about

the basics

I have been working professionally as a software developer for {milis}ms (or {years} years).

I'm pretty comfortable along the entire contemporary stack, especially now with libraries like ReactJS and frameworks like NextJS etc, increasingly formalising FE work, making it less a matter of opinion, and more a set of best practices. (I'm all for creativity in personal projects but for work stuff I prefer boring and battle-tested.)

I've never really specialised in one side or the other, but because I enjoy working in a terminal so much, my skills have naturally inclined toward the backend side of things. I just think it's neat.

rip & tear & learn

Before I went to school for programming, I got my first taste of the awesome software-transforming power of code by modding Doom. Especially when scripting functionality using Action Code Script, which has a syntax like C. This in turn made it a good gateway to accidentally learning about "real" programming languages, and realising that hey actually programming and solving problems on a computer was really rewarding, and it turns out that people pay for these skills!

JM meets his first linux grognard

Near the end of graduating, I was lucky to get a student placement at a really cool linux shop, where I met my first mentor. He was an old school OpenBSD contributor who had the coolest terminal workflow I had ever seen. He set me up with my first .vimrc and showed me the ropes with various other packages that would become my daily drivers in the years to come (git and other fundamental CLI tools).

As you may have gleaned, aesthetics played a big role in my inclination toward becoming a software developer. There's something about working in the terminal that looks and feels so cool to me.

like my fav text editor I'm modal lol

I don't put much stock in a unified online persona/brand/etc, so you won't find explicit links to my other websites or socials here. When you find me on Bookwyrm, I'll be talking to a different audience and with a different voice than when I'm on Midnight Pub, for instance. So personally, I don't see a point in linking these personas besides vanity.

Other than all that, I have interests in drawing, writing, playing with my 2 cats and 1 dog, and the unflinching adoration of my peers. ;p

Just kidding, I actually love constructive criticism.