Randy Reflects—where I write about things I learn. Some of my interests include language learning, language teaching, music, and photography. Welcome!https://www.randyreflects.comen-ushttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/2025-reviewhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/2025-reviewI look back on all the things I've done this year, from international travel, to learning how to cook, to changing careers.Thu, 08 Jan 2026 22:11:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/a-bellybuttonhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/a-bellybuttonIn my son’s third week of life, he now has a regular-looking bellybutton.Wed, 17 Jul 2024 04:05:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/a-reflection-on-family-relationshipshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/a-reflection-on-family-relationshipsAs my son begins his second year of life, I consider some important issues surrounding my young family.Thu, 03 Jul 2025 16:21:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/adding-page-labels-to-pdfshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/adding-page-labels-to-pdfsI hate it when the page numbers in a PDF don’t match the numbers in a scanned document.Mon, 26 Aug 2024 00:16:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/analyzing-personal-finances-with-python-and-ledgerhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/analyzing-personal-finances-with-python-and-ledgerI start learning how to use the Pandas library to analyze my personal finances.Tue, 06 Aug 2024 00:07:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/bias-variance-trade-off-the-case-of-a-lemonade-standhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/bias-variance-trade-off-the-case-of-a-lemonade-standIn this article, I examine an important concept in machine learning: the bias-variance trade-off.Sun, 18 May 2025 09:16:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/book-review-of-being-good-by-simon-blackburnhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/book-review-of-being-good-by-simon-blackburnI review a book which I purchased to evaluate as a resource for my students.Fri, 14 Feb 2025 17:41:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/brodskys-reading-list-for-an-intelligent-conversationhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/brodskys-reading-list-for-an-intelligent-conversationI’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.Tue, 04 Feb 2025 22:41:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/buying-a-carhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/buying-a-carI share what I learned about buying a car and how it helped reduce my stress during the process.Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:50:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/chinese-new-yearhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/chinese-new-yearWhat do you know about Chinese New Year? I introduce the holiday as I’ve experienced it over the years.Tue, 24 Feb 2026 22:41:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/coffee-spendinghttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/coffee-spendingI do a little budget analysis of my coffee habit.Sun, 01 Feb 2026 21:26:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/cropping-photos-creativity-discipline-and-exerciseshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/cropping-photos-creativity-discipline-and-exercisesA look at the philosophy and practice of cropping photos, with exercises to sharpen your skills and examples from my photography.Tue, 09 Sep 2025 23:00:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/culture-shockhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/culture-shockWhat does research say about overcoming culture shock? I combine key findings with personal stories from living in China to share practical ways to adjust.Thu, 25 Dec 2025 01:06:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/darktable-default-moduleshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/darktable-default-modulesIn this short article, I show how to set default modules and presets to speed up the editing process in Darktable.Sun, 08 Feb 2026 21:59:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/darktable-for-beginners-how-to-import-photos-from-an-sd-card-or-camerahttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/darktable-for-beginners-how-to-import-photos-from-an-sd-card-or-cameraThis tutorial walks new Darktable users through the process of importing photos from their cameras or SD cards.Sun, 21 Sep 2025 21:40:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/darktable-sepia-monochromehttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/darktable-sepia-monochromeI share a technique to create a sepia effect—with a downloadable style for Darktable.Sun, 15 Feb 2026 20:25:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/darktable-setuphttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/darktable-setupI describe the main settings in Darktable that may help flatten the learning curve.Sun, 07 Dec 2025 20:59:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/depth-of-field-mathhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/depth-of-field-mathI describe the math behind depth of field and visualize it to better understand how it works.Sun, 09 Nov 2025 14:49:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/five-artists-that-influenced-my-childhoodhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/five-artists-that-influenced-my-childhoodI share the five artists that had a huge influence on my childhood.Wed, 07 May 2025 00:47:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/from-newborn-to-goohhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/from-newborn-to-goohI share my son’s progress in his first twelve weeks of life.Wed, 18 Sep 2024 06:20:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-a-black-eye-changed-how-i-hear-musichttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-a-black-eye-changed-how-i-hear-musicOne punk rock show taught me how to value connection over perfection.Thu, 03 Apr 2025 07:28:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-ai-is-affecting-education-and-what-it-means-for-the-futurehttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-ai-is-affecting-education-and-what-it-means-for-the-futureAI 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.Sun, 20 Apr 2025 00:50:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-information-theory-can-improve-your-photo-organizationhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-information-theory-can-improve-your-photo-organizationLearn how information theory and cognition reveal better ways to organize your photos.Sat, 11 Oct 2025 23:45:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-to-calibrate-white-balance-and-adjust-colors-in-darktablehttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-to-calibrate-white-balance-and-adjust-colors-in-darktableI show how to correct the colors of an image to set the stage for creative color grading.Tue, 21 Oct 2025 15:40:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-to-create-a-retro-sepia-effect-in-darktablehttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-to-create-a-retro-sepia-effect-in-darktableLearn how to use the split-toning module in Darktable to create a 70s retro sepia photo effect.Sun, 24 Aug 2025 01:08:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-to-play-rummyhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/how-to-play-rummyIf you want to know how to play rummy, I’ve compiled a summary of the rules here.Sun, 01 Jun 2025 07:28:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/i-need-a-coffee-a-tiny-coffee-tour-of-japanhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/i-need-a-coffee-a-tiny-coffee-tour-of-japanWhile 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.Sun, 10 Aug 2025 15:00:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/id-love-to-learn-how-to-drawhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/id-love-to-learn-how-to-drawI’d do it for creative expression, personal betterment, and family bonding.Mon, 27 Jan 2025 01:12:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/initial-thoughts-on-the-baghavad-gitahttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/initial-thoughts-on-the-baghavad-gitaMy initial thoughts and questions on the translator’s introduction.Sun, 23 Feb 2025 22:55:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/installing-web-apps-with-chromiumhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/installing-web-apps-with-chromiumI document the procedure for installing a web app that didn’t install itself correctly.Tue, 27 Aug 2024 19:33:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/introduction-to-ai-and-machine-learninghttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/introduction-to-ai-and-machine-learningI give an introduction to the basic concepts of machine learning.Mon, 24 Mar 2025 08:59:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/learning-to-salsahttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/learning-to-salsaI’m uncoordinated. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like dancing!Fri, 21 Jun 2024 12:36:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/loneliness-social-mediahttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/loneliness-social-mediaWhen 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.Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:20:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/machine-learning-approaches-to-marketing-in-the-banking-sectorhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/machine-learning-approaches-to-marketing-in-the-banking-sectorThis 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.Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:20:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/making-browser-based-educational-gameshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/making-browser-based-educational-gamesI describe my recent experience making a browser-based word matching game for a colleague. src="/src/assets/posts/img/game-screenshot.png"Sun, 01 Dec 2024 22:28:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/making-slideshows-with-aihttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/making-slideshows-with-aiI demonstrate the process from idea to PowerPoint slideshow. It’s a technique that saves me hours of time every semester.Sun, 20 Oct 2024 05:42:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/more-summer-in-a-northeastern-chinese-townhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/more-summer-in-a-northeastern-chinese-townDays like this are hard to come by.Mon, 24 Jun 2024 21:59:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/moving-your-site-hosting-but-not-your-emailhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/moving-your-site-hosting-but-not-your-emailMy 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.Tue, 18 Jun 2024 14:25:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/my-apartment-cleaning-soundtrackhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/my-apartment-cleaning-soundtrackYou can learn a lot from a song, even when you’re cleaning your apartment.Wed, 31 Jul 2024 18:58:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/my-first-week-of-fatherhoodhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/my-first-week-of-fatherhoodI did my best to prepare for fatherhood, but some things still caught me off guard.Sat, 06 Jul 2024 04:42:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/my-japan-itineraryhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/my-japan-itineraryI share my ten-day summer Japan itinerary, covering Kyoto and Tokyo with a day trip to Nara.Sun, 20 Jul 2025 18:05:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/my-son-was-bornhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/my-son-was-bornMy son was born, 8lb 10oz.Wed, 26 Jun 2024 10:08:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/notes-on-choosing-the-right-f-stophttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/notes-on-choosing-the-right-f-stopAfter taking fall foliage pictures in the park recently, I share what I learned about f-stop from my photos.Mon, 03 Nov 2025 21:18:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/obsidian-bases-car-shoppinghttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/obsidian-bases-car-shoppingI show how I use Obsidian Bases to shop for cars. Learn how to use this powerful feature of the popular note-taking app.Sun, 25 Jan 2026 23:44:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/pact-goalshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/pact-goalsI nerd out on goal-setting frameworks. PACT is a little-known one I found in one corner of the internet.Mon, 24 Nov 2025 21:14:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/planning-for-the-new-school-yearhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/planning-for-the-new-school-yearI’m an English teacher. I’m preparing for the new school year starting next month.Thu, 15 Aug 2024 21:40:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/recipe-simple-chicken-stir-fryhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/recipe-simple-chicken-stir-fryIn 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.Sun, 17 Aug 2025 23:50:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/recipe-tzatziki-chicken-sandwichhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/recipe-tzatziki-chicken-sandwichI try making a simple but delicious sauce. In the process, I learn a little about some of its ingredients.Mon, 15 Sep 2025 00:30:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/reflections-on-change-virtue-and-parenthoodhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/reflections-on-change-virtue-and-parenthoodI reflect on how fatherhood, philosophy, and good friends helped me grow in 2024.Mon, 06 Jan 2025 21:28:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/scraping-the-web-for-ielts-questionshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/scraping-the-web-for-ielts-questionsI use Python to build a library of IELTS writing questions I can use in the classroom.Sun, 18 Aug 2024 23:25:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/skies-parametric-masks-darktablehttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/skies-parametric-masks-darktableI 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!Mon, 29 Dec 2025 22:44:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/sql-to-pandashttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/sql-to-pandasLearn how common SQL data analysis patterns translate to Pandas techniques. Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:32:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/statistics-remembering-sensitivity-and-specificityhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/statistics-remembering-sensitivity-and-specificityI had trouble remembering what sensitivity and specificity were. After writing this blog post, I won’t forget. (Includes a poor drawing of Rambo!)Tue, 30 Sep 2025 07:28:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/summer-in-a-northeastern-chinese-cityhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/summer-in-a-northeastern-chinese-cityA slice of life in a “small town” in Northeast China.Mon, 24 Jun 2024 21:54:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/teleology-in-the-baghavad-gita-vs-aristotlehttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/teleology-in-the-baghavad-gita-vs-aristotleI look at human purpose between Hinduism and Aristotelian virtue ethics.Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:05:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/the-bhagavad-gita-on-relationshipshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/the-bhagavad-gita-on-relationshipsThe Bhagavad Gita is a hugely important work in Hinduism. In this article, I look to what it can teach me about my family relationships.Thu, 10 Jul 2025 23:20:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/the-fog-space-lyricshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/the-fog-space-lyricsThere is a big difference between healing and moving on, and this song illustrates it well.Sat, 13 Dec 2025 21:43:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/thinking-about-moving-to-seattlehttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/thinking-about-moving-to-seattleIn preparation for moving back to the US next year, I need to get my budget in order.Wed, 24 Jul 2024 16:40:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/to-japan-and-back-again-how-the-trip-wenthttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/to-japan-and-back-again-how-the-trip-wentMy third trip to Japan was a success, but not without its hiccups. Here’s what I learned from the experience.Fri, 01 Aug 2025 23:30:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/two-passing-ships-on-the-sea-a-graduation-reflectionhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/two-passing-ships-on-the-sea-a-graduation-reflectionMy 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.Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:37:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/two-weeks-as-dadhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/two-weeks-as-dadMy son found out he has hands. He still hasn’t figured out how to use them. My hands are hurting from washing cloth diapers.Wed, 10 Jul 2024 03:23:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/using-unsupervised-machine-learning-to-tag-blog-postshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/using-unsupervised-machine-learning-to-tag-blog-postsI describe the process for using machine learning to categorize my blog posts with Python.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:25:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/agent-skillshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/agent-skillsAgent 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.Sat, 21 Mar 2026 23:59:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/a-weekend-at-treeforthttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/a-weekend-at-treefortFood 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.Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:24:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/plain-text-accounting-web-apphttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/plain-text-accounting-web-appI 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.Fri, 17 Apr 2026 23:30:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/shutter-speedhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/shutter-speedAvoid the disappointment of “that shot looked great in camera” but too blurry on your monitor: focus on controlling shutter speed in your camera shoots.Fri, 01 May 2026 22:25:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/future-of-workhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/future-of-workHumans as workers may become obsolete in my lifetime. What will that look like? How will humanity cope? Sat, 16 May 2026 23:10:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/friendship-reflectionhttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/friendship-reflectionGood friends are fun to be around—but they also tell it like it is.Mon, 01 Jun 2026 22:19:00 GMThttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/language-learning-linguisticshttps://www.randyreflects.com/posts/language-learning-linguisticsI explore the difference between learning a language and learning about a language.Sun, 07 Jun 2026 16:26:00 GMT