The Weekly Write-Up #43
September: The Best Month
Happy Labor Day weekend, and Happy September! September is my favorite month, and not only because it is my birthday month! September is the start of fall, the start of the NFL season, and when Apple releases much of their hardware and all of their software! Honestly, September is just a great month all around! To celebrate that, this newsletter is September-themed! Because I’m talking about a lot of my favorite things, this newsletter is longer than usual, so buckle up!
In this newsletter…
Why am I reading so many books right now?
My NFL predictions for the 2023-2024 season!
September is the best month for Apple fans!
Best outdoor activities for the fall (and late summer)!
Literary Picks
BOOKS I’M READING THIS MONTH…
I’m reading SO MANY books right now! And by SO MANY, I mean 6 books! Is 6 too many? Probably. What books am I reading right now, and why am I reading so many books? This also serves as a spoiler because most of the books talked about here will probably be reviewed soon, so keep a lookout!
Habits of Grace: Habits of Grace by David Mathis is a shorter book, but one that I have found very encouraging and insightful so far! It talks about God’s grace and how we can receive His grace in our daily lives through reading His word, prayer, and fellowship in the church. I am almost done with the book and plan to review it next week!
History of Western Civilization: This book is one that won’t be reviewed soon since it is over 700 pages and is going to take my class the whole school year to get through it. It technically isn’t a textbook, though, so I’m including it on this list. It is written by William McNeil, and while the book is a little dry, he does a good job of presenting the information.
Heaven: For Kids: This is my family’s current devotion book. It is written by Randy Alcorn, who wrote the original Heaven book, which is about 700 pages long and is for adults. We are reading the kids’ version, which is shorter and easier to understand. It is pretty interesting to learn about what the Bible says about Heaven.
The Green Ember: This is a book that we have been reading as a family for a while. The Green Ember is a fiction book (part of The Green Ember series) that is written by S. D. Smith. It is a story about two rabbits (Heather and Pickett), who are thrust into a world of conflict where they discover truths about their family’s past they were not prepared for. This book is pretty enjoyable, especially more recently. Review coming soon…
Light of the Last: This book is the final book of a three-book series called Wars of the Realm, which is written by Chuck Black. This Christian-fiction series is about how the world of humans and the worlds of angels/demons interact. It is very interesting and entertaining! It has kept me on the edge of my seat! I can’t wait to review it in the near future!
The Odyssey: I talked about this book a few weeks ago, saying that I wasn’t excited to read it since I had always been scared of this book. After reading the first 9 chapters, I may have changed my mind. I have enjoyed this book so far, and to find out why, you will have to read my upcoming review…
That is a lot of books, which also means a lot of reviews coming your way! I will be finishing most of these books in the near future, meaning I will have a lot of book reviews coming up, so be on the lookout for those! Let me know in the comments: what are you reading right now?
Watchlist Wonders
NFL SEASON PREDICTIONS
The NFL season is starting THIS WEEK! The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions kick off the season on Thursday, September 7th at 7:20pm. To celebrate the start of the season, I’m going to predict what teams are making the playoffs and who is going to win the Super Bowl! Let’s go!
AFC Playoff Teams:
Honestly, the AFC wasn’t too difficult to predict, and I (accidentally) picked all of the same teams from last year’s playoffs (although I did switch some of their records and seeds).
Kansas City Chiefs (14-3): Pretty self-explanatory: they won the Super Bowl last year. The Chiefs are very dangerous, especially on offense! I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the Chiefs go back-to-back on Super Bowls.
Cincinnati Bengals (13-4): The Bengals are quickly becoming a scary team to go up against. Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, Ja’mar Chase, and Tee Higgins make this offense nearly impossible to stop. I am optimistic about the Bengals, and I think they could make a deep playoff run!
Buffalo Bills (12-5): The Bills are an amazing team that excels on both defense and offense (especially in the passing game). They have a fairly difficult season, but I think they can pull off a good record.
Jacksonville Jaguars (10-7): Even though the Jaguars aren’t an amazing team, they play in the worst division in the NFL: the AFC South (I say that as a Colts fan). The Jaguars shouldn’t have too much difficulty taking the AFC South against 3 pretty bad teams…
Baltimore Ravens (11-6): As long as Lamar Jackson stays healthy, the Ravens should do well in the regular season, but probably won’t win their division due to the Bengals.
Miami Dolphins (9-8): The Dolphins are a developing team that is slowly getting better on both offense and defense. They exist in a difficult division because of the Bills, but they can probably get a Wild Card.
LA Chargers (9-8): The Chargers, similar to the Dolphins, are a developing team in a difficult division. Nonetheless, the Chargers have a great offense including players such as Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler, and Keenan Allen.
NFC Playoff Teams:
Unlike the AFC, the NFC was VERY hard to predict! There are a lot of changes going on in the NFC right now with teams trading players. The NFC seems to vary every year, so it is difficult to predict how they are going to stack up this season.
Dallas Cowboys (12-5): This is perhaps my riskiest pick on here, but I’m going to do it anyway. The Cowboys present a good offense and an even better defense (possibly the best in the league). They do play in a pretty difficult division, though, which will make things challenging…
Minnesota Vikings (12-5): The Vikings have a great offense, sporting likely the best wide receiver in the league, Justin Jefferson. On the other hand, the Vikings have one of the worst defenses in the league, which could cause issues. Their division is pretty weak, which will be helpful for them!
San Fransisco 49ers (11-6): From Christian McCaffrey on the run game, to Deebo Samuel and George Kittle in the receiving game, and one of the best defenses in the league, the 49ers have it all. As long as the 49ers can figure out their quarterback situation, I think they are going to be an extremely dangerous team!
New Orleans Saints (9-6): The NFC South was easily the hardest division to pick since all 4 teams have completely changed their rosters from last year. I’m going to pick the Saints, though, because they have built up a pretty decent offense (Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, etc).
Philadelphia Eagles (11-6): My reasoning for putting the Eagles this low is because they have by far the hardest season, including games against the Vikings, Cowboys, Chiefs, Bills, and 49ers!
Seattle Seahawks (9-8): The Seahawks proved to us last year that they are a team to watch out for. Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett, and D.K. Metcalf present a powerful and efficient passing game. I think the Seahawks can pull off a decent season and make the playoffs as a Wild Card.
Chicago Bears (9-8): The Bears certainly aren’t the best team on the list, but I think they can sneak into the playoffs with a wild card…maybe.
Super Bowl Prediction: Cincinnati Bengals over San Francisco 49ers (27-23): Both of these teams have made the Super Bowl in the last 5 years, and I think they can do it again. The Bengals have an amazing offense (one of the best in the league) and the 49ers have an amazing defense (also one of the best in the league). I predict the Bengals will just edge out the 49ers (27-23) to lift the Lombardi Trophy!
Wow, I know that was a lot, but I had to get all of my predictions in before the season started! Let me know what your predictions are in the comments!
Tech Thoughts
7 THINGS WE ARE GETTING FROM APPLE IN SEPTEMBER
It’s September, which I consider is the best month for Apple-users. Every September, we get new hardware (mainly iPhones), as well as all of the new software updates. On Tuesday, Apple announced their September event, which is set to take place on September 12th at 1pm (EST). Here are the main 7 things we are probably getting from Apple this September:
iPhone 15: This will be the base model iPhone 15 featuring the A16 Bionic Chip from last year’s pro models. It will have a 6.1 inch display and probably include the Dynamic Island. It will have two cameras (a 12MP main camera and an Ultra Wide camera). There probably won’t be many big changes to this iPhone, but the biggest change is that all the iPhone 15 models will finally get USB-C! The iPhone 15 will probably increase from the price of the iPhone 14 to $899.
iPhone 15 Plus: Next, is the iPhone 15 Plus, which is basically the iPhone 15’s bigger brother. It is the same as the base iPhone 15, but has a bigger display and better battery life. The iPhone 15 Plus will likely start at $999.
iPhone 15 Pro: The iPhone 15 Pro will receive a pretty significant update. The exterior of the phone will feature a titanium frame, which would increase durability and decrease wait. In addition to USB-C, the iPhone 15 Pro is going to support Thunderbolt, allowing for large and faster file transfers. As for the camera, the iPhone 15 Pro may feature a new Periscopic Zoom lens. Finally, the iPhone 15 Pro could feature a programmable Action Button, similar to that on the Apple Watch Ultra, which would replace the mute switch. The iPhone 15 Pro will likely start at $1099 (or even $1199).
iPhone 15 Pro Max: The iPhone 15 Pro Max will receive all of the same features as the iPhone 15 Pro, but the phone itself will be larger, allowing for a bigger display and better battery life. The iPhone 15 Pro Max will probably start at $1199 (although some rumors say it could start at $1299).
Apple Watch Series 9: Every year, Apple releases a new Apple Watch, so it makes sense they will announce the Series 9 this year. It will feature a new S9 chip, which will bring new technology to the Apple Watch and possibly better battery life. It could also introduce some new health features. It will probably start at $399.
Apple Watch Ultra (Gen 2): Though I don’t expect yearly updates, it is possible that Apple will introduce a new Apple Watch Ultra. It won’t feature any major updates other than some small improvements to the original chip and the exterior design. It also may come in a titanium black color, which will look great! Since it will be a small update, it will probably remain at $799.
Software Updates: This month iOS 17, iPadOS 17, WatchOS 10, and MacOS Sonoma should be released. I have already covered what is coming in the software updates in a previous newsletter, so be sure to check that out to see everything that is coming!
Note: If you are considering buying an Apple product, right now is the worst time to do so for two reasons: 1) New products are coming out, and once they are announced, you may decide the new product has something you need/want and 2) With the release of new hardware, the price of old products usually drops, making it a perfect time to buy “older” products. So, I would recommend waiting until after the event to buy any Apple product. Also, I’m going to be coming out with a buyer’s guide for iPhones in about a month, so I would recommend waiting until after that comes out.
Wild Card
FUN ACTIVITIES: NATURE EDITION
September is (supposedly) the start of fall. So far, we are still hitting pretty high temperatures, but it should cool down soon. With that, I want to provide some ideas for fun activities that are great to do in the late summer or fall. These are all outdoor activities that will get you and/or your family out in nature!
Hiking: I love hiking! It is one of my favorite activities to do outside! In a past newsletter, I talked about the National Parks, which are a great place to hike, but not the only place to hike. You can hike in local parks, state parks, or even just through the woods behind your house (if applicable). Hiking is not only great exercise, but a great way to clear your head. Hiking always makes me feel at peace, and I can really appreciate God’s creation! I definitely recommend hiking, especially if you can do it in a National Park!
Cycling: Cycling (or biking) is something that you can do almost anywhere. You can cycle in your neighborhood, around the city, or on a bike trail. Look up bike trails in your area, and you may be surprised by how many there actually are. I really enjoy biking with other people (such as my brother), so that is also a fun way to cycle.
Canoeing: Recently, I got to go on a retreat with my school at Camp Allendale, and I got to canoe for a little bit while I was there. Canoeing is a lot of fun, a great workout, and gets you out on the water and in nature. While I was canoeing, I got to see two otters, which was pretty awesome! It is experiences like these that make canoeing fun and enjoyable!
There is a quick list of 3 activities that get you and/or your family outside this fall! They are all great health-wise and get you out into nature! I would definitely recommend trying at least one of these activities if you don’t already do so! Have fun!
I needed to read this before the draft