Quick Thoughts
For a short week, it’s been a long week.
One of my favorite bakeries closed after a long successful run, but I found out yesterday that another wonderful bakery is taking over its location. They’ve been selling cakes at local markets and haven’t had a permanent space. It’s the circle of life, but for bakeries.
I’ve been to a lot of high school graduations over the years. And most of them aren’t great. They start late. The guest speakers and district officials give speeches that aren’t particularly inspirational. The student speakers share a bunch of inside jokes that make sense to a small slice of the graduating class. And they just last too long.
So while I was looking forward to my daughter’s graduation today, I wasn’t looking forward to the ceremony itself. (Not to mention the ceremony was held at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday morning.)
What I got instead was a delightful ceremony. It started right at 8:00. The student speakers did a wonderful job. They incorporated some meaningful traditions. The district superintendent delivered short and relevant remarks. The whole thing was done in 1.5 hours with around 350 students graduating. Everyone had their name read and crossed the stage. My daughter was happy and I was pleasantly surprised.
Our oldest graduated from high school today. Next stop, studying English at the University of South Carolina.
Hanging out on my deck after a long weekend of home improvements. Beautiful evening.
Saw this beautiful flower on campus yesterday.
I’m really intrigued by Adobe’s approach to generative AI. Building AI tools that assist the process of creative development, but don’t seek to replace it. The Generative Fill feature that they are building into Photoshop looks seriously useful.
Just submitted my revised journal article. I was pretty discouraged when I got the long list of feedback, but honestly, with all the changes incorporated, the new revision is significantly better. We’ll see if the editor and reviewers feel the same way.
My 11-year-old’s orchestra teacher is retiring and he’s rallying his fellow students to make a giant card to thank her. He’s working so hard on it and the whole thing is so sweet.
RE: Paywalls. I want writers and publications to make money, but I also want to share the great things that they write — often with people who would never pay to support online writing.
My favorite new coffee shop is in a restored Victorian house that was once a funeral home. The historic preservationists who worked on this project deserve an award for the amazing work they’ve done to turn the house into a coffee shop and apartments.
After being sick last week, my sleep schedule is all kinds of messed up. It’s not insomnia… I’m getting sleep. But I get tired earlier and then wake up in the middle of the night. I’m like a toddler who has their days and nights mixed up.
I have to pack up my cube to move to a new office in a couple of weeks. While I’m looking forward to having walls and a door again, I’m not ready to pack everything up. I’ve been in this spot for six years – longer than I’ve ever been in a work space before. Going to feel strange to move.
When I see people arguing about Mastodon vs. Bluesky, I realize that we need to ask an important question:
What do you want from social media?
It’s not about what service is best. It’s about what’s best for you. And that answer is going to differ from person to person.
I’ve been sick for the past few days. Pretty minor symptoms. Pre-COVID, I would have just toughed it out, but now I take even minor symptoms seriously. I don’t want to get anyone sick.
(FYI: Just got back from the doctor. All the tests were negative. I just have a bad cold.)
Taylor Swift put on an amazing show last night in Atlanta.
My daughters are making sure the whole family has appropriate attire for tomorrow night’s Taylor Swift concert.
Spending the day at the coffee shop with my daughters who are reviewing for AP exams next week. I’ve been working on finishing up the revisions to my journal article, but I keep going down rabbit holes…
I had no idea that the Denver airport was such a hub for conspiracy theories: A Towering, Terrifying Demon Horse Isn’t Even the Weirdest Part - The New York Times
The willingness of my children to wear mismatched socks perplexes me greatly.
My daughter’s high school lacrosse season ended last night. It’s been a tough year for her, missing her senior season with a torn ACL, but she cheered her team on from the sidelines and attended every practice. I’m so proud of her and how hard she fought along the way.
Today starts an amazingly busy couple of weeks for my crew. Playoff lacrosse games, school field trips, five AP exams (for two high schoolers), birthday parties, a 5K, Taylor Swift and a high school prom. All in the next two weeks. I’m tired just thinking about it all.
Saw @davew@mastodon.social post a link on Scripting News about the Washington Post’s study into what sites are included in AI training databases. Turns out my other personal site, Sketchbook B, is included in Google’s C4 database, with about 71K tokens…
I use Apple Pay with my watch all the time. And cashiers are always surprised that I can do that and claim they’ve never seen someone pay with their watch. Apple Pay on the watch is the easiest way to use Apple Pay. Why don’t more people use it?