Category: Uncategorized

I’m working on a bit of fiction and as such find myself experiencing soul-crushing doubt. I understand this means I am doing it correctly. It turns out there’s a whole world of aspiring writers doing this terrible thing to themselves. What pathos. Part of what makes this hard is that I’m not other people. I…

G.K. Chesterton’s essay Tremendous Trifles was a treat with a strong opinion. It tells of two boys who are granted wishes. One is granted the wish to be a giant, so he could visit far off lands. But upon becoming a giant and visiting these lands, he found everything to seem very small and lose…

I summon you to attend me boy,in my quest for greater strength! I shall bathe myself in my own sweat,as blood courses through these veins! And I will shed this frail coil,and emerge anew,with greater power,than ye have EVER WITNESSED! EEYYARRARGHHGHHH!!!!

My son asked what advice I would give to my younger self. I realized it’s pretty simple. Lift weights. Take risks. Read philosophy. Meditate. Be purposeful. Each one has improved my quality of life and my… self significantly. And I could have done them sooner. No regrets, but yeah, that’s my advice to my younger…

The continuing true-story misadventures of an American in Dublin. Start with Part One and proceed at your own risk. Part Two gets so much worse. But it’s ok to laugh. Things were happening. Some sort of conversation. I felt tired. I heard activity. People talking. I didn’t feel connected to it. I found it irritating.…

This is a true story about my last trip to Dublin. It happened over two years ago. Some details may have blurred over time. You have my permission to laugh at my discomfort. I was going to Dublin, Ireland for a payments conference. This was my second trip to Dublin. I love the pub food.…

I really enjoy the podcast, Levar Burton Reads. Levar is an actor best known for his roles as Geordi La Forge in Star Trek, Kunta Kinte in Roots, and as the host of the PBS series, Reading Rainbow. Levar Burton Reads is a grown-up version of Reading Rainbow. Mr. Burton — or Levar? I feel…

I pledge allegiance to the Principles of the United States of America;That all people, regardless of gender, race, religion, or whom they love,are created equal with unalienable rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,That Governments derive just power from the consent of the Governedto uphold these rights,That Absolute Power corrupts, and a robust…

Years ago — too many years — my friend Mike showed me a T’ai Chi practice called Push Hands. It’s a mix of dance, practice, and sparring. You and your opponent (or partner) face each other with one foot forward, your front feet touching. You put your hands up, palms open, pressed against those of…

I wrote and published this internally at my company, Automattic (we’re hiring!). Some of it is specific to us, a distributed technology company, but I suspect some pieces may resonate with others, so I’m sharing more broadly. We often have a sort of narrow-mindedness where we focus on our own tasks or our own areas…