Now

This is a now page. Here's what I've been up to...

...in September, 2026

I have a hybrid work schedule, which means I can spend most of my week away from home. This has been really, really nice—I don’t know how most people do five days 9-5. (Well I do, but I’ve been spoiled.) I’ve spent a lot of this flexibility visiting my friends in Madison, which has the added benefit of separating me from my PC and all the distractions within.

It’s been neat working in a role that includes many things that, only a few years ago, I would’ve associated with a senior engineer—working with business groups to understand requirements, planning the project, architecting a solution, coordinating development, validation, and release, all while also programming the code itself (with AI, of course). It’s been nice to be on a team that encourages this sort of agency, and it’s been rewarding to see my work release and be used by others.

“Traditional Nico” has always been a big fantasy enjoyer, seasoned by the occasional historical text. More recently, however, I’ve been reading nonfiction more geared towards tech and economics. I’ve read Soul of a New Machine and Weaving the Web, and now I’m reading Chip War. Next, I’ll probably read something about US financials.

My latest map is coming along swimmingly, with most of the environment complete—I still have ~10,000 trees to pen in for the southernmost forest. I also need to label things, and my handwriting isn’t that good, so that part is scary. Finally, I need to make the big decision of whether to watercolor the entire thing. I am leaning ‘no’ right now, only because of the potential for mishaps, but it would look pretty… We’ll see.