Howdy I’m Ben,

I love learning, problem solving, having fun with my peers and making great software. Some of my current interests include Rust, Linux internals and Kubernetes.

I’ve been professionally crafting software since the early 2000’s. Mostly in enterprise environments and a few startups. I grew up in the age of the web and Java. Thanks to years of consulting I’ve worn many hats in many fields including frontend, devops, backend, software architecture, distributed systems, databases, message queues and buses, data streaming, data analytics, machine learning and service-based architectures.

Academically I hold 3 university degrees in this space and a decent pile of certifications. One of the most satisfying things I’ve done as a software engineer is nand2tetris by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which involves building a CPU and general purpose 16-bit computer literally from the NAND gates up to the OS. Thanks to Ben Eater I soon followed this up by making my own physical 8-bit CPU out of hundreds of TTL logic gates and breadboards. This pilgrimage has led me into the wonderful world of low-level topics including OS internals, binary reversing and exploit development which I enjoy studying.

I live and breath my craft as a software maker and technologist. After visiting Japan in 2014 I was relieved to discover a culture that embraces taking one’s craft seriously. At a Soba noodle bar I was shocked to discover the family business had been making Soba noodles for over 5 generations. Depth, focus and complete commitment to a craft is the norm in Japan. My Japan trip helped me realise its okay to embrace my craft.

Other ways to find me⌗

PGP public key⌗ 

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Rubik’s cube algo⌗

  1. Form a daisy (a white plus with a yellow center)
  2. For each white petal match its side color to its matching color on the middle row, then strip the petal with a half turn. You should now have a white plus.
  3. Its time to fill any missing white corners. Chase the white dogs. Get any white squares on the bottom row (the dogs) and chase them around the bottom, until its paired color matches the middle of that side. For example a white/green needs to end up on the green side. Spin the top down and scoop up the dog. You should now a completely filled out white side.
  4. Match center rows (none yellow squares). Now we work with the bottom layer to patch the middle row up. On the bottom layer find a cell that has no yellow on it (e.g. an orange/blue). It will either need to shift to the left or right. Here’s the recipe: turn it away from the destination (e.g. if it needs to go left, turn it right), bottom layer go the same direction (e.g. right), the matching column goes down (e.g. right column down), middle layer turns the direction (e.g. to the right), turn the matching column up (e.g. the right column), then rematch the whites again. Rinse and repeat until the middle layer colors all match up.
  5. Yellow plus (FUR-RUF = front, up, right, right, up, front)
  6. Feed the yellow fish (clock, clock, counter then clock, clock, flip, counter)
  7. Match top corners (counter, clock, counter, flip, clock, counter, counter, flip, flip)
  8. Finish it (flip, clock x 3, counter x 5, clock, counter)