Quick Thoughts

Shorter than a blog post.

An interesting post from Simon Sinek on leadership.

Most of us want to be noticed. We want our efforts to matter, to be acknowledged. But the best leaders I’ve ever met are the ones who don’t need the spotlight. They’re the ones who understand that leadership is the awesome responsibility to see those around us rise. It’s not about rank or authority. It’s about caring for the person to your left and the person to your right. It’s about making the choice, every day, to help others succeed, even if no one is watching.

I thought college football fans were intense on social media. F1 fans are on a different planet. Goodness…

The economics of academic publishing are strange. The whole thing seems powered by lots of free (or low paid) labor in the name of service to your field.

Hanging out on the back porch and enjoying a glass of bourbon after a long week.

Seth Godin on leadership today:

Weak leaders (bosses, parents, captains and shift managers) resort to authority because they don’t trust themselves and their team enough to actually lead.

This is so incredibly true. And just because someone has lots of “experience,” it doesn’t mean they know how to lead.

Maybe longevity isn’t a liability. (If you know, you know.)

Me: I can’t believe no one is talking about Clemson losing to Syracuse.

Also Me: I forgot that I blocked “Clemson” and “Dabo” in my social media apps so I didn’t have to listen to people talk about Clemson.

F1 Qualifying is sometimes more exciting than a regular race. Today’s quali was incredible. Going to be tough to beat Max tomorrow.

It’s finally cool enough that I can drink my coffee on the back deck.

Home today for a warranty repair to our AC unit that developed a slow leak over the summer. Service is expected to take 3-5 hours. Goodness, they must be disassembling the whole thing.

I think I’ll likely stick with the base model iPhone 17 this year. It will be a massive upgrade from my iPhone 12 Pro. I’ll probably pick up a new Apple Watch, too, to replace my ancient Series 4, which I still wear every day.

Looking forward to the iPhone event tomorrow. I’m in the market for an upgrade… and whatever they announce will be a big step up from my iPhone 12 Pro.

The end of the Bills-Ravens game was wild. What a comeback.

Scout Motors partnered with local coffee shops to buy coffee for Columbia today. Pretty cool event, and we are happy to have Scout in our community. Thanks for the free drink today! (And the stickers.)

A coffee cup with an orange sleeve and a "Scout" sticker is placed on a wooden table in a cozy café setting.

I bought a wireless CarPlay adapter for my car and it’s awesome. I can’t believe I didn’t buy one earlier.

Most of our neighbors have doorbell cameras and motion-activated cameras around their house. We don’t. This morning, one of our neighbors showed us a clip of a guy walking through our yard and trying our car door (which was locked). He then went to their house and tried to open their car doors. Now, I’m wondering if we should have security cameras, even though I think it’s a privacy nightmare…

I switched from the Tiny Theme to the Mythos Theme for my main blog. It’s really nice, but it’s going to take me a while to fully customize it.

I loved newspapers and magazines when I was young. My first job was delivering newspapers. Publication design led me into a design career. But times change, and I’m sad, but not surprised that the Atlanta Journal Constitution will stop printing physical papers.

I’m working in the School of Journalism’s grad student suite for the first time in a while. It’s so quiet up here. I’m going to try to work from here one night a week. It’s a nice change of pace from coffee shops or the kitchen table.

I really want to use Ulysses or Scrivener for my dissertation, but I’m hooked on Zotero’s citation management integration with Word. And the process of connecting Zotero with Scrivener seems… complicated.

I’ve been in two active shooter situations. One turned out to be a false alarm, but it caused a real stampede in a crowded mall. The other was a murder-suicide on campus that caused a lockdown. While I wasn’t really in danger in either situation, the feeling of panic sticks with you.

An active shooter on the University of South Carolina campus. I know my daughter is safe, but so incredibly terrifying.

According to Facebook, I started grad school seven years ago today. I finished my master’s degree in 2021, and have a single independent study and my dissertation left before I finish my PhD, hopefully in 2026. It’s been a long process – I feel like I’ve been a grad student forever – but I’m thankful for my wife, kids, friends and coworkers who have been incredibly patient with me on this seemingly endless journey.

My PhD research is on how people respond to logos. One factor for a successful rollout appears to be context. How will the logo be used? What’s the story behind the change? More context = better response. Neither Cracker Barrel nor MSNBC gave any real context. Here’s my published study on context.

Excited to see South Carolina switch from Under Armor to Nike next year.

Thanks Cracker Barrel and MSNBC! I needed some more recent logo backlashes for my dissertation.

My daughter and I are discussing the best fictional bands. And now, I’ve discovered Julie and the Phantoms and KPOP Demon Hunters. So what other fictional bands belong on my hypothetical list?

Working on a new typeface design that I started six years ago.

Modern cars have all the problems of a car, plus all the problems of a computer.

I love these moments when Team Wertz is all together. Getting all three kids together at the same time is getting tougher and tougher.