I'm a software engineer and community builder with a penchant for journalism. I'm an aspiring polymath: My thirst for knowledge knows few topical boundaries. I once upon a time aspired to teach high school computer science. I've been involved in non-profits since 2000 and have been running events yearly for 20+ years. I would eventually like to find myself self-employed or working for someone with similar goals and talents, doing whatever I love and loving whatever I am doing. Some goals may include to become a CTO or Distinguished Engineer of a company that I did not start, to be a primary contributor from inception to a product that pays salaries for hundreds of people, never to compromise my integrity and ethics to ship a product or service knowingly, to create a team so cohesive and talented that anyone could leave at any time, but no one wants to, to create a world in which money is not an obstacle to learning.

Check out my portfolio.

Are you considering recruiting me for your next endeavor? If so, please read the rest of this section.

• Please note that I am not actively pursuing opportunities for full-time employment, but I view every opportunity that makes its way into my inbox. Please don't be offended if I don't respond.
• I would really only consider an opportunity that is in the greater Pittsburgh area or allows remote work. I live east of the city, so offices west of the confluence might as well be hours away for the purposes of commuting! I can work any U.S. time zone, having generally worked Pacific time daylight hours for most of my career.
• Please do not bother to contact me with employment offers that require relocation, unless you absolutely must have me, and only I am suitable for the position you wish to fill, and compensation is seriously no object!
• DO NOT CONNECT with me on any personal social media, Facebook or LinkedIn if you and I have not met in person. Feel free to follow me on GitHub, GitLab, or Mastodon/Fediverse, though..
• If you're a recruiter, you must include the name of your client in your message. I have worked with recruiters previously and will not intentionally cause you to lose your commission should your attempts be successful. This revelation in your initial outreach is a non-negotiable expectation.
• If you can find it, under no circumstances should you email my work addresses with anything unrelated to work. Thanks for respecting my inbox and workflow! I might make fun of you on social media if you break this rule more than once.

On Interviewing Colin

If steps in your interview process not involving human interaction, please find alternatives. For example, if a code test takes more than two hours, please devise an abbreviated test before contacting me. Then, use that test on me and everyone else you interview after me because no code test should ever take more than two non-contiguous hours.

If contrived evaluations like whiteboarding, digital or in-person, would be a part of the interview, please skip these parts of the interview for me. These evaluations do not accurately reflect the skills of the candidates whom I have evaluated over the years. Even I, a confident public speaker and teacher, can choke in that exercise. I have long since eliminated whiteboarding from my interview processes because of its ineffectiveness and would not wish that method upon anyone, interviewee or interviewer.

Because of my involvements and obligations in community leadership activities, businesses, and family, I don't have the bandwidth to study for a technical examination even if such is directly related to the role for which you are pursuing me. I am happy to interview in a process that is well-defined but more accommodating of the life of an engaged professional with obligations outside of the workplace, such as children, a time-consuming hobby, or long-term volunteering.