CURIOSITY
Ask the questions. Someone needs to.
There is always someone in the room too shy to ask the obvious one. Common sense is not always common, and a hole in your knowledge is better filled than hidden.
About
The NetYeti
Technology instructor, community builder and lifelong autodidact.
I'm a DevOps professional, a technology instructor at Bellingham Technical College, and a lifelong autodidact. The road here ran through the US Army (as a psychiatric nurse and a battle systems strategist), Microsoft, DARPA and IBM - as well as a host of startups and consulting gigs. Today I'm a founding member of Cascade STEAM, a chair-person for Linuxfest Northwest, and an activist for one idea: raising the water level of what our community knows and understands.
This site is mostly about me and the things I do and like. It is where I think out loud, build things in public, and write down what I learn so the next person has an easier time than I did. It is also where I share connections to some of my friends and their accomplishments as well.
Principles
What I believe
SHARING
Raise the water level.
Knowledge shared lifts everyone, so I teach, mentor and publish - then encourage others to collaborate and do the same
AI
AI is a force multiplier, not a replacement.
I use it to amplify my voice and organise the mess, never to replace my judgement, and I verify everything. Local first, for privacy and autonomy.
AUTOMATION
Temporary is the most permanent thing you can do.
Take the flexible answer that costs a little more effort. If it is not in code, it does not exist in production. Research is frequently an underused tool.
DOCUMENTATION
Documentation is a signal.
Write it down as you go, and plan for failure with PACE: Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency.
MENTORSHIP
Trust - with a safety net.
People tend to learn fastest when they carry real responsibility in a low-stakes (not no-stakes) setting with mentors backing them up.
OPEN SOURCE
Free software, free in the sense of freedom.
Free means liberty to use, study, change and share, and only sometimes - price. It also means responsibility.
TOGETHER
We all do better when we all do better.
A simple mantra that reminds me to always help others if I have time to do so. Teach rather than "do for them", and always remember that "I was once where they are now".
Work
What I do
INSTRUCTION
Teach
Technology instruction at BTC, curriculum, workshops and keynotes for events and other educational institutions in US and Canada
COMMUNITY
Build community
Primary organizer for Linuxfest Northwest. Area lead for technology at Bellingham Makerspace and the Bellingham meet-up scene. Founding member of Cascade STEAM.
ADVISING
Consult
Helping non-profits, educational organisations, and businesses of all sizes find their footing.
PROJECTS
Build things
A self-healing home lab, a local-first AI stack, and tools that replace repeated manual work. As my 5th grade teacher taught me "Be ambitious in your laziness". A very wise woman.
More about me
Skills and interests
Skills. Mentorship and instruction; Python and multi-language tooling; hardware from breadboards to server racks; networking; security and signal discipline; Linux native; public speaking; founding and running non-profits.
Interests. Learning. Making ripples of knowledge and creative intent. AI, IoT, containerisation, quantum computing, and anything else that looks interesting.
Explore
Where to go next
SECTION
AI
Intelligence augmentation, on my own hardware.
SECTION
Knowledge Base
What I've learned, written down.
SECTION
Home Lab
A lab that heals itself.
SECTION
Community
Raising the water level, together.
If one idea sums up how I work, it is the PACE Plan. More of my writing lives in the original journal while pages move over.