pakkit.net
buildingThis site itself — Astro + TypeScript, content-driven and statically built, improved in small slices instead of big rewrites.
- Astro
- TypeScript
- Static
/now
What I'm on right now
A live status board — current builds, engineering focus, and creative experiments. Updated whenever the priorities shift, which is often.
pakkit@now — status
$ whoami
Brandon Donaly aka Pakkit
$ status --now
online · heads-down · shipping small slices
last reviewed: June 2026
Currently building
On the bench
What's actively getting hands-on-keyboard time right now.
AI-assisted development workflows
activeAgent-friendly pipelines kept honest with validation loops, so the speed-up never quietly costs correctness.
- Agents
- Validation loops
- DX
NexusPort (working name)
exploringAn independent, experimental product concept exploring safe, schedulable bandwidth orchestration and telecom workflow automation. NexusPort is a working name — the concept is still being shaped, with no business claims attached.
- Networking
- Automation
- Concept
Private cloud, the zero-trust way
buildingMoving services onto a self-hosted, Dockerized private cloud with clean boundaries and least-privilege access by default.
- Docker
- Zero-trust
- Self-hosted
Learning & refining
What I'm sharpening
The skills and habits getting deliberate practice right now — the rigor behind the builds.
AI-assisted workflows
Refining where agents genuinely help and where they confidently steer you wrong — and the validation loops that catch the difference.
Zero-trust habits
Treating nothing as trusted by default, and making least-privilege the easy path instead of the annoying one.
Docker & private cloud
Cleaner container boundaries, repeatable setups, and observability that actually means something.
Reviewable automation
Tightening the dry-run, logging, and rollback patterns so automation stays something you can safely hand to someone else.
exploreWriting about
What I'm writing down
Field notes and playbooks — turning real-world fixes into something reusable instead of letting the lessons evaporate.
Field notes & playbooks
Turning messy real-world fixes into short, reusable write-ups instead of letting the lessons evaporate.
exploreSmall slices over big bang
Why narrow, validated steps beat heroic rewrites — especially with AI in the loop.
exploreAutomation needs a panic button
Safety rails, dry-run mode, and rollback thinking for tools that touch real systems.
exploreDocumentation as infrastructure
Why the write-up is part of the build, not a chore bolted on after.
exploreMentoring
What I'm helping people through
Helping friends, students, and curious builders get into tech — no bootcamp, no gatekeeping, just real systems and honest answers.
Helping friends learn tech
Informal, no-gatekeeping sessions where people bring a first repo, a confusing error, or a half-formed idea.
exploreScoping the next step
Talking people out of doing everything at once and into one small, finishable slice.
Debugging out loud
Rubber-ducking through bugs and explaining the why, so the next one is easier to chase down solo.
Security fundamentals
Plain-language threat models and good habits — why the boring advice is usually the right advice.
Keeping it simple
What I'm intentionally not overcomplicating
The other half of focus — the things I'm deliberately leaving boring, small, or loose on purpose.
No premature scale
Building for the problem in front of me, not an imaginary million-user version that may never show up.
Boring tech where it counts
Reaching for proven, legible tools first. Novelty has to earn its spot.
Creative play stays play
DJ sets and gaming stay fun and low-stakes — a creative loop that recharges the work, not a second job to optimize.
Plans I can change
Holding the roadmap loosely. A "now" board is a snapshot, not a contract.
Operating principle
Small slices. Real validation. Weird ideas welcome.