# Les Orchard

> Software developer, writer, and author with 25+ years building on the web. Wrote books on RSS, feeds, and del.icio.us in the 2000s. Built developer tools at Mozilla for over a decade. Tinkering with personal projects around RSS feeds, IndieWeb practices, and tools for managing personal digital content. Active in open source and the decentralized web.

## About

I'm a web developer who has been building things on the internet since 1995. I describe myself as a "serial enthusiast" - my ADHD brain leads to bursts of intense focus on projects, then moving on to the next interesting challenge. I embrace this pattern rather than fighting it, which has led to exploring many different technologies and problem spaces over the years.

I've worked at Mozilla, GitHub, and Yahoo, contributed to Firefox, del.icio.us, and MDN, and authored several technical books in the 2000s on RSS, feeds, and JavaScript frameworks.

**Education**: B.S. Computer Science and Psychology, *cum laude*, Central Michigan University (1997)

## Work History

**Staff Engineer, New Products Team**, Mozilla Corporation (2023-Present)
- Developing products and prototypes around machine learning, generative AI, and social media
- Built APIs and service integrations for Tabstack.ai (web content transformation for AI)
- Built agent evaluation infrastructure using LLM-as-Judge for browser automation
- Built UX and integrations for Soloist.ai (AI-powered website builder)
- Built web, mobile clients, and Discord integration for Didthis.app (hobby journaling)

**Staff Engineer, Planning & Tracking**, GitHub (2022-2023)
- Led efforts on hierarchical task tracking platform integrated with GitHub Issues and Projects
- Full-stack engineering with TypeScript, Ruby, Go, and C# in microservices architecture
- Built GitHub-Flavored Markdown parsing and React UI for hierarchical task relationships
- Applied Azure CosmosDB graph database for managing task and issue relationships
- Built GraphQL APIs exposing issue hierarchies to mobile and React-based web clients

**Staff Engineer**, Mozilla Corporation (2008-2022)
- **Firefox Experimenter** (2020-2022): Internal tool for experimentation and data science in Firefox features. React UI, GraphQL APIs in Python/Django, Remote Settings deployment.
- **Firefox Accounts & Subscriptions** (2019-2020): Identity system using OAuth & OpenID Connect. React-based subscription management, Stripe Payments integration, Mozilla VPN APIs.
- **Firefox Test Pilot** (2015-2019): Tech lead on testpilot.firefox.com distribution channel for experimental Firefox features. Built Firefox Color (browser theme creation with React/Redux and Firefox add-on). Hosted live streaming on Twitch/YouTube, mentored Outreachy intern.
- **Web Application Engineering** (2014-2015): Node.js modules for Firefox and Firefox OS development/testing.
- **Mozilla Developer Network** (2011-2014): Tech lead on Kuma, Django-based CMS for MDN. Built KumaScript (Node.js microservice for document scripts). Migrated 50,000 pages and 1,000 Lua macros to new platform.
- **Web Developer** (2008-2011): Firefox ecosystem web apps (marketing, support, updates, sync, crashes). Implemented scalable "snippets" service for Firefox new tab page.

**del.icio.us Engineer**, Yahoo! (2006-2008)
- Implemented and documented del.icio.us 2.0 public REST API
- Built embeddable widgets for social bookmarking service
- Contributed to one of the pioneering social bookmarking platforms

**Earlier Roles** (1995-2006)
- Senior Interface Engineer at Organic (RSS-based Auto Show portals, Flash frameworks)
- Technical Lead at J. Walter Thompson (ASP.NET web apps for Ford, White Castle)
- Lead Software Architect at ePrize LLC (gamified promotions framework)
- Various web development roles at agencies in Detroit area
- Webmaster at The Industry Network ISP (1995-1997)

For detailed work history, see my [resume (PDF)](https://lmorchard.com/resume.pdf).

## Publications

Author and contributor on technical books, primarily focused on RSS/feeds, web APIs, and JavaScript:

- **Author**, *Hacking RSS and Atom* (Wiley, 2005) - ISBN: 978-0764597589
- **Author**, *Hacking del.icio.us* (Wiley, 2006) - ISBN: 978-0470037850
- **Author**, *Concise Guide to Dojo* (Wiley, 2008) - ISBN: 978-0470452028
- **Tech Editor**, *Facebook Application Development* (Wiley, 2008) - ISBN: 978-0470246665
- **Co-author**, *Professional JavaScript Frameworks* (Wiley, 2009) - ISBN: 978-0470384596
- **Contributor**, *Spidering Hacks* (O'Reilly, 2003) - ISBN: 978-0596005771

These books establish long-term expertise in RSS feeds, web syndication, social bookmarking APIs, and JavaScript framework development - themes that continue in my current personal projects.

## Current Projects

**Feed Reading & Aggregation**
- [feedspool-go](https://github.com/lmorchard/feedspool-go): CLI tool and static site generator for RSS/Atom feeds with SQLite storage. Implements "river of news" philosophy without read/unread state. Features lazy-loading web components architecture for smooth progressive loading.
- [linkding-to-markdown](https://github.com/lmorchard/linkding-to-markdown): Export bookmarks from Linkding to Markdown format.
- [mastodon-to-markdown](https://github.com/lmorchard/mastodon-to-markdown): Export Mastodon toots to Markdown format.

**Blogging & Content**
- [blog.lmorchard.com](https://blog.lmorchard.com): Personal blog since early 2000s covering web development, RSS, IndieWeb, tinkering, and metablogging.
- [Easy-Blog Oven](https://github.com/lmorchard/blog.lmorchard.com): Custom Node.js static site generator integrated with Obsidian for frictionless publishing.
- [weeknotes-blog-post-composer](https://github.com/lmorchard/lmorchard-agent-skills/tree/main/weeknotes-blog-post-composer): Claude Code skill for drafting blog posts from aggregated social media and bookmark data.

**Personal Infrastructure**
- [about-me](https://github.com/lmorchard/about-me): This site - aggregates blog posts, GitHub activity, Mastodon toots, and media consumption across platforms.

## Writing & Themes

My blog explores:
- **RSS & Feed Readers**: Building tools that respect reader autonomy, "river of news" patterns, alternatives to algorithmic feeds. Continues themes from *Hacking RSS and Atom* (2005).
- **IndieWeb & PESOS**: Own your content, syndication strategies, decentralized web practices.
- **Web Development**: Web components, static site generation, progressive enhancement, modern JavaScript.
- **Metablogging**: Writing about writing, sustainable creative practices, blogging as "search query to find fascinating people".
- **Tinkering**: Retrocomputing (Commodore 64, BBS systems), homelabs, ESP32 projects, 3D printing.

Key concepts:
- **Serial Enthusiasm**: Embracing rather than fighting bursts of intense project focus. [Confessions of a Serial Enthusiast](https://blog.lmorchard.com/2006/05/26/confessions-of-a-serial-enthusiast/) (2006)
- **Pebbling**: Finding and sharing interesting things like penguins presenting shiny pebbles. Being a "human repeater" for interesting content.
- **River of News**: Feed reading without inbox anxiety or read/unread state. Inspired by Dave Winer's philosophy.
- **PESOS**: Publish Elsewhere, Syndicate (to your) Own Site. Collecting social media posts and reshaping them for my own blog.

## Elsewhere

- **Blog**: [blog.lmorchard.com](https://blog.lmorchard.com) ([RSS](https://blog.lmorchard.com/index.rss))
- **Mastodon**: [@lmorchard@masto.hackers.town](https://masto.hackers.town/@lmorchard)
- **GitHub**: [github.com/lmorchard](https://github.com/lmorchard)
- **YouTube**: [@LesOrchard](https://www.youtube.com/@LesOrchard) - Tutorials and tinkering videos
- **Twitch**: [twitch.tv/lmorchard](https://twitch.tv/lmorchard) - Occasional coding streams
- **Discord**: [discord.com/invite/UXeuPNv](https://discord.com/invite/UXeuPNv)

## Contact

- Email: [me@lmorchard.com](mailto:me@lmorchard.com)
- Mastodon: [@lmorchard@masto.hackers.town](https://masto.hackers.town/@lmorchard)

## Technical Background

**Languages & Frameworks**: JavaScript/Node.js, Python, Go, TypeScript, Ruby, C#, React, Redux, Django, web components

**Areas**: Web development, browser tooling, static site generation, RSS/feed parsing, REST APIs, GraphQL, SQLite, developer tools, authentication systems (OAuth, OpenID Connect), identity management, subscription/payment systems (Stripe), experimentation platforms, AI/ML integration

**Databases**: SQLite, PostgreSQL, Azure CosmosDB (graph database)

**Specialties**:
- Developer tools and browser extensions
- Static site generation and progressive enhancement
- RSS/Atom feed parsing and aggregation (25+ years)
- Social bookmarking and personal knowledge management
- Remote Settings and feature flag systems
- Live streaming and technical content creation

**Interests**: IndieWeb protocols, decentralized systems, personal data ownership, sustainable web technologies, progressive enhancement, AI tools for productivity

## Optional

- [Full blog archive](https://blog.lmorchard.com/archives/): Posts dating back to early 2000s
- [Blog llms.txt](https://blog.lmorchard.com/llms.txt): Detailed description of blog themes and philosophy
- [Source code for this site](https://github.com/lmorchard/about-me): Built with Node.js, aggregates data via GitHub Actions
- [Resume (PDF)](https://lmorchard.com/resume.pdf): Complete work history and details