About This Place
Welcome to Notes Beyond the Map.
This site exists for one primary reason: to pursue truth as honestly as possible, wherever it leads, and to document that pursuit in public. Not to perform certainty, not to chase consensus, and not to trade in comfortable half-answersโbut to ask better questions, test assumptions, and refine understanding over time.
Itโs a living field notebook for sharpening how I see the world: history, technology, faith, politics, travel, food, and the ideas that sit uncomfortably between categories. Truth rarely arrives neatly packaged. More often, it shows up fragmented, contextual, and demanding patience.
If youโre here for tidy conclusions or ideological comfort, this may feel unsettling at times. If youโre here for curiosity, challenge, and an invitation to think more clearly and honestlyโeven when itโs inconvenientโyouโre in the right place.
What Youโll Find Here
This isnโt a niche blog. Itโs not supposed to be.
Some days Iโll write about technology and the strange ways it reshapes human behaviour. Other days itโll be history, or geopolitics, or the quiet psychology behind modern work, or a meal somewhere far from home that somehow taught me something.
The common thread is simple: Iโm trying to see clearly.
That means Iโm not allergic to complexity, I donโt do much black-and-white thinking, and Iโm comfortable saying, โI donโt know yet,โ while I continue pulling on the thread.
Hereโs what to expect:
- A wide range of topics (by design, not indecision)
- Strong opinions, loosely held (updated when reality earns it)
- Long-horizon thinking (more compass than clock)
- A bias toward first principles (whatโs true, whatโs useful, whatโs missing)
How I Approach the World
Part-time philosopher, full-time wanderer. I was born on Vancouver Island, where the trees are taller than most politiciansโ promises, and the ocean never stops reminding you youโre small. My research labs are mountaintops and local breweries, and my experiments often end in great stories.
I tinker with technology, poke at the edges of AI, and occasionally wrangle e-commerce into something humans actually enjoy. I collect cultures the way some folks collect stamps, except mine come with real people, unfamiliar foods, and the occasional questionable bus ride.
I believe curiosity is a compass, bold ideas are the only currency worth trading, and if youโre not getting a little lost now and then, youโre doing life wrong.



Where This Meets My Work
A fair note, since this site is personal but not disconnected from real-world work.
Professionally, I operate at the intersection of business and technology. Iโve worked across Canada, the US, and Australia on e-commerce platform rollouts, ERP implementations, digital transformations, and process automation. Some of that thinking shows up here. A lot of it doesnโt.
This site is not a sales funnel. Itโs upstream. Itโs how I stay sharp, test ideas, and keep my worldview from turning into a brittle little cage. If youโre an Aurisen client (or future one), this is the human side of the operator. If youโre not, it still stands on its own as a public notebook.
Ways In
People arrive here for different reasons. Choose your door:

Are you a big-picture thinker with a focus on reflection?
If you are then Mind & Lifestyle might be worth a look.

Do you have an interest in geopolitics, culture, and history?
If you are then check out World & Exploration.

Are you passionate about technology and interested in the future?
If you are then give Innovation & Enterprise a try.
An Open Notebook
This site has been evolving for a long time. Some posts will age better than others. Thatโs fine. A notebook is allowed to show its work.
One small housekeeping note: if youโve seen older photos (like my wife and I on Kilimanjaro), theyโre part of the story, but they wonโt be the front door anymore. Iโm shifting the About page from โhighlight reelโ to โorientation.โ The adventures arenโt gone. Theyโll just live where they belong: inside the writing.
If youโve made it this far, youโre probably my kind of reader. Iโm glad youโre here.