Who is this Nathan guy, anyway?
That would be me. Nathan Zeldes, applied physicist by education, engineer by vocation, and maker of neat things (hardware, software, woodworking, and “classic” DIY) by avocation. Husband, father, and grandfather. Born and living in Jerusalem, Israel. Ham radio operator (4Z4GE, currently inactive).
At the end of 2008 I decided that 26 years in the same company is enough, and so I left Intel, where I was a Principal Engineer, took the plunge and started my own consulting business, which you’re welcome to check out here. After the pandemic I reduced my workload, and when I’m not mentoring startup companies or advising college students I spend more time with my family and hobbies.
You are welcome to read my Commonsense Design blog, dedicated to everyday product design, and my other blog, dedicated to my professional thinking.
And what is this site all about?
Just my own little patch of cyberspace… my way of joining the many good people who have so enriched my mind these many years by sharing some of their thoughts, passions and interests, through their wonderful personal web sites. Here is something back in return.
Originally I started this site in 2005, when I wrote it in straight HTML as was the custom of the day. Later the arrival of smartphones required sites to be “responsive” (adapt fluidly to any screen shape), and I converted the site to its present WordPress form. Here you can glimpse a couple of pages from the previous site, a tribute to my original labor of love.
If you haven’t yet published a site of your own, I urge you to consider it. With all respect to Amazon and Google and whatnot, it is we, the people, who give the Internet its soul. Come on aboard!
So what’s with the bird image?
The image in the page header is “flight”, a fractal I’ve created long ago on the Amiga computer using IFS Lab, my IFS creation software (which you can download here). In math speak, it is the attractor of an Iterated Function System comprising a set of six affine transformations, which are defined by 42 numerical coefficients. In people speak, it is a bird made up of birds which are each made up of birds which are each… and on ad infinitum, though at the resolution of my site logo you can only make out one level of birdness (you can see it in more detail here). The fact that something as dry as 42 numbers can capture and create such intricate beauty is what has always drawn me to fractals… so here it is.
Acknowledgments
My sincere thanks go to Carmit Hirsch and to Pasha Kagan for their generous help in realizing this site.