Welcome to joshuaw.xyz, my home at the end of the internet.
My name is Joshua Whiting. I am a dad, a husband, a media specialist / librarianish person in the educational technology department of a school district, a sometimes writer, and maybe some other things.
I want to learn, write, make, and curate more things, and I want a place of my own to share those things, so I’ve created this site. This is my main venue for creative activity and publication on the internet.
You can visit the now page to see what I’ve been up to lately, or scroll down to browse some recent notes and images. You can find a menu of additional views and features by clicking on the [ + ] sign in the top right corner of this web page. This site is forever a work in progress and is haunted by the ghosts of my past websites.
Thanks for visiting!
Featured Note
2024.03.10
I can
do
whatever
I
want
here
Last December I opened a fresh notebook and started with this entry. It is kind of my current thesis statement for having a website, being on the internet, trying to make stuff, etc. I haven’t followed through with these ideas so far, but I feel like putting it up on the website is a start.
[]
I can
do
whatever
I
want
here
Last December I opened a fresh notebook and started with this entry. It is kind of my current thesis statement for having a website, being on the internet, trying to make stuff, etc. I haven’t followed through with these ideas so far, but I feel like putting it up on the website is a start.
(A text transcription follows the notebook scan images.)
I can
do
whatever
I
want
here
[sketch1 - self-portrait of sorts, though no beard]
I should probably remember or remind myself that I met Gin2 because I wrote a blog about random stuff I was interested in
I’ve been so jaded but creating and sharing stuff on the internet is maybe probably still a worthwhile endeavor
notice I didn’t say “social media”
but I kind of mean social media but also not
media that can be social?
media that can build connection, understanding, community?
isn’t that all good media? digital or analog? art? do I mean art?
I think maybe what I really mean
by all of this
is
art?Going to let that sit here and see how it feels in the coming days
creating things and sharing things
to
express myself
have fun / play around with
words
ink
pixels
code
images
video
sounds
connect with other people
make and do interesting things
learn stuff
make the world better somehow? (too much to ask)
“generalist”art basically
or being human
in a good way
“the humanities”[it is well]
[the evening and the morning
were the first day]
[light] [salt]
[life] [death]
[growth] [decay]
[seeds] [trees]
[air] [breath] [vacuum]
[nebula] [supernova]
[creation through destruction]34
2023-12-17 after 11:30pm
Notes
-
Never in my life since probably kindergarten have I drawn or sketched anything that I didn’t absolutely have to (like for a math assignment or a game or something) - I decided early on that drawing or any visual “art” wasn’t my thing, wasn’t in my skillset, wasn’t for me to attempt to do. But in this notebook and in my 40s I’ve decided I can let myself try to occasionally sketch things, that there is nothing to lose and nothing to prove, that I don’t care about sharing it and I’m actually kind of happy about it. ↩︎
-
Gin is my spouse of almost 16 years now. In 2007 I wrote a post on my random blog about going to an art exhibit. Gin was searching for information about paintings in that exhibit and my blog post came up in her search results; she started commenting on my blog and blogstalking me. We got married in 2008. ↩︎
-
I guess my brain still sometimes thinks in scripture and poetry when I let it ↩︎
-
Markdown might be a problem for trying to space out poems and word collections like I want to - maybe there is a way to do it in Markdown like a typewriter and respect the manual spacing? Need to research this, but not before getting this posted so I don’t lose my nerves. ↩︎
Standalone post link: I Can Do Whatever I Want Here
Recent Notes [ RSS Feed ] []
2024.03.18
I track my music listening pretty exhaustively using last.fm, and have about six full years of history there. This is a place for me to manually highlight particular listening projects or obsessions of the moment. Not sure how retroactive I can be - weird, but I might go back roughly to the beginning of 2024 or even the end of 2023 to make sure I cover some key repeats or personally meaningful listens.
[]
I track my music listening pretty exhaustively using last.fm, and have about six full years of history there. This is a place for me to manually highlight particular listening projects or obsessions of the moment.
Not sure how retroactive I can be - weird, but I might go back roughly to the beginning of 2024 or even the end of 2023 to make sure I cover some key repeats or personally meaningful listens.
Standalone post link: My 2024 Listening Log
2024.03.18
Below please find my bespoke reading log. I do still try to track my reading on Goodreads because I have a lot of old friends and colleagues there, but I want it first on my own website in my own way.
[]
Below please find my bespoke reading log. I do still try to track my reading on Goodreads because I have a lot of old friends and colleagues there, but I want it first on my own website in my own way.
Standalone post link: My 2024 Reading Log
2024.03.17
[]
Now
-
bought a new-to-me car a few weeks ago and I’m really enjoying it
2020 Subaru Forester Sport, dark gray, orange detailing, black wheels with chunky all-terrain tires, and moderate acne from having been in a Texas hailstorm (saving me possibly $8-10 grand?) -
at work, keeping up with Sora collection development
new releases, renewals, keeping the hold ratios down -
also at work, cleaning up the catalog
fixing book series, building out records, which is a satisfying practice in the moment but feels possibly fruitless afterwards when having worked on it for an extended amount of time - like playing a video game? An arcane MARC record video game. -
getting ready to do a presentation at UCET+UELMA 2024: Cataloging Tips for Busy Librarians
which is super boring and nerdy, even for a library and edtech conference, but maybe useful? I was about to cancel out of anxiety, embarrassment, and laziness and not go to the conference, but when I saw 84 people had expressed interest in attending in the Sched app so far, and there just aren’t that many offerings for librarians, I realized I couldn’t flake out quietly. -
still trying to establish a sustained writing and learning practice in my “thoughtgarden"
what I call my Obsidian vault instead of a “digital garden” now, because its digital-ness is not the most essential thing about it) -
trying to re-establish a personal sharing and curation practice on this website
and likewise re-establish a professional sharing and curation practice with work colleagues
Next
- thinking about getting some gardening going
- thinking about going off on some kind of overlanding-ish adventure in my new car
- building out this website again
- reading a bunch of books, watching a bunch of movies
This page was last updated on March 17, 2024. See my prior ‘now’ updates here.
Credit for the ‘now’ page concept goes to Derek Sivers. I tend to get aspirational when I update it, so I’ve decided to embrace that by calling it ‘now and next.’
Standalone post link: Now and Next (March 15, 2024)
2024.03.14
Test:
- If this note appears, I’ve figured out how to post a note to my website (static website run through Hugo/Github/Netlify) just by creating a note in my Obsidian vault. Cool.
[]
Test:
- If this note appears, I’ve figured out how to post a note to my website (static website run through Hugo/Github/Netlify) just by creating a note in my Obsidian vault. Cool.
-
If this note also appears, I’ve further figured out how to edit the Obsidian note to have it push an update to the website post.
-
If this third note appears, I’ve successfully done an update via Obsidian on my phone, and I now finally have an easy way to post quick notes to my static website from my phone. Neato burrito.
I guess I’ll have to put together documentation and credits for all of this now.
Not sure why the “last updated” timestamp says tomorrow, though. Have to figure that out.
Thanks for reading!
Standalone post link: Posting to my website from an Obsidian note?
2024.03.10
I can
do
whatever
I
want
here
Last December I opened a fresh notebook and started with this entry. It is kind of my current thesis statement for having a website, being on the internet, trying to make stuff, etc. I haven’t followed through with these ideas so far, but I feel like putting it up on the website is a start.
[]
I can
do
whatever
I
want
here
Last December I opened a fresh notebook and started with this entry. It is kind of my current thesis statement for having a website, being on the internet, trying to make stuff, etc. I haven’t followed through with these ideas so far, but I feel like putting it up on the website is a start.
(A text transcription follows the notebook scan images.)
I can
do
whatever
I
want
here
[sketch1 - self-portrait of sorts, though no beard]
I should probably remember or remind myself that I met Gin2 because I wrote a blog about random stuff I was interested in
I’ve been so jaded but creating and sharing stuff on the internet is maybe probably still a worthwhile endeavor
notice I didn’t say “social media”
but I kind of mean social media but also not
media that can be social?
media that can build connection, understanding, community?
isn’t that all good media? digital or analog? art? do I mean art?
I think maybe what I really mean
by all of this
is
art?Going to let that sit here and see how it feels in the coming days
creating things and sharing things
to
express myself
have fun / play around with
words
ink
pixels
code
images
video
sounds
connect with other people
make and do interesting things
learn stuff
make the world better somehow? (too much to ask)
“generalist”art basically
or being human
in a good way
“the humanities”[it is well]
[the evening and the morning
were the first day]
[light] [salt]
[life] [death]
[growth] [decay]
[seeds] [trees]
[air] [breath] [vacuum]
[nebula] [supernova]
[creation through destruction]34
2023-12-17 after 11:30pm
Notes
-
Never in my life since probably kindergarten have I drawn or sketched anything that I didn’t absolutely have to (like for a math assignment or a game or something) - I decided early on that drawing or any visual “art” wasn’t my thing, wasn’t in my skillset, wasn’t for me to attempt to do. But in this notebook and in my 40s I’ve decided I can let myself try to occasionally sketch things, that there is nothing to lose and nothing to prove, that I don’t care about sharing it and I’m actually kind of happy about it. ↩︎
-
Gin is my spouse of almost 16 years now. In 2007 I wrote a post on my random blog about going to an art exhibit. Gin was searching for information about paintings in that exhibit and my blog post came up in her search results; she started commenting on my blog and blogstalking me. We got married in 2008. ↩︎
-
I guess my brain still sometimes thinks in scripture and poetry when I let it ↩︎
-
Markdown might be a problem for trying to space out poems and word collections like I want to - maybe there is a way to do it in Markdown like a typewriter and respect the manual spacing? Need to research this, but not before getting this posted so I don’t lose my nerves. ↩︎
Standalone post link: I Can Do Whatever I Want Here
2024.01.28
Some things I’m working on and thinking about now…
[]
Some things I’m working on and thinking about now…
Now
-
making a little progress on activating and functionalizing this website again - I’ve set up my reading and listening logs for 2024, and I have them propagating to the main ‘now’ page
-
inspired into reading kidlit and yalit again after the ALA Youth Media Awards, book talks to librarians from King’s English booksellers, and otherwise finding a lot of intriguing titles while doing collection development work for Sora
-
focusing on collection development work for Sora, and also carving out space for myself to actually do some catalog improvement work
-
laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, cooking, &c.
-
taking baby steps towards being more deliberate and thoughtful about food and shopping choices in terms of quality, variety, supporting local businesses, paying in cash at local businesses, sustainable and fair trade products, &c.
Next
-
a bunch of movies I want to see in the theaters, award nominees coming back, etc, but I haven’t gone once yet
-
Plan and prep the garden and yard for spring
-
cook a bunch of stuff
-
compile and share ‘top titles’ in the school libraries for 2023
-
research and plan my cataloging breakout for UCET/UELMA conference in March
-
get doing stuff outside - hiking, snowshoeing, or at the least yardwork and taking Luna on walks
-
honest writing
Visit the main ‘now’ page to see my growing library of dynamically generated activity logs and links to my past ‘now’ updates.
Credit for the ‘now’ page concept goes to Derek Sivers. I tend to get aspirational when I update it, so I’ve decided to embrace that by adding a ‘next’ section.