I am now better protected against COVID and the flu for this season. Next stop on the Vaccine Express: shingles shot 1. Long live vaccines, those who make them, and those who take them.

This is going to be a long season for South Carolina Gamecock fans.

I saw nothing from Apple today that entices me to upgrade. And I’m fine with that.

I have watched two Scottish Professional Football League matches in the last two days. Both teams I pulled for lost. So that’s how it’s going to be.

Tomorrow brings the start of year 26 in education.

Approaching the end of my latest LEGO® build. For me, that’s number 16, totaling 15,595 pieces. This one will join its siblings in my office at work because I still haven’t convinced my wife these models are appropriate home decor.

Starting my next LEGO® build: . I don’t know how long it’s been around, but the LEGO® Builder app is really good!

The World Cup is entering the quarterfinal round. Four of my favorite players are still in: Haaland 🇳🇴, Kane 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Mbappé 🇫🇷, and Messi 🇦🇷.

I'm going to give Android a solid go as my personal device for a while and leave my iPhone as a work-only device. It could stick this time, but the reason is that I'm increasingly convinced that I need two separate devices. That's always been true, but I've been willing to trade the risk for convenience. The risk is ever growing while the convenience is not.

Received a pre-approved “luxury black Mastercard” offer with a $699 annual fee. Lemme fill out that application real quick.

Prepping for a stormy morning.

Despite what they tell you, the measles booster does make you feel sick for a couple of days. 🤒

My wife has more shoes scattered across our downstairs than I have shoes.

Monday lived up to its reputation today!

Back to work today and ready for another semester.

I have learned a lot about Terminal through my 11ty project. I can now run a build, deploy a site, and purge a cache in lightning speed.

I’ve been playing around with the “design” (such that it is) on my corner of the internet. I added /yep and /nope pages just for fun.

Winter break is here. A couple of weeks to recoup from the fall semester and get geared up for the spring semester.

Severance

Whiskey! Tango! Foxtrot!

The last scene of this season of Slow Horses is utterly disturbing.

I need therapy after watching Severance S2E7. So I guess the episode did its job.

The American national anthem should never be sung by a soloist.

Back to school tomorrow after a great week of rest and family. Just three weeks until an even longer break.

I guess my hot take is now ice cold. The only thing that’s hot about Lane Kiffin are the bridges he’s burning on his way out of Oxford. But, Kiffin’s gonna Kiffin, I guess.

Just finished season one of Severance. It was too slow burning for me, but the last episode 🤯

My hot take: I think Kiffin stays.

Another annual tradition: not leaving home on Black Friday because I’m not a glutton for punishment.

An annual tradition: watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Giving another shot.

Hep B vaccine shot number 2. Do I know how to start a holiday week or what?

Day 1 of what will be a very long week.

It would be great if Private Relay worked in all browsers rather than just Safari. I love Vivaldi.

Device upgrade accomplished. Should last a good several years.

This owl is not very superb.

I think it's time for a new MacBook Pro. I have the last Intel version and it's showing its age.

Time to find my voice.

In the words of 20th-century philosopher Barry Manilow, “Looks like we made it.”

In the words of one of my favorite musicals, “Did the morning come too early? Was the night not long enough?”

Yes.

First run (well, walk/run intervals, but hey…) in at least a couple of years.

Do I really want to pay for Grammarly again? I use it so much, but, wow, the subscription isn’t cheap!

I just de-escalated a situation with a student and he said, “Thank you, Mr. Pittman. You’re always so comprehensive.”

We made it!

Rehearsal time

The finish line is right there!

You know what day it is!

I accidentally left my Apple Watch at home this morning. 😕

Time for a couple of basketball games.

The new week comes rolling in like a runaway train.

Clearly we're following the Candlemas rule for Christmas decorations in our house.

I'm going to scramble a couple of eggs for breakfast, for a total meal cost of $34.17.

Flickr or Pixelfed? I wish I could believe in the longevity of Pixelfed.

I found the first The King’s Singers album I ever owned. It had been unavailable for years but now I have purchased and downloaded the digital files.

Flexing my choral muscles today. Judging honor choir auditions for a neighboring school district.

The only day of the week I don’t make freshly ground coffee at home is Sunday. We always make a Dunkin’ run on our way to sing.

My wife and I, both classically trained musicians, listened to country music for the whole of a two hour drive. It’s not always about Bach and Tallis; sometimes you need Hal and Vince and Kenny.

What a week this has been! And Friday tried to hold on with its cold, dead hands.

Time to sing.

Deconstructing Christmas

It’s the weekend!

It’s Wednesday. The point of no return. The only way out is through.

Weather is supposed to be severe today, and more than half of the school districts in the state have transitioned to an e-learning day. That makes me worry for students in schools like mine. Eighty percent of our students would be safer in school, but there’s no safe way to get them there.

In today’s cup: a single origin light roast from Veracruz, Mexico, with notes of cantaloupe, vanilla bean, and milk chocolate. I’ve never had coffee from Mexico, so I’m looking forward to this.

In today’s cup: a single origin medium roast from the Tadil Nadu region of India. With notes of red grapefruit, melon, and peanut butter. Those are interesting flavors for a medium roast.

Survived the first work day of 2024. That’s a win!

There has been much watching of football, both 🏈 and ⚽️, today.

Ringing in 2024 by… sleeping, as per usual.

Let’s sing a little, shall we?

It’s the seventh day of Christmas. Do you know where your 🦢🦢🦢🦢🦢🦢🦢 are?

Enjoying a very lazy day while waiting on a call about my car from the mechanic.

Come next week, I'm really going to hate the sleep pattern I've allowed to develop over break.

Gifts have been exchanged and the cooking begins. Here’s to do a great day. 🎄

Service 4 of 4: Last time best time

Service 3 of 4: We’re plugging right along.

Service 2 of 4: Here we go.

Service 1 of 4: Commence

Is it too early in the school year to start asking for extra days in the weekend? 🤣

Driving an hour to take my MacBook Pro to a Genius Bar appointment after it died during an OS upgrade.

5:00 AM workout followed by day 1 of the 2023-2024 school year. This day will not conquer itself. We must carpe it.

The next school year starts today.

I need to drop about 40 to 50 pounds. Time to get serious.

Time to do a little singing.

This MacBook Air is much more comfortable to use as an actual laptop. My personal Intel-based MacBook Pro would be burning my legs.

What’s in today’s cup? A single origin light roast coffee from Tamil Nadu, India, with notes of green grapes, marzipan, and butter.

Pens re-inked and ready for the week.

Welcome to allergy season in the South. Today is the first day of visible pollen in the air. There will be many more to come. Commence the intravenous use of allergy meds.

Back in Charleston for a rehearsal.

One of the strangest experiences ever is chaperoning a middle school dance. Let your freak flag fly, kids.

Plan o’ the Day ☕️ Coffee 🎓 Point children in the right life direction 🕺 Chaperone a Valentine’s Day dance 🫕 Late dinner with my own Valentine

This week got off to a quick start. No easing into this Monday. The children are tenacious. They keep us on our toes, but I love middle schoolers. #education #administration

Opting for The Last of Us and “Would I Lie to You” instead of the Super Bowl tonight.

We were supposed to have a rehearsal tonight but we’re stuck in standstill traffic due to an accident. Current ETA has us arriving two minutes before the rehearsal’s scheduled ending. What kind of fun is everyone else having tonight?

Just did my occasional check-in with Waze. It’s still the worst maps app experience for CarPlay. Back in the drawer it goes for a while.

Running errands all over town before heading to a rehearsal and then a performance tomorrow. It’ll be a long couple of days. Not much of a weekend.

From what I’ve heard from administrators at other schools, this has been a rough couple of weeks for everyone.

Giving the old college try. It’s never stuck with me before (I’ve always thought it was overly simple and expensive), so let’s see how this goes.

This week has been exhausting already.

Back to reality. Professional development day for teachers. Students return tomorrow.

I finally got in on the Ivory alpha!

I finally got in on the Ivory beta!

It’s the last day of 2022. Here’s hoping for a safe, happy, and productive 2023.

Despite tonight’s loss in the Gator Bowl, South Carolina had a much better season than I expected. And I was very wrong about Coach Shane Beamer. Already looking forward to next season. Go Gamecocks!

is a fun movie but is also a rarity in that its sequel, , is even better.

Knives Out is a fun movie but is a rarity in that is better.

is a really fun movie. Well-written, funny, and an interesting if not unintentionally timely premise. Now I need to rewatch Knives Out.

is a really fun movie. Well-written, funny, and an interesting if not unintentionally timely premise. Now I need to rewatch Knives Out.

Just watched . It's definitely an art film and not a popular film. Beautiful. Strange. Beautifully strange.

I don’t think it’s COVID, but whatever it is is no fun.

Holiday movie #3: Love Actually

Watching World Cup matches today while trying my best not to let whatever this is I have progress to full on sickness.

Our staff holiday get-together is tonight at a local brewery. I can’t wait to try their chocolate raspberry stout. But first things first.

Long day at school followed by a two hour drive that seemed much longer. Now for a rehearsal and a two hour drive home. Miles to go before I sleep.

Holiday movie #2:

The day after a performance is always a great day. Stress-free and easy living.

It’s a great thing to help your students achieve a goal and then watch them realize they succeeded.

Corralling middle school children for a community event performance.

I’m the on-site administrator for our basketball games this evening but here’s a little secret I’ll never tell our students: basketball is my least favorite sport.

What’s in the cup? by Counter Culture Coffee. This is a “safe” coffee because it tastes like, well, coffee.

the annual iPhone upgrade reminded me of one thing: always set up a new device as a new device. In my experience, migrating always causes issues.

As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go.

Enjoying a Thanksgiving meal with all three of my children. Two are now adults living their best life and one is just months away from his high school graduation. Very special. 🥲

How much do I really want to play with Simple.css today? One thing is for certain: it would break all the things and then I would need to fix them.

Happy St. Cecilia Day to all of my musician colleagues and friends.

Supervising the outdoor portion of a middle school event. It’s c-c-cold!

Googling “My dog ate a jalepeño.” 🙄

What’s in the cup?

If I sit down to relax right now, I might be in the same spot tomorrow morning.

It’s Friday. In the words of American poet Barry Manilow, looks like we made it.

I have just been informed that an outside temperature of 37° and an inside temperature of 64° is the threshold for turning on our heat.

I’m not sure how the math works on this one—in fact, I’m sure it doesn’t—but I’m about to take my son out to dinner for his 22nd birthday.

I’m glad I didn’t wait for Apple’s response to the feedback I submitted about the latest Ventura beta. I would still be locked out of my laptop. 👂🏼🦗

Plugging away until we can take a break for a few days. I think we all need it, students and faculty alike.

Every morning when I make coffee for my wife and me, I stir it with a spoon that is engraved, “as you wish”.

Time to sing for a couple of hours.

After wrestling with MacOS all day, I get to have dinner with two of my kiddos.

Second install of the day for the Ventura public release. I'll just rebuild my Apple Music library from scratch if I have to.

Now that I’ve downgraded to the release version of MacOS Ventura, I can’t access my Apple Music library because “it was created with a newer version of Apple Music.” The beat goes on—or, in this case, it doesn’t.

MacOS Ventura reinstalled successfully as far as I can tell. Now for some sleep while TimeMachine works its magic.

Beginning the process of restoring my MacBook Pro. Thank goodness for TimeMachine.

Did you know you can update your omg.lol status with Drafts? Well, you can. Thanks, @adam!

Waiting on the remnants of Hurricane (now Tropical Depression) Nicole to rumble through overnight. I'm a trained weather spotter, but I'm also a trained sleeper. 💤

Finished migrating posts from my WordPress site to Micro.blog. Now to flip the DNS switch.

Digging into all things omg.lol and Mastodon.