So I accidentally skipped last week. I wrote the post, but never actually uploaded it. So I’m incorporating some of what I wrote last week to cover the last two weeks.
Happy birthday to my youngest, Ryan. He turns 13 today. For another three weeks, I have three teenagers. Time flies.
Feels
Grateful. On Ryan’s birthday, I’ve got to reflect on just how amazing and wonderful my kiddos are. I’m biased, but I think they are pretty phenomenal.
Rearranging. My wife and I decided to move everything around. Furniture from the master bedroom is in the kitchen. We moved a bookshelf into the master bathroom. A cabinet into the laundry room. A chair moves from the living room to the master bedroom. Really happy with all the moves, and hopefully it will help us be more organized.
Optimistic. I have a new boss at work. I got a chance to meet with him this week, and honestly, I’m excited and hopeful about the path forward. I’m going to be very busy. I’m happiest when I very busy.
Health
Fine. Still in neutral. Need to get more active. Still eating pretty well…
Projects
Typeface consulting. Got back into typeface design this weekend on the consulting project I’ve been working on. Happy with how it is turning out.
Entertainment
Gamecock Football. Shane Beamer’s team is doing far better than anyone expected, and holding their own in a wacky SEC.
Bluesky. Now, I know lots of people on Bluesky. Even my high school German teacher is following me over there. So there is more of a reason to be there.
F1. Woke up in the middle of the night to watch the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Great win for my wife’s favorite driver, George Russell. And a championship for Max. Hopefully, the last two races will be at better times.
Quartiles. Still enjoying the Apple News+ game.
Happy 13th birthday, Ryan!
Just saw a headline that SMU is going be in the ACC Championship. I’ll be honest. I completely forgot SMU was in the ACC.
Tomorrow, our youngest turns 13. Which means that until December when Norah turns 20, we will have three teenagers in the family: 13, 17 and 19. Pray for us. 🤣
The last two weeks has seen a surge in Bluesky usage. I’ve been on Bluesky a little since the early days. I liked the service, but I didn’t know any one there. That’s changed now and lots of friends are posting. That’s added a touch more complexity, so I figured I’d share how I’m handling my personal social media right now.
I post everything to Micro.Blog. It shows up on bobwertz.com.
Micro.Blog crossposts everything to Bluesky, Threads and Mastodon.
I have notifications turned off on my iPhone, so I have no idea when people respond to what I post.
I selectively choose when I want to engage with social media on whatever site feels right at the time.
A couple of random things I’ve noticed lately:
My Instagram usage has dropped dramatically, probably because it isn’t tied in with my crossposting system. They don’t have a posting API, so no one can really add that connection. I like Instagram, but I don’t have time for everything.
Cotton Bureau included one of my shirt designs in their 25% off sale. Normally, I would have helped promote on Instagram and Twitter, but I checked and they were on Bluesky and Threads. So I promoted it there. Companies used to do this kind of promotion on Twitter and Instagram. It’s nice to see them active on Bluesky and Threads.
I’m excited to see social media evolving and changing. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going and continue to move toward better, healthier online communities.
Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.
I’m thinking about setting up an email account on a domain that I own. Last time I did this, I used Google’s free option that they phased out a while back. I don’t need a free option, but I also don’t want to spend a ton of money. What are my best options?
Checks mentions. Sees a bunch of replies from Bluesky. Pretty sure that’s new. So thanks @manton.
South Carolina’s offense isn’t always pretty, but they’ve got heart. Go Gamecocks! 🏈
At this point in the semester, Team Wertz is heading to study at Starbucks every weekend. (Ryan usually has some homework, but really just joins us so he can get a lemon loaf.)
One of the fun things about being a Ph.D. student married to another Ph.D. student is that you randomly discuss research methods over your morning coffee.
Only $40.
The number of people I actually know on Bluesky has increased significantly in the last week.
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.
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.
Feels
Nervous. I’m worried for the future of our country and the future of democracy in general.
Optimistic. I had advisement this week and feel like I have a strong path forward toward finishing my Ph.D. I’m planning on taking two courses in the fall, one in the summer, and then, I’m pretty much just writing from there to the end of my dissertation.
Reclusive. I don’t really feel like being around anyone right now. It’s don’t feel like sharing on social media. I kinda just want to be a recuse for a little while.
Health
Fine. This week wasn’t the best week for my health.
Projects
School work. I’ve got to talk about my research on Wednesday. And then finish up my project for class. Very doable.
Entertainment
Not much. I’ll be honest. Pretty much avoiding all media right now. Just not feeling it.
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.
