Thoughts from Theo: Why are we doing all these things?

March 5, 2015 By Josh 4 Comments

The other day Theo and I were playing in the backyard. One of his favorite actvities is to dig dirt from what used to be a pit of aloe vera plants before he and Rory (the dog) started to slowly destroy them. I say pit because I think before the plants it was some sort […]

Men at work: Whose work matters?

March 4, 2015 By Josh 1 Comment

A solitary individual sweeping an empty parking lot. Courtesy of gratisography.com

Yesterday on my way into work I saw some utility workers doing something with a traffic signal. They had the cherry picker up, with one guy on top working with wires and such while a few below were looking on and talking, watching traffic. I know, I had the same thought too. Ha, ha, one […]

What helps your writing most: Qwerty vs Dvorak

March 3, 2015 By Josh 1 Comment

Black Favorit Manual Typewriter Courtesy of Florian Klauer from Unsplash

In a podcast I was listening to recently, the guest was asked about the Dvorak keyboard and why he thought it was the only way to type (he’s a programmer). I have researched the Dvorak vs Qwerty layout in the past, but at the time, most recommendations were for getting an entirely new keyboard, and […]

Exclamation points and emails: Stop yelling at me!

March 2, 2015 By Josh Leave a Comment

Google invited me to try Inbox last week, so I’m testing it out. I don’t know that email productivity is my main issue at the moment, but why not give it a try? The idea is to have an empty Inbox because that means you’ve done what you need to with the emails. Either you’ve […]

Create or consume: Choose wisely

March 1, 2015 By Josh 2 Comments

Photo of silouetted figure at sunset, courtesy of Lee Scott from Unsplash.com

While I like to think of myself as a creator, most of my life, I have just been a consumer. I read a lot but wrote very little. I watched television and movies but never made one (not counting several home video experiments from junior high that I might want to disavow at this point). […]

Risk and Safety: Why You Should Swim without a Lifeguard

February 28, 2015 By Josh 1 Comment

Photo of lifeguard stand courtesy of www.gratisography.com

The lifeguard is there to protect us. That is what we believe. The lifeguard is there to bail us out when we get into trouble, when we move beyond our capabilities. The lifeguard is the assurance that someone will take care of us when the swimming gets to be difficult or we grow tired. But the lifeguard […]

Gratitude and Influenza: Craft Your Silverlining

February 27, 2015 By Josh 2 Comments

Fuzzy Pet Rock, Courtesy of www.gratisography.com

Last week my toddler contracted the flu, and just as we thought that would be the end of it, my wife (my pregnant wife, pregnant with twins wife) started showing symptoms on Monday. I found myself feeling fortunate, though, and I wanted to explore the reasons for that.