Quick Thoughts
We’ve reached the point in the fall in South Carolina when it’s cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon… which also means that my son leaves his jacket at school in the afternoon, and doesn’t have it when he needs it the next morning. 🤦♂️
South Carolina Women’s Basketball starts the season by dropping 100 and 114 on Top 25 competition. They lost their entire starting lineup to graduation last year including the WNBA Rookie of the Year… and somehow got better offensively?
Over a decade ago, some Petsmart employee typed my name into their system as “Bub.” So every time I go to check out, the well-trained cashier enthusiastically greets me by name: “Welcome back, Bub!” And I start laughing.
(They’ve offered to change it, but I won’t let them.)
I think one of the reasons I’m skeptical about generative AI is that every other thing the VC-obsessed tech world has been hyped about for the last decade or so has been underwhelming.
South Carolina’s new look women’s basketball team looks ready to pick up where the last team left off.
Social media was misnamed. We should have called it “comment media.” People are more interested in sharing their take than building relationships.
Took today off to work on some classwork and recover from the chaos over the past couple of weeks.
I watched tonight’s Apple event and followed commentary on Threads and Micro.Blog (where I follow some Mastodon users). No Twitter, and you know what… I didn’t miss it. Live events were the last place that I felt like I needed to log into Twitter for extra info. Guess I’m over that.
I’m reading some PR readings for class and the acronyms keep tripping me up. To me, CSR is “customer service representative,” not “corporate social responsibility.” Likewise, I read CSA as “community-supported agriculture” and not “corporate social advocacy.”
The leaves in our backyard are starting to fall.
I’ve never really been into crosswords, but I’m enjoying the Apple News+ puzzles. I’ve pretty much added it to my daily routine each morning.
Ryan’s last two lacrosse games for this season were earlier today. He’s been a goalie for a year-and-a-half now and he’s gotten pretty good, expecially since he’s just 11. It takes a special mentality to stand in there, shot after shot. If you notice in the image above, the ball is in the right side of the image flying toward him. Don’t worry, he saved that one.
I wasn’t sure he was going to play this season. He had a rough experience this summer, playing up two age levels against elite travel competition and it was a disaster. His confidence was obliterated and his body took a beating. His coaches admitted they were worried he was done after the experience. He put his stick in the corner when we got home from the last tournament and it stayed there, untouched, until about a week before the fall rec season. With the sign up deadline approaching, we talked and he decided to try again and see if he could get back in the groove. He really does enjoy playing and especially being part of a team. The result: He went 9-1 on the season and continued to get better and learn his position.
I don’t know how long he’ll keep playing. He’s looking forward to trying out for the JV team in a little over a year, so that’s his next goal. But however long he decides to stick with it, I’m immensely proud of his determination and resilience.
Social media is history — just ask the kids!
The kids have moved on from the “social media” as we know it. They have their own platforms and their own behaviors.
If you ever think we know how the world works, read an article on quantum physics (Apple News+) and revel in how little we know about the building blocks of our universe.
Barnes & Noble Undergoes a Back-to-Basics Redesign - The New York Times:
Mr. Daunt has demonstrated that consistency doesn’t rank very high on his priority list. New York City has nine Barnes & Noble stores featuring four different logos above the front doors.
I went to the UCDA conference this weekend. (University and College Designers Association.) I drove to Atlanta on Friday night, attended sessions Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Returned to Columbia Monday night. I may be creatively recharged, but I’m straight up exhausted.
Saw lots of electric cars on my trip to Atlanta this weekend including a Lucid Air. First time I’ve ever seen one. It looked really impressive.
At my son’s lacrosse game today and a family’s dog came onto the field and attacked one of the players when the play came close to the sideline. The kid had to go to the ER and get stitches.
I know people love to take their dogs everywhere, but maybe they shouldn’t…
I really enjoy Apple’s new crosswords in Apple News.
Flat tire today sidetracked my plans for the day. Now I’m working from a waiting room.
Finally updated to macOS Sonoma on my Mac and iOS on my iPhone. My watch didn’t update because apparently, I don’t have enough space… not sure what that is all about.
My son, Ryan, is back in goal for another fall lacrosse season.
Weather is beautiful today. Hanging out on the back deck and cooking out on the grill.
Columbia’s Soda City Market is hoppin’ today. I remember when they only took up two blocks of Main Street.
Overheard at a grad school symposium:
I mean, we’re grad students. We should geek out about our research.