Category: learning
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Scratch is a one of the best languages to learn how to program computers. The language is easy to learn while being surprisingly powerful. Often I meet students who want to learn how to create web sites or applications. They want to immediately learn Python, C#, or other other “practical” programming languages. My recommendation is…
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Even if your are the expert, it’s valuable to take the time to listen to others’ perspectives. Engaging in such discussions can lead to surprising insights or beneficial outcomes for all the participants, including the expert. There are two key reasons for this. First, what is considered common knowledge in one field can often be…
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The following is an integration of material from Life Model Works and what I have learn while coaching and mentoring people since the 1980s. TL;DR Love is the Measure and Goal We were made by God to experience love in the context of relationships. A concise definition of this sort of Godly love is: willing…
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Many people make New Year’s resolutions. Within a few weeks the good intent disappears in the face of the realities of daily life. For millennia our wise elders have told us that forming habits is the most effective way to bring about change. the Bible, Aristotle, the Stoics, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Ben Franklin. In…
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This morning I have been reflecting on, and being grateful for books, people, and events that has shaped my life. This has been brought about because I am catching up with some old friends, including one that I haven’t seen in 40 years. I am in Portland for most of October. It turns out I…
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Snipped from The Tim Ferriss Show Transcripts: Jack Kornfield (#684). BoldItalic added by me for emphasis Jack Kornfield: In all these years, my understanding really is that it comes down to love. I’ve met [inaudible 01:05:26]. And lamas, and gurus, and lamas and everybody else in between in my industry. And some of them are fabulous.…
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The following is a list of the lessons I learned, beliefs that were strengthen, and/or topics which frequently came up in discussions with other while walking the Camino. Walking the Camino provided a wonderful opportunity to consider what makes a meaningful life. The book Walk in a Relaxed Manner by Joyce Rupp is far more…
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I retired this pasted summer so I would have more time to pursue my interests. I decided to sign up for psychology class at Foothill college for several reasons: I am interested in psychology, and thought having introduction class would ensure I had a broad and systematic overview of the field. In my younger years…
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TL;DR I have seen excessive media consumption have a profoundly negative impact on friends. One had the news on in the background whenever she was home. It led to her being anxious and worried all the time. She recognized this and started to limit how much time she listened to the news. Within a few…
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I am troubled by the increasingly polarized “discussions” I hear on many podcasts, in social media, and in person. I am not just talking about politics. I see the same sort of thing when people are discussing diets, system architectures, training programs, or child raising. Often I see people making bold, absolute claims. They will…
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I use feedly to subscribe to around 100 RSS feeds which generates around 400 messages a day. I scan the subject lines, open those that look interesting, and save in Evernote Bear those that I might want to reference at a later time. In the past I also use Flipboard which allowed me to combine…
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Top The following are set to automatically get downloaded and put at the beginning of my listening queue: Recommended The following are podcasts that I am current enjoying. I automatically download them my phone to the end of my queue. Past Recommendations The following are podcast that I used to listen to every episode, but…
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I have been reading Thinking Fast and Slow which I would highly recommend. If you have read a summary and think you know what’s in the book you are wrong. I think it takes example after example to actually internalize how easily we are influenced by things we don’t notice. I am writing up some…
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For a year I tried using the service blinkist which provides summary’s of popular non fiction books, with a focus on business and self improvement literature. I thought it would be an effective way to screen books to decide what books I would want to read in full. After a year I decided it wasn’t…
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This was original called “Books that Changed Me” but should have been called “Books that I Highly Recommend”, “Mark’s Canon”, or maybe “Books that I Think Should Change Me”. I now have a separate list which is Books that Really Changed Me. In 2024 I added a few books, but didn’t do a full update.…
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For numerous years the Darwin Awards have documented the amazing stupidity of some people. I know many people who like to read these stories and laugh and cry at the sheer stupidity reported. Why do so many of us seem to like the Darwin Awards? I wonder if it lets us feel a bit smug, a bit…
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In 2001 I created a list I called “Books that Changed Me.” That list was renamed “Books I Recommend“. While I believe the books in that list were worth reading, I can’t honestly say most of them have changed me. This list was inspired by a post by Peter Turnkey about books that aren’t just great, but…
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My website started as an annotated list of bookmarks and a few articles that were the canned responses I sent to common questions asked on Usenet before there was an official FAQ. Many years ago I stopped maintaining these bookmarks and most are irrelevant. Sept 1, 2025 I have deleted all of them and am…