Hi.

I am a human being.

JR at the California State Fair butterfly sanctuary, July 2024

Stub: the standfirst. One or two sentences that say who this is, short enough to read at a glance.

[01] Me

Stub: a lead line for life outside work.

Basics

STR10 · +0DEX12 · +1CON14 · +2INT17 · +3WIS13 · +1CHA11 · +0
Ability scores, 1 to 20

JR Smith

Human · Software Engineer 20 · Chaotic good

AC
14
HP
42
Speed
30
Prof
+6
Born
19XX
Hometown
Hometown, ST
Lives in
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Languages
Common, some Elvish
Training
FPO University, computer science
Party
Spouse, two pets
Trait
Explains the joke, then the code.
Ideal
Small changes, large differences.
Bond
The family that runs the house.
Flaw
One more rabbit hole.

Stub: a paragraph about growing up and what stuck. The butterfly on this site comes from Edward Lorenzen.wikipedia.orgEdward Norton LorenzAn American mathematician and meteorologist, best known as the founder of modern chaos theory.Website: a small change early on, a large difference later.

Family

Family · Wife

Stub: her name

Stub: two or three sentences about her, how you met, and what she puts up with.

Stub: a line about the animals who run the house.

Photo

Stub: the dog

Stub: breed, age, and one bad habit.

Photo

Stub: the cat

Stub: who is in charge, and why.

Photo

Stub: the other dog

Stub: a nickname, and how it started.

Photo

Stub: the fish

Stub: a name that went too far.

Photo

Stub: a pet from before

Stub: a line to remember them by.

[02] Work

Stub: a lead line for two decades of work.

Experience

Stub: a paragraph on how the work has changed, from the first job to tech lead, and what has stayed the same.

Stub: a paragraph on the kinds of teams and problems you do your best work with.

Number

20

Years across the stack.

Number

6

Stub: teams led.

Number

9

Stub: languages shipped to production.

Number

3

Stub: rewrites survived.

Number

1

Stub: pager still in a drawer.

Tech preferences

Stub: a paragraph on how you pick tools: the boring ones, until a problem asks for something else.

Work · Approach

Stub: boring tech, sharp edges

Stub: how you like to work: simple tools, real tests, and code the next person can read.

[03] Misc

Everything else, in no particular order.

Currently

Note · Oct 2026

Reading

A book about lighthouses, slowly, one keeper at a time.

Note · Oct 2026

Listening

Old jazz records found at a yard sale, in no particular order.

Photo

Building

A bird feeder the squirrels already beat.

Number

412

Unread tabs, give or take.

Note · Oct 2026

Playing

A farming game that is mostly about fences.

Wikipedia

Butterfly effect

In chaos theory, a small change to a starting state can lead to a large difference in a later state.

Photos

Places from the last few years, in the order they happened.

Hobbies

Hobby · Pens

Too many fountain pens

It started with one pen and a bottle of ink. Now there is a drawer, and the drawer has opinions.

Hobby · Bread

Sourdough, with mixed results

The starter is older than some of the code in production. Most loaves are edible. A few are doorstops.

Rabbit hole

The one that named this site. A small change at the start, and a very different outcome later. It explains more of my career than any resume.

en.wikipedia.orgButterfly effectIn chaos theory, a small change to a starting state can lead to a large difference in a later state.Website

Places lived

Lists

Strong opinions, ranked.

Top 10 movies

  1. 01Movie 1Year · Director

    01 Movie 1

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  2. 02Movie 2Year · Director

    02 Movie 2

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  3. 03Movie 3Year · Director

    03 Movie 3

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  4. 04Movie 4Year · Director

    04 Movie 4

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  5. 05Movie 5Year · Director

    05 Movie 5

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  6. 06Movie 6Year · Director

    06 Movie 6

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  7. 07Movie 7Year · Director

    07 Movie 7

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  8. 08Movie 8Year · Director

    08 Movie 8

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  9. 09Movie 9Year · Director

    09 Movie 9

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  10. 10Movie 10Year · Director

    10 Movie 10

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

Top 10 rappers

  1. 01Rapper 1Era · Home city

    01 Rapper 1

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  2. 02Rapper 2Era · Home city

    02 Rapper 2

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  3. 03Rapper 3Era · Home city

    03 Rapper 3

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  4. 04Rapper 4Era · Home city

    04 Rapper 4

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  5. 05Rapper 5Era · Home city

    05 Rapper 5

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  6. 06Rapper 6Era · Home city

    06 Rapper 6

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  7. 07Rapper 7Era · Home city

    07 Rapper 7

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  8. 08Rapper 8Era · Home city

    08 Rapper 8

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  9. 09Rapper 9Era · Home city

    09 Rapper 9

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  10. 10Rapper 10Era · Home city

    10 Rapper 10

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

Top 10 books

  1. 01Book 1Year · Author

    01 Book 1

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  2. 02Book 2Year · Author

    02 Book 2

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  3. 03Book 3Year · Author

    03 Book 3

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  4. 04Book 4Year · Author

    04 Book 4

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  5. 05Book 5Year · Author

    05 Book 5

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  6. 06Book 6Year · Author

    06 Book 6

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  7. 07Book 7Year · Author

    07 Book 7

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  8. 08Book 8Year · Author

    08 Book 8

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  9. 09Book 9Year · Author

    09 Book 9

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  10. 10Book 10Year · Author

    10 Book 10

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

The Fast and the Furious, ranked

  1. 01The Fast and the Furious2001

    01 The Fast and the Furious

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  2. 022 Fast 2 Furious2003

    02 2 Fast 2 Furious

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  3. 03The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift2006

    03 The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  4. 04Fast & Furious2009

    04 Fast & Furious

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  5. 05Fast Five2011

    05 Fast Five

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  6. 06Fast & Furious 62013

    06 Fast & Furious 6

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  7. 07Furious 72015

    07 Furious 7

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  8. 08The Fate of the Furious2017

    08 The Fate of the Furious

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  9. 09Hobbs & Shaw2019

    09 Hobbs & Shaw

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  10. 10F92021

    10 F9

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  11. 11Fast X2023

    11 Fast X

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

Mission: Impossible, ranked

  1. 01Mission: Impossible1996

    01 Mission: Impossible

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  2. 02Mission: Impossible 22000

    02 Mission: Impossible 2

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  3. 03Mission: Impossible III2006

    03 Mission: Impossible III

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  4. 04Ghost Protocol2011

    04 Ghost Protocol

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  5. 05Rogue Nation2015

    05 Rogue Nation

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  6. 06Fallout2018

    06 Fallout

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  7. 07Dead Reckoning Part One2023

    07 Dead Reckoning Part One

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.

  8. 08The Final Reckoning2025

    08 The Final Reckoning

    Stub: a sentence or two on why it ranks here.