Software Engineering
This site is intended to be more about my personal life. There are links below where you can find out more about my career in software engineering. Technology has been an integral part of my life and my deep curiousity in this space has played a role in where I am today.
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with anything that even resembled a computer. Introduced early on (as many of us have) been by games, I have been writing code since I was 10 years of age. I feel lucky in that I always knew where I wanted to spend my time as a professional. It has been interesting time to say the least.
I spent the early part of my career getting exposure to different areas of business (investment banking, reinsurance, non-profit, early stage start ups). My most recent years have been spent specializing in building highly scalable systems and solving technical problems at scale in the media industry. Part of that responsibility includes an overarching role in building teams. Recruiting is an art unto itself, but once you have a team in place, it's critical to understand how valuable establshing and maintaining a culture of meritocracy and mutual respect. Over the years, I have had the privilege of managing and working with some extremely talented people, most of whom I have learned a great deal from.
DJ McLovin
I have been DJ'ing since I was in college. In those days, it involved carrying crates of records into the club every night. The confluence of technology and music changed all of that and truly revived my passion for DJ'ing and music production.
As DJ McLovin, I have had the privilege of playing along with live musicians at many shows as well as parties and events in the New York City area.
I have a dedicated site for all of my past shows, playlists and music library here.
Running
Despite taking part in a wide variety sports most of my life, I could never truly find a love for distance running. In fact, I remember saying when I was younger that I actually hated it. And then in some ironcic twist in my early 40's, that changed. And now, at this point, it is hard to imagine life without it. The physical health benefits are undeniable, but for me it's more than that. I have come up with some true insights while on some of the longer runs - as well as finding myself feeling a true sense of peace.
I wrote about my path to getting into running that led to my first NYC Marathon here and also here.
Nerd alert! I have tracked all of my runs using RunKeeper. The thing about RunKeeper is that you are asked to register in order to view another's stats. Strava, a more popular option, does not. So I have attempted to migrate all of my historical running data from RunKeeper to Strava using this Python process. It took a while to complete given all of the data it needed to bring over and most of it made its way over, but not all of it. I am currently testing Fitness Syncer to sync data on an ongoing basis.
Skiing Adventures
Skiing was something I took up later than most people in life (my first time was at age 17). I have found it to be one of the most rewarding past times I could possibly ask for.
Presently, my work life does not lend itself to me getting away very often. Each time I am able to, I am always struck with how much there is be said about simply going someplace different - to a simpler life outdoors with a few good friends. I feel thankful for every minute we have had on the slopes and I would go as far to say it has actually felt spiritual at times up on some of the more majestic peaks we have visited.
Most of my time on the slopes has been spent on the east coast, but there have been many memorable trips to some amazing places. I did my best to recall all of the places I have skied (in no particular order):
- Whiteface, NY
- Sugarbush, VT
- Mad River Glen, VT
- Stowe, VT
- Kilington, VT
- Okemo, VT
- Vail, CO
- Beaver Creek, CO
- Copper Moutain, CO
- Aspen, CO
- Aspen Highlands, CO
- Snowmass, CO
- Park City, UT
- The Canyons, UT
- Alta, UT
- Whistler, BC
- Blackcomb, BC
- Lake Louise, Banff
- Norquay, Banff
- Sunshine, Banff
- Le Massif, Quebec
- Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec
- Mon Tremblant, Quebec
- Sunday River, ME
- Hunter Mountain, NY
- Windham Mountain, NY
- Cambelback, PA
- Mountain Creek, NJ
Live Music
Katrina Mortko
Katrina is an extremely talented animator, but also has skills in:
- Stop motion animation
- Motion Design
- Video Editing
- Graphic Design
Check out her portfolio.
