LogRaker looks like the app I have always wanted

I’ve just come across a macOS app specifically designed for those of you who monitor application, system, and server log files. There’s a 14-day trial, and the app is priced at only $49.99.

I’ll be back with my review and thoughts.

Oh, and here’s where you can learn more about it https://lograker.app

A Decision That Shaped My Life

In 1994, I left Melville, Long Island, New York, and moved across the country to Camas, Washington, to help open Underwriters Laboratories’ new office near Lacamas Lake. The goal was to help build a more technology-focused operation and reduce our reliance on paper.

Moving across the country was a big decision, but it turned out to be one of the best I’ve ever made.

This week marks 32 years in Washington State. Along the way, I’ve had a rewarding career, built lasting friendships, and, most importantly, met Gayle. This July, we’ll celebrate 20 years of marriage.

Looking back, I’m grateful I took the chance. Washington has been home for more than half my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Definition of “workslop”

Workslop (noun) – The flood of low-quality, AI-generated work that looks polished on the surface but is hollow underneath. It clogs inboxes, reports, and project folders with half-baked writing, shallow analysis, and factual slush that others have to fix, rewrite, or ignore.

In short, workslop is the illusion of productivity without the substance of real work. It wastes time, erodes trust, and turns collaboration into a cleanup duty.

College is the Real World

Every so often, I catch myself thinking about why I design my classes the way I do.

College is the real world. My students aren’t waiting for life to begin after graduation; they’re living it right now. Working jobs. Raising kids and balancing a million things.

So when I build assignments, I don’t pretend we’re in some academic bubble. I try to make my classes reflect what it’s actually like out there: teamwork, deadlines, problem-solving, communication, and showing up even when it’s hard.

It’s a reminder to myself: I’m not “preparing” students for the real world.

I’m teaching in it.

Helpful web browser extensions for Clark College students and staff

Clark College Student Success Resources Extension

The resources in this extension can help you navigate to the most common places on the website you may need at Clark.

Clark College Events Extension

Discover what’s happening at Clark College with ease. The Clark College Events app brings you a real-time feed of important campus events, deadlines, and employee training opportunities — all in a clean, accessible format.

Clark College Web Development Extension

This extension provides Clark College Web Development students with valuable resources to support their coursework.

Still Learning. Still Teaching. Still Fired Up.

A few weeks ago, I wrapped up the 2025 CS50 Educator Conference and received a certificate from Harvard University (yes, that Harvard).

Big thanks to David J. Malan, Kelly Ding, and all the incredible educators from around the world who showed up ready to share, question, and reimagine how we teach. The conversations were honest, the ideas were fresh, and yes, I took a lot of notes in Obsidian.

I’m already planning some updates to my CTEC 121 class at Clark College (based on CS50P), thanks to what I learned. Lifelong learning isn’t a slogan, it’s a commitment. A mindset. A refusal to phone it in.

And hey, if you don’t post the certificate photo, did it really happen?

From Syntax to Strategy: Rethinking Coding Education in the Age of AI

Remember the big mission to teach every kid to code? We built the boot camps, launched the clubs, handed out laptops, and instilled hope. “Coding is the new literacy,” they said.

Fast-forward. Now, kids type a sentence into an AI, and boom, they have a fully functional app. No clue what a loop is. No idea why it works. But it runs. It passes. It’s done.

And I know. Debugging still matters. Reading the code still matters. Talking it out with the rubber duck still works wonders. That duck has been my co-teacher for years. Add some pizza to the mix and we’re cooking with logic.

But here’s the twist: AI is learning to be the duck. It’s patient. It listens. It suggests. It never gets pizza sauce on the keyboard. And it doesn’t care if the student skipped class.

So now I’m asking:

What does it mean to “learn to code” today?

Is it about the code itself, or the thinking behind it?

Are we still teaching kids how to build, or are we teaching them how to talk to the thing that builds?

If you teach, code, parent, or care about this space, talk to me. The duck and I are listening. We’ve got questions. And snacks, of course.

From Long Island to Camas: 31 Years of Gratitude

In 1994, I left Melville, Long Island, New York, and moved across the country to Camas, Washington. I did this to help open Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL) sprawling new office near Lacmas Lake. We were asked to create a new way for UL to do business, emphasizing technology and the reduction of paper.

It was a leap. New job. New coast. New everything. But it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

That move gave me a career full of purpose and challenges. But more than that, it led me to Gayle. This July, we’ll be celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary. That alone makes the move worth it a hundred times over.

Here’s to 31 years in Washington State and to the people and moments that have made it all unforgettable.

End of year thoughts 2025.1: Why My Students Matter More Than the Soundbites

Every quarter, I watch something quietly powerful happen in my classrooms.

Students show up. Some are juggling multiple jobs, others are raising kids on their own, a few have health issues or disabilities, and many are just trying to keep it all together.

And you know what helps keep them moving forward? Government assistance.

Yep. That thing people love to yell about on talk radio and the media.

Food benefits, housing support, childcare subsidies, grants, and even access to healthcare, without that scaffolding, many of these students wouldn’t make it through the first week, let alone finish a degree, land a job, or change the trajectory of their lives.

Is there waste in the system? Sure, there’s waste in every system. But I see the human side of it. I see students using that support not to coast but to climb.

We must stop pretending that “getting help” is the same as “not trying.” Because I’ve got a front-row seat to the trying. And it’s gritty, exhausting, and often heroic.

If we’re serious about opportunity, we must ensure the ladder stays in place. Otherwise, we’ll blame people for falling while we kick the rungs out.

Code that Travels

In my JavaScript class at Clark College, students learn not just how to build for the web but also how to apply their skills to related technologies like Google Apps Script.

Today, we reworked a web app we built earlier this quarter into a Google Sheets-based tool. The logic is the same, but the platform is different. Students got real experience adapting their code to automate and enhance spreadsheets using Apps Script.

Two years ago, I became familiar with Apps Script when I created an app for teachers teaching CS50 at Harvard University courses that makes it easy to collect, submit50, and style50 scores into a Google Sheet.

It was one of those great teaching days, where students are engaged, asking the right questions, and making the leap from knowing how to code to understanding where and how to use it.