Lookin’ sharp, Leo! 👉👉

“I have had no problems with you or your performance at this job. Keep up the good work! 👍👍”

I got the same when I switched.

Ended up setting up a standing meeting for that time. It didn’t get respected initially, and I still got invites to strategically either attend or propose new times, depending on the seniority and ask.

Now, almost two years later, it’s *mostly* respected. 😁

My very bitter take is that there are a lot of people running around with nothing better to do than set shit on fire.

A more-nuanced take is that some subset of those people are well-intentioned-but-inexpert at applying their desire for positive change in the *right* places.

I forget that that place is there. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to Savage Mill. But, as long as they have oat milk, I have no problem with it being vegan—I can’t really do milk anyway.

Their coffee is definitely a style—at least the cold brew is. Puts me in mind of something like Cafe du Monde, having just the faintest touch of chicory.

If I’d been driving Northward, I would normally stop by Bean Rush. As it was, I was making the loop to go up through Laurel and Maryland City. 😁

In this case, I was in Bowie just looking for a hit. Ended up at PJ’s. I understand that they may have their own issues, but at least they were not Starbucks. 😅

Maybe that changed? Their website now talks about walk-in sales. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Still, I appreciate the reminder. They’re hyper local, which I’d like to support. And, with a new machine, it’s worth trying some new beans—we’re mostly running on Costco Mayorga.

Maybe I’ll be able to make it to them some weekday…

Honestly keep forgetting it’s there. Seen them on Google Maps once or twice before. They’re tucked back in a business park we don’t go to. They don’t advertise—not even bandit signs. It appears they don’t have license to sell beverages—per their website. And no weekend hours.

So, I don’t know. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Evidently, at some point in the last year, despite being on a team dedicated to AI, I said: “‘AI’ is not a strategy…”. I don’t recall saying it, but someone swears I did.

Regardless, I believe it. It can be a good tool, but it can’t replace the core business, and it isn’t the product.

Nice list!

With Neil Peart having passed on, I wonder what their new tour is going to be like. But, I’m glad to see that they’re doing at least one more tour.

One of the challenges with having musical tastes that are 10-20 years behind the times is that when I do get interested in a band or artist, they are probably no longer touring.

Or, as in the case of artists from my formative years, they’ve disbanded or they’ve passed away.

In my experience, steel’s cheap, and you won’t give a shit what salt and crap gets on it.

I still believe—as I did when I was younger—that a strong spirit can get you through a lot, even a partly malfunctioning body. But, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely come to realize that even the strongest spirit will reach a limit. 😅

This post brought to you by another poor night of sleep, as I ponder how to say “thank you for inviting me…” to an event I had been looking forward to attending—to meet some new people and get face time with old ones.

Been scanned and poked and prodded so many times, and… nothing. We don’t know. Guess your gut just sucks, kid.

It’s like being told as an adult you’ve got colic… which would be an interesting ageplay mechanic, if it didn’t suck so bad, causing me to miss social occasions to sit on my couch.