Hey 👋 I’m Nik, a software developer based in Vancouver, Canada. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, I moved to Canada in April of 2024.

To get a feel for the work that I do and what I like to write about, the following are some of my favourite blog posts:

• Beware of transit gateways bearing large packets (on Medium) is an interesting caper involving some of the finer points of AWS Transit Gateways, asymmetric routing and MSS clamping.
• So you want to turn something off? (on Medium) is a short guide on how to switch off systems at large organisations.
• One of my many hobbies is fermentation. Experiments in mushroom garrum talks a little about a some of my experiments around the edges of novel technique for making a flavoured mushroom condiment quickly.

General info

• 🧔 Pronouns: he/him
• 🌐 Website and blog: https://www.skouf.com
• 📄 Resume: https://resume.skouf.com
• 🍳 Favourite food: Pickles!

How I like to work

More and more I’m trying to embrace fully remote, asynchronous ways of working. I like writing things down because it allows me to communicate clearly and thoughtfully. I find it easier to express myself concisely and clearly in writing, but I also feel that writing is more durable and easier to iterate on than verbal communication.

I often have strong opinions, but they’re loosely held. I believe that being able to quickly change your mind in the face of new information is a virtue, and I tend to change direction very quickly when this happens.

What I’ve worked on in the past

In the past I’ve done a lot of Kubernetes wrangling, and I still try to keep up to date with the latest and greatest. I’ve written (and still write) Typescript, Golang, Python and C# professionally, and done small amounts of work in React here and there. I’ve written Typescript, Golang, Python and C# professionally, and done small amounts of work in React here and there. I’ve done a bunch of teaching and mentoring of junior developers, and try to get involved with programs that let me share knowledge and help people understand new concepts wherever I can. I also studied mathematics in university, specializing in numerical methods for differential equations. I’m pretty rusty, but I do enjoy a math or logic problem.

Hobbies

An ever growing list…

Food and drink is a big hobby, both eating and cooking. Some of my adventures are on my blog, but there’s a lot more to be discussed. A short list of stuff I’ve done deep dives into:

• Miso and shoyu (soy sauce) making
• Cocktails
• Carbonation
• Coffee
• Bread and milling your own flour
• Lacto fermentation
• Cured fish products (tuna bacon, gravlax, smoked salmon)

I never really was a sports guy, but now I try and watch Vancouver Canucks games. Maybe it just took a sport completely divorced from my home country and culture to get me interested?

My 3D printing is pretty rusty, but it’s something I’ve tinkered with in the past and hope to again.

I like taking photos, and they usually go straight from my camera to Instagram. This has been a fantastic cure for my chronic inability to get around to editing RAWs.

I have a cute black and white tuxedo cat named Sofia who I love very much ❤️