apps · writing · experiments

i build random things.

software engineer · app builder · editing code and words · trading with agents

avg coder, above avg manager. engineered managers and managed engineers.

i started on android, moved to ios, and now build apple apps through alcor. i ran better programming, help other people tell their stories, and write about technology and films.

see my work →read writing →my story →

Selected work

Your pop-up,
on a robot.

Breakline reads your pose from a surf or gym clip, then a humanoid built in RealityKit replays it beside you. Measurements only, never a score. The clip never leaves the phone.

Breakline home: surf, skate, golf and tennis
trading · live activitiesin development
Glint showing a sample trade in the Dynamic IslandGlint showing a sample trade on the Lock Screen

Rules first,
then the trade.

I trade by following algorithms that have worked for me, unless I end up gambling manually. TradeShot and Glint are my customizable tools for practicing trading and building better habits, and Glint keeps the trade on your Lock Screen.

tradeshot.co ↗
open source · vision · realitykitmit · since 2020

51 coins.
One photo.

let request = VNDetectContoursRequest()
request.detectsDarkOnLight = true
// then group by size, count, measure

Contour Lab started as a 2020 sample for Vision's contour request. Now it counts coins, leaves and odd shapes, measures a surfboard from one photo, and lays the count out as tokens on a RealityKit table. Guess first, then ask the on-device model, which is never allowed to say a number.

Explore on GitHub
51 coins as tokens on a 3D tableA 6 foot 2 surfboard measured from one photoFive leaves outlined and measuredSeven objects of any shape counted
iphone + maclive · remote is open source

Screen Room.

What to watch next, from what you already browse. Recaps that stop where you stopped, and a comic of the plot drawn on the device. Screen Room Remote drives a Fire TV from the Mac.

Remote on GitHub ↗
Screen Room homeScreen Room comic recap
more from the studioall on getalcor.com ↗
Feedloom unfolded on iPhone Duo
Feedloom · save this, find the thread. On iPhone Duo.
Wearover fitted linen outfit
Wearover 3.0 · a new look from one photo. In App Review.
Quorion telling one player their role
Quorion · a storyteller's table for social deduction nights.
Trayce trip screen
Trayce · the newest booking copy wins. Open source.
Checkmate Academy redesign, the full flow in dark and light
Checkmate Academy · the redesign, every screen in dark and light.
demos · hands, pictures, placestap a video to play
  • Rifflet · play the piano with your hand in the air. Live on iPhone and Mac.

  • Folio · the on-device model picks which app a picture goes to. Prototype.

  • Swiping cards with a hand gesture using Vision hand pose

    Vision swipe · Tinder-style swipes with your hand, from 2020. 29 stars.

  • Digits drawn on a PencilKit canvas, each recognised by a Core ML model

    PencilKit + Core ML · draw a digit and an MNIST model on the phone reads it, from 2019. Post · code.

  • Headphone tilt · tilt your head to vote yay or nay. Headphone motion plus a RealityKit face mask, from 2023.

  • Clothes segmentation · a Core ML model picks out the clothes in a photo, from 2022. Photo: Unsplash.

  • Pastport answering from Safari history on the Mac

    Pastport · answers from your own Safari history, on the Mac.

  • Find Common Ground unfolded on iPhone Duo with its tools sheet

    Find Common Ground · plans a meetup, and shows which tools it used. On iPhone Duo.

better programming · 2021–23

Finding the writers before they find us.

I modified Zack Shapiro's Better Publishing app when I took over in 2021, then built my own, MediumRSS: each day's posts across 100+ Medium topics, grouped by topic or author, so we could find writers and reach out faster.

MediumRSS listing posts grouped by topic, with sample dataMediumRSS listing posts grouped by author, with sample data
MediumRSS (2023), shown with sample data: Medium now blocks the feed it read.
Better Publishing review list and article screen, redrawn from the app's source
Better Publishing, Zack's app that I modified, redrawn from its source. Sample names.

Along the way.

Dourier, a courier MVP with friends, was my first app. Movie Reviews, an Android app on RSS feeds, was my second.

The whole gallery →

From trips and trails, Kodaikanal to Hoi An.

A peacock in profile against a dark forest backdropA narrow cave passage inside Mawsmai CaveA dog walking out of the mist on a forest trail in KodaikanalA profile lit by Diwali lights in the darkA person sitting under lanterns in Hoi An at nightTwo surfers holding boards near the sea in Varkala

Off the clock: surfing, chess, cricket, table tennis, board games, films.