Both of the textbooks I need for the class I’m taking this semester are available as ebooks, but my options are Kindle or a proprietary publisher owned system. Of course, I can read them on my computer, but now I’m pondering buying a Kindle.
Reset, Continued: 2024
I adopt a theme each year and last year, the theme was Reset. That theme included focusing on physical and mental health, writing more, getting organized and rediscovering creative endeavors. I made progress with three out of four goals.
- I wrote more, getting my first journal article published and I have several others in the works. I’ve written more here on Micro.Blog in 2023. So mission accomplished.
- I did a good job getting organized, but I need to stay organized. There are still some areas I need to work on, but I feel like I made some progress.
- I worked on a bunch of my typeface designs and even though I’m not ready to release anything, I feel like I was able to dedicate some time to visual projects.
That leaves physical and mental health. I was particularly physically active for the first few months of the year, but hit a rough spot...
Got word a couple of days ago that a coworker of mine passed away unexpectedly. She’s got two young kids. Just devastated for the family.
It’s Christmas Eve and two of the presents we ordered haven’t arrived. One is scheduled to arrive Dec. 26. The other one hasn’t shipped.
How to fix American democracy, from ranked-choice voting to open primaries - The Washington Post
There are some interesting ideas for reform in this article. I was especially interested in the idea that maybe the House of Representatives needs to be significantly larger.
2023 Favorite Eight
I always pull together my favorite eight shots of the year (as a contrast to those algorithmically generated “Best Nine” posts). I love that it gives me an excuse to go back over all of my images from the last year and relive a lot of great memories.
- Our oldest decided to attend the University of South Carolina and had a great first semester.
- Liz and I are notably bad a selfies, but this outtake was better than the actual selfie and I love it.
- The girls were a little excited about seeing Taylor Swift in concert. (It was an amazing concert and I’m glad we all got to go.)
- We have a high school graduate.
- This is a big kitty yawn, but it looks so fierce.
- Ryan is still playing lacrosse and bounced back after...
I was thinking about buying my middle child a non-smartphone camera for her to experiment with. She loves taking pictures and has a great eye. I looked at what’s available and realized that the market only offers really cheaply-made cameras, or really expensive cameras. Virtually nothing in between.
Woke up this morning to low water pressure. Turns out a water main at the front of our neighborhood burst overnight…
How NASA Learned to Love the Worm Logo - The New York Times
Now the worm is back. And the meatball is still there too, still the official insignia for NASA.
Enjoyed this article about the two NASA logos. As designers, we typically preach consistency. But in this case, having two logos seems to work.
Had my last in-person class of the semester this morning. It might be my last in-person class of my PhD program. I have mostly independent studies, online classes and my dissertation to go. I’m a part-time student, so I still have a couple of years left, but it seems like some sort of a milestone.