Day 236 – Multitasking is Myth
I am young enough to remember the early days of the x86 architecture and the subsequent PC revolution. I remember a time before operating systems could prioritize workloads or manage thread execution in parallel, creating the illusion of multitasking across applications. The architecture behind the early chipsets allowed only a single instruction to be processed […]
Day 235 – When is DIY a Good Idea?
I remember clearly the first time I built a fence in my backyard. I thought to myself, “How hard could this be?” So, I spent a long weekend measuring, digging, hammering, and adjusting, completely by myself. At the end of it all, I stood there—hands blistered, back aching, and slightly annoyed by the slightly uneven […]
Day 234 – Writing on the Wall
I’m on to another ancient idiom today: “reading the writing on the wall.” This is one of the many phrases in our language with roots in ancient Biblical texts. In this case, it comes from the story of the prophet Daniel during his captivity in Babylon. Many people remember the chapters in which Daniel and […]
Day 233 – Context as Shortcut
Recently, I witnessed a debate between two young people at a speech and debate event. Granted, their goal was to win their argument, so I’m not sure how much they actually believed their claims—but they were arguing for and against the Founding Fathers of the United States. One was claiming that everything the Founding Fathers […]
Day 232 – Bending Over a Dollar to Pick Up a Dime
I love English idioms. I’ve collected them over the years, and occasionally one will swing back into my mind because of a phone conversation or an observation I’ve made. The phrase “penny wise, pound foolish” perfectly captures a common error many of us are prone to. This phrase most likely originates from Robert Burton and […]
Day 231 – The Last Thing is to Wait
I was frustrated, sitting at the edge of the stream. I had cast my bait into the pool where I knew there were fish. Nothing happened. I tried again. Still nothing. I picked up my stuff and moved to the next fishing hole along the stream. Cast my line in. Nothing. I sat there, glumly […]
Day 230 – The Act of Pruning
For some reason, I’m fascinated by pruning. I think it started with my rose bushes. When I first moved into my house, we had several rose plants put in the yard. One day, I came home to find my gardener cutting them all down—almost to the roots. I was perplexed. “What are you doing!?” I […]
Day 229 – Consistency Compounds
A mediocre idea repeated consistently is usually more powerful and transformative than a brilliant idea performed sporadically—because consistency compounds, while brilliance fades without action. This is a tough lesson that every aspiring professional or entrepreneur must learn. When I was younger, I always felt that my success was just one idea away—meaning that if I […]
Day 228 – Mental Weight of the Unfinished
A few months ago, I started a project that—at the time—seemed like a great idea. Not a massive undertaking, just a simple home improvement task. Something I could probably knock out in an afternoon. But for some reason, I didn’t. Maybe I got distracted, maybe life just got in the way. Regardless, that small project […]
Day 227 – Happily Ever After Has a Price Tag
You’re excited. You finally have enough monthly income to afford an expensive, exotic, German-made luxury vehicle. You feel like you’ve arrived, proudly sporting your flashy new vehicle that doesn’t even have a name—just a number. You relish the admiration when people say, “Oooh, wow, you got a 7 Series? What do you do for a […]