Good Morning and welcome to the first ever cross-platform, living Daily Dispatch titled, “Live By the Die”.
It has been requested, for many months, to have an official Daily Dispatch Instagram account. I have resisted nearly as much as I have resisted the other highly requested option, a podcast. My resistance has been due, primarily, to laziness. I don’t want to keep up with something else to post. That said, it’s time. For those wondering what time “it’s time” is, it’s currently 6:14 AM on the day this is being published. I had an idea that will probably be next week’s issue, realized I didn’t have what I needed, and pivoted last minute.
So, we officially have an Instagram account. If you’re hearing this on my personal instagram, click the link titled “Daily Dispatch Instagram”. If you have no idea what Daily Dispatch is, it is a semi-satirical, somewhat informative weekly “newsletter”. Click the link in my bio to find the website. If you are reading this online, the username is @DailyDispatchWeekly . Enjoy the ride.
Ok, so what is a cross-platform, living issue of the Daily Dispatch?
Before we answer that question, let me start with what inspired this. I have the heart of a gambler. Again, parents and loved ones might recall a few weeks ago and my confession of a secret belief in my criminal abilities and now the heart of a gambler… Just a reminder how much good parents, good friends, and a loving wife can make a man better than his nature demands. That said, I like a little risk for a little reward. I have been getting my fix, primarily, through some podcasts. Know thyself. For the analytical amongst you, I’ve been listening to “Gambling With an Edge.” For those who enjoy a well produced, well told story of daring and cunning, the podcast “Gamblers” by The Ringer is very entertaining.
There was a post I came across a while ago that was originally posted on Reddit describing the “Coin Boys”. It is as follows:
Title: “Every year these kids come back with a new annoying quirk… “coin boys” are apparently the new thing”
Post:
“In my tenth year of teaching mostly freshmen and I s2g ever since the pandemic (and honestly like 5 years before that) there’s always a new “thing” students bring to school that they learned over the summer from the internet or wherever.
The newest thing here is a flock of self-proclaimed “coin boys” who carry a quarter on hand at all times and constantly flip it. They have their entire personality revolve around coins, coin flips, and chance. When we went around doing an ice breaker, 4 or 5 of the kids said some variation of “I live by the coin and die by the coin” as their fact.
Just about an hour ago, when I assigned the first assignment of the school year, one of the coin boys was bold enough to say “heads I do it, tails I don’t.” I told him if he flipped the coin he would be getting a call home on the first week of HS. He flipped it anyway and it came up heads (thank god for that at least).
But then the other coin boy in that class flipped his coin and it came up tails. He said the coin has spoken and he’s not doing it. I say very well, enjoy your 0 and your call home— what a great way to start off the school year and your high school career.
I really hope this dies off soon. I haven’t seen anything online about this when I googled it, so I’m guessing it’s just a local friend group thing, unless one of you has some more info…”
I love that. Today, on our first ever cross-platform, living Daily Dispatch, we will be using dice to make decisions throughout the day and documenting the journey via the new Daily Dispatch Instagram account. #LiveByTheDie. I will be making various decisions with a die and following through. A tentative schedule of decisions:
7 AM – Where to get coffee. The options are as follows.
- Starbucks
- Dunkin’
- Cadence
- MeanMug
- Goodman’s
- Be Caffeinated
I am rolling now. Will post on Instagram.
8 AM – Subscriber email word count (roll number *10)
12PM – Lunch (options to be determined)
1:30PM – First word to inspire the daily Con-Seth-Tions (my version of the New York Times Connections. Will be posted on website.)
6PM- how many posts I will create and post on the Daily Dispatch Instagram by the end of the night.
As you read in the introduction, this idea was VERY last minute and half-baked at best. I will be accepting ideas for things to let the dice decide via email and Instagram. This idea, though rushed, is classic early days of Daily Dispatch where we were experimental. It feels good to be back. I’m looking forward to hearing your ideas!
