As I was crossing the street I notified a set of numbers on a guy’s arm. I recognized those numbers as I am those numbers.

We rounded the corner and stated to stared across the next intersection I struck up a conversation, which isn’t like me.

I noticed your tat, 0311?

The guy just looked forward, not really acknowledging me but he did respond with a simple yep.

Me too, 0311.

I saw a tiny flicker in his eye but still didn’t really turn or give me much.

Once I said 2/5 it was like he came alive. He was 2/4. Each of us spent a lifetime in the same spots and some fond memories of San Mateo.

Our conversation was less than a minute but for each of us it was forever. Each lost in a pool of own old memories.

Guy Kawasaki

I am super tired so I can’t recall why but after hearing Guy talk for a few minutes, I knew I wanted to buy this one.

I was in a live recording for an upcoming Getting Smart podcast and some of the authors of these books were on the panel. I feel these may be the manuals for making a difference in this world.

My day started out on a patio of a coffee shop. the sounds of the city echoing off the buildings. I don’t fully understand why but it completely relaxed me and super charged my creativity. I redesigned something, will share when I can, and I feel it is pretty spectacular.

Later that day I heard someone present about AI. He mentioned that once a quarter he takes a personal sabbatical, like a day or so, to recharge and rethink where he is going next.

After my tiny recharge time today I now feel I need to figure this out. I can manage a day off now and again to rethink where I am going. If I stage it right, this could absolutely super charge my creativity and reset my mind completely.

A car hit one of the poles in the neighborhood and took out electricity for about 500 of our neighbors. I was fortunate enough to have just finished making breakfast and everything went dark.

The upside is the line was wicked short, right through security in less than two minutes. Now I have two hours before we start boarding and somehow my place in line is B 55!

Years ago I spent a ton of time in airports and I looked forward to all the people watching.

I do miss the days when you could walk right in, without a ticket, all the way to the gates to meet people coming into town.

When I was younger I always wondered how much metal it would take to set off the metal detectors, that was all they had back in those days. I must have been in 1st or 2nd grade when I wore a button up vest with a ton of metal buttons. I loaded my vest pockets with all the pennies I could find with the hopes of setting it off.

Of course I did. I assume people were annoyed but all I could remember is smiling as I pulled handfuls of coins out of my pockets.

Another time I was maybe five hours early for a flight getting to the airport at maybe 1 am for a 6 am flight. At some point I fell asleep and magically I sprang awake as I see the line disappearing into the plane outside. I was in San Diego and you boarded by walking outside and up the stairs to the jet. I think I made it with a few seconds to spare and was slightly annoyed no one woke me up. There wasn’t anyone around anywhere, why else would I be in the gate?

Then there was a time when I flew on a private jet. I just walked up to the plane and off we went. If only that was the way I could travel all the time.

[My flow is still not exact, this is what I created today and will refine over the next week.]

In a few weeks I am giving a presentation about AI to some current and retired teachers at my wife’s school.

Here is a few things I came up with so far using ChatGPT. This is a draft of a chain of prompts I am thinking of using. I have them numbered, after each output from the AU I add the next prompt to keep building towards a better end result. The first prompt is what we usually google to find lesson idea, it isn’t a very good prompt but I keep adding to build towards something amazing. I plan on doing this live so they can see the progression in action.

I added only one screenshot as an example.

#1 Lessons for second grade to compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.

The output is pretty long, the AI created a short unit in a matter of seconds.

My original prompt isn’t super great, so I refined it a bit. I added the bolded part and reran the prompt. By adding more context, who you are and level of experience, helps tune the output.

#2 I am a second grade teacher with 24 years of experience teaching in St. Louis, MO. I need a lesson for this priority standard – Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.

For the 3rd prompt I added a little more information to help tune the output even further.

#3 –  I am a second grade teacher with 24 years of experience teaching in St. Louis, MO. I have 24 students in my classroom. Each student has an ipad so I want to add some simple, but impactful, technology into my lessons. I need a lesson for this priority standard – Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.

The fourth time I added what I think is the most critical. In many elementary classrooms science is a super difficult subject to squeeze in. I love showing teachers with just 20 minutes a day you can hit your priority standards.

#4 I am a second grade teacher with 24 years of experience teaching in St. Louis, MO. I have 24 students in my classroom. Each student has an ipad so I want to add some simple, but impactful, technology into my lessons. I typically only have 20 minutes a day, at most, to teach science. I need to take this priority standard and create a week long unit adhering to my tight time constraints. I need a lesson for this priority standard – Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.

I just added this in to help show people you can ask the AI to expand on just one part of output.

#5 Can you give me more detail on day 2? I have a student who does not speak any english and one who has a 504 for adhd.

Add your proficiency scales directly into the AI. If you paste it in, what you see is a jumble of words that don’t make sense. The whole formatting changes, the AI does not care and it can make sense of it all.

#6 I also need help creating an assessment based upon this proficiency scale – [I would copy/paste the scale directly into the AI.]

What I hope is this simple 12 minute experiment will show the power of using AI to help plan and expand the classroom experience around topics like science.

Sam is in her second year studying the family business, elementary education. Today her college class was touring one of our ECE buildings and I just happened to be working in the hallway.

This brief second captured something that hit me different today.

I have seen her in these hallways before, she worked here the past few summers.

I have seen her in the hallways in a few of our buildings.

Today it really hit me that in about two years she could be back in this very building in her very own classroom.

Of the emotions, one was pride.

I don’t know if she can see it yet, but I see a new level of confidence. A level of purpose and calm that has has come into over the past few months.

Some of it might be due to age. Some maybe is that her trips home are less frequent this year. Whatever it is, however it is come about, I loved seeing it today.

I have a bunch of pictures of us over the years, I think this might be my new favorite.

I don’t know what is it about these tiny plants but I love them. I feel they represent so much. I look for them and every year, they are all over the place.

They don’t care that the environment isn’t well suited for them, they just go for it.

Most won’t make it but they have a much better life at risking it all and going for it.

The other plants die over time, slowly rusting as they age.

These have lived a full, and somewhat short, life.

I scrunch down to get a closer look taking picture to remember their brave spirit. I have tons of portraits of tiny plants.

There is a tiny bit of hidden strength if you look down for a second.

I pass this guy every day and it gives me a tiny bit of a spring to my step, my secret spirit guide.

I think we all struggle with figuring out where to live. This struggle occupies most of our waking hours. It consumes so much of our energy.

We are either in the past or the future.

My struggle is figuring out how to live for right now, now is gone in a flash.

Enjoying the ride through town.

Enjoying a meal and a conversation.

Enjoying how the wind smelled with a tiny hint of earth and water.

Today I am pulled into the past as my son asked a ton of questions as we drove around.

I am equally pulled into the Monday after spring break.

I am pulled into the past now. Like most phones, my Pixel creates a sound map. I can scroll back to a recent trip I took and all the songs are there. It is like a snapshot of the past musically laid out.

What is funny is somedays the past memories are all good. Most of the bad just fades.

Maybe that is the lesson, the bad fades.

The bad fades.

Little guy eating a casual lunch. I assume he must be a teenager based upon the mess.

What impressed me was the sidewalk was full of people and the street full of vehicles.

Yet this puppy loving pigeon was so focused.

Was he used to it or was the meal that good?

Waking up late.

Slow coffee by myself.

Mass consumption of great ideas all day.

Warm weather.

Lazy strolls through a strange downtown.

New foods.

Monster cookies.

I will miss you Austin for the next 365.