March 16, 2026
I love traveling, and I love photography. Finding beautiful new places and capturing those experiences in compelling, unique ways is a passion I have developed over the past 20 years.
One of the unique perspectives I’ve captured repeatedly is the tower viewer (or “viewfinder”), which is a telescope or binocular device mounted on a stalk. They are placed in scenic locations to allow visitors to get a closer look at the sights in the vicinity.
I always look for these wherever I go, not to look through them, but to capture the viewfinder device as the subject framed against the scene it exists to magnify. Their purpose is to show you the beauty, but I have always found them to be quite beautiful in their own right. They come in a wonderful variety of shapes and colors, most featuring a classic, retro aesthetic. Take a look at a few of my favorites:
In a way, the posts on this blog have always been a bit like these viewfinders. I place them here to provide a closer look at things in the world, a new perspective on the curiosities of everyday life. And they even come wrapped in a bit of retro design. I hope you enjoy the views.
What unique perspectives do you love to capture? Share in the comments.
March 8, 2026
There’s a lot to like about eggs. They taste good, they can be prepared in many different ways, and they come with a built-in protective case. You can even dye them fun colors at Easter.
But eggs do have a critical weakness: they cool off way too fast!
Think about it. How many times have you burned your mouth eating eggs? Probably never. That’s because they lose heat so quickly. Now think of the times you eat a bite of eggs and experience the cold regret of missed opportunity. All too often!
Based on my extensive testing, the window of time between mouth-burning disaster and room-temperature disappointment is approximately 90 seconds. Delay is not an option!
Google tells me that eggs possess a “lower specific heat capacity” than other foods. Lame. Maybe NASA should try coating their spacecraft with cooked eggs to more quickly get rid of the intense heat during atmospheric reentry.
The bottom line is you need to be ready to eat your eggs immediately after cooking them. Hot, tasty eggs wait for no one.
March 3, 2026
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post on the highlights from my last 2 decades, I play Wordle daily. Every day since Dec 21, 2021, in fact.
Today I hit a milestone — 500 consecutive wins!
That’s only about halfway to my record streak of 1029 consecutive wins. My aim is to surpass that previous record, but that will take another year and a half of Wordle wins.
One of the things that keeps me going is the daily exchange of Wordle results with my family and friends. My good buddy Jeremy actually has a longer active streak (640) and is gunning for my record.
A while back, I wrote a post on Medium about how to improve your Wordle scores by using your friends’ results. Some called the strategies “cheating,” but I maintain that it is another fun aspect of the daily puzzle.
I sometimes wonder if I will play Wordle until the day I die. How long will the game exist? Will we run out of words? Will I lose interest? Will Jeremy outlast me?
For now, I’ll continue to reveal those green squares and enjoy the game!
March 2, 2026
Now that I have written on the urgent topic of my newfound love for chocolate chips, I should really catch you up on what else has changed in my life in the past twenty-one years. Obviously I can’t cover it all in one post, but I’ll do my best to hit the highlights!
- I married Jaime on July 9, 2005. We are still married, still in love, and still having fun adventures together.
- That reminds me: my kids make fun of me for that one time I told the Chick-fil-a drive-thru employee that our family was “going on an adventure” when embarking on a road trip.
- Oh, that’s another pretty significant development: we have 3 kids! They are amazing!
- We also have 2 boxer dogs, one of which has performed in dog shows. (See, life is full of adventures!)
- I saved one person from choking by applying the Heimlich maneuver while at work.
- I still work at ExxonMobil. I’ve been blessed to meet some amazing people, visit many new countries, and lead some incredible teams.
- I watched—and felt—the biggest rocket in the world launch from south Texas.
- I lost my original wedding ring playing flag football, then for a few years I wore a ring my mother-in-law found in the bushes outside the courthouse, then about 6 years ago we bought me a replacement. We came full circle. Get it!?
- Jaime and I continue to disagree adamantly about the color of the dress and how to say the word syrup. Pray for peace in our home.
- My parents are now hay farmers in nearby Willis, TX.
- I gained 75 pounds through my 30’s, but reversed the trend in 2023 and am back to my fighting weight.
- I have played Wordle every day since late 2021. I lost two times in over 4 years. In the same week!
- I learned to bake homemade artisan bread during COVID, just like everyone else.
- I survived COVID. And several major hurricanes. And the toddler parenting phase.
That’s an incomplete list, but it’s a good start. I promise to delve into some of these topics more in future blog posts.
What do you want to hear about? What did I forget? Leave a comment!
February 24, 2026
I love chocolate chips. They are great in cookies, but I will eat them straight out of the bag. A delicious little semi-sweet snack.
I didn’t know I loved chocolate chips until a few months ago. They had always seemed to me like merely an ingredient. Incomplete. Unfinished. Uninteresting.
But I was wrong.
The only problem with these delicious morsels is that it’s easy to eat way too many. My strategy is to scoop out a standard serving (1 tbsp), then pop 1 or 2 chips at a time and truly savor them. This strategy actually works. Sometimes. Okay, it worked once.
Thankfully Costco sells them in 4.5lb bags.
