Sir Sean Connery: A Tribute
Sean Connery sits at the pinnacle with the very greatest actors. If he was in a movie, no matter how crappy, I'd watch it. A tribute to Bond, Henry Jones Sr. and the rest.
Tag: Personal Story
Some things are best explained through what happened, not through theory. These are personal accounts from a long career in technology, writing, and photography, told for what they teach.
Grief and LossSir Sam Neill: A Tribute
A fan's tribute to Sam Neill, who died on July 13, 2026. Reilly, Ace of Spies, Jurassic Park and Event Horizon earn him a place here, and he always struck me as a genuinely nice person.
AI AdoptionI Build My Own Software Tools With Claude, and Some of Them Bit Me
When a commercial tool annoys me, I build my own with Claude. My booking system took 44 versions and one bug silently threw away bookings, and the habits I learned from it apply to any writer or small business owner.
Personal StoryI Write Books for a Living. I Barely Read Them Anymore.
I write books for a living, and I haven't finished reading one in about five years. The shelf behind me on video calls is set dressing, and the reading I do now comes in pieces, a chapter at a time,…
Content MarketingThe Work I’d Cringe At Now, and Why I’m Glad I Do
Old work makes you cringe because your judgment kept improving after the work stopped. I deleted almost 200 web pages of LinkedIn branding articles, and an early book I ghostwrote makes me wince, and both taught me what to keep…
Book DesignWhat Wedding Photography Taught Me About Pricing Creative Work
Couples would spend a fortune on a wedding and then try to hire the photographer for a couple hundred bucks. Here's why I don't do graphics, and what wedding photography taught me about pricing creative work.
Digital TransformationSix Months in Las Vegas and I Never Placed a Bet
In the late 1980s I spent six months in Las Vegas as project lead on the water district's SCADA system, flying home every weekend. I walked through casinos constantly and never placed a bet, and the contrast between those two…
FearThe Two Times the Desert Nearly Kept Me
I rolled down a Kelso dune at dawn with nobody for miles, and I got lost in Joshua Tree half a mile from the road. Here are both stories and what I'd tell anyone hiking the desert alone.
HealingCan Writing a Memoir Make You Sick? The Toll Nobody Warns You About
Writing a memoir can wear you down physically and emotionally, even decades after the events. A client who had to stop three chapters in, my own experience, and how to protect yourself.
Grief and LossWhen Caregiving Ends and the Words Won’t Come
When caregiving ends, a lot of writers find the words stop with it. Why grief and burnout stall your writing, how long it lasts, and what kept me sane when my wife was sick.
Personal StoryWhat If Your Family Doesn’t Support Your Writing?
Most writers don't get much support from family. Why relatives call it a hobby, why their feedback won't help you, and how to keep writing for the people who show up.
FamilyThe Fear of Being Judged for Your Memoir: My Father Told Everyone to Burn Mine
Almost every memoir writer is afraid of being judged. I mailed a 2,000-page autobiography to twelve relatives and my father told them all to burn it. Here's what I learned about writing the truth anyway.