Last Lectures

Way back in my year end review for 2021 I wrote,

As part of that effort I’ve worked to build a culture in engineerin… [more]

What Makes a Team Lead Great?

“Well, don’t you think that you as the commander have an obligation to create a vision for your command?” It was more of a statement than a question. “No, I feel that my job as the com… [more]

Book Review-The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

Review: The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson

No one does magical systems better than Brandon Sanderson. That’s a pretty absolute statement but one that I am comfortable with^more]

Book Review-A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Review: A million miles in a thousand years

This was a fun one. It’s nominally cycling and philosophy and discussions of story so you know it’s going to be one I like.^more]

Book Review-The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaimon

I have a mixed experience with Neil Gaiman's work. Not because he isn’t a brilliant story teller, because he is. It’s more a conte… [more]

Book Review-Road to Valor

Review of "The Road to Valor" by Aili McConnon & Andres McConnon

I have love cycling, a fact you should be aware of if you intend to stick around here. Coupled with my love for… [more]

Antisemitism ends with us

In 1096 the crusaders, Christian religious warrior pilgrims, set out for Jerusalem. Their cause was nominally to protect their Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters from the encroaching Islamic emp… [more]

2021: Year in Review

It has been quite the year!

As the pandemic has been dragging on, ramping up, slowing down, generally continuing to drag on.

Thoughts

I am excited for 2022.

2022! How did … [more]

2020: A year

This has been a crazy year, but honestly an exciting one for me and my family. We've lived through multiple natural disasters, moved, changed jobs, survived a pandemic, had a new baby join us, and … [more]

ambition. life's work.

Ambition, I have come to believe, is the most primal and sacred fundament of our being. To feel ambition and to act upon it is to embrace the unique calling of our souls. Not … [more]

ambition. life's work.

Ambition, I have come to believe, is the most primal and sacred fundament of our being. To feel ambition and to act upon it is to embrace the unique calling of our souls. Not to act up… [more]

Getting Lost and Happiness

On the one hand, we are hard-wired to focus more on negative things. But at the same time, we are also all hard-wired to be seeking a sense of happiness and the desire to flourish,… [more]

Education, Money and Happiness

There are three things, once one’s basic needs are satisfied, that academic literature points to as the ingredients for happiness: having meaningful social relationships, being good at… [more]

Io: the language, not the moon

This is the first in the Seven Languages series of posts and covers the Io language, a small prototypal language.

Let’s get this out of the way righ… [more]

Quote: How Fiction Ruined Love

"Films like When Harry Met Sally . . .  (1989) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) are typical in centering the action entirely on the run-up to the start of a relationship. But f… [more]

mourning

If I do this right then I will likely offend everyone, and then gently touch hearts so that we can all see eye to eye and heart to heart.

I am deeply deeply saddened by the news of the death… [more]

reducing noise

Noise is everywhere in our lives. From commercials, to billboards, to a new crying infant, it is literally everywhere. Some of it is good noise. Some of it is distracting us from the things we want… [more]

Confidence Without Ego

When I was young I thought humility was placing yourself below other people. To believe that they were better than me. To subserviate myself to their opinions and requests. I thought of the stereot… [more]

There is a Right Way

I grew up working with power tools. I think I was 9 the first time I used a router. As a family we were making mancala boards for christmas presents for family and friends. The noise was intense, t… [more]

Now Serving: Obsolescence

This article is part of a series, “Now Serving,” that takes a look at the changes in design, and consumer culture, that are happening right now.

“We have advanced technologi… [more]