On learning to be inefficient — Skittering around the edge of the crowd, Penny did not approach me directly. Her dirty pink cap followed her eyes downward, arms folded tightly across her chest. She walked quickly, perhaps hoping I would notice and spare her the bravery of talking. And I did. “Are you here for a…

As told by my embarrassing cassette closet — Today I hooked up a 1980’s Sony Walkman cassette tape player to my speakers. The Walkman warbles along at variable speeds when I click the sticky “play” button with my thumb. …

And how taking a wider view of history allows us to decenter ourselves. “The white man’s god is just like the white man. He thinks he is the only god, just like the white man thinks he is the only man.” — Ma Aku, from Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Homegoing’s…

And What To Do About It Dear Tableau Administrator, you championed the power of data visualization at your workplace, and won. Now you want to prove its worth by showing Tableau usage statistics — who is using which dashboard, and how often? Unfortunately, Tableau — the master of seamlessly displaying…

Lassoing down my Top Ten — Some really great video found our screens this year, and while it’s getting much harder to narrow down, I’ve managed a Top 10. That’s partly because there is so much more available, but also in this year, there was so much more time available to watch. Here’s the top ten…

The Top Five Includes One Major Surprise — I love exploring new sounds and artists, hearing new perspectives through sound waves and lyrics, and this year took me places unexpected. KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic has been a great source of new music. …

Symbols send deep messages that move us without thinking — I grew up in the south, amidst Confederate flags, schools named after Robert E. Lee, and statues honoring Southern Civil War soldiers. …

Pause to think for a moment: you’re boarding a public bus to head downtown for some errands, maybe to the department store before a Saturday lunch at a barstool diner. In front of you, an older gentlemen steps onto the bus, pays, and walks past the only empty seat in…