No Phoning It In During The Madness Of March

It is definitely March when you start to see multiple images of the symbol featured above. The Bracket, a primary component in what is the most-gambled upon sporting event, the Men’s College Basketball Championship aka March Madness. Even if you aren’t inclined to bet any hard-earned money on the games, there are a lot of folks who consider co-workers, friends, and family bragging rights just as valuable as any potential financial gain. Once the teams have been selected and their names populated within The Bracket, millions more Brackets spring forth with predictions of the outcomes, submitted for contests large and small all across the country.

Mrs. Chess does not care for basketball. Ok, she hates it…

However, she has been annually entertained by The Bracket competition, no doubt because she loves any opportunity to take me down a notch or two…or three. She only starts paying attention to college basketball during games I watch each February, and while supposedly occupied with other activities, still makes mental notes of what broadcasters are saying about the best teams. (She doesn’t think I know she’s multi-tasking but I do…)

Once the games begin and chaos ensues as favored teams inevitably begin to fall, the community of participants who have filled Brackets out share in each other’s ecstasy and/or misery. Those folks who pick teams to win solely based on what their favorite color is, or which teams they think have the more-fiercest mascots, often have as much a chance of winning as those who watch the sport all season long. It never ceases to amaze and amuse me when someone who has zero interest in college basketball picks up a Bracket and proceeds to do better than I…Mrs. Chess included.

Over thirty plus years I took vacation days from work on the first two full days of March Madness, when thirty-two, one-and-done games are played and spectacular, fantastic finishes can occur at any moment. Sports fans are used to many championships being decided in multiple-game series. Here, just one poor performance sends you home for the season. And…let us not forget the ladies of March. Women’s March Madness has its own Bracket competitions, and their sport continues to increase in both popularity and viewership. I try to see as many of their Championship games as well.

For those who know nothing about college basketball headed into this year’s Madness, perhaps adopt Texas A & M as a team to root for on the Men’s side? Head Coach Buzz Williams has been a Chessboard favorite for a long time. He’s a unique dude by all accounts, and one of his core beliefs is “WCET”…Write, Call, Email, Text. He reaches out and contacts 180 people every month. His quote from Sportscasting.com:

“So, I write 120 people. Sixty are to develop a relationship with, thirty are the people that in essence I work for, and thirty are connected to the game of basketball regardless of where I’m employed. That’s 120, and then I write two thank you notes every single day so that’s sixty. So, it’s 180 notes that I write every month.”

Buzz’s “monthly additions” often come about when he discovers students who have won awards or grants, or he learns of folks who have done heroic deeds within their communities. It matters not if they are strangers. He believes everyone deserves support and appreciation. Williams also has his players write a note to someone before each game. Team members are held to only one rule…they cannot write a note to someone they’ve previously written to. He believes encouraging his players to personally reach out to others and show appreciation – especially to strangers – is a valuable life lesson. I agree.

Every March, I can be found outside playing basketball on nearby concrete courts when the games aren’t on, shooting baskets with my indoor nerf basketball and hoop set while the games are on, and keeping my iPhone close by as it works in parallel with the television towards providing access to as many games as possible.

As for the afore-mentioned iPhone, this March finds Mrs. Chess and I treating ourselves to new ones after getting five years out of our prior devices.

Computer, phone…and even web site designers (I see you WordPress!) always love to “refresh” and “improve” things supposedly for our benefit, which often finds me disapproving their changes. This is not because I am against change, but when you use technology over and over you develop a muscle memory as to how to create, save, and access things effortlessly. Inevitably, new generations of technology often dictate at the very least a partial reset of physical behaviors and having to re-learn how to be most-efficient.

Two nights ago as I was ruminating and mumbling about aspects of my new iPhone I was finding different…and quite not to my liking…I apparently exceeded the amount of patience Mrs. Chess was willing to provide regarding my “research.” Her monotone comment…”Don’t worry, you’ll be dead soon.”

I earned that response. Earlier in the day, I stumbled across and subsequently showed her something I had found online. It was in regard to chart representations of how many weeks you likely have left to live. Apparently this became a thing several years back (template example above), and now there are sites you plug your birthdate into and they inform you as to how many weeks of your Earthly existence may remain.

Of course, we rarely know definitively when our final departure is booked, but contemplating the number of potential weeks I have left to live in this manner was…interesting?

(Hmm…not THAT many weeks left…)

I have chosen to look at this from a positive standpoint. I will simply re-double my efforts to make sure every week going forward is as fulfilling and joyful as possible…as I head down the home stretch. The sands of time aren’t running out. The sands are just a bit more cherished now.

I’m determined to not just phone it in for any remaining time…even if I now have to take time to re-learn my phone.

Pictures Courtesy iStock/United Feature Syndicate/KindPNG/WaitButWhy

115 thoughts on “No Phoning It In During The Madness Of March”

  1. The only thing March Madness evokes for me is the traditional Boys’ Basketball Tournament Blizzard that was a feature of 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s life in Iowa. I’m told it’s still around: the blizzard, not the tournament, although the tournament clearly still is a thing. Personally, I don’t like or dislike basketball. It’s simply ‘there,’ like ragweed or traffic, demanding to be noticed. So, I’ll just say enjoy the season. I’ll be out enjoying my own favorite season: that of the wildflowers.

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  2. You are quite social, but I get the feeling you pale compared to the younger ones among us. I have 8 people I text with regularly, and only two are not staff or family. There are another 6 friends who I exchange texts with infrequently one or two texts a year. If you get/got iPhone 14s you will love them. I’ve had the 13 Pro for over a year and it’s been great.

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      1. They are especially good for low-light photography and the 14 has in bokah on cinema mode for video. My 13 replaced two high-end cameras and lenses I use to carry all the time.

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  3. I remember when Tim shared that template for the first time on Wait But Why. It was a terrific post about making the most of the time we have last . . . and remembering that every time we do something, it could be the last time.

    Good luck with your phone and to your teams.

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    1. Nancy, thanks for those good luck wishes. It’s funny…intellectually I knew I was on the “backside” of life…but seeing a simple graph representing “days done” versus “days left” certainly re-enforced the desire to make the most of every day.

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  4. In 7th grade our gym teacher had us play the bracket game for march madness. I think I ordered it alphabetically 🙂

    Wp is getting bad for updating things just because. Some day I’ll probably just give up blogging. But today is not that day 🙂

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      1. Bruce, may I suggest giving the block editor a try? It’s pretty simple to learn, and I would never ever want to go back to the classic. Well, maybe after you are more comfortable with your new phone… Amy

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        1. I disagree. While I’m fully invested now in the block editor, it took over a month of pure misery to learn how to deal w it. Plus, wp is constantly breaking things and you just have to wait for a fix.

          Sorry Amy. I’d go back to the classic if I thought it was going to stick around long term (like the editor on blogspot)

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  5. From now on I would like for Mrs. Chess to fill out all my tournament brackets. She can have the winnings. I just want to stop embarrassing myself. I always pick with my heart instead of my head.

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  6. Nice blog, Bruce!

    My quick March Madness/bracket story: Many years ago at a previous job, one of my colleagues had the idea for a different system. The way it worked is that you were awarded points for correct picks. If you picked the lower seed, your points would correspond to the numerical differences in the seeds. So if you picked an 11 over a 6, you got 5 points. If you picked a 14 over a 3, you got 11 points. But if you picked the higher seed, you only got 1 point.

    Well, I decided this was a math situation instead of a basketball one. I picked all the 10-13 seeds in the first round, regardless of who was playing. You could count on a certain number of upsets (the beauty of March Madness), so that even if you only got 30% of your picks right, the points you built up from the ones you did pick right would more than offset the losses. After the first round I’d usually have a pretty good lead, years in a row, and nobody could figure out why. Then I would just hope the favorites won out as often as possible. I did win the pool more than once.

    That’s probably not as easy these days with so many low seeds playing deep into the tourney.

    Enjoy the Madness!

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    1. Thanks, Vance. I like those analytics you outlined here versus the rules of the contest. Well played, sir. I can see where you would have won multiple times. I’m gonna keep an eye on how this year’s Madness plays out according to your strategy. Enjoy!

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  8. Lulu: “We dogs are entirely in favor of anything that involves running after a ball, right, Bean?”
    Bean: “Right! Although maybe not the part where we throw it. Or dribble it. More grabbing and running with it.”
    Charlee *blows whistle*: “Traveling!!!”

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  9. Well, after commenting on the WP block editor, I realized I hadn’t written anything about your blog, LOL! I am thankful my husband has no interest in watching sports. He’s a tech nerd, even if he doesn’t really look or act like one. And I think I’d like to know who Mrs. Chess would recommend to put in the basketball block…

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    1. Amy, when I got back on WordPress last year I spent a little time with the Block Editor to see what it was about. I guess I naturally defaulted back to using the Classic version when I hit a (excuse the pun) roadblock on the Block. Perhaps I should revisit. Mrs. Chess has yet to reveal her pick. She usually waits until the last minute to do so, keeping me guessing as usual…🙂

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  10. I don’t get the whole March Madness thing. Bores me to tears, truth be told. Only time I like basketball was when I was playing it in high school, even then, the coach decided to change it from basketball to handball (European), which is rough and not to my liking so that was that. I do enjoy basketball movies or series, however 😉

    I don’t do Apple either, but Samsung likes to “up the versions” on the regular. I’m waiting until it’s more than cracked and rings at 8:30 for nothing to change.

    And that chart! No, thanks! However, if it gave you the nudge to live life at its best, then it did serve a purpose 😉

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    1. Dale, I think March Madness is a deal where a person is all in or all out. For me, I played basketball growing up and had a chance to see a couple of Final Fours as my mother was working as a sports television producer. Basketball was baked into the family. I never got the chance to play handball but I do like watching it when I see it being shown somewhere. The chart? Such a simplistic thing…but when you fill in all the weeks lived versus the ones that realistically could remain…gotta make the very best of them!😉

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  11. happy for both of you to have new phones, and the brackets and games? I have fun with all the madness and make my picks the same way I pick my Kentucky derby winner – if I know a bit about them, like their name, their story, good guess, remember them from something, like a particular coach or player or just a stab in the dark. really all of the above. loved reading about coach buzz and his initiative.

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  12. Wow. I am not sure I can get my head around everything you wrote here let alone articulate a response. We do not watch any sports in our retired household, but all of our children are huge fans.

    As far as waging an opinion on the anticipated time until my demise, I think I’ll pass and pretend I will be happy and healthy way into my 100th birthday at least! 😉 (I love my iPhone but it is always unsettling to upgrade and see how much has changed.)

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    1. Maggie, our iPhone upgrade brought about a bit of a transition, but I do think we’ll wind up loving the phones in short order. As for anticipating a demise, I like your positive outlook regarding being healthy to 100. I’m fairly certain I’ll be happy that long…but I’ll need to work on maintaining the healthy part!

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  13. I don’t personally bet on March Madness, but some of my colleagues do, and I get a kick out of watching their reactions to the games where they’re sure they’ve picked a winner. You’re right, this is a one-and-done deal, which, to me, makes it that much more exciting. Or suspenseful. You just never know what will happen. Let the Madness commence! P.S. I share your thinking on new technologies.

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  17. Funny piece. A new phone just in time for all the different games happening at the same time. Love this time of year. Ha, ha, of course, I’m a lil sadistic . . . I love when the cinderella’s come out to play and mess up everyone’s bracket. Can you tell I’m never good at predicting the winner. Ha, ha. Enjoy the madness!

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  18. Sadly, I’m with Mrs. Chess on this one; I “m just not a basketball guy. Actually, I”m not a sports guy at all, with only football occasionally holding my interest. And that’s because I’m forced to watch the game that interrupts all those fun commercials during the super bowl.

    I like the positive spin on that creepy life chart and making sure every day counts. I turned 50 in January, and I’m in that weird middle phase of life of looking at where I’ve been and what’s yet to come. Anyway, glad to see you’re posting again!

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    1. Chad, that life chart WAS creepy. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know I was on the “back side” of living, but when you “color in” weeks already used, it kinda hits you a different way when the visual is introduced. I’m gonna be 65 in May, and I do get that looking forward and backward thing at 50. Thanks for “welcoming” me back to the world of posting.😀

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  20. March Madness comes and goes with nary a glance in our house, we’re baseball people with a side of boxing thrown in.
    But that chart? Uh uh. Nope. I don’t want to know how many weeks I have left. Talk about depressing!
    As for phones, we got 13’s last year. I had an 12 so it wasn’t a huge difference but my husband still had a half dead 5 that I had to pry out of his hands. Change is hard.
    🤣

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    1. I can envision that prying loose of the half-dead 5. 😂 We had 8’s and thought we were “behind” a lot, but the AT&T rep said there had been a lot of people coming in with them to finally move up in newness. Baseball is going to be wild this year with the new rules…can’t wait for Opening Day. Change is hard…and pitchers and batters alike will have to figure things out.

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  22. I’m one of those people who doesn’t follow basketball of any kind, so March Madness means little except for preempted recorded programs. The “You’ll be dead soon” is a scenario we all need to pay attention to when grumbles seem to be the order of the day.

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    1. John, Mrs. Chess has a few of her tv shows pre-empted because of the basketball, and perhaps this is yet another reason why basketball isn’t her cup of tea. She did straighten out my mood when she said I would be dead soon…the iPhone changes didn’t seem quite as important after that comment.😀

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  23. I like March Madness. There’s something about the chance of upsets that intrigues me. I especially like it when the little guy takes down a big boy. Well, unless my team is the big boy. However, I’ve noticed that I’m not as smitten with it as I once was. I’ll still tune it – but I won’t be glued to the tube game after game.

    I don’t if I’ll even complete a bracket this year, but I know I will be rooting for ABK … Anybody But Kentucky. My disdain for Big Blue runs deep. For me to be happy with them, I apply the 3-check list. I’m happy only when three checkmarks appear. 1) UK must lose … 2) their opponents must score at least 100 …. 3) UK can’t score. I have high standards.

    Regarding the WP Block Editor. I did only classic on the old blog. During the time when aFa ended and BWR began, I investigated the block editor. I watched several videos on YouTube, then created a fake blog where I practiced. It worked. I stayed simple then, and continue to do so today. Turns out, I like it.

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  24. Frank, I get interest waning on college basketball. There’s no guardrails in place for paying these guys and the schools who have donors with deep pockets will harvest all the good players, and players jump from school to school now. When I was young, freshmen didn’t even play and you were at a school four full years. Funny about Kentucky, but there team this year intrigued me because they got off to such a rocky start but righted the ship. Your standards for Kentucky did make me lol. When I came back to WP I did take a run at the Block Editor, but I didn’t get the hang of it and went back to the comfort of the Classic. Maybe I’ll dive into those videos!

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  25. I had no idea who Buzz Williams was until I read this piece, so thank you for learning me something about a pretty interesting cat. I think one of the reasons I don’t watch college ball any longer is because I am always comparing the current sport to the one I remember from back in the day (the ’80’s and ’90’s). Back then, name recognition was easy. Jordan was UNC, Ewing was Georgetown, Laettner was Duke (Because really, he FIT!). As time went on and we saw more and more top talent go straight to the NBA or play a single year of college ball, the coaches achieved that name recognition. Coach K for Duke, Williams for KU and then UNC, Boeheim for Syracuse. It wasn’t the same for me. I get it, in some ways the sport is more interesting now that the teams are constantly changing but I just didn’t get into it the same way, that’s on me.

    I know you’re going to have a great next couple weeks and I hope your bracket is golden. As for me? Imma pick hmmmmmm, Duke to win it all. For old time’s sake. But really, any team but Alabama. I can’t root for that ugly mess.

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    1. I do get the waning of interest in college basketball. I fondly remember when the Big East REALLY WAS the Big East. I also recall when freshmen didn’t play, players were at one school for all of their eligibility, and March Madness even had less teams. It is a way-different world now, and I think a lot of fans don’t like the change college basketball has undergone. The Alabama thing is a real mess, and whether or not you think Miller should still be playing basketball, the saddest part of the whole experience is every one of us knows if he wasn’t a pro-quality player they would have dismissed him by the time the police report hit their offices.

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      1. I remember hanging out at this pizza place off the St. John’s campus when Chris Mullin and Walter Berry walked in. This was in 1984 when the team was a Big East as well as a national power so it was our WOW moment. The Big East was insane back then.

        Yeah, absolutely. It’s awful that the bottom line of winning trumps a young girl’s life. But hey, that happens in all of sports, unfortunately.

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  27. This was fun! The hubster is a March Madness fan…and I can get swept up, but I don’t think I’m as good a sport as Mrs. Chess (although she did have a fun quip about your ‘research’)! Thanks for the smiles, Bruce! 😉

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  28. Oh, I love this, Bruce. Mrs. Chess is my kinda gal. Your description of website changes and the difficulties it presents is brilliant. Have the designers not developed muscle memory yet? It seems that way.

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  30. Well done, Bruce. I am not a huge fan of basketball, but I follow a few teams that never do that well. They have at times made it into the Sweet Sixteen, but not recently. Dealing with change is never easy, even for a person who was (as identified by my boss) an agent of change. That doesn’t make it easy. Right up there with picking a winning bracket. Good luck.I hope your teams do well, however you pick them.

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    1. Thanks, Dan. The subject of change always has been intriguing to me, because in the workplace I often tried to be an agent of change when it came to processes and procedures. However, management always seemed to be resistant to change…unless THEY were the ones doing the changing. Oh well…I’m doing much better with the iPhone at this point. Maybe one day I’ll take on the WP Block Editor.😀

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      1. The Block Editor has been constantly changing. It makes it hard for folks like me, as I tend to schedule my posts before going to bed, The last thing I want to discover at that point is that’s there’s a new way to do something.

        My worst effort at being an agent of change was when my boss wanted me to cut my budget. I would have to find the changes to make, and I would get the complaints.

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  31. I work in technology and keeping up with it WILL put you in a grave much earlier. Why Microsoft and Apple want to change things that have been there forever baffles me.
    March madness is the best college sports gives to me. The only knock I have against college basketball is now players will leave early…good for the players but not as much for the fans.

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    1. Max, many years ago I took a Microsoft course towards getting a certification, but after the first test realized I wouldn’t be going down that road career-wise. Trying to keep up with all the changes and tweaks would have made me nuts. Indeed, college basketball has a huge issue with players changing teams every year, leaving early…and now with no guardrails as to how players get paid the schools with the deepest donor pockets are likely to get the best players.

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      1. I’m lucky I work for a company who is too cheap to stay up completely modern but we recently went from Server 2003 to Azure on the cloud…that was like going from a 1972 Valiant to a Spaceship lol. It was a pain but it’s almost over now.
        Yea this one and done really hurts the game for me…I’m happy for the players I guess…but to me…they need those years to mature…many do anyway.

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  32. My husband and I lived in Connecticut for a long time and we became huge Huskies fans, especially the women’s team. Seasons tickets back then were inexpensive and we’d hit all the home games. What fun that was. We still love March Madness. And thanks for the story about Buzz Williams. What an amazing thing to do and to require his players to do. I’ve never been a Texas fan, but I won’t feel so bad now if they win. 🙂

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  33. Pretty much every website that I use whenever they update it becomes less user friendly, not more. Not to mention sites that previously worked together seamlessly start having issues between them. I seriously hate the block thing wordpress went to, but found a way back to writing blog drafts in the old classical mode. The drawback being that once it is published editing can only be done in the block mode which sometimes will mess up the post and sometimes not.

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  35. My interest in basketball wanes after the Cinderella team is out. I do still cheer for Gonzaga, though. Don’t ask why–I have no idea. And, of course Loyola and Sister Jean (the Catholic in me says you cannot root against Sister Jean). Just like the ‘finals’ of any sport, my heart can’t take the action. I feel like I’m walking the floor with the coaches, which is way too much for my non-sports loving husband. I can remember when our kids were little and they would lose, all the parents would say, “It’s just a game.” Boy, do those words ring hollow now.

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  36. Not a basketball follower so March Madness and bracketology never meant anything to me. I get that people think it’s fun though. I do watch football and I don’t do fantasy football either, but I know people who live for it. That and the draft. Not enough hours in the day . . . or weeks left in life . . . for me to worry about these things.

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  38. We celebrated my son-in-law’s birthday tonight, two weeks early. But for the next two weekends, he will be glued to the TV and computer screens, watching his beloved “March madness ” games. He had no desire to celebrate his birthday in such an important time, so we didn’t! Compromise is the key…..

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    1. Ann, I get it. As I noted, I almost always took off from work on the first two full days of the Tournament. Some of my co-workers thought I was nuts because vacation time is always a precious commodity, but I enjoy the event that much. Happy birthday to your son-in-law… even if a tad early!

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  39. I’m glad I get to cheer my alma mater Maryland squad on for at least one game, Bruce. Added bonus: Colgate from my home area Central New York made the big dance again, too. Alas, if the Terrapins get past West Virginia in a pretty good rivalry 8-9 game in round 1, the No. 1 seed Alabama likely awaits. And 15 seed Colgate (bad seed for not losing a game since December!) has to tangle with 2 seed Texas. My dear wife Karen and I also will fill out our brackets for a bragging rights household competition. She watches games with me regularly and is likely to beat me like a drum in our picks. I’ll have the TV on Thursday and Friday (and Saturday and Sunday and during the women’s tournament, go Terps there too).
    On your aside, ain’t adapting to technology something? That’s why even though my dear wife was gifted with her new iPhone in 2022, when her 8 model pooped out, I have turned down her offer to get me one back so far through a birthday and the holidays …

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  40. Not a fan of basketball so I ignore all the jibber jabber about it during this month. We have our eye on that new canary yellow iPhone, too. It might be time to upgrade and because we’re old people now we buy new phones, the same model, at the same time. Between the two of us we seem to be able to figure them out.

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    1. Ally, we went from iPhone 8’s to the 14 Plus model, and while I haven’t gotten used to not having a “Home” button anymore (now swipe up and out to get to apps, close them, etc.), the extended battery life and bigger screen have been well worth the investment. It wasn’t like we were struggling with a slightly smaller screen, but the additional viewing area has been cool. I like the look of that yellow model!

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  41. Mark, we went from iPhone 8’s to 14’s, and as the days go by I am appreciating the upgrade a bit more. One thing I’m trying to get used to is no “Home” button anymore, and you swipe a bar up and to the side to see which apps are open, changing apps, etc. That has slowed me down a bit, but we did get the 14 Plus which offers a bigger screen and that has been a “win.” Also, the battery life on the 14 has been awesome. That 8-9 game with Maryland and West Virginia to kick off things for MM is gonna be a bruising, physical tussle to be sure. Colgate was done no favors at all by drawing Texas. I think it is cool you and Karen have a household challenge as do Mrs. Chess and I. The Women’s MM has gotten better each year, and I do try to catch as many of their games as possible. Enjoy!

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  42. Try as I might, I can’t get into basketball (though that didn’t stop me from enjoying some in-person Blazers games when living in Portland, and buying the requisite Milwaukee Bucks t-shirt now that I’m a Sconnie). March Madness is a whole different level of ineptitude for me. I’d be better off flushing my cash down the toilet than even attempting to make a wager.

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  43. March madness is indeed crazy! There’s never a year where there are countless games with wild finishes and countless clutch shots. I don’t know how it’s even possible but it just is. Unlike the NBA where teams can get blown out quite often with some crazy close games lately though. Yep, there’s always a new version of technology coming out yearly now. It’s business, even if the update is mediocre or pointless. Unfortunately, a lot of people can’t control that urge to get the latest tech, probably a case of FOMO… I’ve heard about those calendars. I believe they’re called memento more life calendars. My girlfriend talked to me about those a while back. It’s part of this whole belief system that can help you live your life to the fullest. For now, I’m good with how things are going though. 😀 Great post, Bruce. It’s awesome to see you writing again!

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    1. Lashaan, thanks for welcoming me back to the world of writing. I’ve reached one of those times where I’m trying to carve out more time for doing just that. The “life calendar” was super-weird…intellectually you know where you are in life expectancy…but when you see it laid out in “likely” weeks left…it’s just different. That being said, I’m already trying to live life to the fullest so no adjustment in attitude needed. I feel pretty good we waited five years to upgrade the iPhones. We don’t chase the latest, greatest features…but it is great having long battery life and a slightly bigger screen now…especially when watching March Madness games on it!

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  45. March Madness is my all-time favorite sports event, even though I’ve never won an office or family pool and have rarely been able to beat my brother. The first two days are the greatest and on occasion (ok, quite often) my brother will let me bet with new teams each round after all my teams lose. Enjoy the tournament!!🏀😁

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  46. Because I have a documented projected amount of weeks left, I multi-task like Mrs. Chess. I am watching Tennessee beat Duke as I type this. P.S. The Buzz Williams story is inspirational. I am counting this as a thank you card to you.

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  47. I found your post most interesting, Bruce. Some years March Madness grabs me more than others. I was never into making brackets. Seemed like buying Lottery Tickets. You might get a little bit luck with your choices, but the big bucks are pretty far out there and out of reach. iphones are wonderful when you learn how to use them. We decided to try Samsung Galaxy this year, used them a few weeks and sent them back, ordered the third generation of the iPhone SE! We love it. Good luck with the brackets.

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  48. I just read up your post “My Laser Focus”, Bruce. Holy moly! What an ordeal! Honestly, I can’t imagine what it would be like to see the world like in Dr. Strange or Inception but I’m glad that those operations ended on a good note! Have you had any discomfort or issues since those incidents? 😮

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    1. Lashaan, first off thanks for hitting up the blog’s archives again. Things have been fine with the re-attached retina. I’ll have the occasional “floater” appear from time to time in the eye, but it is nothing to be overly concerned with. The vision out of it has been consistent and while I need glasses to read, I’m totally fine without glasses otherwise. Thanks for asking.😀

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