Then: an archive of all "Now" page updates

I'm a dad!

My beautiful daughter was born this summer. Becoming a dad has been amazing, and watching her grow fills me with immense joy and pride.

I might write more about my experiences in becoming a father, but for her own privacy I will not be sharing her name or any photos of her on this site. If you know me personally, feel free to reach out! I'm happy to send photos and videos via text message. She is adorable and hilarious.

I took a new dads class

Related to becoming a dad, I took a whole class about it at. I found it very beneficial — we talked about what it means to be a parent and what kind of dads we want to be. We also talked about our own dads and the things we want to carry on, and which things we would like to do differently. The class was four weeks long, but the dads (and babies) still get together every other week to catch up, check in, and hang out.

Another site redesign

Yep, I did it again.

This time, I focused on further simplifying my 11ty setup, and all layout is accomplished using Every Layout primitives. It's been a lot of fun getting to learn that system, and it feels very productive and scalable. I'm a fan!

Reading

One of my new favorite books is Useful Not True by Derek Sivers. Derek remains one of my favorite authors. His writing is ruthlessly simple and terse, and this book (like his others) is deeply thought-provoking. This book may only be 80 pages of short essays, but there is a lot to chew on.

I've also been reading Crucial Conversations which is all about how to recognize when you're in a high-stakes moment and how to maintain calm, healthy dialog when emotions are hot. So far it's been really good, and this is a skill I sorely need. I highly recommend this book if you think your communication skills could use some work.

I also started reading Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich in honor of Indigenous People's Day. I haven't gotten far enough yet to share my thoughts on it.

Playing

I got a Switch 2 as an anniversary gift from my wife, and I have been enjoying it a lot! My favorite games right now are:

• Mario Kart World
• Donkey Kong Bonanza
• SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance
• Balatro

At some point I plan to get Hades II — the first game was so good — but I'm going to hold out until some time during my paternity leave over the winter.

Another version of 11ty, another site rewrite

Eleventy — the static site builder that I use to make this website — recently released version 3. I celebrated by doing a ground-up rewrite of this site. I further simplified how things are configured, and I started using a different templating language, Vento.

A new Timberwolves season is beginning

The Minnesota Timberwolves are starting a new season, and I am once again co-directing the PACKcussion drumline. Last season was so much fun as we went deep into the playoffs. I’m sad about KAT leaving, but still very excited for the new season.