Embrace the Mess
Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, was the last day before my supposed vacation started, which is today, as I write this. I felt like I was slogging through the mud, just trying to get through it. I felt like I wasn’t doing a good enough job. I felt like a mess,
Should We Forget?
I have been struggling to write this blog for over a year now, but it is a topic I really want to discuss, because it
Hoping Against Hope
I read Matthew Stewart’s long, insufferable guilt laden essay last night, “The Birth of a New Aristocracy,” which is the cover story of the June Atlantic. Stewart recounts
Swarfcast Ep. 3 Talking Steel with Miles Free
Two weeks ago at the Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA) Tech Conference I interviewed Miles Free, the association’s Director of Industry Research and Technology. He’s
The Retirement Question
Is retirement a curse or a blessing? Obviously, there is no single answer to the question. I have answered the question for myself without a
Hiring Line
The Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA) Tech Conference just ended, and I had a chance to talk to many of the stalwarts in the machining
Profilometer
I’m writing this blog in my new favorite Starbucks in Flossmoor, Illinois. All of the employees are African American women. I am one of three

