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  <title>Posts tagged: about</title>
  <id>https://waylonwalker.com/tags/about/atom.xml</id>
  <updated>2026-02-11T14:00:00Z</updated>
  <subtitle>All posts with the tag &#34;about&#34;</subtitle>
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  <author>
    <name>Waylon Walker</name>
  </author>
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  <entry>
    <title>/interests</title>
    <id>https://waylonwalker.com/interests/</id>
    <updated>2026-02-11T14:00:00Z</updated>
    <published>2026-02-11T14:00:00Z</published>
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    <summary type="text">drafted by kimi</summary>
    <content type="html">&lt;blockquote&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;drafted by kimi&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&#xA;&lt;h1 id=&#34;interests&#34;&gt;/interests&lt;/h1&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Things I’m passionate about and why they excite me.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;mechanical-keyboards&#34;&gt;Mechanical Keyboards &lt;a href=&#34;#mechanical-keyboards&#34; class=&#34;heading-anchor&#34;&gt;#&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;I’ve fallen deep into the custom keyboard rabbit hole.  Building keyboards combines electronics, ergonomics, and 3D printing into one satisfying hobby.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What I love about it:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tactile feedback&lt;/strong&gt; - Every keystroke has personality&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ergonomics&lt;/strong&gt; - 40% split layouts changed how I think about typing&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Customization&lt;/strong&gt; - From switches to keycaps to case design&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;DIY culture&lt;/strong&gt; - Hand wiring, firmware hacking, designing my own PCBs&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Current projects:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Building a split 40% wireless keyboard&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;3D printing custom keycaps&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Designing the “portajohn” keyboard case&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&#34;/tags/keyboard&#34;&gt;See my keyboard posts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;3d-printing&#34;&gt;3D Printing &lt;a href=&#34;#3d-printing&#34; class=&#34;heading-anchor&#34;&gt;#&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;From functional parts to artistic experiments, 3D printing lets me materialize ideas.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What I print:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keyboard components&lt;/strong&gt; - Cases, keycaps, plate files&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Practical tools&lt;/strong&gt; - Knife sharpeners, microphone mounts, dovetail experiments&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kid projects&lt;/strong&gt; - Working with Wyatt on various builds&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Boxes and organizers&lt;/strong&gt; - Custom storage solutions&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What fascinates me:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;The ability to iterate rapidly on physical objects.  Print, test, adjust, repeat.  It’s software development velocity applied to atoms.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&#34;/tags/3d-printing&#34;&gt;See my 3D printing posts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;gaming-especially-with-family&#34;&gt;Gaming (Especially with Family) &lt;a href=&#34;#gaming-especially-with-family&#34; class=&#34;heading-anchor&#34;&gt;#&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Games aren’t just entertainment.  They’re shared experiences, learning opportunities, and sometimes career inspiration.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Current favorites:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Don’t Starve Together&lt;/strong&gt; - Cooperative survival, resource management lessons&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minecraft&lt;/strong&gt; - Creative building, redstone logic, modding&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Stardew Valley&lt;/strong&gt; - Low-stakes farming cooperation&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hollow Knight&lt;/strong&gt; - Challenging platformer, currently attempting keyboard-only run&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why gaming matters:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Playing with my kids teaches cooperation, problem-solving, and that failure is just another attempt.  Plus it’s fun.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&#34;/tags/gaming&#34;&gt;See my gaming posts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;self-hosting--&lt;a href=&#34;/homelab/&#34; class=&#34;glossary-term&#34; title=&#34;A place to self host applications. For me this is primarily self built web applications, and applications for sharing files with my family. Techno Tim has a...&#34;&gt;homelab&lt;/a&gt;&#34;&gt;Self-Hosting &amp;amp; Homelab &lt;a href=&#34;#self-hosting--homelab&#34; class=&#34;heading-anchor&#34;&gt;#&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;I run a Kubernetes cluster in my basement because I enjoy understanding the systems I depend on.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What’s running:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Static sites (this blog)&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Game servers (Minecraft)&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;CI/CD pipelines&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Personal services&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why I do it:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Learning&lt;/strong&gt; - You don’t really understand networking until you’ve debugged DNS at 2am&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ownership&lt;/strong&gt; - My data, my rules&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Simplicity&lt;/strong&gt; - One person maintaining their own infra learns what’s actually necessary&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&#34;/tags/kubernetes&#34;&gt;See my homelab posts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;terminal-workflows&#34;&gt;Terminal Workflows &lt;a href=&#34;#terminal-workflows&#34; class=&#34;heading-anchor&#34;&gt;#&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;I spend most of my day in a terminal.  Optimizing that environment is both practical and oddly satisfying.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;My setup:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;neovim for editing&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;tmux for sessions&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;zsh with custom config (no oh-my-zsh)&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;kitty terminal&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;starship prompt&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What I optimize for:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Speed.  Fast startup times, fast key response, fast feedback loops.  The terminal rewards efficiency.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&#34;/tags/terminal&#34;&gt;See my terminal posts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;python&#34;&gt;Python &lt;a href=&#34;#python&#34; class=&#34;heading-anchor&#34;&gt;#&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;It’s the language that got me into programming seriously, and it remains my default for almost everything.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What I build:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Data pipelines&lt;/strong&gt; - Kedro, pandas, data engineering workflows&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CLI tools&lt;/strong&gt; - Typer, click, automation scripts&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Static site generators&lt;/strong&gt; - Markata, my DIY solution&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Random utilities&lt;/strong&gt; - If I can script it, I probably will&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why Python:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Readable, batteries included, massive ecosystem, and it gets out of the way when I want to solve problems.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&#34;/tags/python&#34;&gt;See my Python posts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;skating&#34;&gt;Skating &lt;a href=&#34;#skating&#34; class=&#34;heading-anchor&#34;&gt;#&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Physical activity that gets me away from screens.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What I do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Casual skating, nothing competitive.  Just cruising, enjoying movement, clearing my head.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why it matters:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;Balance.  Too much terminal time needs physical counterweight.  Plus it’s fun.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;h2 id=&#34;data-engineering&#34;&gt;Data Engineering &lt;a href=&#34;#data-engineering&#34; class=&#34;heading-anchor&#34;&gt;#&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;My professional focus and ongoing fascination.&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What interests me:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Building reliable data pipelines&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Making data accessible and useful&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;The intersection of software engineering and data science&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;li&gt;Tools that make data work less painful&lt;/li&gt;&#xA;&lt;/ul&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&#34;/tags/data&#34;&gt;See my data posts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;hr/&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;These interests overlap and inform each other.  Keyboards led to 3D printing.  Gaming led to self-hosting game servers.  Everything connects back to building and understanding systems.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Inspired by &lt;a href=&#34;https://indieweb.org/interests&#34; style=&#34;--favicon-url: url(&amp;#39;/assets/markata/link-avatars/indieweb.org.ico&amp;#39;);&#34; data-favicon=&#34;/assets/markata/link-avatars/indieweb.org.ico&#34; class=&#34;has-avatar  has-avatar-before&#34;&gt;slashpages.net /interests&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&#34;https://chrisburnell.com/note/slash-interests/&#34; style=&#34;--favicon-url: url(&amp;#39;/assets/markata/link-avatars/chrisburnell.com.ico&amp;#39;);&#34; data-favicon=&#34;/assets/markata/link-avatars/chrisburnell.com.ico&#34; class=&#34;has-avatar  has-avatar-before&#34;&gt;Chris Burnell’s interests&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#xA;</content>
    <author>
      <name>Waylon Walker</name>
      <email>hello@waylonwalker.com</email>
      <uri>https://waylonwalker.com</uri>
    </author>
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