A Few Adjustments
2025-01-26
I haven’t written for several months, and for good reason. I wanted to take a moment to explain what I’ve been up to and to documented some adjustments I’d like to make to the site.
Why I started this blog
I started writing in this blog about two years ago. In my introductory post, I laid out that I wanted to give back to the community and share the things I’ve learned from 20+ years of software development. That has not changed and I am very interested in continuing to write technical deep dives.
However, I had an additional unstated motive: I wanted to make myself look more presentable to future employers. In early 2023, I started to hear rumblings that my company was going to be doing layoffs. I didn’t want to look for a new job, but I wanted to be prepared in case I needed to. Since I don’t host (much) code on Github, potential employers didn’t have much to go off of when researching me. This blog was, in many ways, a portfolio.
Life updates
Late last year (the week before Thanksgiving), I was finally laid off with the majority of the US-based software engineering organization. I put a pause on anything non-essential (e.g. this blog) while I worked on getting a job and settling in. I’m now at a fantastic job that better aligns with my values.
I’ve got plenty I could say about my new company and plenty more I would love to say about my old one, but I think it’s best if I focus on other things.
Adjustments
Now that my site doesn’t need to serve any additional functions, I can style it they way I would prefer and expand the topics I cover.
For starters, I’ve updated the look to be significantly more minimal. Previously, I was using many more styles to make the site look more like all the other sites online. The last design wasn’t really my aesthetic, but it did show off my ability to design to current trends. As a front-end engineer looking for a job, I thought that was more important.
I’m also going to start writing about more esoteric topics that I personally find interesting. I still plan on posting tutorials and deep dives, but I also want to indulge my other interests (e.g. generative art, cybersecurity, music, tabletop gaming, etc.).
I’d like to think I’ll post more frequently, but I somehow doubt it. Either way, I’d like to reduce the bar for what I think is “worthwhile” to put into writing.