about me
last touched: 2026-09-21
This isn't a résumé. If you want the tidy, professional version of me, that lives over at rusty.is-a.dev. This page is the other kind of "about me": the one that's actually about me.
the short version
I'm Rusty. I'm a teenager who spends a suspicious amount of free time in a terminal, thinks Linux desktop configs are a legitimate hobby, and has opinions about window managers that nobody asked for. I like building things more than I like using things other people built, which is either a personality trait or a diagnosis.
Where I'm from doesn't come up much when your entire life happens inside a terminal window, so I'll leave it at that.
things i actually care about
- Computers. Not in the "I use a MacBook" sense, but in the "I will spend an entire Saturday fixing my display manager because it offended me" sense. See /computers.
- Programming. I like making small useful (and sometimes useless) tools more than I like following tutorials. See /projects.
- Cybersecurity. Curious about how things break and why, not trying to be a movie hacker about it. It shows up in how I think about systems more than in any one page here.
- Books. A real reader, not a "read the first chapter and gave up" reader. See /books.
- Music. Always looking for something new. See /music.
a highly scientific chart of my interests
| topic | enthusiasm | notes |
|---|---|---|
| Linux distro-hopping | ████████░░ | currently settled, temporarily |
| Hyprland configs | ██████████ | never actually finished |
| reading past 1am | █████████░ | a lifestyle choice |
| self-hosting things I don't need | ████████░░ | the homelab knows no mercy |
| finishing side projects | ████░░░░░░ | working on it (literally) |
a few facts, unranked
- I built a KaiOS app for my TCL flip phone whose entire purpose is showing me Uptime Kuma alerts. No, I don't know why either.
- I once found a hardcoded Discord bot token sitting in plaintext while building a dashboard for my own bot. Fixed it immediately, then felt very smug about catching it.
- I built this entire website without a single JavaScript framework, and I'd like a medal for that.
- Fish is a better default shell than bash and I will not be taking questions.
how to reach me
I'm keeping this one soft-contact on purpose: no email plastered across
the page for bots to scrape. Sign the
guestbook, or find me on Discord: rusty_the_cat. Both
feel more in the spirit of this place anyway. If you want the tidier,
portfolio-shaped version of me, that lives at
rusty.is-a.dev.
