Issue — October 10 2026
Current going ons
Flu Shot
I got my flu shot yesterday. Few things make me feel more grown up than being proactive about getting a needle jabbed in my arm as a favor to future me (ahem, something I did not do last year, and paid the price). Even better, no side effects from the vaccine other than a supremely sore left arm, which I am being a huge baby about.
Spooky Season
It’s October, which usually means my annual Harry Potter and Grimm rewatch, but I haven’t gotten around to either yet. Instead I’ve been getting my evening spooky season fix with The X-Files.
We also tried Below on Netflix last night, which I thought would be right up my alley (I love a quirky small town with mysterious goings-ons), but three episodes in, and it’s still not hitting the spot for me. It’s got Jaws energy, and I’m more of a paranormal/sci-fi gal.
I think I’ll stick to X-Files, or perhaps rewatch the excellent Widow’s Bay.
Put the Pitchforks Down
I stumbled upon this article, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. It’s about the use of AI (the article is specific to education, but it applies in other contexts), only it’s not the typical AI article, at least not the kind that I usually see.
Typically, pieces written about the use of AI pick a side.
On the pro-side, there is the look how useful AI is! camp, with headlines such as, “Here’s how I used Claude to …” or “This ChatGPT prompt saved me ten hours…”
On the other side is the look how evil AI is! camp, with headlines referencing slop, brain rot, and the end of society as we know it.
This article is different. It talks about how the bigger problem is that there are camps at all, and how each one has taken to shaming the other side either as ignorant luddite if you don’t use AI, amoral monster if you do.
So passages like this gave me pause:
… it looks like is holding space for disagreement, discomfort, and the kind of slow, honest dialogue that doesn’t make for great social media posts … It means building rooms where someone can advocate for pen-and-paper exams without being dismissed, and champion AI-assisted assessment without being shamed.
It made me realize how rare it is to read (or speak with) someone interested in actual discourse on AI; most everything leans towards snark, outrage, or hot takes.
Like I said, the article made me think, which is more than I can say for most of the AI articles out there that “choose a side” and often recycle the same arguments, often with outraged pitchfork in hand.
https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/educational-ai/blog/put-the-pitchforks-down
Work update
Isn’t it Romantic is in its final stages. The first draft came in short (as is the case for almost all of my novels), so next steps before it goes off to the publisher are filling in the gaps. It’s one of my favorite parts of the process … only when I’ve identified where the gaps are. Alas, this one remains elusive, and no doubt, the solution will arrive at 3am, or while I’m in the shower, or any situation where I’m sans my laptop or a pen and paper.
In the mean time, here’s a screenshot of the mood board for the book. This one has a “90s rom com set in NYC in autumn” vibe.
