15
Oct 26
Oct 26
I had an idea
I was vaguely aware there was a conference deadline approaching. I say vaguely aware because I have presented at this conference twice now, these things have predictable calendars for everyone’s sanity and, also, because this is the conference put on by the organization which is helmed by my lovely bride. You’d think living with the executive director would give me special insight or reminders, but no.
Anyway, last night I stumbled upon a story and thought, I can find a study in that. I looked to see the conference submission deadline and found, to my delight that it was 11:59 p.m. this very evening. And, suddenly, I had a research idea and roughly 25 hours to figure out the details of it.
That’s what I did today.
I spent my office hours digging up literature that will support my new study. This was a fruitful 90 minutes. There were many extra tabs opened on my computer.
In class, we watched another episode of Black Mirror, Nosedive:
The class had a lot to say about this in the few minutes we had remaining. They decided that this might be more relevant today than when it was released in 2016. Then I told them about an example of this, and reminded them of real world implications of that. And I think we’re all going to be different users of digital media before we’re done.
For next week, they’re now reading something from Jose van Dijck on connectivity, and a new little essay from Anil Dash on the changes in language all of this connectivity is foisting upon us. We’re about two weeks from turning this class on its head in all of the best ways.
After class I drove over to another part of campus to pick up my lovely bride. She wasn’t ready yet, and so I strolled around enjoying the late afternoon’s lovely weather. I took a few photos which I’m sure I’ll share here next week. We stopped by the drug store, where we discovered all sorts of new foodstuffs, and also purchased whatever we went there to get. I wasn’t paying attention. I merely drove and made jokes about things we saw on the shelves.
Now, at home, I have been working on that conference proposal. I needed a 500 word abstract, with literature review. It takes a lot to write that little. I typed that out before dinner and finished polishing it after. The premise is there is some particular sport-themed content worth exploring in light of the particulars (which I won’t get into here, but I elaborated on elaborately in the abstract) and here’s what I’m going to do. The abstract was a perfect 500 words. Perfect in length, perhaps not in execution. It’s actually pretty good, and might have some real merit, academically speaking. Also, I used 20 citations.
This took a few hours. I had 90 minutes to spare when I was done. Time enough for another idea for the conference, but nothing came to mind.
Maybe I’ll get to submit some findings from this proposal next spring.
Since my day was spent staring at screens, let’s find something else to share here. Monday I rode my bike through a very small, three-road, two-stop-sign town. They always make excellent use of their power poles to decorate for the seasons.
Now, of course, they are being quite spooky. A Hulk mask on a pumpkin was a little off-putting, but the handprints on this shirt were even more so. I don’t know why.
You’ll have to forgive the composition of these photos. I was doing this while riding one handed at about 15 miles an hour. And I still don’t feel especially steady on my bike since my spill last week. The photos are what the photos are. And this one is cute. I guess these are all class projects. This one is from a bunch of 2nd graders. Maybe that’s why there’s a candy cane involved. Kids know more about art than I do, and who am I to question their vision?
Also, Halloween is a big, big deal on Chewbacca’s planet, Kashyyyk. They just can’t get enough of it. No one there dresses as Han Solo, though.
I wonder if the inhabitants of other planets have a need for something like our scarecrows. Do the birds of those planets raid the crops? Or their bird-equivalents? And are the scarecrows humanoid? Would a Wookie go to the trouble of stuffing some clothes with straw, and then putting on a real face? Are the crop stealing animals on Kashyyyk discerning enough to know the difference?
There are so many questions all of those movies and books and cartoons did not answer. (I assume they didn’t answer them. Don’t come at me with references to some animated series I’m never watching.) Do the droid gardeners take care of the bird-like creatures? Do they use bird sabers or bird blasters?
Come to think of it, did we even see any birds in the Star Wars universe? I suppose they’d want to keep them out of the franchise for identification purposes. Seeing a cardinal fluttering in and among the Ewoks would pulled you right out of that masterpiece, wouldn’t it? And that last movie, the real triumph of cinema, the one so great I can’t remember it’s name or be bothered to look it up. The one so dreadful I laughed in relief in the third act: this is almost over and I don’t have to do this anymore. A bluebird sitting on a tree branch would have ruined the illusion. Long ago and far away and all of that.
Clearly I needed to think up another research idea tonight.
14
Oct 26
Oct 26
An unsung perk
Our neighbors give us the best views. This time of year, the hallway is light up from the reflected light of that tree, which you can see through the door and across the street.
There were two of those trees there. One of them was cut down. I don’t know why and I can’t bring myself to ask. It’s none of my business, of course, but you could look toward the front of the house and everything looked yellow in the fall. And to play in those leaves, as the children do, would have seemed magical. Alas.
More and more I think there should be a very specific and necessary reason to do things with trees. The most frivolous thing you should do is climb one, or hang a tire swing. Otherwise, there should be a checklist. Paperwork. Digital, of course.
Sure, some trees would still be harvested. We need lumber and paper products and some are dangerous or have disease concerns. Sometimes you might need to just thin a stand of trees. These, and other reasons, are good reasons. “I tire of raking” is not a reason.
Aside from a few moments of sun shining through, allowing for that photograph, it was largely a gray day. Good one to stay inside and do some work. There is, of course, much of that to do.
In class this evening we talked about strategic media planning. This is important, and very interesting to me. And you can almost tell exactly when the group collectively decides they’ve had enough. This is funny to me, but I press on. I’m on a mission, after all.
Maybe the problem is that I didn’t show any videos this evening. The difficulty, of course, being that there aren’t a lot of great movies, TV shows, or commercials that have to do with media buying and psychographics.
So, instead, we walked through an exercise as if we were helping to plan the university’s homecoming festivities. That’s taking next week, so we can parallel. And then I had them break into a little group exercise, which they’re all eager to do, if only because it means thy hear less from me.
We got out about almost minutes early. Small victory in a 2:45 minute class.
Afterward one of the students stuck around. I asked one question and we wound up chatting about classes, sports, the commute, life, Otis Redding, for about 90 minutes. It was delightful. The little things can be very big things.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find an idea. More on that tomorrow. If I find one.
