At a department Christmas social the other week, we had a special meeting following lunch. During the meeting, people spontaneously shared their feelings about working for the Church or other thoughts they had. More than a dozen people stood up. Although it wasn’t called such, the meeting was similar to a “testimony meeting,” which is something that Mormons do once a month for their church … more »

When I talk to most technical writers, video is a format they haven’t done much with. This surprises me, because I find that, as a user, video tutorials are often the most helpful type of material for me to learn software. Video most closely simulates the universal desire we have for a friend to show us how to do something in an application. Perhaps I’m … more »

On my father’s recent visit from Florida, he brought me a stack of books, one of them James Hall’s collection of essays, Hot Damn! James Hall is a poet and crime novelist, but he once wrote essays for a newspaper for several years. This book is a collection of those essays. The topics of Hall’s essays range widely — from adventures in Florida to experiences … more »

Tibu Puiu from the Lost Art of Blogging asked me to check out his post on the “7 Blogging Beginning Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.” Although I agree with much of what he says, I’ve decided to play devil’s advocate here and see what counterarguments I can find against his points. I’ve listed Puiu’s headings below followed by my counterarguments.