Big animals seem to get all the attention. Lions, elephants, and bears have countless books and movies dedicated to them. Don’t even get me started about whales. I’m much more interested in the small creatures of our world. Have you ever watched a slug make its slimy way across a rock, or had an aphid land on your sleeve? Is there anything cuter than a chipmunk? More fascinating than a praying mantis?
The thing that ties it all together for me is that you don’t need to go to a zoo to see it. You can go into your backyard, and look around. Once you make the effort, you’ll see amazing things everywhere. There’s a lot that comes when you stop and observe. I just have to remember to do it more often.
My Picks
A little bit of this and that for your June:
Tubi’s “For the Cinephiles” Collection
The more I explore Fox’s FAST streaming channel Tubi, the more impressed I become. The ads are less intrusive, the catalog is enormous, and the content is easy to access. This collection includes some of the finest art house cinema in history, and features some of my favorites. Pair this up with their silent movies and you have enough to keep you in film geek heaven for weeks on end.
Think of how much you use your web browser. Have you ever considered an alternative? Certainly, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari get the job done. But there are innovative companies rethinking how we interface with the web, and with just a little effort, you might find you like one of them better. Arc is a different kind of browser, and for me, it does things better. I love having tabs on the side instead of along the top. I love setting up spaces for different types of browsing. There’s plenty more that Arc does, too, and it’s 100% free to try out for yourself, but they recently stopped active development of it (security updates are still ongoing). Zen is very similar to Arc, also free, and still in active development, so if you’re looking for something to grow with, it’s worth checking out.
Saying you like video games is like saying you like anime. It doesn’t tell you anything of substance — you need to know genres to really understand. If you’ve never tried a clicker, this is a great choice. It’s short (which, for clickers, means hours instead of days), has a great sense of humor, and a fun payoff at the end. Then again, if you can’t fathom why a game where all you do is click would appeal, you’d be in good company.
Neal Stephenson’s Remarks on AI
Snow Crash changed the way I thought about the world when it came out in 1992. Since then I’ve read and admired many Neal Stephenson books. In this post he provides a new and insightful perspective about AI. Once again, I’m thinking about our world and this technology differently. Definitely worth reading for anyone interested in the impact of AI on our society.
You need a password manager. No, really. Everyone does. Memorize one hard-to-guess password (or phrase) to get in, and then let it take care of creating and managing all of your other passwords from that point forward. That way, every password can be different, so if one gets breached it won’t affect the others, your main password is never used anywhere else, and you’ll have an easy way to view and edit all kinds of secure data. It’s free and open source, it works on computers and mobile devices, and it’s what I’ve been using for years.
Recently Published
If you’ve missed it, here’s what’s new on the site:
Have you ever noticed the level of empty praise that young people receive? They can tell when it’s inauthentic, and it can lead to discounting themselves and their work. On the other side, when I provide students feedback that describes areas for improvement, I’m sometimes faced with tears. It’s difficult to find the right balance, but here’s how I continue to try.
AI Won’t Replace Teachers (But It Will Make Us Better)
So many of my colleagues are sad and concerned about the advent of AI tools, and I can’t blame them. What we hear and see about it can make it look as though our profession as we currently know it will change to something cheaper and less effective. The more I work with AI, though, the more I think it’s the exact opposite. I don’t know that it will change anyone’s mind or help them to feel better, but I’m hoping that sharing my perspective might at least offer a counterpoint to all of the negative sentiment that’s out there right now while recognizing that there are, indeed, real risks if our society doesn’t choose to use these tools wisely.
In the Groove
It’s frustrating to be in a place where I’m about 95% done with my next release, but the last 5% is just not happening. And here I thought committing to wrapping things up in this newsletter would help motivate me to get it done. Part of it is being busy, to be sure, but it’s more of a headspace thing.
Self-flagellating isn’t of much interest to me, so I’m giving myself a pass this month. It will happen when it happens! I have been creating sketches and practicing regularly, as well as exploring some of the creative tools at my disposal, so musical things are still a regular part of my life. Perhaps I just need to step back a bit and not get myself so wound up in wanting things to be perfect. Wish me luck!
Until Next Time
What do you notice when you stop and look at what’s right there, around you? Not the big, obvious things that demand attention, but the small details that reveal themselves only when you pause and pay attention. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are hiding in plain sight — whether that’s a tiny beetle on a flower, an unexpected connection between ideas, or a new way of seeing something familiar.