About
I'm from Canada, but I've lived in the suburbs of Nagoya, Japan for the better part of twenty years. I started writing code in 1994 on an 8088 that ran DOS 4.2. I'm still at it. I also teach English, which tends to surprise people who assume programmers communicate primarily with computers and error messages.
I build things that treat the people using them with some basic respect. No ads, no tracking, no dark patterns, no artificial friction designed to push you toward a paid tier. If a feature requires collecting data I don't actually need, that feature doesn't get built. This occasionally results in a simpler product. I'm at peace with that.
Right now that means three iOS apps, regular work at a language school, and a YouTube channel where I drive around rural Japan and point a camera at things that most travel guides never mention. There's also some writing, when I remember to sit down and do it.
I have been building software for over thirty years. Some of it was genuinely good. Some of it I still quietly apologise for.
Apps
Things I've built
Three iOS apps. No accounts. No tracking. No subscriptions.
On YouTube
Driving rural Japan
I run a channel about the parts of Japan that don't make it into travel guides. Rice paddies, mountain passes, small towns where the convenience store closed years ago. Slow content. I find it interesting. Some other people seem to as well.
Videos are available at youtube.com/@copenbee.
Contact
Email is fine. I check it regularly and I reply.
[email protected]