A garage sale for your mind

A garage sale for your mind

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Latest — 01 May 2026

Park Friends

I'm at the park with my computer getting some work done. J came along with snacks and toys and the hope that some other friends would show up. Eventually one did. J was overjoyed, but a dispute quickly arose. J: Would you like to play basketball with me?

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Sunday Traffic

The one annoyance with our commute to and from church is this highway that crosses paths with a mega church. The traffic isn’t bad in a rush hour sense. I just have Sunday morning, low traffic expectations borne of experiences decades ago that have no bearing on reality. So,

Death by Boomer

I live in a very large neighborhood largely filled with very old people. There are "big box" grocery stores about thirty minutes away. Half as far away is a small strip mall with a small-ish grocery store. If we just need one or two things, we'll

The Value of Field Testing

I was thinking about bike camping yesterday; I don't know why it came to mind. My first bike camping experience was a great lesson in field testing though. I had done all of the "integration" testing I could at home. I packed up all of the

Free Hymns

I wanted some better music to listen to in general, but also in the context of the drive to and from church. I don't mind spending money on the music, but perhaps there's some particularly good sources for professionally recorded and produced hymns? An online store

Programming Triumphs

I've been asking this question during interviews – tell me about one of your favorite programming triumphs. This wouldn't necessarily be work related; in fact, the most interesting ones probably aren't work related. Maybe you spent hours, days or weeks, chipping away at some problem;

Parenting Experts on Twitter

I've seen this happen a few times very recently. A Twitter account announces that he's expecting his first child. Baby is born. Then, inevitably, sometime during the first year, this first-time parent starts coming out as a parenting expert. Almost invariably, they come out adamantly opposed

Homework

Most jobs, in my experience, don't require market segment understanding. I wrote an internal app for K-Mart that integrated with their inventory management system; I didn't need to understand consumerism or how they targeted their advertising. I wrote backend code for Bloomberg, and while it was

Double Digits: A Parenting Achievement Unlocked

K has turned ten years old. Double digits. Success. I explained to him: "This might be the last time you increase the number of digits in your age. Of course, ninety years from now, you might remember this conversation and think, 'ha...dad was wrong'. I hope

I'm Rubber. You're Glue.

Every now and then I'll be driving down the road with the kids in the car and some childhood rhyme or playground taunt will pop into my head. I blurt it out of nowhere and my kids are amazed at the genius of my words. In the most

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