I’ve been playing guitar for 33 years, mostly for personal enjoyment. However, if I’m being honest, I haven’t enjoyed it much. Frustrated is a more appropriate term. One of my goals or “resolutions” for 2026 was to finally lock-in and learn guitar theory and enjoy playing. I promised myself that if I wasn’t having fun playing guitar by the end of the year then I would finally give it up and free up the time spent banging my head against the wall. Fortunately, I had a free guitar theory course bookmarked on YouTube that I found out about from Reddit. It’s called “Absolutely Understand Guitar” and is taught by a man named Scotty West. It’s made up of 32 episodes, each about an hour long. Well, one hour in I was hooked. I’ve finished the course, and not only do I finally understand what I’m doing (not to be confused with being yet good at what I’m doing) on the guitar, but I can clearly see a path to (in Scotty’s words) being “satisfied” with being a guitarist. I plan to go through the course a second time with a more hands-on focus. Thank you, Scotty and the AUG team for creating this masterclass and keeping me from quiting.

I’m honored to share that I’ve been elected to serve on the board of UMOM New Day Centers. UMOM’s mission is to end family homelessness by restoring hope and rebuilding lives. This is accomplished through providing emergency shelter, supportive services, housing, and more. I’ve always been inspired by what UMOM does for our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness and am excited to support this important mission.

“Career advice for today’s kids: Go into professions that machines are bad at—those involving people, unpredictability and creativity.” - Max Tegmark

I’m honored to share that I’ve been elected to serve on the board of UMOM New Day Centers. UMOM’s mission is to end family homelessness by restoring hope and rebuilding lives. This is accomplished through providing emergency shelter, supportive services, housing, and more. I’ve always been inspired by what UMOM does for our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness and am excited to support this important mission.

“My own definition of grace is: First of all, to be fully, thrillingly alive. None of us has done anything to earn the awe and wonder we witness on this planet, the ability to wander through the natural world and be both diminished and expanded by its glory…

Second, and most fundamentally, grace is something undeserved. In its crudest interpretation, karma is getting what you deserve. Grace is the opposite: forgiving the unforgivable, favoring the undeserving, loving the unlovable.”

-Julia Baird

We spent a few days as a family in Sedona. Highly recommended the Hideaway House and Cream and Cake Couture.

“A key tenet of slow productivity is that grand achievement is built on the steady accumulation of modest results over time. This path is long. Pace yourself.”

“Slowing down isn’t about protesting work. It’s instead about finding a better way to do it.”

-Cal Newport

We visited Warner Bros. Studios for a backlot tour and the Gilmore Girls “Holidays Made Here” experience.

The three things we need to devlop mastery, according to The Skill Code, are challenge, complexity, and connection.

“Work near your limits, engage with the bigger picture, and build bonds of trust and respect.”

I recently went down a rabbit hole about polymaths. That got me thinking about my 2026 reading list so I put together a polymath themed one. It’s a little limited but includes a lot of books from this Goodreads list. Check it out if you want to teach yourself about a new subject or two.

Had an opportunity to visit some friends and experience Missoula, Montana for the first time.