I will be the first to admit I’m a bit behind the times. Having worked in a context where every piece of software you use is heavily scrutinized, I haven’t had much exposure to genAI since I started working for the government.
Recently I started thinking about employment beyond these confines, for obvious reasons. And so I’ve been using genAI a bit, mostly on free plans. I’ve tried out the major chat interfaces, and settled on a Pro account for the next month with Antrophic. Why Anthropic and Claude? Well, it was the most enjoyable to use, they aren’t a FAANG, and I am the most convinced by their philosophy on safety.
Who am I? I’m a software engineer with over a decade of experience. For the last four years I have had the honor of being a civil servant at 18F, which is part of the General Services Administration.
The work I do is best catagorized as bueaucracy wrangling. I try to navigate large systems to get work done, and hope that in the end that work is a great ROI for taxpayers. As a taxpayer myself, I certainly think so. Our organization has a great influence far beyond the confines of 1800 F St. in Washington, D.C. Our guides are referenced by digital services across the U.S. and even globally.
Welcome to my new site! I had a lot of fun making it and I hope that I can keep up with writing more in the new year (it’s early 2025 at time of writing). I have chosen not to port over my old writings and just start new. Lately, I’ve been pushed out of my shell and have been wanting to express myself more. I say pushed because I probbaly would’ve been content to stay in it. I have a great job, a wonderful family, and better things to do than post on the internet. The last five years I’ve been focussed on those internal things, rather than engaging with the wider world.