Researching, building, writing, and learning

Not everything worth doing results in making money.

Some projects begin with a practical problem. Others begin with an old family story, a piece of music, a photograph, a half-finished idea, or the simple desire to understand how something works.

This page is a home for those interests: genealogy, philosophy, writing, miniature book nooks, guitar and music, fly fishing, golf, local history, and the many smaller projects that grow out of curiosity.

Over time, I will use this part of the site to document what I am researching, making, learning, and occasionally getting wrong before I get it right.

Research and ideas

Genealogy and family history

Genealogy is one of the places where historical research becomes deeply personal.

I am especially interested in difficult cases: people who changed names, crossed borders, disappeared from the record, were adopted, moved between communities, or left behind family stories that do not quite match the available evidence.

The work often involves assembling a life from fragments:

  • Census records
  • Birth and death certificates
  • Church registers
  • Newspapers
  • City directories
  • Military records
  • Probate files
  • Maps
  • DNA evidence
  • Oral history

What interests me most is not merely identifying names and dates. It is understanding how people moved through the world, why families made certain choices, and how stories change as they are passed from one generation to the next.

Some of the research I expect to document here includes Swedish and Norwegian family history, migration through Chicago and Wisconsin, adoption and orphan-placement stories, and the challenge of separating family memory from historical fact.

Philosophy and practical reasoning

My academic background is in philosophy, and I continue to be interested in questions about knowledge, evidence, explanation, language, and reasoning.

Philosophy is often treated as something remote from ordinary life. I have found that the opposite is true. The habits of philosophy are useful whenever a problem is poorly defined, the evidence is incomplete, or several possible explanations compete with each other for plausibility.

Those habits include:

  • Defining the question carefully
  • Distinguishing facts from assumptions
  • Looking for hidden premises
  • Testing explanations against evidence
  • Identifying tradeoffs
  • Revising conclusions when the facts change

I write about philosophy itself, but also about the way philosophical thinking applies to business, technology, history, and everyday judgment.

Making and building

Miniature book nooks

I build miniature book nooks: small illuminated scenes designed to sit between books on a shelf.

They combine several things I enjoy:

  • Design
  • Architecture
  • Lighting
  • Model building
  • Woodworking
  • Painting
  • Storytelling
  • Solving small technical problems

A successful book nook creates the impression that another world continues beyond the edge of the shelf.

Some are inspired by libraries, alleys, workshops, historical interiors, or imagined places. The process usually involves equal parts planning, improvisation, patience, and repair.

I intend to document future builds with photographs, notes about materials and techniques, and observations about what worked and what did not.

Spaces, objects, and practical design

I am drawn to projects that improve how a place works while also respecting its history and character.

That may involve:

  • Office renovation
  • Furniture selection
  • Storage and display systems
  • Lighting
  • Technology integration
  • Repairs
  • Small construction projects
  • Reworking an existing object rather than replacing it

I am especially interested in midcentury design, industrial buildings, and spaces where practical use and visual character reinforce one another.

A project does not have to be large to be satisfying. Often the most interesting work lies in making a small part of a room, object, or system function better.

Outdoors and recreation

Fly fishing

Fly fishing appeals to me partly because it requires close attention.

Water, weather, insects, light, current, season, presentation, and patience all matter. It is difficult to force the result, and that is part of the attraction.

I am especially drawn to the experience of being on the water in Northern Michigan: the landscape, the quiet, the technical challenge, and the sense that even a familiar river changes from one hour to the next.

I may use this space for trip notes, observations, photographs, gear reflections, and lessons learned on the water.

Golf

Golf is another interest built around judgment, repetition, frustration, and gradual improvement.

The game rewards discipline but resists control. Small changes can produce large effects, and a good decision does not always produce a good result.

I enjoy the technical side of the game, the architecture of courses, the rhythm of a round, and the way golf creates time for conversation and reflection.

Northern Michigan and southwest Florida both offer very different settings for the game, and I expect those places to appear here from time to time.

Northern Michigan and Southwest Florida

I divide parts of the year between Northwestern Lower Michigan, and Southwestern Florida.

The contrast between the two places shapes many of my interests.

Northern Michigan offers woods, water, rivers, seasons, local history, and a strong connection to place. Southwestern Florida offers a different landscape, different rhythms, and a welcome escape from winter.

Both regions provide opportunities for fishing, golf, photography, writing, and the kind of unstructured observation from which projects often begin.