Focus

Focus on the Now

They call this a “Now” page. Derek Sivers might’ve popularized it, but the point is less novelty and more about focus. Time does its quiet work, if you strip away all distractions. Writing this down is less about telling the world what I’m up to, and more about reminding myself this is where my attention belongs. Anyway, this is how I’m spending mine these days:

Everyday Gig

I’ve been in the technology industry for twenty-five years now. I suppose the Tandy computer my parents gave me turned out to be a fairly good investment—I’ve had multiple leadership roles at IBM, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Automattic (known for WordPress). Lately, I’ve been traveling the world—places like Paris, San Francisco, Athens, Venice, San Diego, Chicago, Jackson Hole, Tempe, and Tucson. Grant, none of these rival Nashville. I always look forward to coming home to Music City.

On Writing

I love to tinker on multiple projects. The problem is that there are too many ways to waste time these days. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, The NY Times, etc., are all built to distract you from what matters. Even if you are focused, lately I’ve spread my fortunes across four book projects, this site, etc., This year, I’m tinkering with a goth fairy tale, which I should finish in the next four to five months, and, yes, the other three—one of these is my magnum opus and the other is returning to an old friend‘s story. Jason Sheridan will pick up that worn baseball again.

Charta

Well, I started writing on this site almost twenty years ago. It’s gone through multiple iterations, but I’ve published well over 300 articles. Some of these have spread their wings, others have been featured elsewhere. And, yes, many (the vast number) languish in the archive or drafts folder. This year, I'll be playing around with the newsletter format—currently, I'm using Substack. I like the JPLA because I can ponder; snippets that really shouldn't be on a lasting page. There’s probably a means to have it both ways, but I need to think about what lasts. And beyond my initially low expectations, this site has been a success as blog or writing spots go.

So I’ve been building a new type of writing CMS for the digital age, called Charta.

Why build another writign tool? Good question. I wanted something that lasts. Static files. Markdown. Version control. No database to corrupt. No server to crash. Just text files and Python scripts that turn them into a site.

Charta is built around these constraints.

The build system does one job: transform content into HTML. Fast. Repeatable. Predictable. I can run the entire site from my laptop or push it anywhere. No platform lock-in. No subscription fees. Just code I control and content I own.

The tooling grew over time. Tag analytics that show what I actually write about. A search engine that works offline. Embeddings that find related articles semantically, not just by keywords. Stylography tools that fingerprint my voice and catch when I drift. It’s over-engineered, sure. But each tool solved a real problem I had.

I doubt this sees any mass market appeal. You need to know Python. You need to like the command line. You need to think static-first, not CMS-first tech bro business model first. But if you care about longevity, about owning your archive, about building something that outlasts the next platform pivot? Well, I built something that will outlast anything else, even the ones who claim they are out to last forever. It stands time’s test, at least in theory., until I build something new.

Other Python Tinkering, Text Analtyics

I’ve always tinkered with code—a hobby. I’m currently iterating on multiple writing applications. One, a clone of myself. The other is an overly engineered writing analytics tool that leverages an immense amount of machine learning.

Trying to solve my writing problems, I’ve become adept in text analytics, sort of. Not because I set out to master NLP or machine learning theory. Each tool I built answered a question I had: What do I actually write about? Does my voice stay consistent? Can I measure when I drift? The work compounds. Word counts became readability scores. Readability became voice fingerprinting. Now I’m tracking sentence patterns, emotional arcs, and building odd lexical density algorithms. Expertise is what happens when you keep solving adjacent problems for long enough. Maybe I’ll find something I’m good at through the process.

Playing Guitar

I’ve always liked the idea of playing the guitar. But if I liked playing the guitar, I’d invest the time. So, I’m going to learn the basics, buy a nice instrument, and be able to play a solid Angel from Montgomery. Afterward, I might write a song/play with my kid a little (he’s pretty good at his craft).

Health

“LIFE IS A RACE. RUN. AND LIFT WEIGHTS.” – A WISE PERSON