About

Hi! I’m Mike Cartmell. Originally from Blackpool in the UK, I’m now settled in Singapore with my wife Brin and our two children.

I’ve had a long career in software development and like programming as a hobby too. I publish open-source code to GitHub and (long ago) CPAN. One particular interest of mine is making computer programs play games, such as Gin Rummy and Texas Hold ’em, and I’d like to make my own games sometime. I’m interested in Humane Technology and online privacy, and reject Big Tech like Facebook and Google. I self-host a lot of software I use such as my Mastodon instance, toot.sg.

I love to travel, and used to travel alone a lot, and I’ve been fortunate enough to visit over 40 countries around the world. That’s still currently on hold until my children are both old enough to travel, but I look forward to more adventures in the near future.

I’m into all kinds of fiction, but especially anything dark and/or psychological; I like writing as well as reading. I enjoy retro gaming, especially Spectrum, Amiga and Arcade games. I like newer games too and have a very long Steam backlog of games that I’ll get around to, eventually.

I’m also a life-long Blackpool FC supporter, like photography, and I’m a fan of curry and craft beer. In the past I used to dance salsa. I’m interested in transhumanism, artificial intelligence and ethics - especially so with the recent progress in AI!

I’m currently on a career break/gap year and recording my experience here on my blog. I’m not currently looking for work, but feel free to get in touch with me if you have something interesting; here’s my CV.