I’ve decided to restart my web site and to get into a regular writing habit. I can’t say that I have been great at keeping this practice. I can’t promise my posts will be well thought out. In some sense that the lack of clarity is my main goal. My goal is to learn more about how I think about a topic by writing publicly.

A little about myself is likely a reasonable way to start. I’ve been working in the software industry over the last 20+ years. I never thought about making a career in software as a child growing up in Pittsburgh. I was lucky enough to be introduced to coding in a 6th-grade class. There was something about coding on the TSR-80 that sparked joy in my 12-year-old self. Computers at the time were toys. But these toys taught me how to be creative in a way that I never experience before. My college years were spent focused on getting a degree in Electrical Engineering. But, at the time there was this new thing that was happening, it was called the World Wide Web. A significant chunk of my free time was spent in the computer lab learning how to build these new things called web sites. So, when I started interviewing in preparation for graduation, the electrical engineering jobs seemed comparatively boring to the opportunities in the software industry. There is no way my 12-year-old self could have imagined making a career playing with toys all day.

The joy of creating is one of the reasons I wanted to build a web site again. This idea was sparked as I stumbled on the IndieWeb movement a few months ago. The IndieWeb principles of owning your own data, building tools, and open-source spoke to me. Over the last several years, I feel that we have done in the wrong direction as creators of the web. We went from millions of loosely coupled sites, created by people all over the world, to a handful of walled gardens controlled by billionaires. Getting back to owning our content is the best way to take our voice back. And to stop being the product.

Although I hope others will find why I have to say interesting, it isn’t my goal. If all this site does is help me learn and refine my thoughts, it will be worth the investment.