One of the more enjoyable parts of reaching an age where nostalgia-based media is being created for you, is discovering that tons of people also loved the “weird” things you did, they just all attended different schools.

It can seem like every time you grow into a new life, it immediately outgrows you.

• Hallie Haglund, So THAT’S What They Mean by “Black Mirror “

I welcome the fall colors and temperatures with open arms.

While enjoying coffee on a beautiful day, this giant carpenter bee floated by and settled onto the edge of my brother in-law’s shorts. We didn’t freak out and just let him rest there. This ended up being the bee’s final moments of life.
I’d like to think we made his exit at least a little humane.

The quality of the equipment or tools that you use is more relevant the less experienced you are. But the irony is that, at the beginning of any pursuit, we end up cheaping out on our tools and equipment because we want to see if it’s something we want to try.

However, I think that when we are new to something, there is a disproportionate benefit to having the best tools as compared to when we’re not new to something. This is because, the more you practice a given something, the better you get and the less relevant the quality of tools becomes.

Somebody with a ton of experience can make do with ugly, crap tools to do beautiful work. However, when you are a beginner, good tools actually help you do more.

• Alec Steele

Alec is a blacksmith but his quote made me think of all the YouTube videos where world famous photographers are given crap cameras and, in spite of the quality, they still end up taking meaningfully good photographs with them.

Once you reach a certain level of skill, you know how to target good work. Your competency identifies what parts to ignore or compensate for along the path to a result.
When you’re just beginning, you have none of that.