Systems I have built.

Two boats on the water in Monterey Bay need regular overnight monitoring — bilge pumps, battery levels, solar charging, shore power. Checking manually every morning is tedious. Commercial solutions require expensive hardware and subscriptions.

A Python agent on a cron schedule that queries the Victron VRM API for live data from both boats — battery state, solar yield, grid status, alarms — formats the results into a readable daily digest, and sends it via email every morning. Also published an open-source reference for the Victron VRM API, which had no official documentation.

The Victron VRM API was undocumented. I reverse-engineered it by inspecting the VRM web app's network traffic, wrote my own reference documentation, and open-sourced the project. The reference has since been picked up by other Victron users in the community.

Applied AI that runs without intervention. Not a demo, not a prototype, not a wrapper. A real automation solving a real operational problem, in production every day.

Ocean conservation content for kids is either dry science or preachy activism. There was a gap for adventure-first storytelling that carries real conservation science without being preachy about it — IP that could work across formats, hold up to scientific scrutiny, and prove conservation content can be commercially viable.

4 books in the Mia Kingtide Ocean Adventures series — self-published and distributed through major retail channels. The series was reviewed by scientists at MBARI, Hopkins Marine Station, and Moss Landing Marine Labs for scientific accuracy. Audiobook versions on Spotify and INaudio. The OceanMatch browser game extending the universe interactively. A YouTube channel with read-aloud videos. 1,300+ copies sold across formats. Featured in Monterey County NOW. The books sailed aboard the Western Flyer — the legendary vessel from John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts' Sea of Cortez expedition — during its restored journey back to the Sea of Cortez.

The series tackles real issues — climate change, overfishing, habitat destruction — with a deliberately hopeful framing. Scientists from three of the world's leading marine research institutions reviewed the books for accuracy. That credibility is not decorative: it is what separates this from generic ocean-themed kids content.

Content systems, brand building, and creative execution grounded in real science and real community. Building an audience from zero, earning the endorsement of research institutions, and converting across formats is the same discipline as building a developer ecosystem — understand your audience, produce something worth their time, and show up consistently.

The Monterey Peninsula is one of the most biologically rich diving destinations on Earth but has almost no modern content covering it. Most online dive content for the area is outdated and uninspiring. A clear gap existed for authentic, high-quality content about diving, ocean conditions, and marine life.

A full media and commerce platform: a dive blog covering conditions, marine life, and trip reports; a YouTube channel; a TikTok channel grown to 10,000 followers in a single summer; a dive tourism booking business; and an AI monitoring agent for the boats. All built from zero audience.

10K TikTok followers in one summer is a content strategy executed consistently. Short-form video, marine life identification, underwater footage, and local conditions created a niche audience with genuine interest. That audience converts across the ecosystem: blog readers, book buyers, tour customers.

Audience building from scratch, content-market fit found and validated in the wild. The skills that grow a niche content brand are identical to those that grow a developer ecosystem: understand your audience, produce content they want, show up consistently, measure what works.

A fully self-managed short-term rental in Sand City, CA — steps from the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail and minutes from the aquarium, wharf, and dive sites. The property features ocean views, a private hot tub, king bed, and full amenities. Marketed under the Pitter Patter Diving brand with its own booking site at theoceanviewbnb.com.

End-to-end hospitality operation built and managed independently: interior design, photography, Airbnb listing copy, pricing strategy, guest communications, cleaning operations, and maintenance. Integrated into the broader Pitter Patter Diving ecosystem alongside the boat rental and dive tourism business.

The same skills that make a great developer onboarding experience make a great guest experience: reduce friction, anticipate questions before they're asked, make the path to success obvious, and over-deliver on the first impression. Hospitality is product design with a human in the loop.

Running a hospitality business sharpens the same muscles as product marketing: positioning, conversion copy, reviews as social proof, and retention through experience quality. It is also a consistent revenue stream that funds the boats, the diving, and the projects.