An exercise I enjoyed while working in a previous role was developing an operator’s manual for myself. Essentially, it’s a document my colleagues and friends can refer to in order to better learn what my values are, and under what conditions I best work. I’m posting it here in case it helps people better understand […]
I recently hiked Mount Katahdin as part of a spectacular wedding weekend in Northern Maine. This was my 16th summit of Katahdin, and each time has been a new and different experience, even if I may take the same routes up/down. I hiked with approximately 12 other hikers as part of the wedding group. The […]
I’m a big fan of giving and receiving feedback. Not just at work, but for all aspects of life. There’s nothing more thoughtful than letting somebody know they are doing a kick-ass job, or that you noticed a trend they may not be aware of that might help them improve. If you frame it right, […]
Since it’s paddling season, I’ve been thinking about past canoe and kayak race I’ve entered each spring. Though I didn’t enter the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race this year, I wanted to include some videos of past races. The Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race is the largest paddling event in New England, and is always a fun […]
I’m excited to announce that I’ve recently taken on a new job working with The Engineered Innovation Group as a Software Architect! This role enables me to continue to work on several goals for myself, and I’m excited about new opportunities for learning and growth. Similar to my other past jobs, it is 100% remote […]
It’s a common experience as a developer for a client or colleague to (politely) ask me or one of my teams to just “do” something. As natural problem solvers and wanting to make people happy, our first reaction is often to say “yes” and we either agree to do it in the future, or immediately […]
This summer has been extremely rainy and muggy in Maine, and the trails have transformed into a slippery, soupy mess. I’ve been hoping to hike more this summer since I find myself with more time on my hands, but the weather and trail conditions have kept me at home. In August, I was finally able […]
As I enter month five (!) of searching for a job, I thought I’d reflect on the current job market and the experiences I’ve had while looking for a job. This has been the first time I’ve been unemployed. I’ve worked pretty much since I was 16 (though not always full-time), and I’ve been fortunate […]
A common theme I’ve noticed during my time in engineering leadership is that many engineers dislike estimating their work. Some dislike it so much that it causes them actual stress and anxiety. Though my personal philosophy is that nearly all work should include an estimate, I don’t think this should be a scary or stressful […]
I’m leaving this blog post as a note to myself or to anyone else who stumbles upon this issue in the future. I was recently working on a project and was having issues with my virtual environment not installing dependencies correctly. The root cause was I was using Python 3.12, and should have been on […]
Though I’m sure this post will interest few people, I wanted to document some thoughts on what brought me to close my Facebook account in 2020 and Twitter account in 2022. I’d been using social media since the dawn of Web 2.0, and I’ve noticed an evolution of the platforms that don’t align to the […]
This post is a look back at when I did a solo backpacking hike to Davis Pond in Baxter State Park in September of 2014. It’s one of the more remote and private hikes in the park, requiring an overnight at Russell Pond the night before you go to Davis. Reservations for Davis Pond lean-to […]
I’ve been leading engineering teams for over 6 years, ranging from smaller web development groups to overseeing multiple teams of engineers. My leadership style has been shaped through the experiences, good or bad, that I’ve had during this time. I’ve also learned a number of important lessons from the following books. If you’re looking to […]
Frequently when I meet with candidates during interviews, I’m asked what it’s like to be an engineer at 10up and what aspects of the job I’ve enjoyed most over the past 6+ years. I usually go into the story of my own personal experience of how I got to 10up and the things I’ve found […]
This presentation was originally presented in Portland, Oregon at WPCampus in 2019. It’s an in-depth overview of a project I worked on for Maine Today Media to transform the publication process for publishing print newspapers to be a web-first process, with data flowing from a central CMS system to InDesign.
The WordPress options database table (wp_options) is where the CMS stores critical information about each website. Since every plugin and theme can easily write data to the table and it’s used on every page load, this table can easily become the source of performance issues on a website if used incorrectly. This presentation goes over […]
Code splitting involves splitting code into various bundles or components. These files can then be loaded in parallel which can help with performance preventing needing to load huge files such as with your Javascript code. Instead of a single ‘frontend.js’ file, we get multiple small ‘chunks’ of smaller files, which can then be lazy loaded […]
This past December my wife treated me with a 3-ticket ‘test drive’ of the newly-reopened Saddleback Mountain ski resort in Rangeley, Maine. I’ve been eager to check it out, as it closed over 5 years ago and attempted to be reopened over the years with one unsuccessful reopening after another. Finally the mountain has reopened […]
Custom website features include membership system for self-administered Christmas Tree Farms, custom interactive map utilizing Google Map API for Christmas tree farm locations. http://mainechristmastree.com
Redesign and development of custom WordPress theme/plugins for the City of Waterville. Features a slick, modern design and new ways for the City to highlight news, events and announcements to city residents.
The new website for the Colby College Museum of Art reflects its unique beauty and showcases its deep trove of collections, available for users to peruse online. The custom responsive WordPress theme features integration with the standard Colby theme and brand, and allows the museum to add content specific to their particular content. Custom WordPress plugins allow […]
The online viewbook provides prospective students with an interactive and visual way to learn about the many different aspects about Colby College. The new site was created to be viewable on devices of all sizes and to give easy access to inquiring and applying to Colby. The resulting website features stunning full-width images that […]
The website for Colby College’s alumni magazine received a long-overdue redesign that matched the newly redesigned print magazine, make website content responsible to be optimized for devices of all sizes. The new design allows the college to publish all content between issues that are especially pertinent during specific times of the year – a major shortcoming of the […]
The 10-day Maine International Film Festival shows nearly 100 films, representing the best of American independent and international cinema. Their website was created in WordPress for ease of updating the site and showing festival film schedule. Developed e-commerce system and custom WordPress theme.
My favorite pizza place contacted me about creating a simple website for their business. I created a custom WordPress theme that highlights their delicious brick-oven pizza and will help customers find their business.
In 2013 Colby College started a presidential search process to look for its 20th president. An interactive website was created to highlight the College’s strengths to replace a stagnant print brochure. This site uses responsive parallax scrolling and was a fun project to work on. Winner of ‘Best use of Photography/Multimedia’ in the 2013 EduStyle […]
Developed custom website for Railroad Square Cinema featuring custom film showing scheduling, content slideshow and custom WordPress theme.
Developed functionality to parse XML output file in order to display options and tip combinations for use by eye surgeons. App created for and optimized for use on iPad devices.
iLobster was an iPhone and iPad app developed in 2009 to be a fun, new way to enjoy lobster. The app was for beginners and experts alike to learn how to get the most out of your lobster dinner, locate nearby restaurants and lobster pounds, prepare and cook your lobster and order the freshest Maine lobster […]
Created a new website for the Town of Winslow, Maine. Created in a custom CMS that features dynamic events, news and announcements that can be edited by each department.
