Three years ago today—or rather, the evening of three years ago today—I was sitting in a La-Z-Boy recliner in the very living room where I’m writing this now. Right now I can get up easily, use the restroom, get a drink, lay on my side, whatever I want to do. That was not the case three years ago.

I write about this experience in a memoir I wrote called Work the Problem. I had originally written it for me and me alone, but decided it was something I should publish. I’ve already spoken about the book in a video post on social media, so I won’t bore you with those details here.

What I will say is this: one of the most profound discoveries I made during that time was that when we’re in the moment, we don’t really understand the full impact of what’s happened—how it changes you, or in my case, perhaps gave me a reset.

I discovered that when you’re in the bee’s nest, you don’t pay attention to all the buzzing that goes on every day. But if you give yourself a chance to look out—or rather, look in from the outside—there’s so much happening. In three years, a tremendous amount has happened in my life, my family’s life, and my friends’ lives. I’m just paying attention a little differently now.

As much as I would like to think I can be all things to all people and do everything, I’ve found that I simply can’t. I’ve set some expectations that are reasonable and achievable, and some that are still achievable but not so reasonable.

I’ve decided to keep track of my thoughts—daily, weekly, or monthly—in the same way I would if I kept a diary, but a little different. I’ve been a technologist in some form or another for the entirety of my life, so I’ll use a digital diary of sorts in the form of this blog.

Like most diaries, some days will be heavy. Other days will be light. But what I do plan on sharing are insights on how I came up with the concept of Dark Recipe, where the name Knox Ramsey originated, why I chose that story for my first book, and why I’ve chosen to write the other stories that are coming.

I don’t plan on being too controversial in my digital diary. That being said, I may still have opinions or comments that others don’t agree with for one reason or another. You can’t please everyone.

This is also due to my observation that social media is largely a fool’s errand when discussing political issues. Today, people don’t really discuss things online—they largely pick sides or tribes. I’m generalizing, of course, but ask yourself: how many times have you actually gotten in the middle of a conversation or argument on someone’s wall—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever platform you use—and actually changed someone’s mind? If it happens, that’s a rarity. That’s a Hope Diamond.

I often write about topics in my daily life, such as modern technology and artificial intelligence on some days, and commercial produce and food safety on others. It’s amusing when I think about it—one moment I’m discussing food traceability lists (FTL) and the Food Safety Modernization Act Rule 204, also known as FSMA, and the next I’m debating the advantages and risks of artificial intelligence or figuring out the best prompts for financial calculations in my business.

Other topics I’ll share will be about my family and friends, though those will likely stay mostly on my social media sites like Facebook.

So why do I choose to use yet another digital diary interface? Why would I choose one more place to share my thoughts outside of social media?

Because I have total control over what I say on my site. We don’t have total control over what we say on the socials.

Mostly, though, I’m going to be sharing inside details about any of the stories or books I’m currently writing. I’d actually like to write a story someday about being a serial entrepreneur—what it’s been like being a co-founding member of Molly’s Grape & Citrus Company and how my role has evolved there.

There will be things I discuss that could potentially be thought of as controversial, but that’s not my intention. My intention here is simply to have an open discussion about whatever topic I want to bring up.

I consider myself to be a moderate, but I do lean strongly on certain topics. I think anyone who truly knows me would say that I am free and open to discussion about pretty much any subject. I may argue my point, but I’m open to another side. I’m open to looking at things through a different lens, to the best of my ability. It may not change my conviction, but as long as somebody has a reasonably founded argument, I’m glad to hear it. I might learn something.

I’m going to reread this to make sure I don’t have too many errors, because I do use voice-to-text quite often. This is one of the many things I’m grateful for today—having technology available that can keep up with me and my rapid speech. It helps me get my thoughts out.

I can tell you honestly, for many years of my life, not being able to write as quickly as I speak or think has stopped me from actually putting things on paper. I’m sure there’s a name for that.

With that, welcome to my blog. I know I wrote a lot, so if you made it to the bottom of this first entry, congratulations!