Yesterday brought an unexpected twist: just as Karey and I were about to put the turkey in the oven for Thanksgiving, the heating element burned out. We pivoted to a turkey breast roast from Kroger, and today we’re enjoying Thanksgiving 2.0 courtesy of an electric roaster. For this sequel holiday, Karey requested Stouffer’s Mac & Cheese—a nostalgic, guilty-pleasure side. Naturally, it sent me down memory lane.
When I was a kid, my parents took me to Walt Disney World every year. It was incredible for many reasons, but one of the highlights was the Mac and cheese at The Land Pavilion in EPCOT. They topped it with toasted breadcrumbs—something I never had at home.
Our home Mac and Cheese was excellent, just a different style: always stovetop, usually from the “yellow box,” occasionally the “blue” one (Velveeta vs. Kraft for my non-American readers). The breadcrumb version at Disney felt magical precisely because it was rare.
As I slid the Stouffer’s into the oven today (still undecided on whether to add toasted breadcrumbs—or crushed Cheez-Its, which are also excellent), I realized my parents never knew how much I loved that breadcrumb topping. If they had, they probably would have added it to the rotation at home. I just never mentioned it, and they never thought to ask.
So here’s my thought for the day: What simple pleasures do your kids love that they haven’t told you? Might be worth asking—and reporting back.
Lately I’ve been thinking about how stress doesn’t always announce itself with dramatic moments. More often, it slips in quietly and sets up camp. For me, it started back in early September when I began working on my promotion portfolio. I expected the fall to be busy—after all, fall semesters always are—but I didn’t expect the continuity of it. It felt like I’d stepped onto a treadmill that just kept speeding along. Not overwhelming, not crushing, just… constant.
And here’s the strange part: once you’ve been in that mode for long enough, your brain gets used to it. It starts to expect the next push, the next deadline, the next thing that demands your attention. That’s exactly what I’ve noticed over the last couple of weeks. When I finally reach a moment where I can relax, my mind pops up like an anxious stage manager asking, “Okay—what’s next?” Even when there isn’t a next.
For example, this afternoon I only have choir practice and grocery shopping on the docket. No emergencies. No looming projects. A quiet weekend ahead (Well, as quiet as the weekend before Thanksgiving can ever be). And yet I caught myself scanning for something stressful out of pure habit. It’s like part of my brain is still bracing for impact even when the storm has passed.
If you’ve ever lived through a long stretch of work, caregiving, emotional load, or any season where you had to stay “on,” you might recognize this feeling. It’s the leftover adrenaline talking. The stress-response cycle hasn’t finished its lap, even though you have.
🌱 Here’s the reminder I’m giving myself—and maybe you need it too:
It’s okay to slow down.
You don’t have to be preparing for the next hard thing.
Your nervous system needs time to believe you’re safe again.
Sometimes the most important work we do is letting ourselves come back to baseline. Not out of laziness or avoidance, but out of respect for the body and mind that carried us through everything we just did.
So if you find yourself scanning the horizon for danger when the path ahead is actually clear, take a breath. Step off the treadmill. Notice the stillness. Remind yourself that it’s real.
And let this be permission—yours and mine—to treat recovery as part of the journey, not an afterthought.
Ever find yourself thinking “I should really catch up on [insert favorite YouTuber here]”, only to remember you don’t have time to sit through hours of video content? Yeah, same here.
So I built a tool.
🎯 The Problem:
Sometimes I want the content of a video, not the video itself. Especially for creators I follow who do commentary, education, or long-form analysis — I don’t need visuals, I need words. And YouTube’s transcript feature is great… until you try to use it across multiple videos.
💡 The Solution:
I wrote a Python app that lets you paste in a YouTube link — be it a single video, a playlist, or a whole channel — and it pulls down the transcripts for you automatically. It’s got a simple graphical interface and a batch mode that saves all transcripts from a session into a single text file, so you can scroll through your backlog like you’re binge-reading newsletters.
Skim through that playlist of lectures you meant to watch three months ago
Read commentary from your favorite political or cultural analyst while offline
Search for that one quote in a video without guessing the timestamp
Feed transcripts into your own personal LLM or summarizer if you’re into that sort of thing (I am)
⚙️ How It Works:
Open the app
Paste in a URL (video, playlist, or channel)
Select how many videos to process (for playlists and channels)
Let it run in the background — it’s threaded so it won’t freeze
Boom: transcripts saved as .txt files in your working folder
Each transcript is saved individually, but also combined into a single batch file with a timestamp so you can scroll them all at once. Or load them into an LLM for summarization!
A few moments ago, I came across an intriguing post on Reddit that posed a simple yet provocative prompt: “Now that you can remember everything I’ve ever typed here, point out my top five blind spots?” (source). The idea stuck with me.
As someone who’s used ChatGPT extensively across a wide range of projects—academic writing, software development, teaching, and even a bit of whimsy—I figured the model might actually have something insightful to say. After all, it’s been part of my daily workflow for months, across everything from syllabus edits to tour app debugging to conversations about cats and Canadian geese.
The Geese
So I asked.
Here’s what it said.
My Top 5 Blind Spots (According to ChatGPT)
1. Tendency to Overbuild Before Testing
I often refine systems and features to a high level of polish before seeing how they work in the wild. This can slow down feedback and iteration.
2. Taking on Too Much Solo
I frequently carry the full load of a project myself, even when collaboration could make things easier—or better.
3. Over-Correcting for Clarity
My preference for precision and structure can sometimes get in the way of creativity or navigating ambiguity.
4. Fast-Paced Thinking, Slower-Paced People
I move quickly between ideas, modes, and tasks. Others don’t always keep up, and I don’t always pause to bring them along.
5. Understating My Influence
I tend to frame my statements cautiously, even when I have the authority or expertise to speak more definitively.
I have to say, this was more insightful than I expected. These aren’t things I’m completely unaware of—but they’re definitely themes I don’t always recognize in the moment. It’s a little like holding up a mirror that reflects not just how I act, but how I tend to act across contexts.
And that, honestly, feels like one of the most useful ways to use tools like ChatGPT—not just as a productivity enhancer, but as a thinking partner that notices patterns you might miss. In some cases, I can clearly see where some of these blind spots come from – for example, when you have a lot of interests, it can be hard to find collaborators because you don’t get deep into communities around one interest. And it doesn’t help when they may move too slow for you anyway (see #4)!
I’m not sure what, if anything, I should do about this. But it is interesting pushing an LLM to be critical of you and provide constructive comments. It’s a far cry from the usual flattery it provides. And perhaps useful if for nothing else than to see what it’s been thinking about you behind your back!
I had a conversation with ChatGPT 4o this morning about myself. I used the new “Temporary” mode that disconnects ChatGPT from its stored memories about its user, so I suppose it doesn’t know that I’m asking about myself. Otherwise it would probably tell me to seek therapy.
You can read the entire transcript here, but here are the questions I asked and my evaluation of ChatGPT’s responses.
What do you know about Jon Westfall?
So ChatGPT chats me up quite well here – I sound really awesome. Probably because it scraped my About Me page off this website, where without any citation, I make myself seem pretty awesome. So good job robot – you did exactly as I’d planned!
Given what you know about Jon Westfall, how would he use ChatGPT?
ChatGPT thinks I’d probably use this for the following. I’ve placed a checkmark next to the items that it got right, and an ❗️ next the ones it got wrong:
✅ Research Ideas & Literature Summaries
❗️Modeling Thought Processes
✅ Lesson Planning & Teaching Aids
✅ Student Support
✅ Code & Scripting Help
✅ Exploring AI
✅ Idea Generation & Editing
❗️Cross-Disciplinary Writing
✅ And for fun….
I do use ChatGPT a lot to generate funny illustrations to send to friends, such as fake lego sets and their “avatars” engaging with the outside world. I think that’s fun. No idea if they agree.
Assume Dr. Westfall plays Overwatch 2, what characters would you guess he’d chose as his mains?
ChatGPT predicts the following:
Zenyatta (Yes, he’s my main support character)
Baptiste (I think I’ve played him once)
Illari (Never played)
Sigma (Played once)
Zarya (Never played)
Echo (Played 2-3 times)
Sombra (Used to be a main, but after recent changes I’ve drifted away)
And an anti-pick of Ramattra… which is correct – I’ve never played Ramattra.
For the record my other mains are D.Va, Torbjörn, and Bastion. I’m not as peaceful as ChatGPT thinks.
What kind of music do you think Dr. Westfall likes?
As we’ve established previously, I have very eclectic tastes in music. In fact, given that I published that article in 2023 and ChatGPT obviously knows about my website, it’s kinda interesting that it didn’t bother to consult it. Anyway, ChatGPT suspects that I like some things that I do like (Lo-Fi, Nerdcore) and gave me some things that I probably wouldn’t dislike (Electronica, Jazz). Funny enough ChatGPT includes this great observation:
4. Nerdcore / Geeky Tunes Think: Jonathan Coulton, MC Frontalot, The Doubleclicks. He definitely knows who Jonathan Coulton is. Might even have a favorite JoCo song. (Let me guess: “Code Monkey”?)
So it’s correct, I do like Jonathan Coulton and have a favorite song. It was “Re: Your Brains”, however after listening to Code Monkey… well, it’s also pretty good and accurate of my life at times.
Given what you know about Dr. Westfall, talk about his upbringing, his family, and his goals in life.
OK, so this one was scary accurate in a lot of what it surmised about me. Of course most of this is probably the horoscope effect – it didn’t say anything that I would take offense to. And I think most people would like to be described as it describes me. Here’s the summary, but the full text is pretty rich and, like I said, accurate:
Dr. Westfall likely grew up in a family and culture that valued intellect and kindness. He now lives with purpose—educating, creating, and giving back to his community. His life is less about chasing prestige and more about leaving things a little better than he found them—through knowledge, compassion, and maybe a well-timed dad joke.
Is Dr. Westfall more of a fan of Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings?
This one is tough even for me. I hadn’t read The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings until last year. I had read the Harry Potter books about 10 years after they came out, and saw the movies around that same time. So I didn’t really “Grow up” with either set of books. ChatGPT makes a good case for both series as being my favorite, but it ultimately chooses the right answer. While I like both, I do gravitate more toward LoTR and Gandalf over Dumbledore. The summary gets it pretty right:
The Lord of the Rings edges out as the likely favorite. It feels more aligned with his intellectual style, moral center, and appreciation for rich, immersive storytelling. That said… I wouldn’t be surprised if he still keeps a wand in his office drawer, just in case.
So, in sum, if you’re curious about yourself, maybe have a conversation with ChatGPT and see… how stereotypical you are?
A friend tells me that he believes he’s an Alien observing humanity. As a fan of live music, he often watches people acting… strangely. So I’ve started illustrating his life in DALL-E via ChatGPT.
We started rather abstractly, since Pizza is a common food eaten at these outings. My friend objected though to the religious overtone, and the insinuation he was a cute alien. So the alien photos got a bit more… scary.
My friend occasionally decides to “go on strike” and not go out for 3-4 nights at a time (His friends would have him out nightly), hence this photo.
Rolling Stones Tribute Bands around Christmas – a nice combo. Needs Pizza though
Hi all – it’s been awhile since I’ve updated everyone on my health journey, but today has been a good day in that regard, and it’s time for a wrap-up of the last 12 months.
First, addressing the title of this post: Still Not Fat Again. This might sound a little on-the-nose, but we know from data that somewhere around 90% of people who lose weight re-gain it. Every so often a well-meaning person (at least I assume they’re well-meaning) will come up to me and be amazed that I’ve kept 200 pounds off for over 3 years now. And sometimes they literally say things like “I’m surprised you haven’t put back on the weight”. So before I jump in any further, here’s a weight update in graphical form:
My last weight check-in with everyone was around 210, so I’m pretty fine with being within the 10 pounds of that weight for the past year. Aside from holidays where I bump up a bit (and vacations), I’d argue my weight is at a fine point, especially given the other changes I’ve made in 2024 that I’ll talk about below.
Anyway, with that aside, let’s recap where I’ve been and what I’ve been trying. Late 2023 and 2024 has been a year of “tinkering” so to speak.
November 2023: I had started going on some light jogs / runs in early 2023, and continued that until the weather got too cold for my liking last winter. My last run of the year was a 25-minute run on December 17, 2023 where I averaged a 10’01” mile, and 165 spm. Notably though, my heart stayed in Zone 5 most of the time, 18:09 of the 25 minutes. I wasn’t thrilled with that. My heart rate recovers quickly, but still, I didn’t want to always be maxing out. Around this time I also started logging food again, just to see if that would do much for me. Spoiler alert, it really didn’t, and I stopped logging again in August 2024.
In January, I decided to add some functional strength training to my workouts, so I started planking every day. Starting with 1 60-second plank, by the time I’m writing this, I tend to do a 5 minute planking routine every day, consisting of 2 50-second extended planks and 2 45-second regular planks, with 30 seconds or so rest between. I have noticed some changes to my arms and abs, which is encouraging. I was recently able to dead hang off a bar for 5-10 seconds, and could pull myself up slightly, whereas before I never could.
Throughout the spring, I kept doing the planks, and came up with some functional workouts I could use when the weather was too cold or rough to go out. I also continued to do some Apple Fitness+ workouts from time to time. I also got my Lumen up and running again and it basically told me that my metabolism was still flexible. I also started eating some of the products from Huel, including Daily Greens and some of the pre-made meals and protein powders. Their stuff is tasty, and I find it a good enough value for what it provides to me nutritionally.
I started running again in May 2024 and had lost a little bit of time, but not much. It was at this point that I also began to wonder if I needed a bit more formality in my running. Let me give you some background. My first experience with jogging or running came in 9th grade, when my physical education teacher, Mr. Boynar, would have all of the boys in the class jog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. At the start of the semester, it would be for 8 minutes, and then every week he’d add a minute. This seemed fine, until you realize that in the middle of that semester, my third of the class had 6 weeks of swimming. So I basically was asked to jog for 6 weeks going from 8-14 minutes, then take 6 weeks off while I swam laps on Tuesdays & Thursdays, then come back and jog 20-26 minutes. Not exactly ideal, especially since Mr. Boynar’s method of teaching jogging was simply to tell you to go jog, and he didn’t care what speed you jogged at. He was in his 50s, and jogged with us, so at least he jogged the jog (as opposed to walking a walk), but never any guidance on what running or jogging was about.
So it’s probably no surprise that when I started to lose weight, I was intrigued by jogging and running (because hey – it requires very little special gear, and it gets you places, literally), but really had no knowledge of the sport. I figured, naively, that all you needed to do was get out and move fast. So that’s what I did in 2022, and 2023. Coming back to it in 2024, I thought “Maybe I should actually learn about this whole thing?”
So I downloaded Nike Run Club, and bought a pair of actual running shoes. I started doing the guided runs by Coach Bennett and others where they actually teach you how to run. I learned about different types of runs (speed runs, long runs, fartleks, recovery runs, tempo runs, tabatas, etc…) and some of the golden rules of running (e.g., give yourself an adequate warm-up, don’t go out too hot/fast, take active and passive rest days, etc…). And I found that not only was I liking the quicker exercise that runs/jogs were giving me, I was actually starting to like the whole process of running. I even ran while on vacation, as you can see below. You know it’s something you enjoy when you decide to do it while on a vacation where you regularly are walking 15-20,000 steps a day!
Anyway, once I had worked through the guided runs, I also started working on my steps per minute, realizing that I was overstriding just a little bit (my average SPM was 150-155), so I tweaked my playlist to tunes that would get me into the 160-180 range, and built my own training plan. Not sure what I’m training for, but at this point it’s just building the muscles and abilities.
All of this led to a new PR for my 5K time, just this morning, at 29:31. This is about 90 seconds down from my average 5K! In general, I’m pretty happy with this evolution of my “run” game.
In addition to the planks and the runs, I’ve also started working on flexibility, doing at least 5 minutes per day on stretching. My goals there are just to loosen up my muscles and tendons enough to somewhat resemble the movements the trainers are able to do in my app. Who knows if I’ll get there, I’m only a month in.
So there you have it, my journey over the past year. I continue to eat pretty much whatever I want, whenever I feel hungry. Future plans include thinking about other outdoorsy activities such as camping and hiking, and some day I may actually run a race of some kind, just haven’t decided where/when/why on that just yet.
So no, I’m not fat again, but I am evolving and changing with purpose.
Each year I try to put together a “About Me” page or post for my new students to help get to know me a bit better. This year I figured I’d ask an AI (Microsoft Copilot in this case) the following prompt:
Imagine that you’re a new student at a University and you decide to interview one of your professors. What questions would you ask?
So without further ado, here’s the questions Copilot gave me, and my responses!
Can you tell me about your academic journey and what led you to specialize in this field?
My journey started in 2001, right after I graduated from High School. I had decided to get a few technical certifications over the summer (Microsoft Certified Professional and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer on Windows 2000). That fall I started as a second year student at The University of Akron and saw that they offered entry-level computing courses through their Workforce Development program. On a whim I emailed them asking if they needed instructors, and they did. That’s how I ended up becoming part-time faculty at The University of Akron at age 18. I taught on the weekends my entire time there as an undergrad.
When I finished my psychology degree at UA, I applied to several graduate programs and got a couple of offers. I had one that would have had me specializing in memory research, and the other specializing in Judgment and Decision Making. The latter sounded more interesting to me, so I jumped on it. And that’s how I got into my research area, eventually earning my PhD from The University of Toledo in 2009 in Experimental Psychology, with a concentration in Cognition and Judgment & Decision Making.
What inspired you to become a professor?
I like seeing people grow and succeed. You can do that as a teacher. I also like using my mind for my work, and getting a good mix of things to do during the day. Professors have 3 main jobs: Teaching, Scholarship, and Service. What you see in front of you in the classroom is only about 1/3rd of what we’re doing at any given time!
What are some of the most significant projects or research you have worked on?
Significant is a loaded term. Significant to me or to the world? In general I think everything I’ve worked on is significant in that it helped develop my skills and abilities.
How would you describe your teaching philosophy?
Probably “Conversational” is the best way to put it. I try to present material and engage my audience by asking them questions. It’s technically a mix of lecture and socratic style, with some activities peppered in. My belief is that you can look up material easily in the future, but if you can’t talk about it intelligently, there is no benefit to having it memorized.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
Probably seeing that growth I mentioned earlier. I also find it energizing. Many times I’ll step into the classroom tired and leave after 50 or 75 minutes more energized and renewed. I hope the same for my students, but that doesn’t always seem to be the case. Maybe in time!
How do you engage students who might be struggling with the material?
Well, I practically beg them to come talk to me about it! I can usually offer additional insights, or offer other ways to think about the material. But if a student never talks to me about their struggles, it’s much harder to identify them and seek them out. If you’re concerned that you are falling behind – TALK TO YOUR PROFESSOR!
What are the key takeaways you hope students gain from this course?
Every one of our psychology courses at DSU strive to meet our Program Learning Outcomes, which broadly focus on 5 things: Content knowledge (e.g., do you know what the material is about), critical thinking (e.g., can you think through problems), interpersonal interactions (e.g., can you work with others), writing ability (e.g., can you communicate professionally), and professional development (e.g., do you continue learning past this class). That’s what I want students to take away from everything I teach, and it’s how I decide what activities and materials we use.
There are just some of the questions Copilot asked – it came up with 12-15 of them in total. But I think those give you a good idea of who I am. But if not, the following infographic may also help!
