Hi, I'm bailin' phil.

What does that mean? It's just a nickname I got a few years ago and have adopted online because there are a few other guys with my name. (Phil Light)

Shortly into one of the initial meetings for my first project in grad school, I announced plans to work on something different in the next semester. Both of my new teammates pounced all over me, "We haven't even finished the first meeting, and you're bailin' already!?" As it turns out, not exactly—we incorporated less than a year later, and Fred and Pat became two of my best friends in the process. It's funny how things go sometimes. (And the nickname stuck, though it changed meanings a bit when what I was bailin' on became mostly social outings, so I could work on our project.)

What I'm up to

I've always made stuff. Much of my childhood was spent rummaging through a deep bin of legos, looking for that one piece I knew I had, but couldn't seem to find. Sometimes it felt like not being allowed to own video games was some sort of human rights violation, but in hindsight I'm glad that my interaction with Lord of the Rings was to tromp around in the field behind the house, imagining myself in the story.

Now that I'm grown up, I code, climb, play guitar and take pictures, not always in that order. I made this website mostly to share the pictures with family and friends, but on my own terms instead of Zuckerberg's or anyone else's.