January 18, 2023

From Gerald R. Lucas

. . .

What have I been doing? Where does the time go? The first week of classes has come to an end, and I have bookkeeping to do. I have also been asked to be a speaker on a campus-wide panel about ChatGPT. Sure, I guess I can say a few things: “stop freaking out” will probably lead. I have my self evaluation due in a couple of weeks—I’m considering going minimal again: teaching: too much; scholarship: bang up; service: good-to-go. We have finally sent Reflections to the printer, so that’s off my desk. Autumn’s getting bigger everyday, and the soon-to-be human in her belly is very active—especially at night while watching Home Town. Henry’s doing little boy things and seems content. Wow, the kid can read.

Not much to report but a general sense of busy-ness. My new intermittent fasting lifestyle is going well combined with my slow-carb menu. I was so bad for several months that eating right again feels a bit fatiguing and bland, like eating a dry salad. With my 16:8 IF schedule, I feel even less hungry during my eating periods. That said, it’s going well and my last weigh-in showed I dropped about five pounds already. No sweat.

I started reading Peter Watts’ Blindsight, and I’m enjoying it so far. It’s a surreal space opera, with fireflies, vampires, space travel, aliens, psychotics, human uploads, and good character development. I’ve been moving slowly, but I’ve been enjoying it so far. Hopefully I’ll have something more insightful to say about it soon.