How Open Source Tech Gives Me (and You) More Control

In software development you've basically got two approaches: rely on third-party platforms, or build things yourself with open-source tools. I've always gravitated toward the second one.

Santa Fe is full of makers — people who shape clay, weld metal, build furniture, paint, make films, you name it. I'm not doing any of that day-to-day, but the mindset is the same. There's something satisfying about understanding your tools and having control over the things you create. For me, that's what open-source software unlocks.

I started in WordPress more than a decade ago and eventually moved into full-stack development, app building, and cloud infrastructure. Over time I realized I didn't need massive cloud providers to do the things I wanted to do. And I was tired of seeing upsells every time I logged in to a site. I just needed good tools and a solid place to run them.

Now I self-host most of my work using open-source tech on Brownrice Internet up in Taos. With Coolify, an open source platform, I can spin up everything from blogs to databases to automations with a couple of clicks. It's fun, it's flexible, and it keeps everything close to home.

I've also been working on setting up my own music server using open-source software and my own music collection — the kind of thing where I can play my music anywhere, from my own devices, without paying $15 a month to a streaming service that ignores my thumbs-downs and plays the same song anyway. Streaming services are the worst DJs. The anti-DJ.

I'm not trying to convert anyone to self-hosting, and I don't expect anyone else to dig into server logs or patch software on a Sunday night. This is just the way I like to build things. It fits the maker spirit around here — independent, hands-on, and a little bit obsessive in the best way.

Santa Fe has painters, sculptors, writers, furniture makers, jewelers.

I just happen to be the guy who makes software.

~ Locally Sourced Tech ~