Hey folks. I have a confession to make. Sometimes I get tired of marketing. Sometimes I don’t want to write web content. Sometimes thinking about web strategy makes me daydream. Don’t tell anyone.
I sat down to write this article and I hit a wall. It occurred to me that I’m not sure what about this industry excites me at the moment. At first this kind of freaked me out. Have I become disillusioned? Is this an early midlife crisis? Do I need a new career? Or a Porsche?
And then I stepped away from the computer and didn’t think about it for awhile. During that breath of fresh air I realized it’s okay that I’m a little burnt out. We can’t be interested in the same thing 24/7. I’d invested a lot of energy preparing to speak at a web conference, and it was inevitable that I’d feel a bit of malaise in the weeks that followed.
We don’t need to be on all the time. Sometimes we need to take a step back from the industry and reinvest in ourselves, to reignite our interest in other things, in the world, in life. Because it’s our inherent curiosity and interest in the world that makes us good writers, designers, and programmers in the first place.
So here are some things happening that I think are pretty cool.
Deepwater exploration of the Marianas Trench
The Marianas Trench (near Guam) is the deepest part of the world’s oceans. It’s 7 miles below sea level. You could drop Mount Everest into the trench, and the peak would still be 1 mile below the ocean’s surface. It’s crazy how little we know about it. We have better maps of Mars than we do the ocean floor.
From April 20 to July 10, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Okeanos Explorer is exploring the trench. And they’re live streaming it!
I’ve seen The Abyss. I read Sphere. This is amazing. Nerd out to your heart’s content.
2016 NBA Playoffs
I hear the knocks on the NBA. No one plays defense. They never call traveling. Superstars get too many calls.
I can only imagine those complaints are made by people who aren’t paying attention.
These playoffs are a ton o’ fun. The Eastern Conference is looking like it’s gonna be a cakewalk for the Cavs, who haven’t lost a game in 2 rounds. But that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable to watch fully-engaged Lebron fight off quintuple teams in the paint, or witness the team set an NBA record (regular season included) with 25 threes in a game, or yell “no no no yes!” at J.R. Smith when he fires off and makes the most inconceivable, most ill-advised shots.
In the West, the Golden State Warriors were the best regular season team ever, with a 73-9 record, and entered the playoffs under the presumption that a championship repeat was inevitable. Then Steph Curry got hurt. But they dominated the Rockets and the Trail Blazers without him.
Now comes a bigger test. Everyone thought the Western Conference finals would be an inevitable Warriors vs. Spurs matchup. The Spurs went 67-15, only lost one home game all year, and have the NBA’s best defender in Kawhi Leonard.
Then the Spurs got dusted by the OKC Thunder, who are playing out of their minds. Russell Westbrook is an unstoppable force of athleticism and intensity, and Kevin Durant is playing like one of the top 2 pure scorers in the league (let’s call it 1-a, 1-b with Curry)? Westbrook and Durant are two of the best players in the league. They both finished in the top five for MVP voting. Add Curry, the first ever unanimous MVP winner, and 3 out of the top 5 players in the NBA are in this series.
You’re telling me that’s not fun?
Game of Throooooooonnnnnnnnes! - with spoilers
Jon Snow is alive?!?! And he stopped giving a f%$* about the stupid Night’s Watch or their willful disregard for the impending White Walker invasion?
Melisandre is 1,000 years old?
Sansa Stark actually found Jon? This is the first good thing that’s happened to her since season 1, episode 1!
And now Sansa and Jon are gonna lead the Wildlings to kill the real bastard Ramsay Bolton?
Daenarys is still fireproof? And might be queen of the Dothraki again?
Arya Stark (oops sorry a girl has no name) might finally, hopefully, fingers crossed become the badass we’re all hoping for?
Warging Bran can (maybe) influence the past?
Tyrion is saying funny things and making friends with dragons?
So far so good on season 6. I love this show.