About Me

Ayo! I’m Ben. I’m the CEO of Teammates and the President of Piedmont Makers. I live in Oakland, CA with my illustrious wife, two teenage boys, and a pup named Soup. I love birds, bridge, beer, bots, bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica. And losing at pub trivia. Electrify everything.

Current Status: Reading Dikkens with two Ks, the well-known Dutch author
Previously: Memorizing jokes from Cap’n Billy’s Whiz Bang

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Select Writing

• How to Protect Yourself Online (2026 Edition)
  November 14, 2025
  Every year I write an updated guide for friends and family who want a New Year's Resolution that might actually stick. Here's my latest for 2026.
• The Stein Family Pet Naming Tradition: A Comprehensive History
  November 13, 2025
  Our dog is named Matzah Ball Soup. Before him, our beagle was named Kugel. The hamsters were Falafel and Babka. Our family has been naming pets after Jewish foods since...
• Sisyphus Only Had One Boulder (I Have Four)
  November 13, 2025
  I love a clean house. My family is the opposite. One day I'll win. Or will I?
• How to Make Your Blog AI Agent-Friendly (And Why You Should)
  November 12, 2025
  I added two lines to my blog's HTML header. Those two lines enabled AI agents to read my blog posts directly—not just humans with browsers anymore.
• Everyone Says They Can Spot AI Writing—Can You? 🤔
  November 12, 2025
  I built a collaborative team of copywriters that run inside Claude Code (what?!) that automate my writing process--without sounding like an LLM
• On Approaching 50 with Hot Pink Hair
  November 05, 2025
  Nine months ago, I walked into a hair salon and asked for hot pink hair. I get lots of questions. This answers some of them.
• We Let Our AI Deploy Itself to Production (And Accidentally Created Your Next Favorite Pixar Character)
  October 28, 2025
  Our staging server writes poetry, calls me 'Skipper', and wants a promotion. Let me explain.