About nxsy

Published: 3 March, 2024, updated: 3 March, 2024

Hey, I’m Neil Blakey-Milner - I also go by “nbm” in a technology context and “nxsy¹” in others (like this site).

I’ve been living in Seattle since 2015, and working at Facebook Meta since 2011. More about “now” at my “now” page.

Random dump of stuff about me:

• I’m originally from South Africa, and moved to the United States in 2011 with just two suit cases (and my husband)
• I’m a programmer / software developer / “software engineer” (as they call it in the US) and generally someone who likes to play with technology
  • I like to tinker in the general game developer space - game engines, rendering, modeling, and so forth
  • A recent annual highlight is participating in the Advent of Code puzzle challenge, where I do reasonably on the company leaderboards
  • I’ve written probably 10 different blog “engines” over the last ~24 years
• I have a bunch of on-again off-again hobbies, like:
  • Photography
  • Videography
  • Woodworking
  • Board games and roleplaying
• I’m a consistent reader, reading a little every day with the occasional exception due to travel or vacation
  • Primarily read science fiction and fantasy, but try to occasionally read outside those genres
  • (I’ve also read over a hundred books on leadership, management, and the non-technical aspects of a career in the technology industry)
• I’ve been slowly developing the raw materials for a book on “leveling up” in the technology industry, based on my experience
• I used to be pretty active in some meet-up communities in South Africa, and even organized a few conferences. These days I live a much quieter life.