justin tout

Hi. I write code and talk a bunch. I'm an AI developer at Progressive Insurance. It's an intersting role with some lofty goals. Progressive is an increidble place to work (they're paying me, but not to say this).

I used to be an open-source advocate at Progressive. It's was a cool gig - I got to build tools to make other Progressive developers' lives a little easier, while helping a huge company start to give back to the community. I'd recommend anyone with the opportunity to give advocacy/devrel a try.

In a "past life," as they say, I was a software engineer at GE Ligthing, designing systems and integrations for C by GE (they call it Cync now).

Like many, my interest in software started from an early fascination with the Internet. I loved trying to understand the systems and interactions behind high-population online games. I first learned to code to create bots for RuneScape and NeoPets in the early 2000's. Puzzle Pirates taught me Excel, Poker, and, weirdly enough, economic theory. I believe video games are one of the best foundational education tools.

I have a few analog hobbies as well. I enjoy culinary arts in particular. My most recent focus has been fermented hot sauces. I also enjoy fishing, woodworking, and spending time with my family. I spend most day with my dog, Mango Mae 🥭 and my daughter. You can keep up with my (mostly culinary) endeavors on my Instagram.