I just made a breakfast date with a longtime friend. We’ve gone before, but it’s been too long. Whether professional, personal, or both, I’m a big fan of getting together for breakfast during the week. Meeting at 7 am can be quite an effective tactic to land on the hectic schedules of colleagues and/or friends. … Read more
I don’t write about my transgender daughter much—not because she is a secret, but because she just mostly wants to live her life. She just started graduate school after earning two separate bachelor’s degrees, and she stays busy. We’re very proud of her. She and I do, however, have an ongoing, necessary discussion about the … Read more
My esteem for Cracker Barrel is modest. I liked it a bit more when there were fewer good breakfast anytime options. It’s fairly easy to paste Cracker Barrel now in this department. For decades, however, I have found Cracker Barrel valuable for the occasional road trip stop. It’s predictable, to the point that you walk … Read more
My relationship with Apple is long, dating to just a couple of years after it was founded (and only about seven after I was founded). Said relationship has also known great ups and downs. To be sure, Apple and I were marvelous pals in my childhood and young adulthood. The sense of wonder I felt … Read more
When I was in grammar school, one of my classmates lived a little out of town on a lot of land. There was a creek, and trails, and a lot of cool, lush grass that practically insisted you lie down in it and look at the sky. It was a good field trip destination for … Read more
You could be forgiven for not knowing that the swastika has been a positive symbol of divinity and prosperity for far longer than it has represented the Third Reich (and now Nazism in general). But German nationalist movements co-opted it over 100 years ago, and then the Nazis’ use of it cemented it. If it … Read more
(Longtime readers—back to the BoWilliams.com days—may detect some blatant self-plagiarism here. As always, if you are ever unhappy with your IThinkThatWasBo.com experience, your full purchase price will be cheerfully refunded.) I am a lifelong supporter of the U.S. military. I deeply appreciate its fine people and the freedom they secure with their sacrifices. I further … Read more
Early in the fitness tracker revolution, the pill/token form factor enjoyed some brief popularity. In most cases you could wear them like watches. But the tracker would also be easily removable from the band, and you could slip it in the watch pocket of your jeans (or even your wallet). I liked this a lot, … Read more
No time for snail mail this time, as there may still be some hope to register enough immediate discontent. Emailed this morning: Dear President Bell and Provost’s Office representatives, I am writing to express my deep disappointment at this morning’s news that Donald Trump will deliver a commencement address at the University of Alabama this … Read more
One morning last week I had a particularly vivid dream right before I woke up for the day. We had two bananas left. One was a day or so away from being fully ripe, with a tiny hint of green near the top of the peel. The other wasn’t quite to banana bread stage, but … Read more