My college is floating the idea of investing in GPT-type technology to help researchers code text data. This reminds me of my longtime belief that the distinction between “qual” and “quant” is often less important than the distinction between different research paradigms.

It’s four hours into my workday, so I guess it’s time to start doing that writing I blocked the whole day off for. 🙃

This is apparently the second August in a row I’ve complained on here that I’d much rather pay higher taxes than deal with another school fundraiser.

I have loved They Might Be Giants longer than any other artist, and I still feel like I constantly overlook how good they are.

“Welcome to tenure, here are all your new service obligations.”

I was excited last weekend to buy two new teas to add to my growing collection, but these might be the first duds I’ve picked out since starting with tea in May. I know rooibos is a red flag for me from years of herbal teas, so I don’t know how I missed it in the one ingredient list.

Prensky coined the term “digital native” to talk about people my age, but I have a colleague younger than me who is using the term to refer to our undergraduate students. This sums up so much of why I think this term is useless.

Inspired by a sci-fi book I’m reading, I made an off-handed quip this morning about becoming a disembodied simulation. Kiddo responded that she preferred to have a “huggable, play-withable” daddy.

This is an admittedly fuzzy memory, but I was thinking today about the time some unit at BYU brought in a French thinker to speak on the importance of “the family,” but instead of the conservative religious arguments I was expecting, the guy’s talk had monarchist vibes.

Last day of kiddo’s summer, so no matter how behind I am on course prep, we are unapologetically going to the zoo.

Every semester, I give a guest lecture on internet research methods for an undergrad class in my unit. A few days after scheduling this semester’s lecture, I’ve realized it’s the first time I’m giving it after Musk borked Twitter as a data source.

I get why folks in ed compare ChatGPT to Wikipedia, but there are important differences. Wikipedia is entirely non-profit, lays bare its knowledge generation process, can be fixed on the fly, and can’t actively generate problematic content. It’s not just about reliability.

Does anyone have experience arranging for language lessons for kids? I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m reasonably competent as a French teacher and as a dad, but not the combination of the two.

I don’t like the card game War as a game, but I’m increasingly appreciative of it as a way to spend time with kiddo.

J’aime bien la ville où j’habite, mais c’est fort dommage qu’il n’y ait pas d’Alliance Française ici.

We decided to stuff this weekend full (early anniversary dinner and movie, then visit to friends across the state, then family visit to water park) so naturally kiddo tested positive for COVID-19 tonight.

A few weeks ago, I added a tin of tea that tastes like Andes mints to my growing collection, and it’s taken a lot of self control to drink anything else in the morning.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been working to digitize journals, letters, and other documents from my past. It’s interesting to see how much of present me is different than past me—but also what’s still the same.

I was exhausted last night when I went to bed, and then I started imagining an argument with someone over research methods where I was pointing out the eugenicist views of early statistical pioneers, and that got me so riled up that I couldn’t fall asleep.

C’était le 1er août (où peut-être le jour d’après) la dernière fois que j’ai quitté la Suisse pour rentrer chez moi. La fête nationale marque donc un rappel d’y retourner un jour.

Lire Guy Delisle en traduction, c’est déjà bon, et je suis content que ses albums sont disponible dans les bibliothèques près de chez moi. Pourtant, je viens de reprende Pyongyang en version francophone, et c’est parfait.

Every interactive object lesson in a purportedly hybrid worship service is a message that in-person attendees are more important than virtual ones.

I don’t want to contribute to the misconception that professors don’t work during the summer (which is hilariously false), but I’m really glad I took advantage of my nine month contract by prioritizing time with kiddo these last few months.

Using Siri Shortcuts and an API, I just made a crude-but-functional Apple Watch implementation for Habitica. Very pleased with myself.

Now that I think of it, that seems to sum up how I increasingly feel about productivity books. I find useful ideas in them, but I also feel like the worldview they promote is broken.