I went to see my new doctor today, and I have to admit, I was a little shocked. He was from Madrid, and he had sleeve tattoos and tattoos on both hands. My surprise must have been obvious because he said “it’s okay, you’re not the first. No one expects the Spanish inked physician.”
It hints at this classic Monty Python sketch, which I’ve added below for the edification of those unfamiliar with Monty Python.
I read this haiku over on Charlotte Digregorio’s blog.
out of the blue the window washer brightens my day by Tom Painting (USA) Modern Haiku, Vol. 37.2, Summer 2006
This reminded me of an experience I had back in the 90s. I worked on various projects at a variety of firms. In one of them, I was at a law firm in the Columbia Center, a 73 story building in downtown Seattle. We were located on the 60th some odd floor, and one of my colleagues was startled by the window washer appearing outside her window. The ensuing shriek garnered all of our attention, and amusement…including that of the washer.
sixtieth floor an amused window washer my startled colleague
Fandango posted his response to Bushboy’s blogging prompt “Last on the Card“. The basics of the prompt: post the last photo on your phone or camera’s SD card that was shot in November.
I opted to hop on my phone and see what’s there. So, I was at an event last night, a Book/Movie Discussion for Killers of the Flower Moon. We had a table there with a few resources to learn more about the Native American experience, both in the US as well as local tribes. I took a photo of two books I did not have.
These are books I hope to attain. The one on the right was written by a local author, Jay Bowen, who was at the event. I spent quite some time talking with him last night, so I have a valued connection.
walking through the cold feeling the grace of the night soon the rains return
It was a good night for a walk. Brisk air was mitigated by my jacket. My main challenge: being near invisible to the passing cars. But most of my walk was far off the main roads. Thus, my key sensation was tranquility.
One of my digital friends, Bernie, wrote this blog post featuring Maria Popova, a writer I admire greatly. In the article, Popova writes about the grief feels upon the passing of her beloved friend Emily Levine. She explores how poetry impacted that journey, and how it can help us all manage the finitude of our lives. I love her line “[N]ow that Emily has returned her stardust to the universe…” as a descriptor of death. Makes me think of Carl Sagan’s line that we’re all made of “star stuff”. There’s infinity within our finite nature. So very Zen, I guess.
Anyway, I highly recommend Maria’s post, and all of her work.
gazing to the west
petals dancing in the breeze
as the sunlight fades
It’s been a hot minute since I last posted a haiku, so here’s one for you today. This photo is from my walk along the Edmonds Waterfront. It was a lovely day; started sunny and slowly clouds drifted in. It stayed dry, fortunately for me.
I adore writing haiku, though I’ve been trying to write about my explorations into tech. More professional, I guess. I’ve been told to focus on your brand with your social media. But, what is my brand? I mean, I’ve written tons of haiku, and they’re some of my most popular content. But, they don’t bring in the money, do they? Maybe I need to work to monetize them. Oooohhh…I can be an influencer?
Anyway, I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with myself next. I’ve been focused on IT, web design, and other technology “things” for the past few years. With that, though, I’ve received constant feedback that I should look at Project Management. Instructors, supervisors, family…constant stuff. And by the same people who then ping me to fix their printers.
I guess I’m still trying to “find my way”. Maybe my way is to take pictures and write haiku? Not gonna get rich at that, but it’s fun. Who knows?
Let me know what you think! Anyway, talk to you soon.
So, when I saw this in my email the other day, my suspicions were raised.
Besides no longer being a LastPass customer, the sender’s email was a huge red-flag.
Ah, there’s a link! I always recommend people do in these circumstances is hover over links in email. In the lower left-hand corner, you can see the actual link. *Note, this is not a a LastPass site.
I’m quite confident that these hackers got my information from the dark web, but found that I’ve changed all my passwords, as well as shifted away from LastPass. It’s a rather convincing email phishing for information.
So, I wanted to share this for a few reasons. Mainly, for my fellow LastPass breachees, watch for these sorts of scams. Hackers can use information in multiple ways, not just with accessing your sites with stolen credentials. Also, there are some good tools to use in any suspicious email. My main advice: never click on a link unless you’re 100% certain it’s valid. Reach out to the send via phone/text if you’re in doubt.
Anyway, be wary my friends. If you’ve ever been part of a data breach (is there anyone who hasn’t?), expect that the information collected will be used against you.
Years ago, I grew weary of all the tropes around Halloween. I mean, come on! How many times can you listen to Monster Mash? Well, as someone who values creativity and innovation, my tolerance is low for repetition. So, I created my own playlist.
Every time I turn around, there’s a new AI tool. Canva (something of a favorite of mine) recently launched its own AI tool, “Magic Design“. I thought it would be fun to experiment with a quip I thought up this morning.
Having a plan is the most effective way to avoid being swayed by the guile of marketing
So, let’s plug this in and see what comes of it, shall we? To be clear, the text above was the only thing I plugged into the prompt. (I’m using my personal version of Canva, which is the free one, so there are watermarks)
Item 1:
The first thing it came up with is a video, with a focus on planning. Kinda nice, methinks.
Item 2:
This one is a Facebook cover, with a similar motif to the first item. Again, nice.
Item 3:
Another image, this one oriented towards mobile/portrait mode.
One additional item:
Last week, I edited out the postlude from our Sunday service and created its own video on our YouTube channel (check it out here if you’re so inclined). I was feeling a bit pressed for time, so I opted for Magic Design and really liked what it zipped out. I just needed to make a few tweaks and I had something quite usable.
I like what I see so far. With more guidance, I’m confident it would give results better suited for specific needs. What do you think? Are designers going to be impacted by this technology? Or will it simply be incorporated to streamline work flow?
