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  Anil Dash: Endgame for the Open Web. https://www.anildash.com/2026/03/27/endgame-open-web/

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  Ryan went to his first Homecoming dance tonight.

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  I need to spend some time getting ready for comps so I took the day off and I’m working from one of my favorite coffee shops in town, Loveland. I’ve lucky to have such an awesome independent coffee shop near my house, but even more lucky that I got one of the awesome window seats. https://www.lovelandcoffee.com

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  I enjoyed this blog post about why people should have personal web sites, and not just rely on social media for their online presence: "What I like about personal websites is not only that the content can vary from person to person. The entire website can." https://blog.ewancroft.uk/3mw65pfaq7s24

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  I’m currently writing my dissertation on the factors that shape new logo reactions… and I’m going to have to add a few paragraphs about this McLaren redesign.

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  I’m always amused that one of the first things I ever designed — a poster from 1996 promoting the University of South Carolina’s Homecoming events – is framed and displayed on the third floor of the Russell House student union with other Homecoming Posters from over the years.

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  Last night, my son asked me to help him with a problem on his physics homework. I solved the problem in an unconventional way using geometry, but I solved it correctly. Completely baffled him. This morning, he had notecards prepared to tell me how we were supposed to solve it. He also got 106 on his physics quiz today and I remembered some of the trigonometry that I’ve long forgotten. So I guess we both learned something.

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  A personal AI philosophy: https://bobwertz.com/2026/09/25/a-personal-ai-philosophy.html

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  Gamecock Women’s Basketball preseason starts tomorrow.

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  I always love when the backup quaterback comes in and kicks ass. Case Keenum has had quite the game for da Bears tonight.

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  Sometimes, I wonder how people would feel about AI if the initial LLM hype was framed as “This is going to make a 30-hour work week possible.” Instead they went with “This is going to cause massive unemployment and maybe destroy the world.”

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  I like Snickers. I like Banana Nut Bread. I like limited edition candy. We’ll see if I like this.

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  “When you are losing money, you can’t make it up in volume.” A seasoned insurance executive told me this once, explaining why we were abandoning a project we had spent significant time and money on. I think about this sometimes when I see financials for some of these AI companies.

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  At a football game in rural South Carolina and the bands halftime show is Dungeon and Dragons themed.

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  Landed the best table at the local coffee shop. A window seat plus outlets for charging.

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  I asked the barista which one of the new Fall special drinks she liked. After a long pause, she replied “Well, my dad likes the Jack-O-Latern.” I feel so old. Also, the drink is great…

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  I saw a Ferrari SUV at Publix the other day and went to Ferrari’s website to see what it was. (It was a Purosangue.) Now I’m getting ads on social media for Ferrari of Charlotte. They may want to add some income parameters to that ad retargeting. 🤣

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  I got to attend a panel discussion today with four of my favorite former classmates who’ve all finished their doctorates and are all doing amazing things as professors. It was so good to see them all together. Felt just like being around the seminar table with them again.

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  Good advice: Keeping your resume up-to-date: https://bobwertz.com/2026/10/14/good-advice-keeping-your-resume.html

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  I start comps for my Ph.D. on Thursday next week. Four days. Four questions. Four hours per question. I’ve been reading and re-reading academic articles to get ready. Last night, I kept waking up with dreams about processing fluency. Going to be a long Friday. I need a nap.

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  The NY Times 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters story is wonderful. Lots of names I expected to see, but some that I didn’t know or didn’t think of. Complete with a playlist of hits for Spotify and Apple Music. Gift link if you want to check it out… https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/magazine/greatest-american-songwriters-alive.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eVA.quCT.bq0G_Nqd9QXo&smid=url-share

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  Just paid more than $4 a gallon for gas. First time I’ve ever paid that much. 😩

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  Great Sprint Qualifying run for Lando. Hopefully this newfound quickness will translate into race pace this weekend.

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  Prom 2026.

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  I’m intrigued by the idea of using Bluesky PDS as a social enabled database for academic publication. But I’m afraid that technical possibilities are blinding people to how entrenched the traditional academic publishing ecosystem is…

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  Watched: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 Enjoyed the second season of Monarch on Apple TV. I don’t know if there will be another season, but if not, I’m happy with how they ended things.🍿 https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/202411/season/2

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  From Cal Newport’s blog: On Bottlenecks and Productivity. This is the second time recently that I’ve come across the “Theory of Constraints.” I like how Newport translates the concept to personal productivity. https://calnewport.com/on-bottlenecks-and-productivity/

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  Do cell phone bans in schools work? The NY Times reports on a new study looking at school cell phone bans. Kids used their phones less, but no real shift in student engagement or test scores. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/us/did-school-cellphone-bans-study.html?unlocked_article_code=1.f1A.YjqS.d4pu5dk7WqH1&smid=url-share

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  Pluralistic: In praise of vultures: "Monopoly is to capitalism as gerrymandering is to democracy, a way to strip out any meaningful choice." https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/06/champerty-loves-company/

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  I think this is a particularly insightful post… Emotional regulation is a dying art: "Phones reward a specific kind of nervous system, twitching first and thinking later. The dopamine architecture that hooks you on slot machines hooks you on outrage, and the platforms have figured out that a regulated person is a bad customer. The regulated close the app, but the dysregulated person scroll until four in the morning, bleeding cortisol ... https://bobwertz.com/2026/05/06/i-think-this-is-...