Eris
Eighteen years ago, Jen found a flea-ridden kitten hiding beside a trailer wheel. On Sunday, we said goodbye to that same kitten—our baby, our vibe detector, our Goddess of Discord.
Avalonstar
Avalonstar is the personal website of Bryan Veloso: content creator, retired professional user interface designer, and compass of purpose.
Latest posts
Mamita
A tribute to my late mother-in-law, Leony.
A Reflection on My Time At VShojo
After the collapse of VShojo, I'm here to share my story—one of betrayal, resilience, and ultimately finding meaning in the work I did for the talent and fans who deserved better.
Erased
On legacy, being forgotten, and what happens when someone else stakes your claim to history.
John Cena Destroyed Wrestling... Entrances
John Cena's heel turn brought me back to wrestling, but it was his WrestleMania entrance that truly blew this designer's mind—proving that sometimes the absence of spectacle creates the most powerful moment of all.
Between Authenticity and Performative Empathy
Being back on LinkedIn has reconnected me with old friends, but also reminded me why I left in the first place—the presumptuous narratives that claim to know your struggle while knowing nothing at all.
The Enshittification of Dribbble is Complete
While stumbling onto Dribbble, I saw a post (and its... expected comment section) that served as a microcosm of the current state of a once beloved service.
What a Blog Represents
Twenty-five years of avalonstar.com got me thinking: what does a personal blog truly represent? Join me in a nostalgic trip down memory lane as I muse on the existential purpose of a website old enough to rent a car.
Ravyn
Twenty years wasn't enough time with our beloved Ravyn, who left us this afternoon after a life filled with love, memories, and an unending quest for food. He was a mainstay through countless changes, and I'll miss him forever.
The Experience Fans Deserved
Designing a convention booth for a group of VTubers was an opportunity I never imagined I'd have, but my time at VShojo made it a reality. This post chronicles the journey of conceptualizing and creating an unforgettable fan experience for Anime Expo 2023.
The End of Altair
The end of an era. After almost two years, my startup Altair has run out of money. I dive into the different decision to shut down and the journey that led us here, staying true to our values until the very end.
IVS and the Psychology of Hope
Altair's launch plans were shaken by unexpected changes, but we have a story of resilience and hope to share. Join us as we navigate the challenges of building a creator-first platform in an ever-shifting landscape.
What I'm Embarking On
After a whirlwind week of soul-searching, I've embarked on a new journey to build altair.tv—a content creation platform founded on principles that put people over metrics. It's time to be the change I want to see in this industry.
Finding my Pride in Pride
A sheltered upbringing and a college experience that shattered my worldview. I'm sharing a deeply personal story about coming to terms with my identity and the challenges I faced along the way.
A Single, Evolving World
I've been an avid follower of Bungie's work since the early Halo days, and Destiny 2 has managed to grab me in a way few games do. Luke Smith's Director's Cut got me thinking about the vision of "a single, evolving world"—and I've got some thoughts to share.
On Big Brothers and Being "Dad"
A reflection on being a "big brother" figure and the transition to being called "dad" by my online community, for better or worse.
A Career With Aphantasia
How my journey of self-discovery led to a startling realization about the way my mind works—and how it shaped my entire career as a designer.
Rebooted
After 6 years of dormancy, Avalonstar reboots once again—albeit unfinished. Join me as I reminisce about the past and give you a glimpse into the latest evolution of my little corner of the web.
Subscriber Streams as Anxiety Remedies
Anxiety is a constant battle when you're a content creator, but subscriber streams have been a game-changer for me—providing a safe, comfortable space to connect with my community on my own terms.
Three Months
Three months in, I'm finally feeling like I'm hitting my stride at Twitch. It's been a challenging transition, but with the help of an amazing team of designers, I'm growing in ways I never expected.
Slides for the Back of the Room
When creating slides for PyCon, I left the bottom third blank for the benefit of the people in the back—a decision that surprised me with the positive reactions it garnered. So when you're creating your next presentation, make sure to keep your surroundings in mind too.
Fitting In
I'm starting a new job with an employee number higher than 30 for the first time, and I'm terrified that I won't fit in with the established culture.
The Graphs are Always Greener
Data shame and streak phobia fuel my GitHub obsession, motivating me to commit daily for over a year. The fear of breaking my streak drives me to extremes, but I've learned to use it to my advantage.
My Ambition is Dead, Long Live Ambition
I reflect on the dreams that were and the harsh realities that followed. The road from wide-eyed aspirations to reluctant acceptance is a bumpy one, filled with doubt and the weight of a life's work.
In a Vacuum
After a year and a half of ignoring Avalonstar because of self-doubt, I'm going to attempt writing for myself again, in a vacuum. It's time to let this place become the personal journal it once was, even if it's harder than it sounds.
My Humanscale M8
I've been on a mounting spree lately, and my iMac was the last piece of the puzzle. Getting my hands on a Humanscale M8 took nearly a month due to backorder, but it was definitely worth the wait.
On Removing Barriers to Writing
I'm moving off Harmony and onto GitHub Pages—an experiment to see if I can bring blogging to the same level as my development process. Here's to knocking down the barriers between designing and writing.
Don't Clobber The Web
The web's stuck between a rock and a hard place, with vendors and developers playing the blame game. It's 1999 all over again, and we're all along for the ride.
On Fandoms and Analysis Paralysis
When you're sitting down between tasks with pizza and soda, weird ideas happen. I asked Twitter about the non-tech fandoms of tech people and got some fascinating responses that made me ponder the diversity of interests in our industry.
Super Hybrid Robots
After years of dabbling in everything from Cocoa to Puppet, I've come to associate myself with the concept of a hybrid—and found some surprising parallels with Mega Man along the way. My latest presentation at the GitHub summit explores what it means to be a "super hybrid robot."
A Weekend with Z Shell
After a year of avoiding it, I finally took the plunge into the world of Z Shell and crafted a prompt that made me giggle with geeky satisfaction. Take a peek at my new setup and grab the code from my dotfiles repo.
Let TweetNest Accept JSON
It's a sad reality that our tweets are lost to time, but there's hope on the horizon. I stumbled upon some ancient tweets in JSON format—now to see if I can get TweetNest to accept them and bring a piece of my history back to life.
Bryan Day
A whole year at GitHub—a personal milestone and my first startup anniversary. Looking back on past jobs, stubborn dreams, and the gravity of responsibility.
On Foreman and Procfiles
Foreman is my new find of the day. It's a Ruby gem that lets me run multiple services with a single command using a Procfile, and it's a godsend for my detail-oriented (read: obsessive) development needs.
Best. Year. Ever.
2011 was a year that felt like five, and it's quite unbelievable how much we managed to fit in. From joining GitHub to getting married, it was definitely a year to remember.
The Spirit of Giving
On the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy, I'm embarking on an epic quest to marathon every game in the series on their original Japanese release dates—all for charity. It's dangerous to go alone, so I'm seeking a few brave souls to join me on this year-long journey of gaming, giving, and probable insanity.
Spoon-feeding
Arin's video on MegaMan X gave me a new perspective on one of my favorite childhood games, but more importantly, it spoke to the designer in me and confirmed my belief that user experiences should encourage exploration and discovery rather than forcefully spoon-feeding the obvious. Nothing annoys users more than being patronizingly taught what they already know.
Asking the Right Questions
Asking questions is a skill that's been crucial in my journey as a programmer. I'll take as much time as I need to craft that perfect question, because wasting anybody's time is the last thing I want to do.
My Process is Circular
My design process is like a drunken walk down a circular path, full of "eureka" moments and stumbles. I bounce between sketching and Photoshop like a manic game of pong, but hey, whatever gets the job done, right?
To Come Into Being
After 840 days, I'm finally dusting off Avalonstar again. The neurons are firing, the Photoshop layers are stacking up, and I'm ready to rise from the ashes like a phoenix... or something poetic like that.
Rekindling
After losing my way, I'm attempting to rekindle my love for writing—not just blogging, but writing about anything and everything. It's time to come full circle and get back to the basics: just write.
Rolling Your Own Honeyfund
After 8 years of engagement, Jen and I are finally tying the knot. But when it came to wedding registries, we wanted to avoid the typical blenders and china sets—so we decided to roll our own honeyfund instead.
On Weddings and Websites
After 8 years of being engaged, I'm finally tying the knot in 24 days—and designing our own wedding website, ren.ai, has been the ultimate challenge. Join me on this journey through the invitations, inspirations, and late night design sessions that brought it all together.
Music & Morning Musume
For the first time, I was able to connect the two worlds that were the definition of mutually exclusive--my love for Japanese idols and my new life at GitHub. What followed was probably the best presentation of my very short presenting career, and it wasn't just the beer talking.
The Ballad of the Takoneko
It's my first day at GitHub and I've got a lot to learn, but I couldn't be more excited to get started making awesome with this incredible team. While I may be the lone Python guy in a sea of Ruby, I'm ready to dive in and see how I can make life even better for my fellow Pythonistas on GitHub.
12:34
Have you ever had an unconscious tendency that turned into a freaky pattern? My iPhone's clock striking 12:34 has been following me around for months, and now it's even showing up in the most unexpected places.
A Decade Comes With Some Celebration
A decade of memories and a barrage of nostalgia-inducing blows as Avalonstar turns 10. Rather than try to contain the celebration in a mere 24 hours, I've been hatching a plan over the past few months with the help of some close friends to create something special.
Stuff Compensation
I'm experimenting with a new way of doing client work: trading my services for stuff instead of money. It's a bit crazy, but it might just keep me motivated and my sanity intact.
Raw
I'm trying this alternate blog thing again. It's a place for the other 75% of my interests: wrestling, game soundtracks, idols and J-pop.
Rich Media Experiences™
I want to make Flash-like "rich media experiences" without using Flash. There's no way to do that? Guess I'll throw a hissy fit then, since it's going to hurt my business.