Biography

Charles has worked primarily as a software/hardware developer. He has an interest in all levels of computing, especially programming languages and novel computing machines. Like all good hearted people, he has a keen interest in the intersection of ethics, business, and technology. Charles thinks free software kicks butt, especially community oriented projects. He admires technologies and open platforms that empower and are designed with the intent to treat people humanely and with respect. He finds command lines irresistible. He dabbles in art by sketching, cartooning, and sculpting. Charles prefers cats, but likes other people's dogs just fine. He loves his family and friends fiercely.

Charles grew up in the irradiated badlands of New Mexico, where he learned that you should never judge a radioactive, mutant monster by appearances. You should only judge them by whether they want to eat you. He lived in a few other, less interesting places but now resides with his wonderful family in Oregon in a city called Gresham, which is mostly notable for its lack of radioactive, mutant monsters and its proximity to Portland.

When people get to know him better, they often call him Charlie or Chuck. Only his older sisters are allowed call him Chaz.

Interests

I'm going to drop the third person. We all know who is really writing this. Also, I've decided not to bore you with my biography but instead bore you with my interests and values. My biggest, current interests are driven by questions:

Can individuals be first class citizens on the internet?
Can individuals take control of their digital life in a low friction way, or will most of us simply be digital serfs?
Is it possible to create affordable "occupational therapy systems" that could be useful for people with brain injuries?
Is there a use in the world for interesting computing architectures outside of GPUs?
Would a programming language providing "first class" PEGs be substantially more useful than languages that only provide regexes?
Can we create a market for affordable hardware that respects individual freedoms?
Can I better align my paying work with my values?

Aligning Work with Values

I come from a background where you are grateful for whatever work you can find. I realize having your work align with your values is a first world problem, and that if all I manage to do with my life is keep a roof over my family's head and provide opportunities for my children to grow up happy and healthy (and hopefully follow their dreams), then I should be satisfied. I try to practice gratitude, and in the meantime, I will continue to strive to make my work meaningful.

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

-- Howard Thurman

I've created a separate page where I maintain a list of my values that I can refer to when I need a reminder.