Cheers to 1-year of TCC, Messi in MLS, and growing pumpkins

Howdy world,

Here is your monthly dose of?The Curious Connector, a quick list of what I'm exploring and enjoying.

Cheers to 1-year of The Curious Connector ??

We're 12-editions into #TheCuriousConnector experiment and a few highlights standout:

• sustainable publishing cadence - this monthly, bulleted newsletter format is fitting into my work/life balance better than previous publishing experiments. Finding that sweet spot between (a) publishing often enough to keep it a regular habit and (b) not publishing so frequently that I'm sacrificing too many other priorities
• finding more areas of overlapping interests - I enjoy engaging with folks in the comments and in 1:1 conversations about these topics. This experiment has helped increase the quantity/quality of those shared-interest connections.
• creating a self-reinforcing cycle - By connecting a longtime habit of saving links and ideas that I find interesting with this monthly publishing cadence, I'm finding that self-reinforcing cycle where the benefits of this habit encourage me to continue it.

Pleasantly surprised by Windows ??

For all my Microsoft enthusiasm and focus I haven't paid that much attention to Windows versions (other than as some UX/UI changes I had to adjust to), so I was pleasantly surprised to update to Windows 11 a few months back (early adopter I know ??) and see a few notable improvements, including:

• a few PowerToys features becoming part of the standard OS: Clipboard History and SnapLayouts (hotkey: Windows + Z) -- both very helpful features that I use multiple times per day
• Speech to text becoming useful! I am one of those people that enjoys dictating to my devices and it's great that now with a hotkey (Windows + H) I can activate and get useful speech to text (probably 85% strong, still some error correction necessary, and way better than previous versions)

I'm also curious to learn more about plans for Windows Copilot, could this be the feature that makes more people excited about Windows again?

Messi deal = art of the possible example ?

Leonel Messi joining the MLS and Interi Miami is interesting on many levels, and I like this quick video breakdown of how the deal-making nature of his agreement is potentially historic.

The 2.5 year deal is:

'worth up to $150 million total from his salary, signing bonus, and equity in the team....In addition, Messi will reportedly receive a percentage cut of all new paid subscriptions to [Apple TV's] MLS Season Pass.

Irwin Kishner, co-chair of the Sports Law Group, told ESPN: “That deal has never been given to anybody in baseball, basketball, football, and so it's very unique. It's a generational-type thing, and it's hard to think if you would ever see anything comparable.” ' (article)

And as of this publication he is off to a great start with Miami! I'm ok with the MLS benefitting from global superstars retiring here ??

Growing pumpkins over trellises ??

I've been enjoying growing pumpkins for a few years now and this year decided to try and go a bit more vertical and grow the vines over some trellises (see header image). The pumpkins are my psuedo-bonsai tree hobby these days, as I trim and guide the vines around the garden, over the trellises, and try/fail to fend off the powdery mildew and black rot.

This also sparked an appreciation for rebar as a cheap/durable material for making trellises. Turns out other people like rebar for this purpose too!

"The truth is, nature is terribly misbehaved. Look at it, random and rude. Nature doesn’t queue up. It squeezes in, crowds out.

Enter the gardener. Armed with his naive sense of civility, he attempts to create Euclidean order out of the persistent chaos. He is devoted to stakes and cages, clippers and whackers.

Where shall the twain meet?

Rebar.

The word is a contraction for “concrete reinforcement bar,” but the hardware also serves nicely as the basis for garden sculpture, combining architectural order with nature’s whimsy.

The rest of that LA Times article has a few more fun lines and quick description of how to work with rebar in the garden.

Any tips for an aspiring rebar gardener?

Listening to remix of DFW's "This is Water" ??

What's better than a legendary commencement speech? A legendary commencement speech remixed with dance music.

I have rewatched 'This is Water', an edited version of David Foster Wallace's famous commencement speech, every few years for the past decade and was pleasantly surprised to stumble across this enjoyable remix ?? #ThisIsWater

Fingers crossed for better MN flag ????

Exciting times in MN as we have a commission working on a new flag design! In case you'er not familiar, the MN flag fails on multiple levels, and this video does a great job detailing why (jump to 11 min mark for critique of MN flag). Cheers to my brother Chris for the recommendation!

Which MN flag design are you cheering for?

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Thanks for reading! Please comment/share to let me know what resonates with you.

Tom ??

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