Allen Bina

I've been building things with computers since I was 11 years old, when I brute-forced the copy protection key for Prince of Persia 2 on a 386 because I didn't know you could just buy the game. Twenty-something years later, not much has changed — I still solve problems by taking things apart and figuring out how they work.

By day, I'm a data platform engineer — Informatica, Databricks, ETL pipelines, the infrastructure that moves data from point A to point B at scale. I've been doing this for almost 20 years across consulting, healthcare, and financial services.

But the work I'm most proud of happens after hours. I built a custom thermostat from scratch — soldering, firmware, MQTT, wired into Home Assistant. I hand-wired a split ergonomic keyboard, chose a bleeding-edge Python firmware (KMK), hit its limits, learned why C++ wins in embedded, and migrated to QMK. I run a Kubernetes cluster at home with 30+ services that started as a media PC when I was 23 and grew into what it is today through every phase of self-hosting.

My latest project is chatwire — an open-source iMessage bridge that lets you access your messages from any device. Full React UI, plugin system, mobile app, MCP integration for AI agents. It started as a personal tool and turned into a real product.

I've also been a DJ for 17+ years. I mod my own flight cases and carry an emergency repair kit to every gig. Same instinct as the keyboard and the thermostat — if something doesn't work the way I want, I fix it myself.

"I used to read Hacker News and Hackaday articles in awe. Now I build the things I used to admire. Currently learning PCB design for a custom keyboard."

Outside of computers: I organize a wine club (and don't drink wine), and I have a dog named Ziba (@zibabina). Always happy to talk about self-hosting, mechanical keyboards, home automation, or anything you can solder.