Living in a Van, Down by the River... Writing Code
A 5-minute lightning talk about navigating change in tech and life
Boulder, 2009: Coding for Karma
You may have seen it cruising around Boulder: a 1979, avocado-green Volkswagen Kombi bus with the words "Hippy Hacker" scrawled on the sides in white shoe polish.
That was me. Living out of my van, doing IT security and web development work with a simple philosophy: for every hour of consulting I did, I'd match it with an hour of work for a nonprofit. One-to-one. Coding for karma.
"Most people accumulate wealth over the course of their life and then use it for philanthropy in their later years," I told the Daily Camera back then. "I didn't want to wait."
The Philosophy: 1:1
The idea came after 12 years of doing security consulting for large banks. The pay was good, but something was missing. I looked at the skills I had, the effort required to create wealth, and realized I wanted something different.
"I want to have enough money to live meagerly," I said. Enough to keep the bus going from place to place, to feed myself and my dog, to sustain the work itself.
The 1:1 model wasn't about competition between for-profit and nonprofit work. It was about creating symbiosis. When businesses and nonprofits could further each other's causes through the work I did, everybody won.
The Journey: VW Bus → RV
Fast forward to today. The avocado-green VW bus has evolved into a full-time RV. The solo traveler is now a family traveling together. The dog has been joined by kids who are experienced bikers, and yes, cats too.
The technologies have changed too. From IT security and web development to cloud-native infrastructure, Kubernetes, LLMs, and AI/ML. From working alone to being part of communities at conferences like Cloud Native Rejekts and House of Kube Atlanta.
I've gone from marketing a company (ii.coop) to building a personal brand for consulting and speaking. From a Framework laptop to two Framework 16s with 128GB RAM each for running local AI models. From Boulder to... well, everywhere.
The Constant: Community
But here's what hasn't changed: the focus on community. On giving back. On choosing how I navigate change rather than letting change navigate me.
Whether it's the cloud-native community, local nonprofit work, or the RV community we're part of, the principle remains the same. Technology evolves. Platforms change. The specific problems we're solving shift with the times.
But the commitment to using what we know to make things better? That's the constant.
Current Reality: AI/ML and Beyond
Today we're in another period of massive change. AI and ML are transforming how we work, how we code, how we think about problems. Some people see this as threatening. I see it as another evolution to navigate.
I'm still experimenting, still learning, still building. Game development, LLM workflows, infrastructure automation. The tools have changed, but the approach hasn't.
A Note About Motivational Speakers
There's an SNL sketch with Matt Foley, a motivational speaker who lives "in a van down by the river." It's hilarious precisely because he's so spectacularly failing at life while trying to motivate others.
I'm aware of the irony here. Living full-time in an RV, talking about life choices and philosophy and community. I get it.
But here's the thing: I'm not here to motivate you. I'm here to share one simple idea.
We All Navigate Change
Every one of us is navigating constant change. New technologies. New jobs. New cities. New challenges. Family changes. Health changes. The world shifting around us faster than we can keep up.
You can't control the change. But you can choose your principles. You can decide what stays constant while everything else evolves.
For me, it's community. It's giving back. It's the 1:1 ratio, even if the work looks different now.
What's yours?
The journey continues at ii.coop
Living in a Van,
Down by the River...
Writing Code
Chris McClimans / @hippiehacker
Boulder, 2009
"Hippy Hacker" - Coding for Karma
The 1:1 Model
For every hour of consulting work:
1 hour consulting = 1 hour nonprofit
"Most people accumulate wealth and then give back in their later years. I didn't want to wait."
Why?
✓ 12 years at big banks, good pay
✓ But something was missing
✓ Wanted enough to "live meagerly"
✓ Feed myself, keep the bus running
Create symbiosis, not competition
The Journey
Then
VW Bus
Solo + dog
Boulder
IT Security
One laptop
Now
Full-time RV
Family + cats
Everywhere
Cloud Native / AI/ML
2x Framework 16 (128GB)
The Constant
Community
Technology evolves.
Platforms change.
Problems shift.
The commitment to making things better? That's constant.
Current Reality
🤖 AI/ML transforming everything
☁️ Cloud Native / Kubernetes communities
🎮 Game dev experiments
🧠 LLM workflows
🏗️ Infrastructure automation
Different tools. Same approach.
What Changed?
What Didn't?
Everything changed.
Nothing changed.
About that motivational speaker
living in a van...
😅
I get the irony.
Real Talk
We're all navigating constant change.
You can't control the change.
But you can choose your principles.
What stays constant while everything else evolves?
Thank You
ii.coop
@hippiehacker