I've tried so many website builders in the past. Wordpress, Wix, Webflow, Squarespace, Jekyll, Hugo, Google Sites, Github Pages, Framer, Dreamweaver, Adobe Portfolio... the list goes on. In getting involved in a grassroots local news publication this year, I set up a demo Ghost site - and found a platform that, for my use case, blends practicality, a professional look, ease of use, affordability, and low administrative overhead for a wide variety of content. I have never stuck with keeping up with a personal site, but hope that Ghost will continue to be a place I continue to post content with for time to come. I've imported a few posts from old sites, hence the wild variation in publishing date.
I'm not really sure what this will end up turning into. Some of the most useful nuggets of information I've come across solving problems have come from personal blog sites like this one. I don't claim to be a subject-matter-expert of everything I post about, nor do I claim to do everything in best-practice. But if I can help someone else get past a blocker I faced, I call that a win. I've been homelabbing since middle school, and something about a new project or open source, self-hosted solution always seems to catch my interest. Sometimes I also just have thoughts that feel good to get out of my head, even if no one is reading.
My professional services section is an experiment in bringing my knowledge, expertise, and unique skillset to partner with businesses and individuals facing technology pain-points and looking for better solutions. In my professional IT career, I've seen far too many processes being dictated by antiquated technology instead of being driven by pragmatic technology solutions. I am passionate about enabling organizations and people to leverage technology to support critical functions and workloads instead of forcing processes inside of technical limitations. I also see firsthand the excessive "money printing" behavior of MSPs, software vendors, and consulting firms - and know how challenging that becomes once you leave large enterprise space and multi-million dollar budgets. I thrive in unique environments with unique circumstances and unique needs - standardizing where I can, and delivering comprehensive solutions. Everyone in the technology ecosystem - from the individual users working in a system every day, to the executive suite needing accurate and actionable information - deserve to be advocated for when it comes to technology services.
Over the past 5 years, I've really leaned into my photography hobby more - investing in gear, getting more reps in, and taking the whole thing more seriously. I tend to be a disruptive perfectionist by nature, and I know that having a "low risk" outlet to post more photography content will help my creative journey. I look forward to being able to see my progress and growth over the years.
If you've made it this far, I'm not sure why... but if any of this has spoken to you, stick along for the ride. Welcome to my corner of the internet!