Ephemera
These posts will self destruct
2026-10-16
I really liked this framing of the problems with design handoffs. (Probably because my career has straddled both design and development, and I have seen how well it works to have both roles working together, and especially to have developers who understand design, and designers who understand development)
https://matthiasott.com/articles/design-and-engineering-as-one
2026-05-04
I spent a lovely Sunday morning wandering around Tohono Chul with my new camera lens. I really got it for wildlife photography, but it is a pretty solid choice for flowers.
More photos, including more from this visit, on the main page: Tohono Chul
2026-03-06
Over the last couple of weekends I made a couple of quick tours around Saguaro National Park. The winter was unusually warm - I don't think we got even as much as a frost - and everything is blooming well ahead of usual. It's awfully pretty.
Check out the whole page for more (and larger) photos and commentary.
2025-11-29
I hosted a lovely, traditional little Thanksgiving dinner, just my mother and a couple of friends.
My mother brought over a turkey ready for the oven, then headed off to Phoenix to pick up a friend at the airport. It was my first time cooking a turkey, but it turned out delicious.
I made dinner rolls for the first time. I used a recipe from Preppy Kitchen: Dinner Rolls They were soft and delicious, and actually really easy. I've added the recipe to my recipes page to use again later. Even if you've never made bread before, I bet you can make these! His video is excellent.
I also made mashed potatoes, and then friends brought stuffing and made gravy, and sliced up a can of cranberry jelly. And of course, I made apple pie.
It was a small get-together, but warm and friendly and happy. 10/10, would Friendsgiving again.
2025-11-05
In the spirit of using your website to celebrate that things that you love, I've started posting my favorite recipes in a new 'Food' section. Right this minute, it's like three recipes. I have some work to do!
But since we're cruising into holiday season, I thought I'd share two in particular:
Apple Pie: If you've ever hated American apple pies because they are syrupy-sweet and more sauce than apples, this is the recipe for you. It's made with tart apples and just a quarter cup of sugar for the whole pie, so it tastes like spiced apples and is a great complement to ice cream. If I am asked to bring a pie for Thanksgiving dinner, this is always the first one they ask for.
Coffee Cake: This coffee cake was a family tradition when I was a kid; Thanksgiving morning, the Macy's parade on TV, and a slice of coffee cake on the couch. Cinnamon-streusel and a thick white cake - classic!
Mmmmm... now I'm hungry!
2025-07-10
I put up some photos from Saguaro National Park back in May, when the saguaro were blooming.
2025-07-10
I'm playing with something new -- kind of a personal wiki. A place to share photos and stories from travel, pets, memories, events. Stuff that's personal but not private. Things I want to celebrate and remember and share.
There's not a lot there yet, just some smaller entries that are a kind of warm-up for larger updates, and the format will be evolving.
Available now under the Life tab.
2025-07-05
A couple of updates:
My Info page is updated to reflect my current work better, and to add some credits for sites that helped with the new theme.
I'm adding some more recent photos of Maisie. I'll be posting a bit more about our new life here in the Southwest. Stay tuned!
2025-07-04
When you have a holiday afternoon all to yourself, what else is there to do but make a new theme for your web site? I was pretty happy with this one, so I decided to make it live.
This one was fun. Mostly CSS changes, but a few code updates to make it easier to re-theme in the future, and maybe have a theme switcher. No promises; we'll see what my mood is like!