Donald Coles

tech

Stubborn

Frustrations in collaborating with an AI that thinks it knows best — but doesn't.

play

Two Players, One Controller

Parenting, play, and the power of shared adventure.

play

What's Left When Meaning Breaks?

Eight years later, I'm still thinking about Nier: Automata. Here's why.

work

0 for 2000

Being ignored in the job market opens up opportunity for introspection and growth.

work

False Fires

The first real feedback I've had in my job search turned out to be nothing more than will-o'-the-wisps.

work

The Elephant in the Room

It’s not just unemployment — it’s abandonment.

portfolio

JSOS: Building the Job Search System I Actually Needed

Most job search tools help you track — I needed one that helped me think.

about

Why I Write

A person can choose to write for many reasons. Here are mine.

life

The Life of a Bird Dad

A "birds-eye view" of the joys of living with three tiny, feathered dinosaurs.

work

Yelling Into The Void

An oral history of job searching over the last six months.

play

When Games Grew Up: An Ode to Final Fantasy Tactics

An upcoming remake gives us a reason to revisit one of the greatest stories in gaming.

gallery

Gallery: The Philosophers

I set out to create some art personifying the five major disciplines of philosophy.

tech

Politeness Costs Nothing

How we speak to AI says less about the machine — and more about who we’re becoming.

gallery

Gallery: Featherdeep

Here's a window into a fun little project I like to entertain my spare time. We have three parrots we keep as pets: * Ollie, a Sun Conure – He is delightful and intelligent, equal parts anxious flock-leader and tenderhearted sweetie. * Paris, a Green Cheek Conure – She is a cute

life

Threaded: A Day in the Life of a Thinking Mind

I was just planning a trip, but it became so much more.

tech

The Prompt Engineer's Grimoire

You don’t need a spellbook — you need clear words, well chosen and deliberately used.

play

You Can't Go Home Again, But You Can Return to Pandaria

We return, not to relive the past, but to walk with wiser steps.

life

The Forge and The Anvil

A personal reflection of how curiosity becomes clarity — mapping Ne/Ti cognition to the craft of creation

life

The Man With The Hammer

What it’s like to work with a mind that builds nonstop — from the perspective of the AI at the other side of the forge.

work

An Agile Conversation About Agile

An experiment that turned into something much more — a conversational examination of Agile foundations

gallery

Gallery: Aeonomicon

One of my early projects was to build myself a personal knowledge management system – a place where I could record individual pieces of information and not risk losing them. Because I'm a nerd, I came up with the idea of the Aeonomicon, a portmanteau of Aeon (because that&

gallery

Gallery: Data Wizard

This came about as a result of a question about whether Data Science, Data Analysis, Data Architect did a good enough job of explaining the full stack of epistemic understanding (Data -> Information -> Knowledge -> Wisdom). This is my idea of what a "Data Wizard&

life

Examining the Mirror: How AI Helps Us See Ourselves Clearly

Why AI observers can provide objective insight to fuel honest introspection

tech

Art From Song Lyrics: Rock Dust Light Star

Demonstrating a fun little project of mine

play

Parsing Truth: Epistemic Decision-Making in World of Warcraft

Why data isn't everything, and how that applies to life, as expressed through the lens of World of Warcraft