Kyle Hebert

Hello and Welcome!

I'm Kyle Hebert, an engineering leader who spends a lot of time connecting dots. I work across multiple teams, focusing on technical health, system-level risk, and making sure product ambition lines up with what engineering can actually sustain. I’ve learned the hard way that authority isn’t the point—initiative is. I care about making good software, and even more about the people who make it.

In my spare time I dabble in a lot of hobbies like video and board games, reading (mostly fiction), and attending as many live music shows as I can sustain.

I live in Minneapolis, but I was born and raised in Louisiana. It's pronounced a-bear.

Here's what I wrote a few days ago:

Weekly Retro #13

I’m writing this one on a sunny Monday evening. I’m post-massage and took a half day off work, using some of my sick and safety leave. I started getting semi-regular massages about a year ago. It’s an indulgence, but my mind and body really do appreciate them.

I finished “Sour Cherry” by Natalia Theodoridou last night. It was a re-telling or re-imagining of the Bluebeard fairy tale, which I had never heard of before looking it up after one of the blurbs in the front of the book mentioned it. I enjoyed it, though at times it felt like it was being weird for weirdness sake.

I’ve found myself gravitating towards horror lately. I read a lot of horror when I was younger—mostly King and Koontz, because that’s what my mom read. I’ve been reading sci-fi, fantasy, and whatever the term for non-genre stuff is these days (literary fiction?), but I picked up some Stephen Graham Jones awhile back and enjoyed it so now I keep my eyes and ears open for mentions of horror folks are enjoying. Funnily enough, the next book on the docket is a Stephen King book. I’m going to give “Revival” a shot.

Other than that, my exercise streak is still alive, even past the 100-day mark. I’ve noticed I have a little more reluctance to ride the bike on occasion, but I’m still managing three rides a week. It’s the sunnier days and warmer temps. I just want to be outside. Especially now, when they’re nestled randomly between spates of colder days. I did some squats last night while cooking dinner trying to build the muscles, stability and flexibility for a yogi-squat. I did maybe 20 squats total, but I can feel it today.

I spent some time this week researching and planning how to get my leverless fight pad working with my PlayStation. I think fighting games deserve to be on my TV and played from the couch, rather than on a monitor at my desk. I got the cables and the adapter I thought I needed, but in the end it was a bust. I did some more research and have another adapter on the way, so hopefully better news on that front soon.

Things I enjoyed this week

  • Taskmaster is back! I love this show, and this season features Kumail Najiani who is a favorite.
  • Re-watching “The Big Lebowski” and discovering that Aimee Mann played one of the nihilists.

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