Paddling Past Prison Walls (and Other Summer Escapes)

Celebrating another sol journey by paddling around The Rock

Last week was so hectic with general life, kids, travel, and nervousness around the upcoming race, I completely forgot it was even my birthday on Friday. 🎂 🎉 I'm not sure what year the pinnacle occurred, but each year seems to be a bit less fanfare around my yearly sun journey. Unless you're my 7-year-old who constantly INSISTS you get a carrot cake for several days after the event. Thanks, hypeman.

Let's talk about that Alcatraz race. Honestly, I was pretty damn nervous about the race. So much so that I think I got a cumulative 2 hours of sleep the night before. Toss, turn, worry about water, wind, waves, and hypothermia. Huzzah anxiety! Practicing the week before, our boat was not exactly… fast. We went into the race with one goal: to cross the finish line, don’t flip, and don’t get turned back for being too slow.

Get to the cold, foggy, and windy race site, and my nerves weren't exactly calmed. Whatever, I'm in it now. No turning back. I'll spare you every detail, but I can say we accomplished our goal. We were able to cross the finish line without flipping. Oh, we also placed 3rd in our class. Imagine that?!

There are few moments in life like realizing we're about to cross the finish line after paddling in a Hawaiian outrigger canoe race in the San Francisco Bay, and there aren't many boats ahead of you. Damn, what an amazing feeling. So happy I did it. Seriously, go find your local paddling club and jump in. You won't regret it.

It’s the last week of summer break here. Today is one of those, “thank god there are only a few more days” kind of days. Interruptions every two minutes. Screaming. Fighting. In fact, one of those creatures is staring at me while I’m typing this. I think it needs something… Is this how everyone’s house is, or are we just lucky?

Ok, let's get going....

Education: Common Sense Edition

I stumbled across this post on LinkedIn. Yes, it’s one of those annoying clickbaity AI-written articles (how meta), but the actual content wasn’t terrible. AI’s proposed education fixes were things we already know work: hands-on projects, personalized pacing, focusing on bigger ideas than just passing tests, and focusing on real-world problem-solving. Basically… common sense that our education system just doesn't do.

Professional Headshots That Creep Us Out

Now to complain about AI with an example of tools that are so bad they are actively making the world worse... AI for professional headshots. It makes these creepy, uncanny valley-esque versions of you. If you were to write down all the traits and features that describe you in excruciating detail, then read them to someone, they'd say, "yup, that's you!" but looking at the result, it is definitely NOT you. That's creepy, bizarro you. Kill it with fire.

ADHD Hacks for All Humans

I swear, the more I learn about coping with ADHD, either to understand my kids better or for my own (non)diagnosis, the more I realize the coping tactics and methodologies used would help anyone, whether they're diagnosed with ADHD or not. Break work into manageable tasks. Keep a to-do list and check things off. Use reminders. These aren’t “ADHD hacks,” they’re just “being a functioning human” hacks that we can all use (though it benefits some people more than others).

Tech’s Diversity Problem

I guess I'm just on an AI rant today, but the cyclical nature of the lack of diversity in tech is easy to see when you look for it. Most AI is made by white guys for white guys. You can tweak skin tone or hairstyle, but the underlying “voice” is still white-centric. The problems it's solving and how it goes about it are the same. The fix isn’t that complicated - hire a diverse team, listen to them, and encouraging them to bring their full culture to the table would be a big step forward.

Enough With the Forced Popups

I've griped about this before on here, but good lord, can we stop with the forced app popups when we open an app? I get it, you have new features. I just want to do my quick thing and move on! Imagine if every time you started your car, you had to click through a series of prompts about features you don't care about before you could drive away. There has to be a better way here. Maybe a silent notification instead of forcing me to click through crap?

Leadership Alienation

If you’re in leadership, you need to understand the presence you have. You are not your team's friend; you're the person who "signs their paycheck" and gives them work. That power dynamic is always there, and it’s your job to build enough trust for them to be honest with you anyway. You have to know you aren't ever going to get the full truth; people just aren't going to be that comfortable laying it out for you (especially when you are the issue). It's your job to play private investigator to get the whole truth.

The scribble of progress

Progress isn’t linear. Sometimes you’re coasting, sometimes you’re rolling backward, sometimes you’re sideways in a ditch. The trick is knowing that each part teaches you something (even the sideways-in-a-ditch part).

Rest: the necessary rebellion

Instead of a book, tool, or podcast recommendation, how about just a reminder? Parenting and leadership are both long-haul gigs, and you can’t fake your way through them when you’re running on empty. When you’re tired, stressed, or stretched too thin, it’s not just you who feels it; your kids, team, and/or partner do too. Patience goes first, then judgment, then empathy. I know it's easier said than done, but you need to build in rest before you have to, delegate things you don’t need to own, and stop treating burnout like a badge of honor. You’re not helping anyone by white-knuckling it until you crash.

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And that’s it for this week. Between shouting like Sean Connery while paddling around prison island, surviving the last week of summer break, and yelling at AI like it’s a sentient roommate (which it pretty much is at this point), I’m calling it a win. If you take nothing else from this: rest before you crash, try to wear others' shoes, and be skeptical of any new solution.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to put some cucumber slices over my eyes while listening to the melodious sounds of children screaming and food hitting the floor.

...Party on, Garth,

//Trevor