Hello there! My name’s Dan Manchester, a web engineer living and working in Portland, Oregon, in the United States’ sunny northwestern corner. Over the past 15+ years of internet shenanigans, I've had the privilege to work with businesses big and small, artists and poets, nonprofits and activists, startups and enterprise corporations. I mostly focus on the frontend, as I genuinely love writing CSS, JavaScript, and accessible HTML.
Outside of work I spend most of my time clapping at my two children’s soccer games and music recitals. I play a lot of cribbage and Qwixx with my wife. I like to hike up mountains through tall trees and touch moss as often as possible. I grew up in the Ocean State and still need to see the coast regularly or risk feeling uneasy. I really like cardigans, Chuck Taylors, good line breaks, stand up comedy, and overcast afternoons. Before I knew any better, I wanted to grow up to be a firetruck.
My natural habitat: reflected in a dirty display screen, with about 33 minutes remaining.
Before I started building internet for a living, I taught creative writing to high school students and college undergraduates. I still write and publish poetry and nonfiction regularly, though I probably read more than I write these days. (There’s so much poetry to read it often feels daunting, but aren’t we just stupid lucky there’s so much poetry for us to read?)
A friend once introduced me to a stranger as being “slightly left of Jesus.” I was a teenage anarchist but fall somewhere closer to the socialism end of the spectrum at this point. I mention this only because I like to work with people who align with my beliefs. That said, I never assume folks’ll be aligned with me on everything—that’s a bananas expectation for an adult. So long as folks adhere to Wheaton’s Law, we cool.