Slate had an article about a Facebook group where people make small decisions for you. We’re not talking about major life-changing decisions. The group will help you decide between two outfits or what to make for dinner.

I imagine like a human Magic 8 ball with a little more thought behind it.

I was intrigued enough to submit a request to join the group.

Would you let strangers make minor decisions for you?

I read about a project where they are encouraging people to “save wisdom” by providing methods and 1,000 questions you can use as prompts to think through answers. I started reading some of the questions, and it brought me to my own question(s).

What does it mean to save wisdom? Is wisdom transferable and applicable across people? Sometimes yes, of course, but a lot of the questions I read were firmly a no. And that’s how I feel about a lot of recorded wisdom. It’s interesting to hear what worked for a person, but in that way, it’s about presenting a perspective more than it is presenting wisdom. To me, wisdom is personal and often time unknowable unless you have had the same experience. Reading about someone else’s hard-won knowledge and deep truth is very different from experiencing my own gathering of knowledge and deep truth.

I like the idea. I like the thought. But I’m not entirely sure the questions are leading us to save wisdom.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

*******

We saw BSO’s Billy Strayhorn/Duke Ellington performance a few weeks ago. I thought Jonathon Heyward was conducting, but once we sat down and read the program, we realized it was a guest conductor.

The guest conductor came out, and there was something familiar about him. Had we seen him before with a different BSO performance? Why did his voice feel so familiar, too? Josh reopened the program and discovered that the guest conductor had played Father Rueben on Big Door Prize. A multi-talented man and one of the best guest conductors we’ve ever seen.

*******

Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.

We own About a Boy on DVD and watch it once a year, usually around Thanksgiving. We’ve seen it so many times that we say the lines with the characters. It’s a little Rocky Horror-esque. Last year, we had trouble with the DVD machine, but the Wolvog set us up on his PS4, which doubles as a DVD reader.

This year, I looked to see if any of the streaming services had it so we wouldn’t have to use the PS4, but it was only available to rent or buy.

Reader, we ended up buying the movie again.

I’ve hit a wall where I want to own the things I like and feel resentful that I have to keep streaming services to keep accessing shows that we re-watch. I don’t need to keep everything I see, but I wish there was the option to buy it at the end. I’m also aware the concept of “buying” a digital copy is not the same as owning a physical copy. But it’s still better than a streaming service.

For instance, I would like to own The Crown and One Day from Netflix. But they’re not available for sale. Bummer.

What would you rather own than rent?

The kids are home after super-long travel days. Thanksgiving sides have been eaten. Family seen. We’re in the quiet days before they have to go back, a moment I started dreading before they even arrived.

But it’s a short stretch this time until they’re home for winter break. Have to focus on that instead of the goodbye.

Hope you had a good holiday if you celebrate.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “Acceptance Helps, Believe Me” (No Kidding in NZ)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Infertile Phoenix points out the possible difference of a neat vs messy house. The last time her house was neat, she was in a difficult marriage and trying to conceive. She writes, “My house was clean because I never cooked or created any art. I was barely alive so I didn’t make much of a mess.” I also love this line: “I’m holding on to so much because I’ve lost too much already.” I really loved this thought-provoking post.

Lastly, The Road Less Travelled has a post about the narrative around motherhood. She highlights two substacks that gave her a lot to think about. I liked this point: “The acknowledgement that motherhood is damned hard work, and it’s not all sunshine and roses, sometimes comes as a bit of a relief to those of us who get to experience neither.”

The roundup to the Roundup: Kids are home. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between November 22 – 29) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.