Last fall I read The Great School Rethink by Frederick Hess, who works with the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. He focuses largely on education policy initiatives, many of which might be familiar: school choice, assessments, funding distribution, and curriculum adoption, among others. While I find these topics and the debates around them interesting, my main takeaway from reading this book was broader. It reminded me that a person is not static, and when we talk with someone we have to focus more on the thoughts they’re presenting and not conflate that with our notions of who the person is when taken as a sum of their parts.
Continue reading ““The Great School Rethink” and Assessing Ideas”Bar Trivia Format Smackdown
As a wily veteran of two pub trivia locations in San Francisco and an occasional purveyor of other events when traveling, I’d like to compare the three formats I’ve become the most familiar with: Geeks Who Drink, Trivia Mafia, and SpeedQuizzing. Consider this a pub trivia personality quiz.
Continue reading “Bar Trivia Format Smackdown”Playdate by Panic
Sixteen months after placing my order, I was delighted to see my Playdate arrive this past week. While I haven’t spent much time with it, everyone I’ve shown it to has been absolutely charmed by it’s fun design. Who doesn’t like spinning a crank as part of a game?
It’s a novelty that likely won’t see be used as often as I wish I had the time for, but I am happy to have a small diversion available with a growing set of games. The design is fun and fresh, with a whimsy that perfectly fits my aesthetic. It makes you smile when you see it, and I can see having fun with it on trips when I want to do something other than read. It’s not for everyone—it’s expensive for what it is on paper—but I recommend checking it out if you have the means.
Barbie, The Movie
I went with a large group to the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco to see a pre-release screening of Barbie. It was an official event complete with props and an opening presenter who shared their adoration for the famous doll. There was a palpable buzz among the groups of people dressed up, an excitement that was joyful with no undertone of negative tension that goes along with, say, a screening of a new Star Wars movie.1What I mean to say is, I don’t think anyone was at risk of breaking out into a fight for any reason. At the end of the movie, I was excited to see it again with Erin.
Continue reading “Barbie, The Movie”- 1What I mean to say is, I don’t think anyone was at risk of breaking out into a fight for any reason.
Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast
I’ve listened to Matt Whitman’s Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast since it began in October 2019. The premise of the show is straightforward: Discuss the Bible every weekday for about 10 minutes. However, this show is rather special in its approach and is worth your time to check out.
Continue reading “Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast”You Should Try iA Presenter
iA Writer has previously been established as my writing app of choice. There is something about both the visual design and snappy interface the team at iA created that is just right for me. When I learned they were making a presentation editor the same week I needed to create some slides, I had to give it a try.
Continue reading “You Should Try iA Presenter”Review: ChatGPT’s Satirical Ability
I asked ChatGPT to write its own Onion-style article with the same title as what I published yesterday.
Make your own judgement on how it did, and continue on if you’d like to read my thoughts.1Disclaimer: I commit the cardinal sin of explaining a joke later on in this post.
Continue reading “Review: ChatGPT’s Satirical Ability”- 1Disclaimer: I commit the cardinal sin of explaining a joke later on in this post.
The Lord of the Rings is Good
That’s right, I’ll be the first to put down my foot and say The Lord of the Rings is actually really good.
Continue reading “The Lord of the Rings is Good”