What’s this all about?

“What is the last thing you taught yourself?”

My wife mentioned that this was her new favorite question to ask during interviews. It’s a great question and thinking about it had me going back over what I’d tried, under my own initiative, to learn over the past year. The answer doesn’t need to be some serious or grand undertaking. Learning anything new is an achievement and the goal of the question is for the interviewee to teach the interviewer something, not to pass some arbitrary bar of scholarship.

Talking to others about things you’ve learned is often a sure way of sorting out how well you’ve actually learned something. The ability to explain, even to yourself, is a surer test of understanding than finishing a book or following a tutorial. That’s the entire reason this site exists, as a vehicle and a reason for me to explore, organize and relearn through writing.

Why not just keep a journal? If I’m being honest it’s mostly vanity (why anyone would want to read my musings is beyond me) but something about the act of writing and putting it up for people to see, even obscurely, scratches a creative itch.

So, this website is about whatever I feel like writing about. I’m not going to keep to a schedule or plan (shocking to those who know me). I’m not going to theme or otherwise confine it’s subjects. The content, or lack thereof, hosted here is a reflection of whatever catches my eye.