Author Archives: John

When my parents came to visit us last month in Beijing, I had them bring me an Oculus Quest. I really wanted to try out the latest consumer VR equipment, but I didn’t think I’d use it enough to be worth the purchase price of $399. I noticed that they were selling for an even […]

Apple’s iMessage is both one of the largest messaging platforms in the world, and largely invisible. It essentially resides entirely in Apple’s messaging app, which is connected to and has its roots in SMS phone text messages. When you are connected to the internet and messaging an Apple user with iMessage turned on, you use […]

I have no idea how to help our four-year-old (and, in the future, our four-month-old) develop a healthy relationship with technology. On the one hand, I feel that screens are an addiction for me, and I want him to not be as controlled by devices as I sometimes feel. On the other hand, I know […]

After reading David McCullough’s The Wright Brothers, I was curious to learn more details about the invention of machine-powered human flight, so I read James Tobin’s To Conquer the Air. McCullough’s book is more of a character study of the Wrights, including more details of their correspondence, particularly between family members, and providing a richer […]

I love going to the movies. And I’ve really enjoyed some 3D movies. But I hate that so many movies seem to be only available in 3D in theaters. What I love about going to the movies is the experience of watching a movie with a large group of friends and strangers. The laughter at […]

I’ve been involved in English teaching in China since 2002. I first taught IELTS speaking classes at New Oriental from 2002-2004, and then I helped to found New Channel and worked there from 2004-2016. Since leaving New Channel, I’ve been encouraging students to practice English through my “Morning Reading Club” public WeChat account. Two things […]

Last week I read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I’d heard it mentioned in enough different contexts that I thought it would be interesting. It was. The basic idea is super simple: people express and receive love in different ways, and it is helpful to think about how the person we wish to […]

We live in a community in Beijing with four buildings. It’s a “gated community”, but since almost all apartment buildings in Beijing are groups of buildings with gates, it doesn’t have the same connotation as a “gated community” in the US. Each building has seven entrances and twelve floors, and each entrance has two apartments […]

Growing up in North Carolina, I always had a sense of pride about the “First in Flight” slogan on our license plates, and I even had a resistance to Ohio having “Birthplace of Aviation” on its license plates. Those feelings of pride and resistance, along with many feelings associated with my various identities, have faded […]

Today is our fifteenth wedding anniversary. 15 years ago today, my wife and I gathered with friends and family to commit to join together as a couple and family. We met five years before we got married, and we got engaged on Christmas Eve of 2002. I was a bit nervous about proposing, so I […]