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// About Me
Dad of 3. Developer. Always Busy.
Full-time dad. Hybrid athlete. Developer. Chronic over-committer. I write about building software, logging miles, and figuring out how to do too many things without completely losing it.
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years writing code
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kids keeping me busy
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hobbies at any given time
// books
What I’ve Been Reading
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Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang
No spoilers. Blood Over Bright Haven grabs you by the collar in the first chapter and doesn’t let go. Dark academia fantasy at its best — exceptional magic system, uncomfortably real characters, and themes that…
8minute read
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The Shepherd King by Rachel Gillig
No spoilers. The Shepherd King duology by Rachel Gillig is dark, atmospheric gothic fantasy built around one of the most compelling dynamics I’ve encountered in the genre — a woman sharing her mind with an…
8minute read
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// coding
What I’ve Been Coding
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GitHub Copilot vs Claude Code: The Honest 2026 Comparison
I’ve been running GitHub Copilot and Claude Code on real projects for the better part of a year. Here’s the honest 2026 breakdown of where each tool wins, where it fails, and which one I…
12minute read
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How I Set Up the .claude Directory on Every Project
Most people let Claude Code create the .claude directory and never look inside it again. That’s leaving a lot on the table. The .claude folder is the control panel for how Claude behaves in your…
14minute read
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// Health & Fitness
How I’ve Been Moving
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What I Wish I Knew Before My First Marathon
My first marathon was a 4:11 finish on a day that went sideways in ways no training plan covers. This is the post I wish I’d found before I showed up at that start line.
14minute read
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Running in the Heat: What Actually Works (and What’s Just Cope)
Pittsburgh summers are brutal for running. Here’s the actual framework for running in the heat: pace adjustments, hydration that works, and when the treadmill is the smarter call.
16minute read
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// Parenting
How I Raising My Kids
Parenting has turned out to be less about having answers and more about paying attention. These are some things I’ve noticed along the way.
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Raising Confident Daughters: Girls Who Don’t Need Your Approval
Most advice about raising confident daughters is vague. Here’s what I actually do as a dad of three, what I’ve watched work, and where I still get it wrong.
13minute read
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The Dad Morning Routine: What I Actually Do Before 7am
My dad morning routine starts at 5:15am and training is done by 6:30am. Here’s the honest version, including the survival mornings, not the one where I journal by candlelight.
12minute read
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The Real Cost of Kids: What Surprised Me Most as a Dad of Three
Everyone tells you kids are expensive. Nobody tells you which parts actually hurt. Here’s what caught me off guard after three kids and years of figuring it out.
13minute read
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Daily Habits That Make Me a Better Parent
I’m not a parenting expert. I’m a dad of three figuring it out in real time. But there are a handful of small daily habits that consistently make me a better version of myself in that role, and none of them require time I don’t have.
8minute read
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// Money
Heare’s How I Think About Money
Money feels less like a goal these days and more like a tool. This is where I write about the choices, experiments, and tradeoffs along the way.
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How I Budget for Family Vacations Without Losing My Mind
A family vacation budget that looks great in March doesn’t always survive July at Disney World. Here’s the sinking fund system, the real Disney math, and the spending framework that actually holds up.
13minute read
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The Financial Order of Operations for Busy Families
Most families don’t have a money problem. They have a sequencing problem. Here’s the exact order to prioritize every dollar when life is loud and the calendar is full.
16minute read
// Productivity
How I Stay Productive
Systems, habits, and small changes that help me spend more time doing and less time planning.
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The Small Habits That Compound Into Big Results Over Time
I spent years chasing big changes and wondering why they didn’t stick. The overhauls never held. What actually moved the needle were the boring, small, easy-to-dismiss habits I kept doing long enough for the math to work — prioritizing sleep, showing up to the gym on low-energy days, writing things down at work, putting my phone in another room when I got home. None of those felt like habits when I started them. That’s the mechanism. The friction being low is what allowed them to survive long enough to matter. Here’s what I’ve learned watching compounding play out across running,…
8minute read
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How I Review My Goals Every Month Without Feeling Overwhelmed
I review my yearly goals every month and it takes about fifteen minutes. No dashboard, no color-coded tracker, no elaborate system — just my notes app and three honest questions per goal. Simple on purpose, because complicated is what made me stop doing it before. Here’s exactly what the review looks like, why it works when fancier systems didn’t, and how to start your own version without building anything new.
8minute read
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I Let Claude Plan My Weekly Meals and Grocery List
Meal planning has always been one of those things I knew I should do but couldn’t make stick. I’d plan meals on Sunday with the energy of someone who’d never met themselves on a Wednesday, buy all the ingredients, and watch half of them go bad because the plan didn’t survive contact with a real week. The problem wasn’t motivation — it was that generic meal plans never account for what your actual week looks like. I saved my go-to recipes to Claude’s memory, connected it to my Google Calendar, and built a workflow that plans meals around my real…
10minute read
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My Sunday Routine That Sets Me Up for a Productive Week
Sunday used to be the day I told myself I’d get organized and then didn’t. Now it’s the day that makes every other day easier. A few hours of deliberate prep on Sunday means Monday through Friday run on decisions I’ve already made — what to eat, when to train, what the kids are having for breakfast — instead of ones I have to figure out at 6am half asleep. Here’s exactly what I do, why each piece is in the routine, and how to start building your own version without overhauling everything at once.
10minute read
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// Hot takes
What I’ve Been Thining About
Opinions, observations, and ideas I’ve spent more time thinking about than I probably should have.
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Youth Sports Are Out of Control
Registration fees that rival a car payment, weekends lost to the tournament schedule, and a pressure culture that treats nine-year-olds like recruits. Youth sports are out of control, and it’s worth saying out loud.
8minute read
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What Is a Disney Adult?
A hot take on Disney adults, why everyone seems to hate us, and why both of those things are more interesting than they sound. I’m not here to apologize for any of it.
10minute read
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