Writings

When we see something novel that we don’t understand, we have a choice: Shake our heads, note that it’s weird, brush it off as something we’ll never understand, and move on with our lives OR, stop for a few minutes, take a look, and try to understand it. Why do those people act that way? Why was this tool designed this way? Where did this weirdly spelled word come from? What’s its etymology?...

I’ve given myself a bit of a challenge these last few years to migrate as much of my digital life as I can towards using open-source software and services. There have been many reasons for this — increased security/privacy, better performance on my aging devices, more control of what my devices are doing, less likelihood that a program critical to my workflow ends up breaking or being discontinued, etc. (I’m still frustrated by Google killing off Inbox and Reader, which were both integral to my daily workflow at the time of their demise 🤦🏻‍♂️....

“The most important step a man can take is not the first one, is it? It’s the next one. Always the next step.” ~ Brandon Sanderson in Oathbringer

It’s interesting to frame both history and life through the contrasting lenses of solutions and implementation. Farming was a solution to the challenges and dangers built into the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The story of civilization has largely been a story of the implementation of that solution of farming. Electricity was a solution to a wide range of problems. Most notably early on, it was a safe way to light one’s home with much lower risk of fire or explosion....

I regularly find myself making personal deep dives into things that I find especially cool and exciting. Lately, I’ve found myself wanting to share more about those niche topics of my enthusiasm. So, here’s the first in a little series I’m calling “X is Cool!” Enjoy! If you haven’t heard of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), you should set aside half-an-hour with whichever of your devices has the biggest and highest resolution screen, and get ready to be in awe....

How long would the devices you use day-to-day survive without internet access? We live in an internet-saturated world, so that question might feel silly. “My devices are basically always connected to the internet; why would I care how long they could last without it?” But, there are a few reasons that might be worth thinking about it. There are lots of situations where having a device and software that is still useful offline can prove to be really valuable....

I find physical examples of redemption to be really potent and impacting. When I see or hear stories of things that brought destruction being transformed into tools to bring life, it excites me and stirs hope in me more than I can easily express. Literal examples of Isaiah’s swords beaten into ploughshares are really beautiful to me. A want to see more of them! It’s made me wonder, what would it look like to have a culture built on that kind of redemption and restoration?...

I try to read at least a little bit of the Greek New Testament and/or Septuagint every day. Here are a few tools that have helped me do that in a sustainable way, while still keeping a fairly busy schedule. Audio Recordings One of the things that I’ve found most helpful in keeping a sustainable relationship with Biblical Greek over the years has been having audio resources to study with. I find that following along to the text being read aloud really helps me focus on what I’m reading (in any language, but especially with Koine)....

We’ve all got things we’ve been putting off dealing with. Even as I say that, you probably have a bit of anxiety well up thinking about (or trying to not think about) one of those things. So, let’s do this together: Think of one thing you’ve been putting off. Now, before you sleep tonight, Take One Step towards making it happen. Think of the one “next action”, no matter how small, that you can take to move forward....

I find myself interacting online with people from a lot of different timezones. Here’s a screenshot from an actual page on my phone’s launcher. Each of these clocks has been needed at some point fairly recently, usually because I’m scheduling a call with someone in a corresponding timezone. 1 Now, timezones can be notoriously complicated and frustrating to deal with. Because of the above-average amount of interactions between timezones I’ve navigated lately, I wanted to share some of the tips, tricks, and tools I’ve come away with (besides just having a full page of your phone’s launcher dedicated to clocks 😂), in case those tips and tricks might be useful to you too!...