Welcome To My Website

Hi, I’m Max

A photo of Max behind a DM screen, slightly smiling and eyeing an off-screen player with admiration and suspicion — Playing D&D, captured candidly by Clare, playing a Dwarven Paladin called Gwendsly

I really like computers, but more broadly than that, I’m driven to understand both how things work now and how they came to be that way. You’ll find my writing here reflects these tendencies: in-depth technical articles with a lot of historical context. Most things I’ve written here have been learning aids for me, but I hope that they can be some mix of enjoyable and useful for other people as well.

Max is sitting on a chair opposite his scene partner on the stage at Improv Theatre Sydney. — I’m pretty sure we were playing a game of chess while arguing about lawn arrangements.

Beyond computers, I have an interest in the fantastical, the narrative, and the mathematical. These combine in varying amounts to my love of improv theatre, live music, and tabletop role playing games, but my interests are wide and varied! Currently I am interested in establishing myself in my new home, as well as building out my own digital sovereignty. And I am timelessly interested in public transport, cooking, community, most sports that don’t involve fighting or TBIs, and dogs that look like they’d really go crazy for a tennis ball.

A photo of Max interacting with two golden retrievers. His jeans are covered in hair. — Dogs like this. And border collies. Love ’em

I don’t care to be defined by my job, but if you must know, I work as a software developer for an Australian startup founded by a few of my very best friends. I’ve been there for the last six years or so. If you want more information than that, please check out my LinkedIn, there’s a whole version of me over there who only talks about my job.

I live in Toronto, Ontario, although I am very new here, so if you are local, please do say hi! Even if you’re not, I’d love to hear from you. You can find me on Mastodon @mpwb@hachyderm.io. You can also find me on Github, although these days I tend to host my own projects over at code.mpwb.xyz.

Before I lived in Toronto, I lived in Vancouver. I moved there over Christmas 2024, to finally move in with my partner after a few years of loving her from all the way over in Australia. I’m extremely happy to be here, and I’m excited for the future, although I do miss Sydney and my friends a great deal.

A selfie of Max with three friends, all of whom are grinning ecstatically — Left-to-right: Cam, Clare, Monica, and Max. I think this was just after the show in the previous photo.

Fun Facts

I can’t really call these FAQs, but they might serve as ice-breaker facts, at the very least:

I am left handed.
The first album I owned was Gorillaz’ eponymous debut.
The first movie I saw at the cinema was Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
I was born in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa, although for the most part I grew up in the East Midlands of England.
My first gig was They Might be Giants, at The Barbican in 2002 I have four siblings. Specifically, half-siblings (two on each side), but the normal rules of addition don’t work with people.
My top five favourite movies are: The Princess Bride, On the Waterfront, How To Train Your Dragon, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Toy Story 2.
I have a degree in mathematics.
I have only ever played a character in a TTRPG in guest appearances or one-shots. Beyond that, I have only ever GMed.