October 19, 2025
A lot has happened since my last update, so let me catch you up.
I’ve completed first drafts for two new novels — The Manticore’s Shadow (a fantasy thriller about an elven soldier defying orders to battle a magician controlling manticores) and Faultline (a sci-fi thriller about ex-Ranger Cole McKnight using ley line powers to battle a corporate conspiracy). That brings my total works in progress to seven.
More exciting: I recently received an Honorable Mention from the Writers of the Future Contest — a significant milestone for me. I’ve been writing science fiction and fantasy since high school, and having that recognized externally means a lot. I plan to keep submitting.
Currently in first editorial pass:
MBA Essentials — the sketchnote book compressing an MBA into something actually usable — continues to progress. Three semesters remain for editing. Sign up to get a sample chapter.
The site has been updated with the latest on all current projects. If you’re following along on the fiction side, the Writing page has progress bars and current status for everything.
Beyond writing, I now offer fractional COO consulting and career coaching to help business owners and professionals build better systems and careers. If you’ve been following the business content here, that’s the natural extension of what I’ve been writing about for years — and I now get to do it professionally.
Learn more about working with me.
Follow along on LinkedIn for shorter takes on operations, leadership, and the occasional book recommendation.
]]>Welcome to this blog series, we will look at a couple of the essential business principles that lie at the heart of an MBA education. I’ll share with you an exclusive sneak peek into the upcoming book, “The Essential MBA.” This comprehensive guide features enlightening sketchnotes and in-depth explanations, covering the Executive MBA program at BYU. There are many parts of an MBA education. Today I’ll be focusing specifically on accounting, marketing, strategy, data analysis and operations.
Accounting serves as the foundation of every successful business, empowering decision-makers with valuable financial information. In “The Essential MBA,” I break down complex financial statements using engaging sketchnotes and clear explanations. Understand the relationship behind balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements to gain a holistic view of a company’s financial health.
In the ever-evolving world of marketing, identifying and connecting with the right target audience is essential. The book focuses on different marketing tactics that help you learn more about your customers and what you can to do target them effectively. Uncover effective strategies that businesses use to tailor their marketing efforts, resulting in increased customer engagement and brand loyalty.
Crafting a winning business strategy requires a deep understanding of industry dynamics and competitive forces. “The Essential MBA” looks at how asking to describe our strategy, diagnosis, develop or adjust the strategy and then deploying the strategy can helps a company suceed in the ever changing business landscape.
Data analytics has become a critical driver of success in today’s data-driven world. Our book equips you with essential data analytics concepts, illustrated through captivating sketchnotes. Learn how to harness the power of big data to identify trends, anticipate market shifts, and optimize operational efficiency.
Streamlining operations is essential for sustainable growth. Within our book, we unravel the complexities of supply chain management and Lean principles using sketchnotes to visually illustrate the flow of materials, information, and finances. Learn how Lean principles optimize operations, driving efficiency, and minimizing waste.
“The Essential MBA” is your gateway to mastering the vital principles taught in an MBA program. Through a unique blend of sketchnotes and comprehensive explanations, our book offers a transformative learning experience suitable for aspiring MBA students and seasoned professionals alike. Stay tuned for updates on the book’s release and subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive offers and bonus content. Embark on a journey of knowledge and elevate your business acumen with “The Essential MBA.” Let’s embark on this exciting path together!
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I recently came across a piece of software called Hero Forge.
Hero Forge is a website where you can design your miniatures which you can then either order from them or download and then print on your own 3D printer.
In my case, I thought, “well, this is an interesting tool, let’s see what it can do.” After playing with for a while I learned that while it doesn’t have all the things I would like, it is super close and is a great tool for a number of specific purposes.
One thing I was looking for was something I could use to create an ogre. Depending on the ogre you want, it could be really muscular or it could have a really big potbelly. I wanted both types: one with a potbelly and one that was super muscular and while the software did a good job of creating the really muscular version, it struggled with the big potbelly version. The software has a decent amount of sliders to adjust the proportions of the miniature. You can make them large in the chest and narrow legs or reverse that, but nothing for taking the stomach and making them have a large pot belly.
Another challenge I encountered was when trying to color the minuature. When I attempted to change the color of the ogre’s face, it also colored the hair and I couldn’t find a way of changing the hair color with the specific hairstyle that I chose. Other hairstyles seemed to work with thier auto theme colorizer, but not this one. Overall, though, I’d say the software is good. It could use some refinement and I suppose if I really wanted to, I could download the STL file and throw it into Procreate and colorize the models however I wanted.
One thing I should note is that everything I used was free. You really start to pay for things when you want to print the models. You can have them print them in a quality resin or you can download a 3D model and take care of the printing yourself.
You can also export an image of the characters, either full body shot, headshot or any other kind of angled image you wanted to by just using their screenshot tool. Using this character image you can then use it as a reference as you write.
With the exception of these couple of issues, I would say Hero Forge is a great tool when you’re looking to create characters and miniatures. I look forward to more content and adjustments as the continue to update and the software.
Photo is a minuature I creted within the software. You can see it online at Hero Forge
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Last week, I was at a convention and was able to talk to an author named Martin Shoemaker. He co-wrote a book about dictation with Kevin J. Anderson, who has written a lot of and he does this by dictating.
I’ve known this for a while, and I didn’t know about Martin and that he co-wrote a book on dictation with Kevin.
After one of the panels Martin was on I decided to approach him and see what kind of tips and ideas I could get from him on how to overcome some of the obstacles I have had with dictation in the past. Now, granted, I don’t have a lot of resistance to diction, but my biggest challenge has been finding a space where I feel like I can dictate without being self-conscious.
Usually, when I return home from work, I want to sit down and start writing. This would be the prime time I would do my dictation. I haven’t done it any other way because I rely on my iPad, phone, or my computer to do the transcription right there and then. However, sometimes these devices will time out, and so I can’t do the full dictation without being distraction-free because I need to watch the device to make sure that it’s actually still continuing to transcribe. There have been times when I have been driving and have lost some of what I was saying because the software timed out while I was in the middle of dictating and I didn’t see it.
However, things have changed recently, which has changed how I dictate and transcribe.
The first thing is that OpenAI has released their new whisper engine, which will take a WAV or MP3 and read it to detect what language it is that you’re speaking in and then transcribe it. The resulting file is a video text transcription file. This particular file format has timestamps where the transcription matches the original audio or video file so that it can display those words on the screen at the same time the words are spoken. Along with the timestamps, it has the exact words as detected by the trained AI.
Since it is just a text file with timestamp information I can throw a regular audio file at it and have it do the transcription and then remove the timestamps, do some editing of the file, and “poof” a fairly good first draft of whatever I am working on at the time.
Now I can use this method while driving. I can do my dictation when I get home I can upload the file to my computer and then have it do the actual transcription for me.
I’ve been using this method now for the past few days, and it’s been great! I have been able to dictate while on my phone using the Voice Recording app which I haven’t had any timeout issues with. It goes on recording for as long as you are talking and you have battery life.
Another benefit of the new engine from OpenAI is how it handles ambient noise. They have been tested in a number of different circumstances, including low voices or very loud ambient sounds. Training it in these kinds of circumstances can make it very difficult for the transcription service to detect what’s being said. But this artificial intelligence engine has been able to detect and transcribe the conversations I have thrown at it and has done a good job at it.
So that is my approach now, is I’m going to be recording a lot of the stuff that I want to write using my phone and then sending it to the OpenAI engine.
A further refinement to this process would be dropping the audio in a cloud folder and having my home computer monitor that direction and start a transcription process when it sees a new file arrive and then email or text me to let me know it completed the process. That way when I get home all I have to do is open the file and begin the editing process.
I’m looking forward to coming up with maybe a tool or a script that will take care of that for me, and I’m looking forward to sharing how that all works out in the future.
P.S. This post took 9:38 minutes to dictate. That’s about 80 words per minute.
Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash
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In my accounting class, our instructor would often suggest we take the accounting principles or the names of certain accounting statements and just say them slowly to understand what they were talking about. For example, the “statement of cashflows” was just that: a statement of the cash flowing through the company. It became something of a running joke with our cohort, but obviously, something that stuck with us and which, I think, has many more applications outside of just the accounting world. In this case, I think it can have a lot of application to reading the scriptures, and in particular reading Isaiah.
“What?” you may say. “Isaiah is just obtuse and just about nobody can understand him.” One could say the same thing about accounting and if you read through it with the idea that you are just going to slog through it to say you did, you will not get near as much of out as you would if you were to slow down and apply some visualization to what you are reading.
Here’s an example using Isaiah 8 on how to read it slowly:
3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. 5 The Lord spake also unto me again, saying, 6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: 8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. 9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. 11 For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, 12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
In verses 3 and 4 Isaiah is talking about his own son and how the Lord told him what to name him (and what an interesting name to have “Destruction is imminent”? How would you like to have that as the meaning of your name?) Before he would be able to talk both Damascus and Samaria would be spoiled by the King of Assyria.
Then the Lord tells Isaiah that the people are refusing to be baptized (the waters of Shiloah) and were instead looking to the kings of Damascus and Samaria for support and salvation. Instead, the Lord promises that the King of Assyria would be like an overflowing river and sweep over those two kingdoms and would even come close to overcoming Jerusalem, but would go around it as a river goes around a large rock. Why? Because “Immanuel” or “The Lord is With Us.”
Then Isaiah says the same thing three times, just in a different way.
Finally, he tells us why we should not be afraid or join with them. Because the Lord will be a sanctuary for those who trust in him and a stumbling stone or a hindrance to those who do not. (Verse 14).
There’s a lot more to unpack in all the chapters of Isaiah and this is just a few verses, but it can be instructive on how to read Isaiah and the scriptures in general.
Going through the verses slowly and just doing some google searches when you cannot understand who “Rezin” is or what “Maher-shalal-hash-baz” means can help you learn and appreciate the scriptures more. Sure, it may take more time, but ultimately it’s not a race to see who can finish the book first. It’s more a test of who can understand what is being taught. “Say it Slowly” and you will do a lot better in the long run.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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I recently listened to a podcast where the host talked about his experience blogging. He said that he initially blogged about whatever came to mind and that his blog was not very focused. Sounds like a familiar tune. Of course, I’m interested in a lot of different things.
For example, I enjoy writing fiction so I am focused on that aspect and will occasionally write about something interesting about fiction or stories.
I’m also a tech nerd. Years ago somebody commented on the fact that I always seemed to be looking at exploring technologies. I realized what they said was true and adopted the moniker of “digitalbias” because I seemed to have a bias for all things digital (technical seemed a little too broad IMHO). What aspects of tech specifically? Oh: Programming languages (I dabble in quite a few), mechanical keyboards,
I also enjoy many aspects of business and have a company I own and operate. Sometimes I think and write about that kind of stuff.
I’m also a closet RPGer. I have a large collection of game books from AD&D to the current version of D&D (and I’ll probably get the next version after 5, whatever they call it). I have Cortex, Fate, Crafty, Ironsworn, Masks, Savage Worlds, Pathfinder, Genesys, Edge of the Empire, a small Tiny d6 collection, Microscope, and The Hero’s Journey v2. And those are just the printed copies of books. I have a lot more digital copies of books from DriveThruRPG.
Miniatures: Yup. HeroClix, Hordes, Warmachine, War Hammer, and Marvel Crisis Protocol to name some of the more recent stuff. My first mini-game was “The Battle at Helms Deep” in the 1980s. I still have some of the lead figures.
And I don’t post any of that because I thought my blog posts had to be focused on just one thing.
Unconsciously I was following rules I had made up in my head and this podcast host had unwittingly given me “permission” to break the rules I had made.
As a matter of habit, I write at least 300 words five days a week. Sometimes it is more, but never less than 300 words.
Not all of it is publishable. Sometimes it is just a rant about what bothered me about running the company that day. Sometimes it is a release of imposter syndrome, stress, and fear. Not something I want to share in a public forum.
But the idea that I can write about any number of topics that interest me in this medium is something much more liberating and I am thankful for the host sharing his experience. I expect I will post a lot more now because of that one insight.
Here’s to more publishing!
Photo by Basil James on Unsplash
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Cancel culture is all about force. We are trying to force somebody to think the way we think or act the way we think they should act.
The problem is that we fought a war about this a long time ago. We won there, but the war still rages on here, and this is just one more front we are fighting it on. The real question is how do we fight against something that is becoming all too prevalent?
I’d say we start in the sphere of influence where we can. We talk with people and express appreciation for their views and create a safe place where people can speak their mind no matter where we are. We try and let them know that we may have a different opinion and would be willing to share it, but would expect the same open hearted consideration from them that we have attempted to give them.
As we do this, one by one. Conversation by conversation, maybe we can help influence people and grow our spheres of influence in an ever expanding circle. Will we change the entire world? Probably not, but we will have changed it, hopefully, even if briefly, for those few people we interact with.
Photo by Krzysztof Maksimiuk on Unsplash
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I’ve been using a number of different programs to help manage notes, thoughts and information over the years. I migrated from Evernote a couple years ago and have been using Notion for a couple years, but it hasn’t quite scratched that personal knowledge management system I have been needing. It does a number of things well and I will still keep it around for keeping track of my stock research notes. But when it comes to keeping track of topics I am interested in and making connections between thoughts, I have begun shifting over to Obsidian.
Obsidian has been great for keeping track of ideas and just throwing ideas into. One of the bigger challenges I have experienced, however, is when I do my personal scripture study. Making the links to the Gospel Library app has been painful. For whatever reason, the links on the iPad do not work properly and copying text from the specific verses seems like a bit of overkill in some cases as well. As I was listening to a recent podcast, however, I heard an idea that sparked some interest for me. One of the people on the podcast said that he had a friend create a collection of markdown files which he then links to within his Obsidian install. I thought that was brilliant, but when I went out there looking for them, I could not find anything like that.
Well, with a little bit of research I found a sqlite3 version of the LDS Scriptures and using that as a base I then wrote an ugly elixir script that connects to the database and extracts the data, creating a collection of markdown pages I can reference within Obsidian without having to monkey around with the Gospel Library app.
As a note: I found bomdb which was nice as a search app, and I still use it a bit, but overall, my markdown files are my primary sources right now.
There is a newer version of the markdown scriptures. It now contains block references for each paragraph in the LDS Standard Works (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price). You can get the latest version of it here.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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I used to be a terrible journal writer.
If I did write, it was often just sporadic and lacked any kind of structure. Not that the lack of structure is a bad thing, I sometimes still do that, but I also felt like I needed to write something of a novel for each day.
Now my journal entries are much better and I have a specific direction for what I write. With this system I have only missed a couple days since June 2011 because I have used the Five Minute Journal combined with TextExpander for helping add some consistency and automation to the process. Writing a journal entry has become an easy exercise. I admit that it takes longer than 5 minutes, but that’s still okay because I have added a few things to the original questions.
Here’s how the system works.
Every morning I fill out a simple questionnaire that helps me focus for the day and then every night I fill out another that helps me think about what I have done for the day. Add this practice to the next day planning and I have a good idea of what I should be working on for the day. My shortcuts “;5am” and “;5pm” are easy to type and the fillable form makes it easy for me. I don’t have to remember what the questions are, I just have to write my responses. That makes it easier because then I can just focus on writing well thought out responses.
I open a blank text file, put in the date header for the day. Then I type my shortcut for the morning (;5am) and then answer the questions. At the end of the day I open the same file, type the evening shortcut (;5pm) and answer the questions. Then I rename the file from “draft_journal.txt” to the date using another TextExpander shortcut which I named “;journal_filename”. It puts in the current date in with “journal” at the front of the file (You can see the snippit below).
I have another process on my computer called “Hazel” which takes the renamed file and moves it to my journal archive. The Journal Archive is just a directory on my computer called “Journal” which has a folder under it for each month. If I ever want to see a particular entry I can go to the archive and find the month and then open the specific date file in that folder. They are all text files so that makes it easy to use no matter what OS or device I am on. Just about everything can read a text file these days, which is why I use that format.
The system has taken a while to perfect, but I can write a journal entry on my phone, tablet or my computer easily and that is the point. Making the journaling process simple has made it much easier to be consistent.
If you are interested in using my process or even want to modify it for yourself, here are the TextExpander snippits I use to help automate the process. If you end up using them I’d love to hear about it.
## Morning Five Minute Journal
(Month: January) (Day: 1), (Year: 2001)
(Hour: 1 (1-12)):(Minute: 01) (AM/PM)
### I am grateful for...
1. (grateful1)
2. (grateful2)
3. (grateful3)
### What will I do to make today great?
1. (great1)
2. (great2)
3. (great3)
### Daily Affirmations
(I am )
### Emphasise Your Strengths
Today I will be focusing on: **(strength1)**
### I plan to use this strength by doing the following
(strength2)
## Evening Five Minute Journal
(Month: January) (Day: 1), (Year: 2001)
(Hour: 1 (1-12)):(Minute: 01) (AM/PM)
### 3 Amazing things that happened today...
1. (amazing1)
2. (amazing2)
3. (amazing3)
### How did I use my focused strength today?
(focued_strength)
### How could I have made today better?
(better)
### 3 things that got done today
1. (things1)
2. (things2)
3. (things3)
### Three word summary of the day:
(summary)
# (Year: 2001) (Month: January) (Day: 01)
|
journal_(Year: 2001).(Month: 01).(Day: 01).md.txt
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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