The Narrow Gent

“An Easy Education is a Contradiction in Terms:” What They Don’t Tell You about Graduate School

In talking to other members of my cohort, I realized that none of them appear to have entered graduate school fully prepared. Maybe they were given poor information; maybe they didn’t do their due diligence. Either way, they don’t seem to fully grasp that graduate school is different. Here is what I wish I could…

My Top Books of 2018

I set a new personal best for number of books read in a year in 2018. While 21 books might not seem like much to some of you, it was quite the accomplishment for me. I hope to hit somewhere close to that mark again in 2019; however, I set my goal for 15 knowing…

Diaper Bags for Dads: Where are They?

My wife and I are expecting our first child shortly. After extensive searching, she finally settled on a diaper bag that appears to be fairly popular on Amazon (pictured on right). I examined it after purchase (after all, I do love bags) and wasn’t that impressed. It appears a big small and the zippers are…

What is an Ed.S. Degree?

I always get this puzzled look on peoples’ faces when I tell them I am getting an Ed.S. degree. I go further to tell what Ed.S. stands for–Education Specialist–and I get the same blank stare. Here is my best explanation in a quick and simple post. An Education Specialist (EdS.) degree is a Master’s degree….

Tribe of Mentors Questions: My Answers

Tim Ferris published his latest book “Tribe of Mentors” in November of 2017. The book has received attention not only for the star-studded list of people interviewed, but also for the types of questions asked to these A-listers. Many others have posted their answers to these questions over the last year. In this post, I…

Graduate School: Nine Weeks In

Graduate school started the day after Labor Day. It has been a crazy nine weeks, hence the lack of blog posts. Grad school is not entirely new to me; I completed an M.Ed. program about 18 months before starting my current Ed.S. program. Here is a brief run down of how the weeks have gone….

Chrome Industries Pawn and Orlov 2.0: Impressions

Chrome Industries recently released updated versions (2.0 they call it) of their popular Orlov (30L) and Pawn (42L) backpacks that were discontinued some years back. I fondly remember using a coral-colored Pawn back in my undergrad college days. I could bring everything I needed for the day–plus room to spare–without anything getting wet during a…

Efficiency Supply Notebooks: Review of a Field Notes Alternative

Field Notes is a well-established brand of pocket notebooks that many people have as part of their daily carry. I’ve carried their Kraft graph paper version for a few years now and used it for just about everything; shopping lists, personal memos, doodling, etc. Carrying one in the back pocket never seemed right to me….

Warby Parker: Eye and Sun Glasses Review

I didn’t grow up wearing glasses. My eye sight was 20/20 and I wore baseball caps nearly everyday in the summer. Once I got to my junior year of college, I started complaining about the tiny scribbling of self-aggrandizing professors who were too cold to care for proper penmanship. Turns out my eye sight was…

Tom Bihn Pilot & Co-pilot: An Honest Review

Many avid travelers know of Tom Bihn and swear by their bags for quality minimal travel luggage. Even if you aren’t such a traveler, chances are you have heard of the company if you are a knitter, bag enthusiast, or covet organization for work or everyday carry (EDC) bags and accessories. Many video reviews exist…