About Ray

The short version

I'm a geospatial software engineer at the U.S. Geological Survey by day, and I run Ravenwood Software on the side — a solo consultancy that builds map-powered web apps and self-hosted systems for businesses that need reliability, privacy, and performance without paying SaaS markup for the privilege.

I spent several years in the U.S. Army before moving into software, and the discipline stuck. I work in tight loops, document what I build, and treat your infrastructure the way I'd want mine treated.

Why self-hosted

Everything I build runs on infrastructure I control — Docker containers behind Cloudflare tunnels on a Linux VPS, monitored with real alerting and real backups. When the third-party API price goes up or the SaaS platform pivots strategy, you don't get rug-pulled. You own the data, you own the stack, and the only ongoing cost is a predictable hosting bill.

Where I work

I'm based in Soper, Oklahoma — a small town in Choctaw County, about 90 minutes from the Arkansas border. I serve local businesses in southeast Oklahoma and north Texas, plus remote clients across the country. Time-zone friendly for U.S. work; flexible for international.

The homelab

The same stack I run for clients runs my own house. A Mini PC hosts the long-running services, a Raspberry Pi 500+ handles lightweight tasks, and a Pi 400 runs the Paperclip agent system that helps me stay organized. It's also my proving ground — anything I deploy for a client gets battle-tested at home first.