Community What does community mean to me? At the opening remarks of That Conference 2018, Clark Sell asked every attendee to post a short video of what community means to them. Here's my contribution! [wpvideo 34LbZJva]
Automattic Ninety days of getting paid to not work Yesterday began day one of 90 that I'll be taking as a sabbatical from work. Every five years at Automattic we're given an awesome gift of a paid sabbatical - something I've never dreamt possible in our current age. The word "sabbatical"
howto Plex Media Server not showing updates Since November of last year (roughly) I've noticed that the Plex Media Server app doesn't ever show that there are updates available. I've manually reinstalled the latest server copy several times and it still hasn't updated automatically. I found a solution that
ecommerce China is changing the future of shopping A coworker referred me to this recent TED talk about how China is changing how commerce happens. Not only does it involve the ecommerce sales experience but all the way through the supply chain to how products are designed. This definitely has opened my mind to how mobile devices can
cooking Don't do this with your Instant Pot I bought my brother an Instant Pot for Christmas. If you've never heard of them before they're a fancy electronically-controlled pressure cooker. You can cook many different things in it and they even have a Bluetooth model. I've wanted one for a while but
exercise Why My Shoes Can't Talk Any More At the end of October I bought a pair of Merrell Bare Access Flex. Absolutely loved the shoes from the first run. I instantly became a fan of the zero drop shoe style which is closer to running barefoot. After only about 80mi / 130km of running, I started to notice
Nashville My First WordCamp US This past weekend I attended WordCamp US 2017 in Nashville TN with over 1,000 other attendees. I don't know the actual number, but it was a lot. This was the first WordCamp US I ever attended - so I didn't know what to expect. I
Automattic My Two Favorite Logos Here is a photo of my two favorite logos - the Jetpack logo and the That Conference logo. Jetpack is a plugin you can install on your WordPress site to give it super powers that WordPress.com sites have but still self-hosted on your own servers. That Conference is an
music We Need to Re-Think How Music is Released Having an all-you-can-eat music service like Apple Music is fairly incompatible with how music is traditionally released. Releasing singles and then eventually full albums and then sometimes deluxe albums and then even remix albums causing a lot of confusion. I end up with tons of duplicates in my library which
leadership People Are Not Drawn to Perfection in Others My leadership coach shared a quote with me today that I'm using to help develop a talk I'm doing about how working remote saved my life. In general, people are not drawn to perfection in others. People are drawn to shared interests, shared problems, and an
wtf Filed Under: Crazy Shit My Insurance Provider Does My employer recently changed our insurance plans around because we're big enough now to manage our own insurance rather than use a third party co-employer. We actually have nearly identical plans with the same provider, Blue Shield of California. A limitation with their website requires me to register
design Professionalism & Kerning kern | kərn verb [with object] 1. (usually as noun kerning) adjust the spacing between (letters or characters) in a piece of text to be printed. • make (letters) overlap. 2. design (metal type) with a projecting part beyond the body or shank. When I saw this poorly kerned sign in a
Today I Climbed a Mountain I did something amazing today. I climbed a freaking mountain. I'm at the Automattic annual Grand Meetup in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. I went on a hike with several of my coworkers up Blackcomb Ascent Trail. This was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in
a8cgm Heading to Whistler I'm off to Whistler British Columbia for another yearly Grand Meetup at Automattic. Eight days of face to face work and play with 600 of my closest coworkers. I expect to come back with a full heart, head, and notebook. I also expect to be emotionally drained from
philosophy What is Your Definition of Success in Life? successful How do you define success or if you're successful in life? To some success is defined by their monetary reward or compensation. To others success is defined by the number of children they've raised. Success could also be defined simply as living a life you
animation Vicious Cycles - A Stop Animation Film My brother recently sent me this video and reminded me how much we thought it was funny as kids. Turns out that film got me interested (for a while) in stop animation. I created a couple hours of stop animation shorts with my friends and brother. Too bad I don&
Stop being a butthole about what tech you hate I renamed an article title and changed the URL. Follow this link to the updated post.
diversity Stop being a butthole about what tech you hate I’m attending an awesome conference this week and I’ve been seeing a trend that I want to address. On more than one occasion I’ve noticed people bad-mouthing a particular technology they’ve deemed as being inferior. Specifically I’m addressing the number of speakers and panelists bad-mouthing
remote-working US Postal Service Scans & E-mails Your Incoming Mail Pieces The United States Postal Service started a new service in April called "Informed Delivery" which promises to e-mail you images of the envelopes of today's mail being delivered. You'll know what important mail is waiting for you in your mailbox even if you'
leadership How Would You Define a True Leader? I've been engaged with leadership coaches for several months as part of Automattic's internal leadership training program. Having a coach has been mind-opening and an excellent option for leadership training in a completely remote work culture. One of the recent questions asked of me was in
bicycling Bells on Road Bikes Plenty of Roadies out there (road bike enthusiasts) are anti a lot of things - bells, kickstands, racks, etc. When I bought a Crossrip 2 cyclocross bike from Trek I decided I'd accept no kickstand. It annoys the hell out of me and I'm looking for
ADHD Vacuum the Brain with Morning Pages I've blogged a lot about my struggles with attention and focus over the years since I started working remote. I continue to find tools and adjust my behaviors tiny bits at a time to help align me with the world I work in. I've been doing
ergonomics Keyboard Wrist Rests are a Lie Since December I've been working with a physical therapist to help with some shoulder and neck pain that keeps recurring. After many hours of therapy including dry needling we've determined there's nothing wrong with my back or neck and it must be posture-related. I&
