The zen feel of the dog laying its head on my lap. I never want to get up. The visual creativity of the Jujutsu Kaisen bunny fight scene. The screensaver in my office showing pictures from the my past. The memories fill me up. Paradise season 2 episode 4, “A Holy Charge”; so sad and…
Writing in March 2026 I’ve never experienced such a period as the current, when the possible futures are so diverse. Where things are changing so rapidly and it’s anyone’s guess what will happen. It’s honestly unnerving. I find it soothing to break down the plausible options rather than be overwhelmed by infinite possibilities. US Dictatorship…
I grew up outside of NYC in the suburbs and lived in Manhattan for many years. After 9/11, the city became unpleasant and we decided to move to my wife’s hometown, Berkeley, California. I had visited California once before (Santa Monica), but I had little experience with the state. I quickly fell in love with…
We are all humans. There are commonalities that binds us all, baked into our DNA. One of those common threads is the desire for increased social status. We use status to denote in-group and out-group. We use it as a weapon when we verbally decrease a person or group’s status. We use it as a…
I really dont like the shrug emojis.🤷🤷♂️🤷♀️ They all look upset. Look at the eyes and mouth. Also, why do we need three color shirts? Whats the point of that. Compare this emoji to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ – The emoticon looks more whimsical like “Whatcha gonna do?” It’s smiling or at least positive-neutral. The details of design…
There is a fascinating cultural phenomenon called Information Asymmetry. It means that one person or faction has access to information that others do not. This is the foundation of intelligence (spy) services through history. You have advantage over enemies when you have more data. In the work environment, your goal is (usually) not to defeat…
First, lets take a look at last years predictions: Decent win/loss record but I don’t think I pushed the envelope much. I said nothing about AI. 2026 Predictions Again, some wishful thinking here. I can’t be a “chicken little“. Just like 2025, this year feels super weird. Total civilization collapse or just another year; who…
Buying gifts always seems difficult. I know I am not easy to get something for. I’ve been thinking about it and thought of some uncommon but good gift ideas. A cheap Ukulele You can get an acceptable one for under $50. It’s much easier to play than you might expect. You don’t need to finger…
We recently went to see Josh Johnson, one of the hosts of The Daily Show, perform his standup act. Unfortunately, I was deeply disappointed with the experience. It was a perfect storm of problems, some of which were not his fault. The Environment The show was at the Fox Oakland theater, seating over 2,800 people.…
I was thinking about the applications that companies put on your work laptop. Most serve a business function like Zoom for video conferencing or a VPN. However, I had an unpleasant thought about how AI could be used for employee surveillance. There have been services that monitor how your mouse is moving during the day.…
To me this is obvious, but somehow everyone gets this wrong. Everyone is way too verbose. Slides presentation Use speaker notes. Don’t put every word on the slide. Don’t make long bullets. Don’t over explain. If you are worried about a leave behind, make a separate document for that. For your presentation, less than 10…
There is a job role I have been experimenting with for the last couple of years called UX Producer. In my humble opinion, it has been a terrific success and has helped in countless ways. I thought it would be helpful to share the concept and how it works. Mission of UX Producers UX Producers…
Warning: This is pretty much an old person rant. I recently upgraded my Alexa devices to Alexa+. I am considering throwing all of them away and replacing them with some equivalent. What’s the problem? There are many, but the one that makes me the most aggrieved is that I want it to be more concise.…
It’s an American holiday, Thanksgiving, but I believe there is a tradition which would benefit everyone. Simply, you just say what you are thankful for. I feel in todays world, what we are upset about drowns out any positive thoughts. Here are a few things I am thankful for this year. Good music I’m thankful…