Box Kite Machine is a personal project where I write about human factors in engineering leadership and anything else I want.
The opinions expressed here are entirely my own and are not my employer’s or anyone else’s. Any stories are fictional and have no relationship to anyone real.
James Sulak
My name is James Sulak and I lead humans who build things from bits. I currently serve as a Senior Director of Engineering at Collins Aerospace. My previous role was President of FlightAware, and before that, Vice President of Engineering. My hobbies include photography, running, reading history, and keeping up with my three small children. My preferred editor is Emacs, although I’ve been known to use VS Code.
I’m always happy to hear from folks. Drop a note!
Elsewhere
What is a box kite machine?
On December 26, 1903, the New York Times ran the headline
Airship After Buyer
Inventors of North Carolina Box Kite Machine Want Government to Purchase It
The article is of course talking about the Wright brothers’ airplane, but the word “airplane” hadn’t been invented yet.
When building new things, especially in software, it’s a reminder that things are always in transition, and sometimes the right words—or ways of thinking—have yet to be found.
Colophon
This site is built on Hugo, using a custom theme. It is hosted on Netlify.