Reading The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden and Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan were my favorite books that I read in 2025. Other books that made my 2025 shortlist include: All Fours by Miranda July Mina's Matchbox by Yōko Ogawa Prophet Song by Paul Lynch Under the Mountain by Maurice Gee The Wild Robot by Peter Brown Related: everything I read in 2025. Listening Instant Holograms On…
Below is a list of job titles that I've held in my (nomadic, privileged) career: Webmaster Web Developer Web Developer (again) Engineer Technical Lead Technical and Design Lead Software Engineer II Software Developer Software Developer (again) The job titles changed, the companies changed, the years changed, and the Web sure has changed. One thing didn't change, though. Through the two decades…
Feeds are nice. Here is an incomplete list of reasons why feeds are nice: Feeds have specifications ( RSS , Atom , JSON Feed ) Feeds are finished technology, they want for no features Feeds are easy to create and maintain Feeds are fast and scalable Feeds can be downloaded for offline reading Feeds are chronological lists, not algorithmic lists Feeds do not track or surveil their readers (usually)…
Reading Western Lane by Chetna Maroo was my favorite book that I read in 2024. It was published in 2023. Other books that made my 2024 shortlist include: Audition by Pip Adam No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo Related: everything I read in 2024. Listening Weird Faith by Madi Diaz was my favorite record that I listened to in 2024. Other…
2025 in Favorites 2026.01 Web Generalist 2025.12 Feeds Are Nice 2025.12 2024 in Favorites 2025.12 Deploying Static Sites on Netlify without Github 2025.08 2023 in Favorites 2023.12 40 2023.05 2022 in Favorites 2022.12 2022 at Reasonable Company 2022.12 Selling Lemons 2022.05 On Collecting Music 2022.01 2021 in Favorites 2016.02 Personal Values 2016.02 30 2013.05 Shipping is a Habit 2013.03 Tins,…
Until today, every previous deployment of this website was initiated by pushing code into a GitHub repository. It recently became a priority to move my git hosting to a different service (happy with Sourcehut so far) while continuing to deploy the site on Netlify . Unfortunately, Netlify's continuous deployment only supports git hosting from GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps. With a bit…
Reading Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami was my favorite book that I read in 2023. It was published in 2020. Other books that made my 2023 shortlist include Auē by Becky Manawatu, Kindred by Octavia Butler, Matrix by Lauren Groff, Normal People by Sally Rooney, and Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. Related: everything I read in 2023. Listening Javelin by Sujfan Stevens was my favorite…
Today is May, 10th 2023. Which means that I am now forty years old. Each decade, I toss another 10 items onto this list from 2013 . As always, presented as advice to my younger self, exactly ten more things that I (think I kind of) know: If and when you’re able, walk more. Walk more frequently and walk longer distances. If possible, walk everywhere. Spend one moment outdoors each day, preferably…
Reading I finished Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series this year. The Other Wind was my favorite book that I read in 2022. It was published in 2001. Earthsea, I think, is my favorite series of fantasy books. It's bittersweet to finish a beloved story, knowing that it's over as soon as you turn the last page, understanding that there will be no more. I also quite liked The Once and Future Witches…
Reasonable Company was formed in January of 2022. At the end of each calendar year, I will take time to revisit the company's goals, reflect on its successes and failures, and define my expectations for the next 12 months. Defining Reasonable Company First, each year, I want to revisit the company's purpose and definition. In 2022, I wrote: Reasonable Company is the values-led design and creative…
Today, I released 1024 Lemons , a small, citrusy generative art project bound for the public domain. Here, I'll detail how it's being sold and explain why I'm giving it away. What is this? 1024 Lemons is a generative art project that works like this: I wrote a piece of code that generated 1024 small, unique lemon illustrations 1024 art prints, comprised of those illustrations, are available for…
Last week, I spent $11.72 to purchase a CD and have it mailed to my house. Here, I'm writing down some thoughts on why I collect music and why, in 2022, I still buy CDs. To start, three verifiable facts about myself. I enjoy music. I find joy in music . I have small children and want to share music with them. I live a privileged life that includes a bit of disposable time and income, which I can…
Reading The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa was my favorite book that I read in 2021. It was originally published in 1994 in Japan, but an English translation (by Stephen Snyder) was released in 2019. I think this book is a masterpiece. An allegory for fascism? Or Alzheimer's disease? Or maybe just the existential dread of a finite and temporary world? Maybe. It's also about humans taking care of each…
A publicly accessible, occasionally refined list of personal values. First, be kind. Be more generous. Be honest and clear. Be reliable, earn trust. Find energy in optimism. Believe in people.
Today is May, 10th 2013, which means that I am now thirty years old. Thanks to calendars, I saw this coming and was able to prepare myself. I even found some time over the last three decades (!) to write a few words. Presented as advice to my younger self, exactly thirty things that I (think I kind of) know: Try not to give unsolicited advice. Showing up on time, consistently and without fanfare,…
Writing software is an art form. As much as it relies on engineering and science, at its heart, it is a creative pursuit. The programmer, like the poet, works only slightly removed from pure thought-stuff. He builds his castles in the air, from air, creating by the exertion of the imagination. — Fred Brooks , The Mythical Man-Month Unfortunately, programming seems to be an art form that lends…
On the bookcase above my desk, surrounded by a dust ring of neglect, rests an old, oval, tin box that once belonged to my great grandfather. It's weathered with a beautiful patina that nearly obscures the detailed scenes etched into it, but just manages to make it look lived-in. There is a single business card in that tin. The card is simple in its design, but thorough in its description of his…
In 2002 Kurt Vonnegut gave a speech in southern Michigan to the graduating class of Albion College. Most of what he said that day ended up being included in his memoir, A Man Without A Country , which I absolutely recommend reading. But, I'm going to pull out two phrases and one point which I think he crafted just beautifully. Indulge me and jump to about the 5:55 mark in this video and stick…
When I was 12 years old, my father taught me to tie a four-in-hand knot. He gave me a hands-on lesson and a sheet of illustrated instructions from an old tie box. We disagreed on the ideal width of that knot, a preference which evidently increases with one's years, but we both understood the utility of it. It was simple. And it served a purpose. We also understood that I was, from that moment on,…