Life Outside Code

Yes, it's my career, but it was a hobby first and it never stopped being one. I still write code for the pure joy of it—personal tools, open-source libraries, experimental projects that may never see the light of day. The craft itself is the reward. When I'm not building software for work, I'm building software for fun. It's been that way since I first touched a keyboard.

I started training at five years old and never stopped. Over the decades, I've studied multiple disciplines, each offering a different lens on movement, discipline, and the relationship between body and mind. The dojo is the one place where the outside world completely disappears.

There is nothing quite like stepping out of a perfectly good airplane. What started as a dare turned into a three-decade pursuit. The community is unlike any other—people from every walk of life, united by the shared experience of freefall. It teaches you things about risk, trust, and presence that no classroom ever could.

I've been riding since before I could reach the pegs. Today, it's something my wife and I share—long rides on open roads, no destination required. Two wheels, an engine, and the feeling of being completely present. Motorcycling is meditation at 70 miles per hour.

From CNC machines and laser cutters to hand tools and sawdust, I love making physical things. The highlight so far: building a tiny house from scratch. There's a deep satisfaction in working with your hands after spending all day working with your mind. The CNC work scratches the same itch as programming—design, precision, iteration—but you end up with something you can hold.

I collect timepieces. Hundreds of them. Mechanical watches are the original precision engineering—tiny machines that solve an ancient problem with gears, springs, and human ingenuity. Each one is a story about the era that made it, the problem it was meant to solve, and the craftsperson who assembled it. I'm drawn to the intersection of function and beauty.

I've been behind the decks since I was fourteen. Currently running a Denon and Serato setup. DJing is programming for your ears—reading the room, sequencing tracks, managing energy and transitions in real time. It's the most creative form of performance I know that doesn't require being able to sing.

Beyond DJing, I play guitar and drums. I'm not session-musician good, but I'm good enough to enjoy it and good enough to sit in when the opportunity comes. Music is the thread that connects a lot of my interests—the precision of horology, the physicality of martial arts, the creativity of software. It all comes together when you're playing.