The number of people I actually know on Bluesky has increased significantly in the last week.
How the Ivy League Broke America. Incredibly thought provoking article about education, society and the concept of merit.
When income level is the most important division in a society, politics is a struggle over how to redistribute money. When a society is more divided by education, politics becomes a war over values and culture.
I haven’t been active on Twitter in a very long time, but I deactivated my account this morning. Now I have to find all of the links to Twitter on my blogs and other profiles and delete them. Going to take a while.
Really, really don’t understand how people are still on Twitter. Communities will reform elsewhere. So many people have left, your follower count is an illusion at this point. There are other options. I just don’t understand.
Then: Reflections from 11.10.24
Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.
I skipped last week’s post. Sunday, I was busy with schoolwork and didn’t have time. I planned to post something later, but the election happened and I just didn’t feel like posting at all.
Favorite Picture of Last Week
Our oldest, Norah, joined us at the polls to cast her first vote in a presidential election. And while most of the races didn’t go the way we hoped, I love that I was able to share this experience with her.
Today, everything in my life seems small. My job feels inconsequential. My career choices, misguided. My research, misdirected. My dissertation, pointless. The world is so broken. I feel like I could have — should have — committed to making more of a difference… somehow…
I have grad school advisement this afternoon and class this evening. I have decisions to make about my next step in my Ph.D. process. I’m not at all in a mental state to think about next semester.
According to Facebook, 15 years ago today, I got a Google Wave invite.
Then: Reflections from 10.27.24
Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.
This week was busy like the last couple, but felt much more manageable for some reason. I have an insanely busy week ahead of me and as the semester wraps up, I have a lot of school work to do. But emotionally, I feel a little more focused.
Favorite Picture of Last Week
My son, Ryan, is a lacrosse goalie. He played four games this weekend and did amazing. Probably his best week in goal ever. I also try to capture the action and yesterday, a kid made a great move a slipped the ball past Ryan. Great shot, and a fun picture.
Just a reminder that aggressive tariffs and the resulting trade war were one of the causes of the Great Depression.
I got a really great score in Quartiles this morning. I wondered if I could easy share my score on social media like I could on Wordle. While Apple has a share button, it’s just a link to the puzzle in Apple News+ that few can access. Missed marketing opportunity.
I thought it was interesting that during the start of the Scout Motors unveiling, they promised to never sell their customers’ data. Privacy matters.
Scout Motors is unveiling their new vehicle designs later this afternoon. I’m excited because I want to see how they interpreted the old design into a new EV. But also, they are going to be built right here in Columbia, South Carolina.
I know I should probably vote early, but it’s my daughter’s first presidential election and I want her to have the full experience of going to the polls.
Then: Reflections from 10.20.24
Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.
Another busy week. I feel like a broken record at this point. The kids’ schedules are busy. We went to the South Carolina State Fair. I was thankful that I didn’t have class this week for Fall Break, but I’ve still got a bunch of grad school deadlines to handle. We are actively looking to buy a car — which is a process I do not enjoy. It’s all quite overwhelming, but we manage to figure out how to fit it all in.
SEC football this season is incredible.
Went to the SC State Fair to see a giraffe.
Pluralistic: You should be using an RSS reader:
RSS basically works like social media should work. Using RSS is a chance to visit a utopian future in which the platforms have no power, and all power is vested in publishers, who get to decide what to publish, and in readers, who have total control over what they read and how, without leaking any personal information through the simple act of reading.
I really enjoy the Apple News+ game, Quartiles. It’s fun and challenging and I’ve started to mix it into my daily morning routine.
Got the email that my latest journal article was accepted for publication. I’ll soon have one more entry on my Google Scholar profile.
I bought my first Retro 51 pen at Origami Ink in Asheville, an amazing pen shop that was destroyed in the Hurricane Helene flooding. So when I saw that Retro 51 was offering a special edition to support Origami Ink, it was an instant purchase. Amazing pen. Cool design. Great cause.