Schalk Neethling

Hey, there, and thank you for stopping by. My name is Schalk Neethling, and I live in Florauna, Pretoria, South Africa. It is a relatively quiet suburb that forms part of the larger Pretoria metropolis. I am not really a city person and would feel more at home in Knysna, South Africa. I am married to Theresa Neethling and have three children, five dogs, and three cats. I am the founder of Mechanical Ink and have spent the bulk of the last 11 years contracting for Mozilla. Besides being a frontend engineer, I have a burning passion for community, education, open source, and ensuring we build a web accessible by all. I am not sure what I want Mechanical Ink to be yet, but I know I do not want it to be yet another consultancy. While I figure out my long-term strategy with Mechanical Ink, I use the opportunities I have to give back to the industry I am part of. For example, I started a community for early-stage web developers called the Mycelium Network. We are a group of lifelong learners and mentors who share a core belief in the opportunities the internet can offer to empower people and communities. When we combine the reach of the web with skills in engineering, design, and compassion for others, we can positively impact our lives and those around us. As the saying goes, "A rising tide lifts all boats." All you need to join is a curious nature and a passion for learning and sharing what you learn with others. As part of the Mycelium Network, I also run the Mycelium Network podcast with editing help from my son. The podcast aims to give a voice and platform to those new to the industry. I also speak to mentors and leaders in community, open source, diversity, and inclusion. We are not scared to ask hard questions and acknowledge the things that need attention. I am writing a book called "A 150 days of HTML", which is a deep dive into this core language of the web. I am also trying to resurrect a project I failed to get off the ground some years back called Third World Problems. I hope that the connections I have made since then will equip me to bring the project to fruition this time. I also have various side projects, which you can find on my GitHub profile and the Project Calavera organization page. I am slowly getting back into blogging on my website, which I am building from the ground up. I also have a Youtube channel, am pretty active on Twitter, and can sometimes be seen streaming on Twitch. I used to be a musician and still am in spirit. You can download my only recorded album for free. I am also a meditation teacher on Insight Timer. Having struggled most of my life with depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and substance abuse, meditation, yoga, and mindfulness have changed my life. https://linktr.ee/schalkneethling

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