Updated January 2, 2025

What I’m doing now ------------------ * Raising the 3 best kids. I’m so tired. * I’m working on my goal to read 15 books in 2025. I read 23 in 2024. * Working as a principal software engineer for Atlassian. Opinions on this site are my own. I’ll update this page periodically with whatever I’m up to at the moment. Inspired by NowNowNow. _Last update: January 2, 2025_

Updated January 1, 2025

My name is Ognjen, but you can call me Oggy. I make things that run on the web (mostly). I'm a Staff Software Engineer at Doctolib. We're hiring in Paris, Berlin & Milan. I am/was the technical co-founder of Supplybunny. I wrote a guidebook about building a marketplace based on my experience working on Supplybunny. Before that I worked at a consultancy and freelanced building MVPs for startups (a couple of which raised funding). I prefer using Rails with Vue, but have used (or am using) lots of other tech. I try to make tech (both software and the industry) more human-friendly. To that end, I write about product development, ethics, privacy, etc. I also write about interesting technical issues (and solutions) or product ideas I've had. Get in touch at \[email protected\] or on LinkedIn if you're keen to talk shop.

Updated January 1, 2025

I’m a **software engineer** working at **Rent** from Sarasota, Florida. I’m passionate about building **reliable systems with Erlang and Elixir**, but I often use Bash, Ruby, and Lua to get things done. I’m a maintainer of asdf and the creator of eFlambé. All my open-source software is available on GitHub. I have been working as a software developer since 2010. I got started doing web development in PHP and JavaScript. I began using Erlang and Elixir in 2013. You can read more about my work experience here. **I am currently not available for work.** But I can put you in touch with other developers in the US who may be available. I also occasionally speak on subjects such as software design and development. If you would like to have me speak at your event please contact me.

Updated January 1, 2025

Bassem Dghaidi -------------- Sr. SWE @ GitHub * Home * Public speaking * RSS feed © 2025 Dark Mode

Updated January 1, 2025

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved. Site made by metazai Productions

Updated January 1, 2025

Sup! My name is Stetson Blake – I've worked in tech for 10 years as a Network Engineer, DevOps Engineer and Software Developer. I'm trying to build stuff on the internet and tell people about it. This is an IT Support Group – a community and newsletter for IT professionals. I scaled it to 150k members and sold sponsorships and advertisements to brands in the IT and MSP space. It's the most success I've had in "internet money" land. InstantRickRoll.com - I don't operate this any more, but I made it in a few weeks, without AI and then sold the app. DitherHacker.com - a fun photo editing app. I made it in a weekend with Cursor and AI tools. It helps you make fun little dithered photos, like this image of Saturn. Click on it to make it look better. IDK why the blog did that.

Updated January 1, 2025

### Chris who? My background is in neuroscience, child development, and project management. I’ve managed a neuroscience lab at Penn State, I’ve built and led the operations for a software company, I’ve consulted for ed-tech companies, and I’ve built the operating procedures for nationally-touring LEGO® and Minecraft® events for kids. For the last few years, I’ve been working with educators and students around the US to help teach emotional intelligence and life skills. See my career more in depth on **LinkedIn**. ### What is Chris up to right now? I am currently train **educators** at **early learning centers**, **preschools**, and **community centers** in **modern** **neuroscience** and **emotional intelligence skills**. I use high-energy roll-up-your-sleeves-and-do-it workshops to make learning stick. See my **work** to see this training in action.

Updated January 1, 2025

I’m Chris Peoples, but hopefully you knew that already. I like to build web-based tools and applications that help make peoples lives easier. My primary weapons are .NET, C#, SQL Server, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Take a gander at my scant few public projects. When I’m not working, I’m a parent, former podcaster, poker player, and alliteration afficianado. I also enjoy reading, playing Rocket League, cheering for the Sparks and Lakers, and occasionally lacing them up myself. * GitHub (chrisofspades) * Stack Overflow (chrisofspades) * LinkedIn * Goodreads (chrisofspades)

Updated January 1, 2025

CHRONOPHOTO * ABOUT **PLAY** **DAILY** **PARTY** **© 2025 Chronophoto All Rights Reserved**

Updated January 1, 2025

This is my Now page, inspired by Derek Sivers. January 2025 * ☕ I've officially launched my Minneapolis coffee locator app, MPLS Coffee in the iOS and Android stores. I'm continuing to work on it as I get time, but that has not happened as much as I've wanted this month. The main goal was to do a release every month, it's more like every other month right now. The next update will extend the range of coffee shops to include the entire state of Minnesota instead of just the Twin Cities metro area. That's probably going to require a name change sometime down the road. * 🖥️ This website is now running .Net 8! I migrated the blog posts to markdown format and updated the CSS to use Bootstrap 5. It's a pretty bland and boring design but I'd rather focus on creating software than updating my website design. * 🤒 There is something fierce going around Minneapolis these days. Everyone in my house has gotten ill in one way or another this month. We're on the tail end, I hope but everyone I talk to is going through the same thing. * 🏂 For the first time in 15 odd years I own a snowboard again. Now that Theo is learning to shred, I went out and bought my own board from Cal Surf in Uptown. Cal Surf is a Minneapolis institution for boards of snow and the street. They also have Nike Dunks, before buying my snowboard there I have not been there since the early 2000s. Now that I know they are a dunk shop, I'm going to shop there more often. * 📸 Updated to a new pocket sized camera, the Ricoh GR IIIx. I haven't been out taking as many photos lately, but I already love this camera. I can't wait to really start using it and posting pictures. * * * October 2024 * Building MPLS Coffee – I’m working on a coffee shop locator app for Minneapolis and St. Paul, designed for people who love a well-crafted cup of coffee. It’s called mplscoffee.com, and it’s all about highlighting spots that offer great roasts, quality pour-overs, and places worth visiting for their craft. * Reading About Strangers – Since the pandemic and a lot of time spent working from home, I've been reflecting on connection. I’m reading books focused on strangers and human connection, looking for ways to better connect with people who aren’t like me. Working from CoCo has helped, but I’m interested in more conversations that push my perspective. * Wrapping Up a Project for the State – I'm putting the final touches on a significant project with the State of Minnesota. It’s close to going live, and I’m excited to see it out in the world soon. * Meditating Daily – I’m making it a priority to meditate for 10 minutes each day. The goal is to be more mindful and reduce distraction, helping me be more present with people and projects. * Helping Theo Adjust – My son Theo just started a new school. We’re working together to help him feel comfortable, make new friends, and settle into the new schedule. Watching him step out of his comfort zone has been a reminder of the value of persistence. * Going to Tech Meetups – I’m attending more meetups around the Twin Cities, connecting with the local tech community. It’s been a good way to meet others and stay involved in what’s going on. * Updating My Personal Site – I'm in the process of updating this site, transitioning from Ghost to .NET 8 MVC for more flexibility and customization.

Updated January 1, 2025

About the Sabbatical -------------------- In late 2016 I found myself feeling de-energized in my CTO job and decided I needed a change. The result is what I called my _solopreneur sabbatical_—a six month exploration into the world of solo-entrepreneurship as I attempted to launch a product and earn money from it. I made a site that makes it super easy to make printable place cards for a wedding, and even made a few bucks from it. The site pretty much runs itself now and generates a small amount of steady income for me. During the sabbatical I wrote regularly about my progress, something that I attempt to keep up despite having returned to more steady work. I hope that other aspiring solopreneurs or burnt-out developers can get inspiration or advice from my story and do something exciting and different in their lives! Also I love hearing from people, so get in touch if you want to chat! About This Site --------------- This site is made with Jekyll using a theme I built myself using Tailwind CSS. In an apropos attempt to generate tiny amounts of passive income, this site is also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Get in Touch ------------ Interested in working together? Or just have something you want to share? Either way I'd love to hear from you. Drop me a line and I promise I'll read and respond to every email. If you're interested in getting updated when I post new content you can subscribe for updates below!

Updated January 1, 2025

That's me, the one on the drums! #### About Hi, I’m Dylan. -------------- My interest in computers started when I was six years old, waking up for Christmas, ripping open a brand new Nintendo 64 gaming console, slamming in the Super Mario 64 cartridge, and seeing the red hat plumber in all his 3D glory. I knew that I wanted to do whatever made this game possible. Ever since then, I have been learning everything I can about software development. Fast-forward to today, I am a Staff Fullstack Software Engineer at AirGarage. #### Experience * Current Staff Fullstack Software Engineer @ AirGarage * 2024-2025 Staff Software Engineer @ Zeal * 2022-2024 Senior Software Engineer @ Rover.com * 2017-2022 Engineering Manager II @ Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories * 2015-2017 Web developer @ Sony PlayStation * 2014-2015 Student web developer @ Eastern Washington University #### Talks I've Given * 2022 Developing Software at SEL * 2022 Blazing Fast: An introduction to cache efficient code * 2021 NPM, Dependencies, and JS Modules * 2019 Making React Fast * 2019 Functional Programming Light (Boise Code Camp) #### Technologies I've Worked In C# Python HTML JavaScript/TypeScript CSS React Redux NextJS Remix NodeJS Webpack AstroJS Django ASPCore PostgreSQL Redis RabbitMQ Docker Kubernetes Helm Istio Tilt Azure AWS Git Jenkins Github Actions Nginx IIS React Native Expo Fastlane

Updated January 1, 2025

Skip to content The Ideophone is an irregularly updated blog by Mark Dingemanse, Associate Professor in Language and Communication at Radboud University Nijmegen and PI of Elementary Particles of Conversation (2018-2023) and Futures of Language (2023-2028). I’ve been blogging since 2007. You can reach me at \`firstname.lastname@ru.nl\`. If you’d like to learn more about my work, check out my publications (for the academic point of view) or my press page (for my mission to make linguistics accessible to popular audiences). **Fun fact.** I started blogging as a fresh PhD candidate back in 2007. After a few months, my then-promotor called me into his office. He was worried I might be wasting my time and giving away my best ideas. Why was I not writing papers? I did not stop; I was having too much fun. A year later I submitted one of my posts as a commentary and it was published in _Science_. He called me into his office again and conceded that blogging was not so useless after all. Technical --------- This blog is built with open software. Like my personal site, it runs on WordPress, specifically a self-hosted WordPress Multisite installation, and it uses a customized child theme of Primer. A subset of posts has DOIs as part of a service from Rogue Scholar, which takes care of long-term archiving and consistent metadata. Some people have even been citing posts on this blog, as can be seen in this Google Scholar profile. For basic visitor statistics I use Matomo, an excellent open source alternative for Google Analytics. IP addresses are anonymized and data never leaves the server. For speed, I use Redis Object Cache and try to minimize the number of plugins I run. Copyright © 2025 The Ideophone

Updated January 1, 2025

January 2025 * * * Metadash needs more marketing and I’ve been working out a strategy to raise its profile for some time. Now is a good time to put the strategy into action and see what works. Marketing is fun, though not so simple for enterprise developer tools like Metadash. Building agents --------------- I’m integrating more AI agent technology into Metadash to help with complex cloud work. Agent tech seems promising, there are many open questions, and it’s improving rapidly. I’m excited to see where it goes in a few months. Publishing posts ---------------- In the next few weeks I’ll publish several posts I’ve been writing for a while. I’d like to publish at least one post a month to keep the habit going. (This is a now page.)

Updated January 1, 2025

Hi! I'm Jen Lampton, and I am one of the Co-Founders behind Backdrop CMS. **I make websites.** I have been actively building websites since 1997. I run a one-person web development company named Jeneration Web Development, and collaborate with a handful of wonderful contractors on larger projects. My day-to-day work involves building websites for local government, non-profits, educational institutions, and local businesses. **I improve the software I use to make websites.** I have been an advocate for Open Source software since 2005, and today I am a passionate core contributor to both the Drupal and Backdrop CMS Open Source projects. I am also a maintainer of contributed modules for both Drupal and Backdrop CMS. Many of the websites I work on require new modules to be written, old ones to be ported from Drupal to Backdrop, or bugs to be fixed. It's built in to my process to contribute all of this work back to the communities that generated the code I am using on these websites. **I run events to support the communities that create the software.** From 2007-2017 I served as one of the lead organizers for the largest free Drupal event in the world, the Bay Area Drupal Camp (also know as BADCamp). These events were held annually and often had more than 1,000 attendees from the bay area and around the world. In 2010, I was also on the organizing committee for the last independently-organized DrupalCon, held in in San Francisco. This event had the highest number of registered attendees, and the lowest ticket price of all previous DrupalCon events. I'm one of the organizers for the wildly successful Backdrop LIVE events that are held online, 2-3 times each year, in a 24-hour around-the-globe format. These events follow an un-conference format where everyone is encouraged to participate in every discussion, rather than listen to one person lecture about a specific topic. **I believe software should be self-evident.** I want software to be both easy to use, and easy to learn. I have spent years teaching. In that time I have watched students of all experience levels struggle with complicated user interfaces, and code patterns that weren't intuitive. In the fight to make Drupal easier to learn, I served as the Twig "initiative" lead for Drupal 8. I had the pleasure of working with dozens of fantastic contributors to get the Twig template engine into Drupal core. I also volunteered my time to the Drupal Usability team for several years. I helped conduct several usability studies, and helped implement usability improvements as a result of those studies. I now serve as a usability constituent on the Backdrop Project Management Committee. My position there is to ensure that our CMS is easy to use for editors, site architects, and developers alike.

Updated January 1, 2025

**Writer. Strategist. Astrology afficionado. Recovering perfectionist.** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ And someone who believes your story has always been trying to guide you home to yourself. For as long as I can remember, I’ve looked to stories to help me understand the world — and myself. As a kid, I devoured books and kept journals I’d never let anyone read. As an adult, I became the person people came to when they needed help writing bios, dating profiles, personal statements, or explaining _what exactly they do for a living_ in a way that made sense. In a past life, I worked in public relations and digital marketing, earned a Master's degree in Education, and gave a TEDx talk on changing your internal narratives. I also spent a lot of time “achieving”, people-pleasing, and pretending I wasn’t deeply sensitive. It wasn’t until I began studying astrology and Human Design — alongside returning to my creative (rather than copy-) writing practice — that I realized I didn’t have to force-fit myself into someone else’s narrative. I could write a new one. Now, I help other people do the same. Whether you’re launching a personal brand, writing your next thought leadership piece, planning a career pivot, or simply trying to clarify what you actually want to be known for — I can help you uncover the deeper threads of your story and turn them into something authentic, intentional, and resonant. **My approach blends the spiritual with the strategic.** -------------------------------------------------------- ### _I work at the intersection of narrative, self, and spiritual knowledge, combining tools like:_ * Personal storytelling and narrative strategy * Astrology and Human Design * Mindset and identity work * Creative coaching and intuitive reflection I believe your work and your story should feel like you. Not a performance or a polished version of who you think you should be — but an expression of what you’ve lived, what you’ve learned, and what you’re here to offer. My Professional Bio ------------------- **Jenna Britton** is a writer, narrative strategist, and teacher helping creatives and thought leaders uncover and articulate their most authentic stories — so they can build purpose-driven lives, businesses, and legacies. With a background in content strategy, education, and personal development, Jenna blends intuitive tools like astrology and Human Design with storytelling and mindset work to guide clients toward deeper self-trust, visibility, and aligned action. A lifelong writer, Jenna has been publishing personal essays and advice since 2012. Her work has appeared in _Salon_, _Thought Catalog_, _Darling Magazine_, _The Everygirl_, and more. In 2016, she gave a TEDx Talk on the power of personal narrative to change your life. Today, she shares essays, interviews, and lessons on self-discovery in her weekly Substack newsletter, _And Also_.

Updated January 1, 2025

Hi, I’m Jeromy. I’m a full-time dad + husband, most of the time founder of Daypart. My home is in Austin, TX and I love it so much I hope to die here some day. I love Jesus, sauna bathing, and traveling whenever I can to the craziest places I can think of.

Updated January 1, 2025

The state of my life, in an occasionally updated nutshell. (Last updated January 1, 2025.) ### Home Amy and I continue to live with our two cats in our tiny co-op apartment in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan. This has been our home since 2021, and it suits us very well. ### Work After resigning from Google in July 2024, I returned to the world of open-source projects. In the fall, I was hired to document a new Memcached feature. I enter 2025 exploring other freelance writing opportunities, and am open to salaried work in the open-source space as well. Amy continues to work at Columbia Law School as its new Head of Library Technology. In April 2024, she was elected to the board of the American Library Association's Core division. ### Ongoing projects I co-administrate Masto.NYC, a Mastodon server for residents and businesses of the New York metropolitan area. The server is legally owned by Five Borough Fedi Project, a charitable nonprofit that I co-founded in 2024. In late 2024 I launched Venthuffer, an audio zine about the Steam Deck video game console. I completed a six-episode season in December, and look forward to publishing more in 2025. You can listen to it in any podcast app, or directly on the web. I keep a personal blog at Fogknife.com, and have written hundreds of essay-length posts there over the past decade. I continue to update it occasionally. * * * _This has been Jason McIntosh's **now page**, updated once in a while. You can learn more about now pages at nownownow.com, and consider adding one to your own website, too. Thanks for stopping by._

Updated January 1, 2025

### Joseph Thacker (rez0) I’m a Solo Founder, Bug Bounty Hunter, and startup Advisor who specializes in application security and AI. I’ve helped Fortune 500 companies find vulnerabilities that could have cost them millions, and I’ve submitted over 1,000 vulnerabilities across Hackerone and Bugcrowd. I love helping secure the planet by building, breaking, and teaching. Email me if you are interested in **AI consulting** (implementation help/advice or AI security assesments). I’m also available for **startup advising** at high velocity startups that need a technical advisor who is well-networked, at the bleeding edge of AI and Security, passionate, involved, and has a wide range of knowledge. On a more personal level, I’m a Christian, husband, and father. I love most things in life, but I’m particularly fond of hacking, ai-art, running, podcasts, and keylime pie. whereami -------- * email: \[email protected\] * twitter/x: rez0\_\_ * linkedin: Joseph Thacker * hackerone: rez0 * bugcrowd: rez0 * email list: Thacker Thoughts (subscribe to know when I post) "As water reflects the face, so one's life reflects the heart." Proverbs 27:19 affiliations ------------ * **Ethiack**: Advisor * **SPLX**: Advisor * **Caido**: Advisor * **HackerOne**: Hacker Advisory Board Member * **Cornerstone Haiti**: Board Member

Updated January 1, 2025

* About Me * About This Site * What I'm Up To Now * What I Use * Old Computers This is my now page. I’ll try to update it every few months. ███████ ██████ ███ ██ ░░██░░░██ ██░░░░██░░██ █ ░██ ░██ ░██░██ ░██ ░██ ███░██ ░██ ░██░██ ░██ ░████░████ ███ ░██░░██████ ███░ ░░░██ ░░░ ░░ ░░░░░░ ░░░ ░░░ This is what I’m doing as of January 2025: * Raising two daughters with my wife in Colorado Springs, CO. * Working on some home improvement projects. * Getting into shape after years of neglect. * Programming in Go a lot.

Updated January 1, 2025

I live in Latvia with my wife Baiba and our two kids. I’m developing online courses for experienced WordPress developers and a suite of plugins and solutions for enterprise WordPress users at WP Elevator. Earlier in the year I wrapped up a 9 year journey at XWP as a director of systems engineering. In 2019 we discovered the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and are still interested into all areas of personal finances and future planning. I highly recommend the Choose Fi podcast, The Simple Path to Wealth book by J.L. Collins, and the Bogleheads community. On January 1st, 2017 I started my video blog because writing regular blog posts was no longer as exciting and took more time. The most popular episode is about adding a display to the Orange Pi Zero micro-computer. I’m a big fan of the POSSE which is why every video has a blog entry on this site and all content is available through ActivityPub on Mastadon and other networks via ActivityPub kaspars.net/@kaspars. I’m also interested in cryptography and digital identity after getting my Latvian ID card in the summer of 2015. This led me to discover Yubico, FIDO U2F, PGP and everything related to JavaCards, encryption and authentication. I contribute to the two factor authentication plugin for WordPress. Last updated on January 2025. _This page is part of the /now movement created by Derek Sivers._

Updated January 1, 2025

About Me -------- David Leininger --------------- I like to consider myself a professional nerd. My brain is constantly torn between creativity and logic. I love finding examples of good UI and will dev-splain how to fix bad UI to anyone within earshot. I am a Staff Software Engineer for Design Systems and Accessibility at The New York Times, where I help design and build websites and apps. When I'm not at work, I volunteer with the live streaming at church, and I help run production at several Catholic youth conferences around the country. I live in St. Louis with my amazing wife and daughter two three daughters four five kids. They are all too good for me, but slum it with me because I’m kind of funny, I have power tools, and I'm an average cook. Extra Credit: ------------- I am a diehard Blues fan, LFC fan, and recently became a St Louis City SC fan. I'm a self-proclaimed pizza sommelier, and I could spend hours talking about the merits of pizza. I believe that breakfast food is the best kind of food. I don’t drink coffee, but I love coffee shops. I eat cupcakes by turning them into sandwiches. I like good bourbon. I have a lot of tattoos. I like building things with power tools. I've been to 49 states – here's looking at you Alaska.

Updated January 1, 2025

What am I doing now? -------------------- This is a _now_ page, meant to tell you what I'm working on now. Updates: January 2025 | May 2024 | November 2023 | May 2023 | December 2022 | October 2022 | June 2022 | June 2022 | December 2021 | October 2021 | August 2021 January 2025 ------------ Hello World! * **Gumball Poetry**: going great. A new issue of poetry and art went into the machine @ The Stacks Coffeehouse in December. **gumballpoetry.org** for more info. * **Work / Ideacog** - I'm now working for the marvelous Microcosm Publishing on their software project, WorkingLit. If you're an independent publisher and need help running your business, check it out. * **Plotopolis** - is in a bit of limbo while I try to figure out what's next for it. * Also of note: * I have a new agent! We're working on an edit of _Let There Be Lighter Fluid_, which will go out some time this year. * It's been a crash course in solar power / energy generation and other bits as we continue to iterate on our small off-grid land. * A new novel is underway... about cities and neighborhoods and hospitals and gods. May 2024 -------- Hello Spring Updates from the last six months: * **Gumball Poetry**: I launched a 'revival' version of my literary journal **Gumball Poetry** for the Raymond Carver Writing Festival - turns out, it was still fun. Afterward, a single machine will be curated at the The Stacks Coffeehouse, starting at the end of June 2024. Please visit! * **Ideacog** - I launched a small tech consulting / fractional CTO service for non-profits. Do you have a non-profit that needs assistance? Read more at ideacog.net. * **Plotopolis** - the interactive literary journal is off to a slow start, mostly for want of good submissions. I will probably extend the launch window to 'sometime this year'. I still really like this idea and the technology, but it needs to launch with a gorgeous piece. (you should totally submit a piece!) * Also of note: * Back in school: I'm currently taking a Spanish literature course that focuses on iconic latina writers at PSU. * I studied with Jennifer Clement at Under the Volcano in Mexico * I discovered the writer Alvaro Enrigue (Thanks to David Naimon!)- I highly recommend _Sudden Death_ and _You Dreamed of Empires_ * I'm still playing with ideas for PitchPost. It's a fun technology, but lacks a focused application. I'll be releasing a few updates soon, and then I'll be considering whether it merits a mobile app. * I've joined the board of a sort of anti-AI startup... Or not 'anti-AI', exactly. Let's call it 'pro-human'. more details potentially to come when I have them. November 2023 ------------- The big news: I have launched a new literary journal! Plotopolis publishes interactive fiction to chat platforms. That's a mouthful, I know. Let me break it down: * Plotopolis is literary journal that pays pro rates (8 cents/word) * for (high-quality, literary) interactive fiction: Similar to Choose your own adventure works * to chat interface: Read/play our stories on Slack, Telegram, & Facebook Messenger Learn more at Plotopolis.com, or subscribe to our newsletter In other news, my short story collection _They Had Made a Sort of Peace. Hadn't They?_ was long-listed for the Dzanc Short Story prize. That makes two lists for the year (_In The Streets of the First City_ was short-listed for the Big Moose prize from Black Lawrence Press). So... what does that mean? Keep trying, I guess. And the novel I'm calling _Let There Be Lighter Fluid_ is feature complete and out to early readers. I'm working on building a cabin on a small patch of land near the Nehalem bay. Just check out this view: Click to make big. Glory be! May 2023 -------- Well hey! It's been SIX months since I've last updated here, and a busy 6 months indeed. I've been to Mexico and back, embarked on many new adventures, and spent a good deal of time thinking about what's next. **Writing:** * This story, On the Sun-lit Side of Venus, got nominated for a Pushcart! (audio and text at link). * My novel _In the Streets of the First City_ is a finalist for the Big Moose novel prize from Black Lawrence Press! * A novel I'm currently calling _Let There Be Light-er Fluid_ is draft complete and in edits. * I've been playing with interactive fiction (mostly choose-your-own-adventure style works), and differently delivery mechanisms...more to come later. * I spent a month at Under the Volcano, with some fantastic Spanish-speaking colleagues and working under Sheree Renée Thomas **Work:** * I re-launched ideacog.net. * I've increased my role at Street Books a little, to fill the technical gaps there. **Life:** * I am taking a lot of Spanish classes... * I bought myself a packraft ;-). Pics of adventures inevitably to follow. * Pics from the last six months include: Snow camping at a fire watchtower, a street art museum in Bisbee, AZ, the narrator working from a veranda in Teptoztlán, Mexico, Steelhead Falls, the Chiricahuas, and cats. Click on any for bigger view. December 2022 ------------- News: Today is my last day at the company I founded. I laid down the first bit of code for Walker Tracker in January of 2006 after my brother gave me a pedometer. I thought it'd be fun to have a place where all of us could track steps online. People from all over the world registered, and a thriving community was born. Through 2010 I did all of the programming, accounting, sales, product development, design, writing, marketing, and everything else. When I realized the hobby site implied very interesting business-to-business market possibilities, I brought on a partner, David Mays. In 2011 we hired our first employee, Taylor Welsh. Six years later, after having run through nearly every role at the company, Taylor took over as CEO. I couldn’t imagine a better person to run a company with. We sold Walker Tracker to Terryberry in April of 2022, and December 16th, 2022 will be my last day. **What a ride!** Here are a few notes on running a startup. * We never took on funding. We never put together a board. While we did interact with many sage advisors, it was our company to run from start to finish. It was often scary. There were many sleepless nights. But in retrospect, all of it was a joy. * We promoted from within, we didn't track time off, employees stayed with us for years and years. Companies seem obsessed with hiring 'rockstars'. We hired people we wanted to work with and gave them the opportunity to flourish. We didn't spend beyond our means, hiring instead when we had the budget for it. 'Work-life' balance feels like an empty HR phrase now, but I like to think that we lived this as if we'd invented it. * With a team never larger than 16, we pioneered the virtual walking challenge (and still run the best today, IMO), bringing a new kind of wellness to companies and organizations. I remember looking through our database to find dozens of competitors emails. They all registered into our software to see what we were doing. * While we grew to do much more than just walking, walking was our wheelhouse. We encouraged and nurtured the love of it in _a ~million people_. I'm really proud of that. We got cars off the road. People's lives were permanently changed for the better. I still love walking as much as when I started, and intend to do a number of 'long walks' (multi-day journeys) now that my time is freer. * We maneuvered market crises while we watched competitors fall. We ran a company with the values we wanted. We ignored the hockey stick. We played the long game. If I could name a single factor in our success, it would be diligence. * I love the start. I'm a 'zero to one' person. I like to workshop leadership and decision-making, I like the trenches. I like to sketch out and revise and re-sketch again, everything from a business plan to a software architecture. I like iteration, to market test, to release often and occasionally break things, and I like to question every assumption. I hate micro-managing and I'm not a huge fan of the deep-process stuff that stifles innovation in larger companies. I value fellow workers that like to just 'figure it out'. * You don't hear a lot of business books using the word 'nice', but we operated that way. Taylor and I were nice to each other. We were nice to our employees. We were kind to our contractors and agencies. We applauded successes and forgave slip-ups. And all along the way, our mode of operation paid us back in kind. People were loyal to us. They wanted us to succeed. I will miss my incredible team and the work I did there, and I'm thrilled to be moving forward to see what's next. October 2022 ------------ Writing: * The story On the Sun-lit Side of Venus, was published by _Apex Magazine_. (click the link to read it now) * A few friends and I have been playing around with starting a publishing collective. * Still working away at my weird road novel. Life: June 2022 --------- Work: Here's a big thing. We sold the company that I started as a hobby in 2006 🎉 ( I'm currently employed by the acquirer). Writing: * Short story: _How We Won the Demon War_ - forthcoming from a lovely anthology called Dreams For a Broken World, out November 1st, available for pre-order now! * The story _On the Sun-lit Side of Venus_, was accepted by Apex Magazine 🎉🎉 * A few friends and I have been playing around with the idea of starting an art collective. More details to come later. * Still working away at my weird road novel. Life: * My eldest son graduates from high school this Spring. The passage of time is utter crazyness. I'm unbelieveably psyched for him and the adventures he'll have. * We keep threatening to open a 'yard bar'... a very informal, but curated, intermittent cocktail hour in our yard. I will definitely keep you posted (sign up for the newsletter below to make sure that happens). A Few Recent Photos: December 2021 ------------- Big things in the works, but no major news to report other than: Writing: * Dispatches from Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin - reprinted my short story _Birds_, first published in Strange Horizons. It's out now and would make a fantastic holiday gift. * I turned in a story for a new anthology being edited by Julie Day, should come out next year. * Laura Moulton's book continues to sell well! * I am still working on a new roadtrip-ish novel (word count ~45k words as of December 1. And another POV character has entered the picture... Work: Walker Tracker as CTO/Founder Until next time! October 2021 ------------ This month I'm psyched about Laura Moulton's book debuting Loaners: Making of a Street Library. We have had many conversations about this book over the years and it's a delight to see it in the world. Please check it out. My novel 'The Disappearance of James Chazky' is with my agent and being shopped. I am working on a new roadtrip-ish novel (word count ~33k words as of October 1). It's the only first-person novel I've written. It has a distinctive voice, and the work is obsessed with NW Mythology and NW stories, and the everlasting battle between _systems_, and their _parts_... I did an epic trip via tiny motorboat, from Portland, Oregon to the mouth of the Columbia river with my son and a friend, marking my 4th river trip of the year so far. These days, I'm happiest out of the city. Work: WT as CTO/Founder August 2021 ----------- The novel 'The Disappearance of James Chazky' is with my agent and being shopped. I am working on a new road novel and a few short stories. I'm participating in the awesome Poetry Postcard Festival. It's Summer, so I'm floating rivers when I can. Work: WT as CTO/Founder Learn more about now pages here.

Updated January 1, 2025

Hi, I’m Luke ------------ I’m a front-end web designer/developer. I’m passionate about building design systems and creating products that are both visually appealing and highly functional for all users. I work at Thinkmill — one of Australia’s leading design & development consultancies. I primarily work on the frontend and specialise in design systems. I'm a father to 7 kids: 3 of my own and 4 bonus kids that came with my amazing wife, Fern. When I’m not working, I’m usually spending time with my family. I’m passionate about the open web, design, typography, 90s alternative music, craft beer, coffee, and Tarantino movies. I own a Helvetica poster and have a sticker of a Mac Classic on my car. I also have a small collection of cutthroat and safety razors, which is a bit ironic since I have a beard and rarely shave! This website is built with the following stack: * Tailwind CSS: A utility-first CSS framework that makes it quick and easy to build maintainable UIs. * Keystatic: Content management for your codebase. * Astro: A framework that leverages islands architecture to ship less client-side JavaScript. * Vercel: Serverless hosting from the company behind Next.js. © 2025 Luke Bennett. All rights reserved.