Manu Ginobili’s wonderful blog convinced me to relearn algebra

Manu Ginobili started a blog this past summer:

Manu posts occasionally, and mostly in Spanish, but lately he’s done a couple English “Random Posts” that round up a few items of recent interest he didn’t feel like putting on Instagram or Twitter. I read Manu’s most recent “Random Post,” published at the end of the Spurs’ yearly “Rodeo Trip,” and ... man, this whole thing struck a nerve.

The way Manu writes — with genuine enthusiasm, apologizing for structural inconsistencies in posting, mixing topics, and directly soliciting feedback — recalls the early days of blogging. It’s all reminiscent of a pre-Twitter internet circa 2005, when people wrote daily on Blogspots and Xangas and whatnot, and finished their posts with “let me know what you think in the comments!” This is how everyone used to blog before the money showed up.

There’s also so much joy in here:

I posted this picture on social media at the beginning of the trip, but I do again now because I just loved it. The morning after the game I went to the river for a walk and started to see the storm approaching with lots of thunder, so I grabbed my phone, waited for the right moment and boom! Caught it! The river, the bridge, the tree and the Memphis Pyramid in the back. Great picture.

Two minutes later, it started to rain, so very satisfied with the shot I walked back to the hotel and got ready to head to Philadelphia.

Most of a day online in 2017 is spent either facing horror or trying to milk humor out of horror. To encounter pure, uncynical delight in the wild kind of makes me want to cry?

Also, in the spirit of nostalgia, I saw this “math riddle” at the bottom of Manu’s post ...

Three years ago, Bo was three times older than Mo. But in six years from now, Bo’s gonna be only twice Mo’s age. How old are they now?

... and decided to solve it on paper instead of just figuring it out in my head. It took me nearly half an hour to remember how algebra works with 2 variables, but I think I did it.

Quite a humbling experience. I am certain that is not the most efficient way to do that, but I got the answer, and it felt good. Let me know what you think in the comments!