What I’m Doing Right Now
Personal
Annie and I are celebrating 25 years of marriage in June.
We took a week-long trip to London in May. I had to speak at a conference, and Annie was able to come along.
After living in the same house since we got married 25 years ago, Annie and I just completed a huge home remodel that required us to move out for two full months. We’re thrilled with the result, and we plan to live in this house for the duration.
Family
Big news: we’re going to be grandparents! Alec (29) got married last June and they are expecting a baby in November. He and his wife Taylor are living in Tennessee while she completes her medical residency there.
Gabrielle (22) graduated in May from the School of Nursing at the University of Nebraska. She’s going to work at the local hospital in the NICU as soon as she passes her board exams.
Isabella (20) is now halfway done with a nursing degree at the University of Sioux Falls.
Professional
I’m almost five years into my job at Optimizely. I do mainly marketing, sales, and customer success support for our CMS and CMP customers, with lots of webinars and conference speaking.
I’m working on a second edition of my first book with my friend Mark Demeny. We’re making slow progress on it.
I’m still teaching in the Content Strategy program at a university in Austria.
Some colleagues and I are slowly working on a plan for an industry organization for content management professionals.
I have also published a more lengthy resume, if you’re interested, which includes several areas of research I’m interested in.
Reading
Book recommendations from the last year:
- Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman
- Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, by Chris Miller
- Neuromancer, by William Gibson
Watching
I’m almost through the entire series of Babylon 5, the sci-fi TV show from the 90s. It’s been quite good.
We saw Wicked in London’s West End in May. We appreciated it, but we didn’t love it.
I watched the Shogun TV series. It’s absolutely compelling, though I did not like the book at all. The show is easier to follow, but I still think I missed some nuance.
Listening
I didn’t love Taylor’s The Tortured Poets Department. It was just okay.
A friend introduced me to Gang of Youths, which I’m enjoying quite a bit.
Other Hobbies
For my summer project, I’m hoping to build a Free Little Library, which will be the first one in our neighborhood. I’ve picked out a kit.
I’m contemplating a project to photo-document hotels that try to be witty with their Do Not Disturb door hangers. (This is not a joke.)
Other monthly updates: