Randy Reflects

Language Learning and Linguistics

I explore the difference between learning a language and learning about a language.

• Education
• Philosophy

A Short Reflection on Friendship

Good friends are fun to be around—but they also tell it like it is.

• Culture
• Family

The Future of Work

Humans as workers may become obsolete in my lifetime. What will that look like? How will humanity cope?

• Tech
• Philosophy

Plain-Text Accounting Web App

I decided to try my hand at writing a personal finance app. This app uses plain-text accounting, meaning all your data lives in boring old `.txt` files.

• Tech

A Weekend at Treefort

Food trucks, live music—and waiting in line at Costco—I chronicle several firsts for my wife and kid as they adjust to life in Boise.

• Family
• Culture

Using Agent Skills to Teach LLMs New Things

Agent skills are a new open format for teaching AI how to do new things, and the sky is the limit. Read about how I'm using them in my personal projects.

• Tech
• Machine learning

How to Translate SQL Data Analysis Patterns into Pandas

Learn how common SQL data analysis patterns translate to Pandas techniques.

• Tech

What Happens During Chinese New Year?

What do you know about Chinese New Year? I introduce the holiday as I’ve experienced it over the years.

• Culture
• Family

How to Create a Monochromatic Sepia Effect in Darktable

I share a technique to create a sepia effect—with a downloadable style for Darktable.

• Photography

Setting Default Modules and Presets in Darktable

In this short article, I show how to set default modules and presets to speed up the editing process in Darktable.

• Photography

My Coffee Expenditures: An Express(o) Analysis

I do a little budget analysis of my coffee habit.

• Culture
• Food
• Family

Using Obsidian Bases for Car Shopping

I show how I use Obsidian Bases to shop for cars. Learn how to use this powerful feature of the popular note-taking app.

• How-to
• Family
• Tech

Using Data Analysis to Power the Car-Buying Process

I share what I learned about buying a car and how it helped reduce my stress during the process.

• Family
• How-to
• Tech

An Eventful 2025 in Review

I look back on all the things I've done this year, from international travel, to learning how to cook, to changing careers.

• Culture
• Education
• Family
• Music

Making Deep Blue Skies with Parametric Masks in Darktable

I show you how to make use a powerful masking feature to increase the saturation of the sky in an image. This technique pays dividends for many image-editing tasks!

• Photography
• How-to

Overcoming Culture Shock: What Research (and Experience) Suggests

What does research say about overcoming culture shock? I combine key findings with personal stories from living in China to share practical ways to adjust.

• Education
• Culture
• Travel

Why I Like Guo Ding’s Song “The Fog Space”

There is a big difference between healing and moving on, and this song illustrates it well.

• Music

Setting up the Darktable Interface

I describe the main settings in Darktable that may help flatten the learning curve.

• Photography

PACT: A Catchy Alternative to SMART Goals

I nerd out on goal-setting frameworks. PACT is a little-known one I found in one corner of the internet.

• Philosophy
• Education

The Math Behind Depth of Field

I describe the math behind depth of field and visualize it to better understand how it works.

• Photography

Notes on Choosing the Right F-Stop

After taking fall foliage pictures in the park recently, I share what I learned about f-stop from my photos.

• Photography

Notes on Loneliness and Social Media

When I returned from China to find work in the US, I didn’t expect to feel so lonely in my hometown. I reflect on how social media can sometimes make it worse and suggest what might actually help.

• Tech
• Family
• Philosophy
• Culture

How to Calibrate White Balance and Adjust Colors in Darktable

I show how to correct the colors of an image to set the stage for creative color grading.

• Photography
• How-to

How Information Theory Can Improve Your Photo Organization

Learn how information theory and cognition reveal better ways to organize your photos.

• Photography
• How-to

Machine Learning Approaches to Marketing in the Banking Sector

This project explores machine learning approaches to forecasting customer engagement in a Portuguese financial institution’s term deposit direct marketing campaign, highlighting data-driven insights for business strategy.

• Machine learning
• Tech

Statistics: Remembering Sensitivity and Specificity

I had trouble remembering what sensitivity and specificity were. After writing this blog post, I won’t forget. (Includes a poor drawing of Rambo!)

• Tech
• How-to

Darktable for Beginners: How to Import Photos from an SD Card or Camera

This tutorial walks new Darktable users through the process of importing photos from their cameras or SD cards.

• How-to
• Photography

Recipe: Tzatziki Chicken Sandwich

I try making a simple but delicious sauce. In the process, I learn a little about some of its ingredients.

• Food

Cropping Photos: Creativity, Discipline, and Exercises

A look at the philosophy and practice of cropping photos, with exercises to sharpen your skills and examples from my photography.

• Photography

Using Unsupervised Machine Learning to Tag Blog Posts

I describe the process for using machine learning to categorize my blog posts with Python.

• Machine learning
• Tech

How to Create a Retro Sepia Effect in Darktable

Learn how to use the split-toning module in Darktable to create a 70s retro sepia photo effect.

• How-to
• Photography

Recipe: Simple Chicken Stir Fry

In my quest to eat more healthily, I’ve been learning how to cook chicken. Here’s a quick and simple dish I like to make.

• Food

“I Need a Coffee:” A Tiny Coffee Tour of Japan

While we were in Japan, my dad and I drank a whole lot of coffee. I share which places we liked and which we didn’t.

• Travel
• Food
• Culture

To Japan and Back Again: How the Trip Went

My third trip to Japan was a success, but not without its hiccups. Here’s what I learned from the experience.

• Travel
• Culture

My Japan Itinerary

I share my ten-day summer Japan itinerary, covering Kyoto and Tokyo with a day trip to Nara.

• Travel
• Culture

The Bhagavad Gita on Relationships

The Bhagavad Gita is a hugely important work in Hinduism. In this article, I look to what it can teach me about my family relationships.

• Philosophy
• Family

A Reflection on Family Relationships

As my son begins his second year of life, I consider some important issues surrounding my young family.

• Philosophy
• Family
• Culture

Two Passing Ships on the Sea: A Graduation Reflection

My 12th-grade students graduated a few days ago. I reflect on my own experience moving abroad in 2017 and on the challenges and opportunities they will also face.

• Education
• Culture

How to Play Rummy

If you want to know how to play rummy, I’ve compiled a summary of the rules here.

• How-to
• Family

Bias-Variance Trade-Off: The Case of a Lemonade Stand

In this article, I examine an important concept in machine learning: the bias-variance trade-off.

• Machine learning
• Tech

Five Artists That Influenced My Childhood

I share the five artists that had a huge influence on my childhood.

• Music

How AI Is Affecting Education—And What It Means for the Future

AI is upsetting the power balance between teachers and students. I explore how teachers can adapt to the rise of generative AI and use it to promote real learning and critical thinking.

• Education

How a Black Eye Changed How I Hear Music

One punk rock show taught me how to value connection over perfection.

• Music
• Culture

Introduction to AI and Machine Learning

I give an introduction to the basic concepts of machine learning.

• Machine learning
• Tech

Teleology in the Baghavad Gita vs. Aristotle

I look at human purpose between Hinduism and Aristotelian virtue ethics.

• Philosophy

Initial Thoughts on the Baghavad Gita

My initial thoughts and questions on the translator’s introduction.

• Philosophy

Book Review of Being Good by Simon Blackburn

I review a book which I purchased to evaluate as a resource for my students.

• Philosophy

Brodsky’s Reading List for an Intelligent Conversation

I’m considering joining my father in reading Joseph Brodsky’s list of 83 classic works. Will it make me smarter or better at conversation? We’ll see.

• Philosophy

I’d Love to Learn How to Draw

I’d do it for creative expression, personal betterment, and family bonding.

Reflections on Change, Virtue, and Parenthood

I reflect on how fatherhood, philosophy, and good friends helped me grow in 2024.

• Philosophy
• Family

Making Browser-Based Educational Games

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• Tech
• Education

Making Slideshows with AI

I demonstrate the process from idea to PowerPoint slideshow. It’s a technique that saves me hours of time every semester.

• Tech
• Education
• How-to

From Newborn to “Gooh” in Twelve Weeks

I share my son’s progress in his first twelve weeks of life.

• Family

Installing Web Apps with Chromium

I document the procedure for installing a web app that didn’t install itself correctly.

• How-to
• Tech

Adding Page Labels to PDFs

I hate it when the page numbers in a PDF don’t match the numbers in a scanned document.

• How-to
• Tech

Scraping the Web for IELTS Questions

I use Python to build a library of IELTS writing questions I can use in the classroom.

• How-to
• Tech
• Education

Planning for the New School Year

I’m an English teacher. I’m preparing for the new school year starting next month.

• Education

Analyzing Personal Finances with Python and Ledger

I start learning how to use the Pandas library to analyze my personal finances.

• Tech

My Apartment Cleaning Soundtrack

You can learn a lot from a song, even when you’re cleaning your apartment.

• Music

Thinking About Moving to Seattle

In preparation for moving back to the US next year, I need to get my budget in order.

• Travel
• Culture

A Bellybutton

In my son’s third week of life, he now has a regular-looking bellybutton.

• Family

Two Weeks As Dad: Hands and Cloth Diapers

My son found out he has hands. He still hasn’t figured out how to use them. My hands are hurting from washing cloth diapers.

• Family
• Culture

My First Week of Fatherhood

I did my best to prepare for fatherhood, but some things still caught me off guard.

• Family

My Son Was Born

My son was born, 8lb 10oz.

• Family

More Summer in a Northeastern Chinese Town

Days like this are hard to come by.

• Travel
• Culture

Early Summer in a Northeastern Chinese City

A slice of life in a “small town” in Northeast China.

• Travel
• Culture

Learning to Salsa

I’m uncoordinated. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like dancing!

• Music

Moving Your Site Hosting but not Your Email

My site hosting provider hosts my email, too. I want to move my site hosting, but I want to keep my email where it is. Follow along as I learn how.

• Tech
• How-to