About

Many interests,
one throughline.

I'm Brett Poole — a software engineer by trade, maker by nature. I live at the intersection of the digital and the physical: one day writing code, the next striking an arc or reading about sailing and wishing I were out there.

The common thread across everything I do is the process of making something from nothing — a working system from requirements, a metal structure from raw stock, a boat that someday I'll actually know how to sail.

Software

I've been writing code professionally for over a decade, with a focus on backend systems, APIs, and web applications. I care deeply about clean architecture, maintainability, and building things that actually work reliably in production.

Current stack: PHP/Laravel, Node.js, PostgreSQL/SQLite, some Go when performance matters. I've shipped consumer web apps, data pipelines, and internal tooling.

Welding

Stick welding (SMAW) is my analog programming. There's something deeply satisfying about fusing two pieces of metal into one permanent structure — the immediate, physical feedback that code rarely provides.

I've built brackets, done repairs, and worked through more than a few rods learning to read the puddle. Always learning and burning metal.

Sailing

Sailing is the interest I'm most deeply drawn to and least qualified in. I've read the books, studied the charts, and spent an embarrassing number of hours watching YouTube sailing videos (Sailing Uma is awesome).

Zero sea miles logged so far. That's the next thing to fix.

Ham Radio

Amateur radio hits at the intersection of electronics, communication, and emergency preparedness. There's something magical about talking to someone across the world using nothing but physics and a bit of wire.

Licensed operator, callsign KI5TVH. Interested in digital modes, portable operations (SOTA/POTA), and antenna construction.

Watercolor

Watercolor is the antidote to engineering precision. You can guide it, but you can't fully control it — the paint blooms, bleeds, and does what it wants. Learning to work with that unpredictability, rather than against it, is the lesson.