Why Is This Not Working?!

Not long ago I got into a technical conversation with a guy at work, and I was dead certain I was right. Certain he was being short-sighted. Certain he wasn't really hearing what I was saying. He wasn't hearing me. But not for the reason I assumed. I hadn't framed my thinking well enough for … Continue reading Why Is This Not Working?!

The Margins On The Page

Years ago I sat down with someone I love who was burning out and couldn't hear it from anyone. I pulled out a sheet of notebook paper. The standard kind — blue lines, red margin rule down the left, another one across the top. Everybody who went through American school knows that page. I started … Continue reading The Margins On The Page

I Only Rearrange

God spoke into a void and something was there. That’s the first thing the Bible tells you about Him. Before the law, before the judgment, before any of the Renaissance paintings that shaped how most of us picture Him — the first fact on the record is that He made things. I never noticed that … Continue reading I Only Rearrange

Hold the Thread

If my past self walked in and watched me work now, he'd think I'd lost my mind. On a normal afternoon I've got three or four conversations with AI running at once, each one chewing on a different problem. While they work, I'm answering email, checking back with people I owe an answer, reviewing something … Continue reading Hold the Thread

The Room That Knew What I Knew

I found an old Toastmasters competition video of myself the other night. Watching old video of myself is its own small torture — you're looking at a former version, and you can see everything he doesn't know yet. It's like watching a younger sibling do the thing. But I'll say it plainly: it was a … Continue reading The Room That Knew What I Knew