Phillip Ridlen

Hi there! This is my website. I’m a Christian, husband to my beautiful wife, and father to three wonderful kids. I make a living as a software engineer, solving business problems (sometimes with software). I’ve also taken a few photos I’m proud of.

If you’re wondering what I’m currently up to, visit my now page. If you want to explore some of the more interesting corners of the web, check out my list of interesting sites.


Recent Notes

Blog posts, thoughts, and other notes I’ve written. While I have used AI fairly heavily in the development of this site, the content here is all my own words.

Elitch's or Lakeside?

Elitch’s or Lakeside?

Meandering thoughts on Denver's two imperfect amusement parks.

Denver's amusement parks were never great, but it's not like we had any better options. Here's my meandering memoir.

AI is making things better, but worse

AI is making things better, but worse

We thought AI was going to make life easier, giving us time back by automating away the monotonous work. But just like the Industrial Revolution, factory automation, and robots didn't lead to giving workers a life of ease and luxury, knowledge work automation through agentic and generative AI is no Caribbean vacation.

Vibe coding a native macOS app to edit my blog

Vibe coding a native macOS app to edit my blog

I have an awesome new editor for my website. It’s a native macOS SwiftUI app that I can boot up on my Mac and write and edit posts. I don’t know Swift. And I don’t know the SwiftUI API. To me this is the perfect candidate for blind vibe…

Wanting Back What We Can Never Have

Wanting Back What We Can Never Have

…and maybe never had in the first place

Growing up alongside the internet, the pull of nostalgia, and the unsettling possibility that what we miss isn’t actually the past itself.

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Feel free to get in touch: phil@ptx.sh.