About

Custom-building with Legos #

As a kid I remember being interested in airplanes, Transformers, and Airwolf, a helicopter from a syndicated TV show. When I was around 9, I built a Lego version of the Airwolf helicopter — no instructions, no set, just a pile of random parts and enough stubbornness to keep assembling until it looked right. That’s more or less still how I approach problem-solving today: figure out what the thing needs to do, then put the pieces together myself.

I thought about being an aerospace engineer. My mom pushed education hard, my dad was an engineer, and between the two of them, math and science felt like the family language. So that’s how I ended up majoring in computer science and mathematics at the University of Michigan.

From the lab to the web #

After graduating, I ended up working at a government R&D center in the Midwest as a software and project engineer. In my spare time, away from the job, I started building websites. First plain HTML, then I got into open-source content-management systems like Drupal and WordPress.

After 5+ years at the lab, I took a calculated risk and left the Midwest for California, driving cross-country for a couple of weeks. Once I settled in, I ended up using web frameworks like Ruby on Rails to work on high-traffic e-commerce websites. It eventually turned into running my own business: CloudSharkLabs.

Why projects fail (and why they don’t) #

My time as a software and project engineer taught me something that’s stuck with me ever since: most projects succeed or fail based on communication, not cleverness. If the service provider is reliable, disciplined, and honest about trade-offs, and the client is clear about what they actually need, the project goes smoothly. Almost every failure I’ve seen traces back to one of those breaking down.

That’s the philosophy CloudSharkLabs runs on: plain-English plans before code gets written, and steady, visible progress along the way.

Solving problems for a living #

These days I work as an AI and software consultant helping teams use AI and automation to solve their core business problems. I work remotely, mostly with clients who care more about reliable systems than shiny demos.

It’s the same instinct as that Lego Airwolf: most off-the-shelf tools almost fit, and “almost” is where the workarounds and busywork creep in. I’d rather understand what your business actually needs and build the thing that fits — piece by piece, no shrink-wrapped kit required.

Before this chapter, I spent over a decade as a software engineer working everywhere from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies.

Off the clock #

I’m just as organized off the job as on it. I’ve trained for and finished a few half-marathons (and one full marathon). When I’m not doing client work, I like to make time for skiing, running, and building things — Legos included.

Thanks,

Bruce, Chief Cloudsharker