Hello there! 👋
My name is David Byron Drake, but most places on the Internet, I’m randomdrake. I’m happy to see you here. 🧡
I’m a husband, a father, and a published author. I’m also a Senior Engineering Manager at New Relic, a former actor, and a science nerd with a Commodore 64 tattoo. There are a few interests competing for space in there.
I live in Oregon with my wife and daughter. Outside of work, there’s cooking, reading, getting outside, and making another coffee. I enjoy the time in the kitchen. Making something with my hands, feeding the people I love, and stepping away from a screen for a while.
Writing has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, but for years it took a back seat to building software and leading teams. Now I’ve published I Will Not Drink With You Today. It’s a year of daily reflections on sobriety, stillness, and learning to be here for the life you’ve got, one day at a time. I’m giving the craft more of my time. Reading books about writing. Writing. Finding out how much I still have to learn. I enjoy that feeling more than I used to.
Theatre and computers have been there all along, too. I got a software degree, then a theatre degree. A practical plan, followed by a much less practical one. Both have served me well. Acting taught me to listen and put myself in someone else’s shoes. Those skills matter just as much when you’re trying to understand a person’s problem and build something useful for them.
I grew up all over the country, lived in Montana during high school, studied film abroad in London and Paris, and spent part of my life in the Virgin Islands. Eventually, I made it to Silicon Valley. Spent a brief stretch as CTO of a Y Combinator company, then founded and led my own venture as CEO, raising a couple million dollars along the way. Built things. Learned plenty. Often the hard way.
One experience I’m particularly grateful for was teaching entrepreneurship to Japanese students affected by the Great East Japan earthquake. I care about people. I care about science and technology. I like finding ways to bring them together.
These days, I build with AI and think a lot about what it means for people, learning, and work. I want tools that help us do more while keeping our judgment intact. That curiosity also shows up in my writing. Sometimes it leads to software. Sometimes it leads to a stack of research papers about how much coffee I’m drinking.
This blog holds years of things I’ve made, places I’ve been, and ideas I wanted to share. Some are technical. Some are personal. Some took a turn I wasn’t expecting. Feel free to wander around. There’s plenty here. 🧡
Keep exploring
Find my current projects and professional background at davidbyrondrake.com, read my newer writing on Medium, or wander through the blog archive.
Want to say hello? Drop me a line. Good humans are always welcome.