Author: Joshua

  • When ability matches interest

    Years ago I heard that your taste starts out right, but it takes time until your skills can match your tastes. This is so true. I’m interested in so many things, have a sense for how they should be done, but when I sit down to do the thing, the results are far short of…

  • Downstream changes

    I’ve been an avid listener of Downstream for the past two years. It’s the best resource I’ve found to understand why streaming companies make their decisions, where they’re doing well, and what’s looming on the horizon for each of them. This interest started before I joined a streaming company, and continued as I keep trying…

  • It works!

    I’ve been pining for a solution to write short form posts to my blog from my phone. Last year I tried out the WordPress app, and ran into issues publishing. Since then I’ve scoured for other solutions. It seems the app is working now. – Sent from WordPress on my iPhone

  • Tinnitus help

    Apple just worked with the University of Michigan to conduct the largest study to date of tinnitus. While I don’t know what this means long term, it seems to see a baseline to understand just how much tinnitus affects people. I want to look more into Apple’s Research app listed in the article. Somehow I…

  • Apple Notes Drawing

    While at the Apple store I was re-inspired to try the tap-to-wake function on an iPad with the Apple Pencil. It’s pretty slick. In an instant you’re in a new Apple Notes sketching away. I tested the idea out today with an idea I had for a design and was struck by the immediacy of…

  • On defense of (some) meetings

    I don’t like meetings. I do like meetings. I get bored in Zoom, I light up and have the best moment of my day in Google Meet. Context matters. When I say that I don’t like meetings, there’s a certain type of meeting I don’t like.  When I see some espouse the virtues of meetings,…

  • Writing for a living

    I’ve long followed the likes of other writers, and been in awe of their ability to charge a subscription, or generate ad revenue, from their writing. It’s something I’ve thought about for myself; and there may be a future there, but more importantly I believe writing for the sake of creating positive impact matters more. 

  • It’s hard, and that’s ok

    Life is so wonderfully amazingly hard and beautiful all the same time. Some days I feel the energy and passion to conquer the world; other days I feel overwhelmed and full of doubt.  Both of these can be true at the same time. People are so full of conflicting emotions, thoughts, and abilities. Today I…

  • Fast drawing

    On the topic of drawing on the iPad, It strikes me that I don’t use the Apple Notes quick draw feature. You tap on the iPad with the pencil and it instantly opens Apple Notes; that’s pretty sweet. I just wish that I could do it with Freeform instead.  Update: Apparently you can do this…

  • Doing something hard

    For the last six months I’ve been working with a small team to build up something new. We’re working within a larger startup with a beloved product, and looking at ways to increase delight and impact for users.  The thing I’m seeing, and reminded of from past experiences, is that building something from scratch is…

  • Apple Pencil Pro first look

    Last night I got to test out the new Apple Pencil Pro for the first time. Though I’ve heard many writers and podcasters comment on the new iPads, I’ve been hoping for a review on how the Pencil works for designers. More specifically, I’m a UI/UX designer and use an iPad Mini daily to sketch…

  • Resumes aren’t story telling

    Resumes set a baseline for what you did or did not do during your career. They are an outline to look at, but they don’t represent the true color and story of a person. People are so varied in their journeys. On paper a resume looks like a linear timeline of someone progressing forward to an…

  • Loneliness

    In this life so many feel alone, feel like they are the one adrift among a sea of people, without an anchor or an understanding of someone to truly feel connected with. All of us have felt it at one time or another, and we crave the connection that comes with knowing others, with feeling understood,…

  • The rollercoaster continues

    It’s crazy how much we’re affected by factors outside of us. We try to limit how much our emotions are modified by anything but ourselves, but often find it impossible. Have a rough night sleep? The next day may be harder. Have a challenging conversation with someone? It’s likely to change our outlook for hours. …

  • Enough

    What do you do when you’ve approached the point of frustration where everything seems like it’s about to boil over, where the smallest inconvenience turns into an insurmountable obstacle ready to overwhelm and disrupt your entire day? What do you do when every part of your inward being is calling out to stop, to run,…

  • The best smoothie

    Every day, for the last few years, I’ve made a smoothie to replace breakfast. Here’s the recipe for others who may be interested. It was shared with me by a local coffee shop, and I’ve tweaked the ingredients a bit based on what I like. Recipe for 2 people A few notes:

  • What rest brings

    I ended the week exhausted. I’d pushed every bit of my energy to the last moment, gave everything I had, then shut it all down. Now; unlike in times past that did not mean pushing all nighters. It didn’t mean pushing forward every waking moment. However, it meant bringing everything I could to solve the…

  • Creating without a feedback loop

    I like to make things, to tinker, to think, to create. However, I don’t think the things I make can really drive me to last very long if I don’t have some kind of external feedback loop. Maybe that’s the difference between something built for a marketplace and being an artist.  Writing books, blog posts,…

  • Manager schedule versus maker schedule

    This week we had the privilege of being joined by a fantastic guest, Larry Miller, on Fractional. Lance and I dove into talking about the challenges of being a maker and a manager, ala Paul Graham’s fantastic article.  We also talked about the challenges and loss of information with with leaders and individual contributors in…

  • I had an affinity for you

    Canva is buying Affinity. I tried to like Affinity Designer, Publisher, and Photo. I tried so hard so many times. But maybe because I’m getting old I could never work them into how I think and design. These days I do all my design with hand drawing out on iPad (in Freeform), Figma, and occassionally…