So apparently, 15 years ago, I joined Twitter. They wanted me to post about it, but they didn’t say it had to be on Twitter.
I added some of my own typeface designs to my Micro.Blog site. I’m really getting into the idea of creating all of the assets that I use in my designs… typefaces, illustrations… now I need to build my own template.
I took Monday off to be my “retreat” day to plan and set personal goals for 2023. I’ve done it the last five or six years and I enjoy taking the day to focus on what I want to do – and honestly, what I don’t have time to focus on right now.
I’m trying out MarsEdit like all the cool kids.
I’m a fan of limited edition candy and sodas, but fruicake-flavored Mountain Dew is a bridge too far.
I’m really happy with how my Favorite Eight pictures turned out this year. ❤️8️⃣
2022 Favorite 8 Photos
My ❤️8️⃣ from 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣
This year was unexpected. Just about nothing went as planned — sometimes better, sometimes worse. Looking back over my photos, I took fewer “artsy” shots and mostly focused on my family. Here are my favorite shots from the past year, starting top left:
Evening snowfall. We don’t get much snow in Columbia, South Carolina. When it snowed in the evening in January, every thing was peaceful and serene… and then it was fun and chaotic, when all neighborhood kids came outside to play in the snow.
Norah’s prom. Our oldest headed to prom and had a great time with her friends.
Jill’s birthday. There are nine candles on the cake. Not the correct number of candles, but the perfect amount of light.
Soda City Market. We headed to our local market and took this picture as we were leaving. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on here — Jill hugs her kettle corn while Ryan proudly presents a giant carrot — but I love the shot.
Ryan playing the viola. Ryan started playing the viola this year and seems to enjoy it.
Sunrise at Hilton Head. Took a trip to Hilton Head with the family and woke up early enough to catch sunrise.
Lizzy’s birthday selfie. Here’s the thing… Our selfies are typically terrible and we have to take a bunch to get anything usable, but I grabbed this shot at Liz’s birthday dinner and we both like it. So it has to be one of my favorites.
Skee-Ball. I love skee-ball, and this beautiful skee-ball machine was at the arcade where we had Ryan’s birthday party.
This is the fifth year I’ve done a Favorite 8. You can see my previous posts from 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 on my other site, Sketchbook B.
I love writing in Ulysses, but for all my grad school papers, I wish it could handle integration with my preferred reference manager, Zotero, the way Microsoft Word and Google Docs do.
Favorite 8
Picking out my favorite pictures from the last year.
Back in 2018, Instagram users started posting their algorithmically-generated “Best Nine” — essentially the nine shots from the year that had the most likes. When I looked at mine, the images that everyone else liked weren’t necessarily my favorite pictures from the previous year. I enjoyed the process of digging through all the images from the previous year — many of which I had forgotten about. I curated and built my #Fav8 in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. If you are interested in learning more about the thought process behind Favorite 8, the 2018 post has the most detail.
This year, I’m not posting to Twitter, so I’m ditching the #Fav8 hashtag and just going with “Favorite 8.” Although on Micro.Blog, I’m thinking ❤️8️⃣ might be appropriate.
In the past, several friends have done this too, so this is just a reminder that it’s time to start working on selecting your Favorite 8 shots from 2022. I’ll probably post mine next week.
Found this sweet Skee-Ball alley at an arcade near my house.
Working on a behind the scenes video for Colonial Life Arena and Gamecock Basketball. Double header today. Starting with the women’s team vs. Liberty. 🏀
I guess crazy conspiracy theories aren’t just a uniquely American thing: Prince Heinrich XIII and the Plot to Overthrow Germany’s Government
Go-kart fun.
My son was watching How Old Paintings Are Professionally Restored on YouTube this morning. Completely fascinating look at the restoration process.
I’m not really using Twitter or Instagram on my iPhone much. Micro.Blog use has grown, obviously, but I’ve also rediscovered games on my phone that I downloaded a while back and never deleted. So instead of doomscrolling… Mario Kart Tour.
Been a long week. Busy weekend ahead.
Facebook trying to build a Twitter competitor… inside Instagram? Sounds like a bad idea. 🤣
Interesting article about a new “automated” McDonalds restaurant design. (It’s not automated.) The new design focuses on customers who order ahead with apps or use delivery services. A great example of how changes in consumer behavior can drive changes in the way our physical spaces are designed.
So now, I follow newsletters, Twitter users and Instagram feeds in Feedbin and Mastodon users in Micro.Blog. Interoperability is pretty cool.
I set up Instagram as a feed in Feedbin. It’s really strange, but I like it.
One of my favorite things about Micro.Blog is being able to bold and italicize in short posts. But I forget about it…
This post on software pricing from iA is really interesting. They present a history of pricing options, discuss the pros and cons of different approaches and then ask how much you would pay for their forthcoming presentation software.
I always forget how crowded coffee shops get in a college town during exam week. (Next week, this place will be a ghost town.)
It’s been a Monday, y’all. It was rainy and gloomy all day. I’ve gotten a lot done, but I feel like my to-do list grew faster than I could check things off.