hi.
I'm Steve Luppi
(He/Him)Multi-faceted Nerd
I pride myself on being passionate about many things, often bordering on intense nerdom. Some of the rabbit holes that I've fallen down include mechanical keyboards running QMK Firmware, writing in Gallifreyan inspired by Doctor Who, Legos, video games, and much more.
QMK Mechanical Keyboards
My journey through the world of mechanical keyboards started slow, with the simple purchase of a DAS
keyboard Ultimate. The typing experience on a mechanical keyboard brought back childhood memories of using our
Tandy 1000 computer. The DAS Keyboard worked for me for a long time before I learned about the QMK firmware
from a coworker. The customizations available through QMK were a game changer for me and something I had
long dreamt of. I then took a wild dive into not only a QMK based keyboard but also ortho-linear and 40%
size; a Planck-EZ. I loved every minute of getting up to speed with the Planck and all the things I
could do with QMK layers, macros, combos, etc. As such, I ended up getting a second keyboard (and current
daily driver) the Moonlander Mark 1.
Buying QMK based keyboards wasn't enough though, the siren call of hand wiring my own macro keyboard
was too strong. I built a 4x3 macro board including my own firmware for it using QMK.
Part of my experience with customizing the firmware for QMK based keyboards included building out a
Docker container specifically to be used in a GitLab CI Pipeline as a runner for the step of building
the firmware. There are two variants: one for QMK, and one for the ZSA implementation of QMK. Links
to the different repositories for CI runners can be found on my public GitLab profile linked below.
Woodworking Hobbyist
It doesn't seems to matter the medium, I like to build things. I've mostly worked on personal projects in or around our home. Some projects completed include a wall-mounted ruler to measure our children's height, custom cornice boxes for our living room, a built in book case for my daughter's room, a Batman bed for my oldest son, and a princess bed for my daughter. I find that when I'm able to unplug from the digital world and build something with my hands, it recharges me. I've accumulated a number of tools over the years but I think my favorite to putter with is the lathe. Something about how smoothly a sharp chisel can shape the wood on a lathe incredibly relaxing.
Full Stack Engineering Leader
By day, I work as a full stack engineering leader continually growing my own skills as well as working to grow the skills and talent of the members of my team. I truly see application and software development as a craft which can be honed over the course of a lifetime and yet never perfected; particularly given the ever-changing nature of technology, frameworks, and programming languages. I have spent many years working in the Fin-Tech industry but have also ventured in to the world of e-commerce. Knowing that I've built something that has made a positive impact on the end users' experience with the application or technology keeps me engaged in and satisfied by my craft. For a more in-depth history of my professional career, see the link to my online resume below. At home, I am intrigued by the ecosystem of the Raspberry Pi. A number of personal projects I've spent time on leverage these tiny yet powerful computers. Most notably I've built a relatively primitive "nap light" for my son which turns red when it's time to be asleep, and green when he can leave his room. I've also used them as a simple web-server in a pinch for a prototype.