About me
Hey there! This is me.
If you haven't figured it out yet — hi! I'm Keefer! I'm a software developer, currently building highly available systems at Cash App. I am passionate about open-source, tech ethics, and software performance & security, and love to tackle problems head-on — I learn fast, and I live to learn.
My background mostly consists of back-end web development and dev-ops, but I've also done research and development on distributed systems, mesh networks, and JVM security.
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Philosophies
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Occam's razor is still sharp
In problem solving, the simplest solution tends to be the correct one. Simple things are easier to understand and prove for correctness. I also assert that nearly all complicated things may be broken down into simple parts.
Brian Kernighan rephrases this principle in terms of "clever" and simple code, as it pertains to software development:
Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.
— Brian W. Kernighan -
80% of work is design
I revel in simplicity and good design. I believe in doing things right the first time, and if that isn't possible, fixing things right the second time. I like to sit down with a pen, paper, and pile of browser tabs open before I touch my editor. Once the initial design is done, rapid, informed development follows.
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Information ought to be free
In a globalized economy, society benefits most from that which is shared. Transparency, auitability, and accessibility of information, science, designs, and implementations allows people to work better (more efficiently and effectively) together. The results are a significantly higher standard for safety, correctness, and robustness of systems.
For this reason, all of my personal projects are free software as defined by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). It also ensures for following four fundamental freedoms:
- The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.
- The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish. Access to the source code is a precondition to this.
- The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour.
- The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others. By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition to this.
I am an associate member of the Free Software Foundation (FSF).
My team
Christianne is a positive ray of sunshine. She's always been there to support me in times of need, and cheer me on in times of success. Up until we moved, one of my favourite things to do was to play board games with her in the basement of our childhood home.
Cheesy as it sounds, my mom is my hero. She has always provided me with the support I needed, even through crazy times, and I've always looked up to her. She has a love for travel, and I hope one day to adventure with her.
I have so much to thank my family for, from the times my dad was scraping by on next to nothing, to the many nights Shannon spent trying to convince me to do my homework as a kid, to my fondest memories of family board game nights — my Dad and step-mom make me so proud for their successes and sacrifices that led us to today. I still live by their wisdom and mantras, and can't put into words how much my family means to me.
My Friends
Kyle and I have literally been friends since 1st grade. In 2015, we co-founded Tokumei. Sometimes we make crappy video games together with our friends at Gelato Labs. He's an entrepreneurial expert.
Isaac is one of my best friends from my undergrad at the University of Guelph. I'm not sure where I'd be if it weren't for some long nights we've spent together picking each other's brains. Aside from being an academic ally, Isaac is also an excellent fella to play board games with.
Ace and I have been fast friends since the start of uni. We've hacked a lot together, and in 2018 we got to attend the 35C3 in Leipzig, Germany. He's a pretty hype guy.
I met Ivan at Hack the North 2017, where we
pivoted, and pivoted, and pivoted. Eventually we hacked together imgrep and were modestly
successful. Ivan is super fun to hack with, and he's definitely all for AI.
Jared apparently has a habit for breaking things. Jared and I teamed up for Hack the North 2019. We've talked about making games together with Gelato Labs, but have yet to actually do anything.
Tomas Kosciuch
Tomas and I first met in 2015, and got engaged in 2020. I'm looking forward to continuing the adventure of life with him, forever into the future. The world is big, and we want to experience it together. If he were a rock, he would be gneiss.