Web-log / 2016

November

2016-11-13

Miracles

So there was this enormous flood. Bob heard news broadcasts telling everyone in his neighborhood to evacuate before the end of the day. Bob said:...

Foggy view to the west from Council Crest park toward Mt. Hood
2016-11-10

Anxieties

As an exercise I'm breaking down my anxieties into a handy list, from approximately least to most stressful. Maybe I will expound more on these...

August

View south along a foggy Oregon beach in the late morning. A narrow strip of sandy beach extends to the horizon, with steep forested headlands marching into the distance. The sky overhead and above the ocean is sunny but fog clings to the forest inland.
2016-08-25

The first time I saw the ocean

Somehow I let pass a small but significant anniversary. It was 30 years ago earlier this month that I first saw the ocean. To the...

Vanilla bike at Council Crest
2016-08-11

Vanilla + Sugar

After two years in dry dock, I finally got my Vanilla roadworthy again. Aktch finished wrapping the bars on Monday, just in time for rain!...

July

2016-07-07

Black Lives Matter

Dear Mayor Hales and Respected Commissioners, I am disturbed by the recent deaths of Black citizens at the hands of the police elsewhere in America....

June

Closeup of a large dandelion head
2016-06-01

Glowing Boxes vs. Real Reality

So for three weeks now I’ve mostly been off social media. Originally this was to focus more on work while I am in the office....

May

Closeup of a yellow “Lion of Flanders” stencil spray-painted onto road asphalt
2016-05-02

Ride Report: La Doyenne

I rode the eastside RondePDX ride today. A week late you will note. (Hey I am always late to the party. For example I only...

April

2016-04-19

“Cars are the worst…”

So here’s an interaction I had this morning. This kind of thing happens maybe 5x/yr to me so I seldom even remember it by the...

March

Young child facing the camera on a stormy (but clear) Oregon beach in winter. The sunset is blocked by a headland and sea stack; objects in the foreground are barely discernible as dark lumpy objects
2016-03-13

Zulu Time

Once upon a time it took a year to travel halfway around the world on a boat and so it made sense that “noon” always...

February

Photo of the old (1960s era) sign: “Staff Jennings / Bayliner Trophy / Jetcraft.” Photo manipulated to resemble a faded Polaroid from the 1970s
2016-02-27

The Sellwood Bridge

I'm not gonna miss the old Sellwood Bridge at all. It looked like a train trestle and was approximately as safe to cross. The nicest...

2016-02-26

A Productive Commute

According to this article I have a “megacommute.” I average 11hrs/wk commuting. I hardly consider it “wasted.” This morning on my commute (ie. bike ride...

Hawthorne bridge in silhouette against a dark, windy, cloudy, morning sky
2016-02-03

My commute is so Portland it hurts

So my commute this morning looked like this: Ride with my kids on our bikes …from our tiny house in the trendy pedestrian-friendly neighborhood …past...

January

Closeup of a number placard on a tree in the Temple of Heaven, Beijing
2016-01-20

An intuitive statistics exercise

Most people are lousy at statistics and probabilities. The math behind it is counterintuitive. But here’s a fun thought experiment that requires NO MATH and...

Artily smeared photo of colorful neon lights
2016-01-18

Mobile UX is not like Web UX

It is, in fact, kind of exactly the opposite. Working through the UX for an iOS app today I had an epiphany. 20 years of...

2016-01-07

Finn, Rey, and narrative agency

Hey let’s SPOILER TALK about the new Big Space Battle Movie! It's interesting to compare Rey with Finn. They are clearly the hero duo and...