Building Systems That Think
I'm Nate - a programmer who designs intelligent systems from the ground up.
After an unexpected career change at 35, I discovered that programming isn't about memorizing syntax or making interfaces pretty (though those are valuable skills). It's about understanding how systems work, breaking complex problems into solvable pieces, and building software that does what it needs to do.
I grew up on IRC, Usenet, and Hotline on my dad's Macintosh, so distributed systems and network protocols feel natural to me. I focus on backend architecture, concurrent systems, and making software that works at the foundational level.
I also love telling stories through code - whether that's interactive fiction inspired by Asimov or emergent systems where behavior surprises even me.
What I Build
💼 Stock Trading Simulator - Flask web application with PostgreSQL, user authentication, and real-time stock data. Live on Render with full database management and API integration.
🌤️ Weather Intelligence System - Go + Python hybrid with pattern recognition and concurrent data collection. Teaching two languages to talk through JSON orchestration.
🎮 Warcraft Logs CLI - GraphQL API wrapper with OAuth2 authentication. Learning complex APIs by building real tools.
⚔️ War Card Game - Cross-platform GUI with Go and Fyne framework. My first complete project from CS50, teaching me about shipping polished software.
📖 Knights and Creatures - Python text adventure with branching narratives and class-specific story paths. My first solo project, where I learned to turn stories into code.
💬 P2P Chat System - Production-ready distributed chat with full mesh networking, UDP discovery, and TCP connections. Complete with system installation, cross-platform support, and live demo.
What I Love
- Designing systems that solve real problems
- Understanding how distributed networks communicate
- Building backend infrastructure that others depend on
- Making software that learns and adapts
- Telling stories through interactive code
"I learned every day after bashing my head against the wall - and that's exactly how real programming skills are built."