Jason Fried, writing in his newsletter, sees an interesting moment on the horizon.

We’re staring at two distinctly different visions of the future. They may co-exist, but they are radically different takes on what’s modern, what’s current, and where things are headed.

One vision gets the UI out of the way. The other vision is UI everywhere you look.

One vision gets the computer out of the way. The other vision mounts a computer on your face.

One vision is get it and go. One vision is get it and stay.

One vision fades into the background. The other vision is front and center.

One vision is about information. The other vision is about immersion.

One vision is natural and understands you. The other vision requires new methods of interaction that you have to learn and master.

One vision feels like an assist. One vision feels like obstruction.

One vision fits with whatever you already have. One vision requires you buy something that fits.

One vision is simply text. One vision is anything but.

One vision feels like before. One vision feels like after. But I’m not sure which is which.

Both are extraordinary.

Scott Dochterman, writing for The Athletic, has an in-depth feature on the University of Illinois football team. I was really impressed with the level of detail. It’s a great read.

Julia Evans, writing on her site, has compiled a list of blogging myths, including “writing boring posts is bad” and “more material is always better.”

It’s great.

Mike Cagley, writing at IlliniGuys, has a good look at how NIL and the transfer portal has changed and challenged head coaches at Power Five schools.

Collegiate coaches must adapt to the new realities and the new balance of power that exists thanks to both the transfer portal and the NIL money that has been introduced into the system. The coaches who adapt the quickest and the most will be in a position to either maximize their team’s success or improve their team’s overall standing in the coach’s particular sport.

I’d like to think Brad Underwood and Brett Bielema have been at the forefront of adaptation.

Nicholas Bate –

1. Every 45 minutes, take 5 minutes. Stretch, walk, sip water, look out of a window at the horizon and ask what’s really important at this moment?

2. Control what you can, which is a lot: your mood, choosing what’s really important not just urgent (see 1, above) and your dealings with people. Ignore that which you cannot change: give them zero time and energy. The weather, the crazy whims of Head Office Mother Ship and junk TV.

3. Regularly hide so you cannot be distracted by The Five Addictive Cs: caffeine, connections of the digital kind, confectionery & cookies, cubicle cynicism and cooler chit-chat.

4. Have a flight-deck: one place, one view, one perspective of what you need to focus on. This is not your in-box.

5. Slow down enough that you can recognise the tantalising seductive but perspective destroying, energy depleting and soul withering nature of the blisteringly urgent, but actually not at all important.

6. Say ‘no’ more. Say it constructively. Say it nicely. Say it helpfully. But say ‘no’ more.

7. Do a few things totally brilliantly every day. And feel very productive.

Life is less about what happens to you, it’s more about what you do about it.

90% of being a successful adult is learning how to identify stress and having healthy coping mechanisms to deal with them.

Tim Alberta, writing for The Atlantic, has a profile on Chris Licht. I’m not sure if this is going to be true or not, but this reads like a Licht just shot himself in the head. It does not paint him in the best of lights. I imagine the CNN newsroom and staffers will not be happy.

The internet has devolved from a platform for the exchange of information and ideas, to an exchange of opinions and insults.

Tori Otten, writing for The New Republic, has the story about a Utah school district that banned the Bible for younger students after someone complained that it contained too much sexual content—in an interesting twist on the book bans sweeping the country.

Smart. Maybe we can start learning in schools instead of dealing with this absurd notion that there is indoctrination happening in our schools.

The complete scripts for all four seasons of Succession are coming out in book form.

Collected here for the first time, the complete scripts of Succession: Season One [Two, Three, and Four] feature unseen extra material, including deleted scenes, alternative dialogue and character directions, and an exclusive introduction from creator and showrunner, Jesse Armstrong. They reveal a unique insight into the writing, creation and development of a TV sensation and a screen-writing masterpiece.

Welp. I guess I better watch it.

KISS Asylum was playing around with Adobe’s A.I. Generative Fill and asked it what the bigger picture would be out of tightly cropped classic KISS album covers. It’s pretty cool.

I really liked the KISS Alive! and Love Gun images.

Capture the Atlas announced their picks for the 2023 Milky Way Photographer of the Year competition.

These are all amazing. My favorites include The Eyes of the Universe, Night Under the Baobab Trees, and Shapes of the Nature.

I used to live for Headbanger’s Ball on MTV. If I wanted to watch the videos that I cared about, this was the show.

Now, one dedicated fan has put together the complete collection of the 1,215 videos that were played from the show’s airing in 1987 until its demise.

It is glorious.

Seth Godin:

A question we don’t ask ourselves very often, but a choice we make every day.

It’s tempting to not care. If you choose to not care, you’re off the hook. It’s simply to do as little as possible, avoid too much trouble, ask if it will be on the test, try to stay off the hook, so what…

On the other hand, caring can lead to heartbreak. Caring is the chance to make a difference, to actually be involved in what happens next. Caring puts us on the hook and caring offers a chance to contribute.

When we care, we get to make a difference, and that creates meaning, the path to significance.

Sam Vecenie and The Athletic staff, writing for The Athletic, has the story on the return of two important pieces on the Men’s Basketball team at the University of Illinois.

Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. and forward Coleman Hawkins are withdrawing from the 2023 NBA Draft and will return to Champaign next season, they announced separately on social media Wednesday. 

[…]

The Illini have one of the most talented rosters in the Big Ten entering the season. It’s difficult to find another team in the country with as much experienced depth on the wing as Illinois figures to have next season, with Shannon and rising sophomore Ty Rodgers coming back and joining transfers Marcus Domask and Quincy Guerrier.

Then on top of it, the frontcourt will also be loaded with Hawkins and returning center Dain Dainja. They’ll be able to play bigger lineups with Dainja and Guerrier at the 4 and 5, or could even run out smaller units with Guerrier at the 5 surrounded by Domask and Shannon on the wings.

The only question they’ll need to answer comes in the backcourt. Can Justin Harmon or Sencire Harris handle the lead responsibilities? 

Neither Harmon or Harris is the answer at point guard. I want RayJ Dennis, but I’m not feeling very good about it.

CJ Chilvers, writing at this site, outlines a practice he’s being doing called Month Notes. Basically, he has section on his Notes app that’s about things to remember about a specific month. Every month or so, he goes into the note, adds a few thing to keep in mind about that month.

This “keep-in-mind” note doesn’t fit neatly into a reminders app, task manager, or a calendar. But, it’s become useful enough to stand on its own.

• For February, I’ve got a small list of things I could do better to combat the gloom of late-winter Chicago. This worked last year. That didn’t.

• Maybe there’s a weird month when several large semi-annual bills, including the property tax bill, come due at once and reserves need to be ready.

• Maybe this is the month school lets out and the neighborhood gets less chaotic, so it’s a better time to accomplish outdoor projects.

• Maybe next month is when the cicadas emerge and add a deafening sound to all outdoor activities.

It’s a small list that carries great weight. Give it a try.

What a neat idea.

Filippo Ulivieri, writing on his twitter account, has made an interesting observation about The Shining: Jack Nicholson breaks the fourth wall by micro-glancing at the camera over and over during the film.

This is a cool trick with a million reasons “why.”

Netflix just dropped a trailer for the latest season of Black Mirror with five episodes that explore the dark side of technology and its impact on society.

I need to catch up on last season.