<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
  <channel>
    <title>Joel Varty - Blog</title>
    <link>https://www.joelvarty.com</link>
    <description>Blog posts by Joel Varty</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <lastBuildDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 13:53:22 GMT</lastBuildDate>
    <ttl>60</ttl>

    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Reasons Don&apos;t Matter]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-178</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-178</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[If you forget to feed the calves, it doesn&apos;t matter WHY you forgot. They&apos;re still hungry. Something I learned on the farm that keeps showing up everywhere else.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Football&apos;s Coming, But First: Mom&apos;s Birds]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-177</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-177</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Football season is about to take over around here. But this week I sat on Mom&apos;s porch and watched her feeders instead. Jays, hummingbirds, a red-bellied woodpecker, grackles, and one very well-fed chipmunk.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[The Farm Still Has Its Hook In Me]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-175</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-175</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[A weekend at my mom&apos;s place at the farm. Scotch, my sister&apos;s she shed, a Spider-Man movie that got us both, and a deer that watched me the whole way past.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Should Humans Be Writing Code Anymore?]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-174</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-174</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[My whole career has been about augmenting what people can do, and right now that means figuring out AI. I&apos;m on my own journey with this, including the parts I haven&apos;t figured out yet. Here&apos;s where I&apos;m at, and I want to know where you are.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[A Weekend in Halifax with Gem]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-173</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-173</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[A weekend on the east coast with my daughter Gemma: a sun-soaked beach we last stood on together back in 2012, RENT at the Neptune, and an island all to ourselves.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Twenty Years In: Thank You, Jon. Thank You, Agility.]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-172</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-172</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[A thank you to Jon Voigt and Agility CMS for the Scotland trip on my 20th anniversary. It was on my bucket list. I don&apos;t think of it that way anymore.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Day Seven: Up Ben Vrackie, Into Blair Athol, and Saying Goodbye]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-171</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-171</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[The last day of the Scotland trip. Up to the summit of Ben Vrackie in Highland Perthshire, a tour of the Blair Athol distillery in Pitlochry, and a farewell dinner with the guides and our fellow travelers.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Day Six: Glen Sligachan, the Giants, and Goodbye to Skye]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-170</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-170</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Day Six of the Scotland trip. Hiking Glen Sligachan and the Black Cuillin on the Isle of Skye, then south through the Highlands to Perthshire.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Day Five: Northern Skye, the Quiraing, and Reflections on Life]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-169</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-169</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Day Five of the Scotland trip. Hiking the Quiraing on northern Skye, walking under the spiking rock formations of the Trotternish landslip.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Day Four: Glen Nevis, Eilean Donan, and Over the Sea to Skye]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-168</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-168</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Day Four of the Scotland trip. A hike through Glen Nevis at the foot of Ben Nevis with a Nevis Landscape Partnership ranger, then across to the Isle of Skye with a stop at Eilean Donan Castle.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Day Three: The Devil&apos;s Staircase and the Top of the West Highland Way]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-167</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-167</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Day Three of the Scotland trip. Out of the Kings House in Glen Coe and up the Devil&apos;s Staircase to the highest point on the West Highland Way, then down into Kinlochleven and the Grey Mare&apos;s Tail.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Day Two: Conic Hill and the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-166</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-166</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Day Two of the Scotland trip. Up Conic Hill at Loch Lomond, an old song my dad used to sing, stone steps on the way down, a stop at Luss, and on to the Kings House on the West Highland Way.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Scotland, Day One: Edinburgh Before the Group]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-164</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-164</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Arrived in Edinburgh at 8am on almost no sleep. A walk to the Botanic Gardens, a lovely brunch, and a few hours to myself before the group meets at noon.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Day One: Edinburgh, Arthur&apos;s Seat, and the Closes off the Royal Mile]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-165</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-165</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[The first day of the Scotland expedition. Seven of us, two guides, a National Geographic photographer, a hike up Arthur&apos;s Seat, and the quiet closes hiding just off a very crowded Royal Mile.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Trilliums on the Hog&apos;s Back]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-163</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-163</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 19 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Fifteen kilometers on the Green A loop in Northumberland Forest. Three laps of the Hog&apos;s Back to prep my legs for Scotland. And the trilliums everywhere, just doing their thing.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[A Dad&apos;s Cut: Harry&apos;s Sophomore Season at Guelph]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-162</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-162</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 17 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Filming every game on a Sony a6700, watching my son catch two touchdowns in a near-impossible comeback against undefeated Laurier, and figuring out what it means to be useful as a football dad.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Worse Than Smoking? Claude Code Remote Control]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-161</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-161</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Over the weekend I replaced doom scrolling with Claude Code remote control. This might be the new smoking for the age of AI.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Sodden at Orono Crown Lands]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-160</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-160</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 25 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[A short rainy hike at a new spot, a small wardrobe lesson learned, and a very kind barista who pretended not to notice.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Back from the Agility CMS Mexico Retreat]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-158</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-158</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[A week in Mexico with the Agility CMS team. Strategy resets with the exec team, leadership training with our Senior Managers, dine-arounds with the full crew, and an epic excursion to Tulum, sea turtles, and a cenote.]]></description>
      
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[What&apos;s In My Bag]]></title>
      <link>https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-157</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.joelvarty.com/blog/post-157</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[Packing for a work retreat in Mexico. Everything I need to be productive, sleep well, stay healthy, and have a little fun, all in a carry-on.]]></description>
      
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>