What About?

I guess there are a couple angles on what kind of "About" you might be after. Check them out:

About This Site

This site is served from a Linux machine inside my house, through a PFSense Firewall, out the cable internet connection, through Cloudflare's CDN service, and onward to you.

The server software is built on Next.js and extended with Markdoc support. I've built a set of components that are relevant to the kind of content I post. The software source code is available to anyone to copy and modify.

About Me

Zack at his music desk I'm a lifelong nerd, starting at age 7 in 1981 sitting for hours in awe of LOGO (Turtle Graphics) on an Apple ][, soon graduating to BASIC on a Commodore VIC-20 and then C64, and onward through the PC and Mac eras.

I started working in technology starting at age 17. I was lucky enough to hit the crest of the Internet revolution in the mid-late 1990s, being at the right place at the right time. My first "real" job out of school was at Yahoo!, then on to cofound a data visualization startup, then in various growing and pivoting companies in nearly every role and technical area possible.

I left my last job in May 2024, closing a 30-year chapter in technology. It was the right time. I now get to devote my energy to the things that matter most to me — my people, my open spaces, and the projects that let me contribute to my maximum ability.

Lately, I have been volunteering with Santa Cruz County Parks and Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship. From May 2025 to April 2026 I helped build the Pace Trail, 2.5 miles of new trails connected to Quail Hollow Ranch. Learning the art and science of trail making has given me a much deeper appreciation for every trail I hike or run on.

I also build software for electronic musicians. I've released more than two dozen free and open source Max for Live devices, and most notably built Knobbler, a native iPad app for controlling Ableton Live. It continues to be the most satisfying stretch of programming of my life.

I still make music too, and have a deep interest in the intersection of tactile interfaces and digital sound.

Have a look at my dad's website showcasing his history of creating, preserving, or resurrecting interesting vehicles of the past.

Let's chat!

GitHub
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[email protected]
https://steinkamp.us/
Scotts Valley, California