months and months!