My favorite new coffee shop is in a restored Victorian house that was once a funeral home. The historic preservationists who worked on this project deserve an award for the amazing work they’ve done to turn the house into a coffee shop and apartments.

After being sick last week, my sleep schedule is all kinds of messed up. It’s not insomnia… I’m getting sleep. But I get tired earlier and then wake up in the middle of the night. I’m like a toddler who has their days and nights mixed up.

I have to pack up my cube to move to a new office in a couple of weeks. While I’m looking forward to having walls and a door again, I’m not ready to pack everything up. I’ve been in this spot for six years – longer than I’ve ever been in a work space before. Going to feel strange to move.

When I see people arguing about Mastodon vs. Bluesky, I realize that we need to ask an important question:

What do you want from social media?

It’s not about what service is best. It’s about what’s best for you. And that answer is going to differ from person to person.

I’ve been sick for the past few days. Pretty minor symptoms. Pre-COVID, I would have just toughed it out, but now I take even minor symptoms seriously. I don’t want to get anyone sick.

(FYI: Just got back from the doctor. All the tests were negative. I just have a bad cold.)

The rush to hype

Not everything is going to change the world tomorrow

I’m not sure when the “hot take” era started. It predates the internet1, but social media really seems to have kicked it into the stratosphere. There’s a rush to hype everything as the next disruptive invention. Wearable devices. Foldable displays. Ride sharing and self-driving cars. Blockchain and cryptocurrency. Artificial intelligence and machine learning. AR and VR. Federated social media.

While social media drives the hype train, it’s powered by money. Major companies are afraid of missing a big trend and becoming irrelevant. Small companies see an opportunity to move fast and take advantage of the new tech. VC firms are willing to gamble on the technology in hopes of a big pay day. Entrepreneurs sell grand visions with hopes of making it big. All of these entities benefit from building the hype around every new technology.

What technology really...

Taylor Swift put on an amazing show last night in Atlanta.

My daughters are making sure the whole family has appropriate attire for tomorrow night’s Taylor Swift concert.

Spending the day at the coffee shop with my daughters who are reviewing for AP exams next week. I’ve been working on finishing up the revisions to my journal article, but I keep going down rabbit holes…