All Blog Posts

Aug 18, 2024
software-engineering craft trade

Software is a Skilled Trade

Software engineers have a unique opportunity: we can build things that millions of people use daily. This isn’t about ego or chasing the next big tech trend. It’s about recognizing our potential impact and using it wisely. Think about other skill...

Apr 08, 2024
internship gsoc

Advice to prospective Google Summer of Code participants

(Note: because “prospective GSoC participant” is a mouthful, I refer to these folks as “students” throughout the rest of this post, even though you no longer have to be a student to participate in GSoC!) You may have heard that the Open Transit S...

Feb 28, 2024
productivity ios notes macos

How I Manage My TODO lists

On July 20, 2020, I decided to start tracking my TODO items in Apple’s Notes app on my Mac. I had just agreed to build a web application for a non-profit on behalf of a friend, and it was about four months since the initial COVID-19 lockdowns had ...

Dec 10, 2023
photography ai

Simulacra and Simulation featured in Dear Dave, Magazine

My conceptual photography project, Simulacra and Simulation, is featured in the latest issue of the photographic and literary journal, Dear Dave,. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dear Dave, magazine (@deardavemag)

Oct 23, 2023
ios android onebusaway donations

Geekwire: 'OneBusAway needs cash to keep popular transit app running'

GeekWire published an article about the state of financial precariousness that OneBusAway finds itself in today. I spoke to the author, Kurt Schlosser, for his story: One of those volunteers is Aaron Brethorst, the Seattle-based director of us...

Oct 16, 2023
ios android app-store donations

In-App Donations

I recently did some research into what is required for nonprofits accept donations in their iOS and Android apps. I document my findings here. Are you a fan of open source software and public transit? Make a tax-deductible donation to the volu...

Oct 02, 2023
web javascript spa ssr

Back to the Future with Server-Side Rendering

I think there is an inexorable shift towards the simplification of building web apps underway today. For the past decade, the only ’correct’ way to make a great web app was to actually build two: your backend in Ruby, Python, Java, PHP, or what ha...

Sep 18, 2023
ios fitness exercise swiftui storekit

Work out smarter, not harder with Zone2 Fitness

I built a new app exclusively for iOS 17 and watchOS 10: Zone2 Fitness. The Zone2 app helps you track your heart rate across five zones to help you optimize your workouts to better match with your fitness goals, and it also helps you create custo...

Jun 17, 2023
photography pcnw

Chase the Light 2023

Photographic Center Northwest’s annual summer fundraiser/global photo experience/pop-up photo show, Chase the Light, is upon us, and I’m excited to share my submission for this year. “Untitled (Cowboy)” From my series, Simulacra and Simulation, ...

Jun 16, 2023
photography

Simulacra and Simulation

My latest conceptual photography project, entitled Simulacra and Simulation, can now be seen on my photo project website. In “Simulacra and Simulation,” I draw inspiration from Jean Baudrillard’s influential, eponymous treatise to investigate ...