John B Nolt

John B Nolt

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    • Doodleberry
    • Product Noir
    • Sir Hugo
    • The Secret War
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  • Drawing (on) a Blank

    I made a blank page, using my awesome computer super powers. It’s not as straightforward as you might think to just get an expanse of white screen to scribble on or whatever, so I made a page that I can go to whenever I need it. It goes hand-in-hand with Li’l Scribbler.

    August 25, 2025
    Uncategorized
  • The Home Tab

    I made a Chrome extension that takes you to a browser tab that you designate. I typically have a lot of browser tabs open, and if I’m on a call with someone I invariably wind up needing to go back to the same tab over and over again. With a lot of tabs open they…

    July 30, 2025
    Software Development
  • Bellochet

    Bellochet is a musical… toy, I guess, that lets you manipulate parameters to change the behavior of balls bouncing around a screen sounding tones when they hit something. There’s a lot of stuff to mess with. Go ahead, tweak stuff. Zone out. Create evolving chord progressions, experiment with sound and visuals, and yank the dials…

    May 28, 2025
    Software Development
  • Li’l Scribbler

    I made Li’l Scribbler, a Chrome extension that lets you draw on pages and it mostly keyboard-focused so you can get really good and fast at it. Product Managers do a lot of screensharing and discussing of features and whatnot with developers and designers. At least I do. And none of the tools I could…

    May 20, 2025
    Software Development
  • Test Image Maker

    I made a chrome extension to make generating test images super easy, barely an inconvenience. At my day job I found myself needing test images of a specific size and type. So I’d find something on google, and put it into an image editor and resize it or crop it or whatever. Then I’d save…

    May 20, 2025
    Software Development
  • 15th Anniversary Gyruss Ripoff

    It’s kind of fun. You can try it. When my wife and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary, of course I made her a video game. Sort of. It’s like gyrus except you never reach the center and you never die, and a song plays the whole time, and there’s a cherub and unicorns and…

    May 20, 2025
    Software Development
  • Wave Maker

    I made this tool that generates a video containing a waveform of the audio you’ve uploaded. It can be annoying to generate a waveform for a music video. If all you want to do is create a simple video that has a waveform in it, the internet will tell you to contort yourself in various…

    May 19, 2025
    Software Development
  • Mother’s Day 2025

    I made my wife a digital card for Mother’s Day. You water the flowers, the flowers bloom, you keep watering them, pictures of my son appear.

    May 19, 2025
    Software Development
  • QR Code Generator

    I built a QR Generating tool. At my day job we use QR codes a lot. They let people access events, connect with each other, capture leads, complete challenges, etc etc. My little gizmo lets you generate a QR code, a batch of QR codes, or a batch that contains numbers in serial.

    May 15, 2025
    Software Development
  • The Sore Spot

    On a fog-laden night, a neon glow from a digital billboard flickers outside the large glass panes of the office. The city’s hum is barely audible over the synchronized dance of raindrops and the whirring thoughts of a weary Product Manager trying to get to the end of another late day. His bloodshot eyes stare…

    October 9, 2023
    Product Noir
  • Capability, Usability, Beauty

    The Product Manager sighs and ignores the elements as he leans against his wooden desk, hands pressed flat against the surface. Outside, the rain runs in rivulets down the glass, each drop a reminder of the relentless push and pull of his job. Shadows oozing around the office are broken by the occasional flash of…

    September 25, 2023
    Product Noir
  • Tools

    It was one of those nights, the kind that makes you question every choice you ever made. The neon glow from the sign outside casts a sickly light over the Product Manager’s cluttered desk. He’s staring down an empty bottle of bourbon and a computer screen filled with the hopes of an entire company. His…

    September 6, 2023
    Product Noir
  • Stay In Your Lane

    The glow of computer screens flickers like the distant fires of a city under siege as a Product Manager watches rain carve a path down the window of a filthy conference room on the 31st floor. The team calls it the war room, and they’ve all been here long past when the H-VAC automatically shuts…

    August 21, 2023
    Product Noir
  • Sir Hugo and the Fart Machine

    In the far-off Kingdom of Gigglesnort, where the rivers gurgled with laughter and the trees swayed with the rhythm of a chuckle, lived King Guffaw. The kingdom wasn’t just a place; it was a personality – lively, playful, and ever-ready with a wink and a grin. Gigglesnort was like a jovial old friend who welcomed…

    August 13, 2023
    Sir Hugo
  • The New Roof

    Alright, pal, come on in and have a seat. Don’t mind the springs in that chair, they probably won’t give you tetanus. This is it, livin’ the dream. Take a big whiff. Smell the must, old paper, and that half-forgotten coffee cup over there with its own ecosystem growing in it. And if you see…

    August 11, 2023
    Product Noir
  • The i

    Who can resist the enchanting pull of the ‘i’? We are but pawns in a game of celestial scale, our doom silently echoed in every innocent ringtone, every blithe text message, and every picture captured in digital perfection.

    July 24, 2023
    Random
  • The 3 Legged Stool

    In the high stakes poker game of product management, the house always deals the same cards: Quick, Good, or Cheap. Pick any two, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re holding a royal flush. Welcome to the three-legged stool of product management, where each leg bears the weight of a project’s success. Got software you…

    July 24, 2023
    Product Noir
  • Testing

    The patter of rain against the office window sets the rhythm of the product manager’s thoughts. He leans back in his worn leather chair, running his fingers along the brim of his hat while he stares out at the neon haze of the city. His mind chews on a topic that’s done a lot for…

    July 19, 2023
    Product Noir
  • Different != Better

    In the labyrinth of SaaS, the pulse of product management beats a steady rhythm. I’ve been at it for two decades, caught in the crosshairs of armchair critics and would-be virtuosos. U X Designers, Tech Writers, and we product managers are the usual suspects on their list. If you’ve been on the receiving end, you…

    July 16, 2023
    Product Noir
  • #8: The Princess

    July 12, 2023
    Secret War
  • #6: Betty

    July 12, 2023
    Secret War
  • #5: The Sardonic Supersoldier

    July 12, 2023
    Secret War
  • #7: The Battle of Stubbville

    July 12, 2023
    Secret War
  • #4: The Double Agent

    July 12, 2023
    Secret War
  • #3: Salvation in a Hopeless Place

    July 12, 2023
    Secret War
  • #2: God of Styles

    July 12, 2023
    Secret War
  • #1: The Queen

    July 12, 2023
    Secret War
  • On Perfection

    They whisper in hushed tones in the grungy back alleys of software product management. They spread tales about the mythical beast – the quantifiably perfect product manager. The one who’s got all the pieces lined up well before the game starts, the smooth talker with the slick slide decks, the sharpshooter hitting the KPIs, the…

    July 10, 2023
    Product Noir
  • Wisdom vs. Intelligence

    Doodleberry’s dawn is awash in an aquarium glow; the sun not so much rising as burping itself into being over the rustling cornfields. Head Nurse Bertha, twenty tattooed parrots adorning her forearms, swaggers into the room, juggling coffee cups like a circus veteran. “Morning, tribe!” she calls out, her gaze sweeping the familiar faces at…

    July 9, 2023
    Doodleberry
  • If We Could Turn Back Time

    In the morning gleam of Doodleberry’s Home for Old Biddies and Coots, the air thrums with anticipation of the day’s breakfast, a carnival of culinary craziness cooked up by Head Nurse Bertha. Fresh from discussing the day’s weather with the paperboy (prediction: freak hail in the afternoon), Bertha galumphs into the dining room, her eclectic…

    July 8, 2023
    Doodleberry
  • Stupid Questions

    In this concrete jungle of sharp minds and fiery conversations, fear lurks in the shadowy corners. It’s not the fear of failure, but something more insidious – the terror of looking like a halfwit. Picture this. You’re surrounded by nodding heads, an idea just bounced off your skull, and you’re thinking, “Am I the only…

    July 1, 2023
    Product Noir
  • The Perfect Parkour Performance

    Once upon a time in the colorful kingdom of Jumpitopia, there lived a young boy knight named Sir Hugo, his best friend, a girl named Sir Zora, and a very brave Chihuahua named Sir Emmett. The trio were inseparable, and together they went on countless adventures, spreading kindness, joy, and friendship wherever they went. One…

    June 30, 2023
    Sir Hugo
  • Stay the F* Home

    A relic of the pandemic, I wrote and recorded this song and my friend Jenny and I created a video with submissions from a bunch of people all sending the same message for everyone during lockdown.

    June 30, 2023
    Music
  • The Ultimate Flingo

    Ah, the flingo! A wondrous flying disc that never ceases to amaze those who have the privilege of experiencing it. It is a joyous amalgamation of shape and color, designed for the sole purpose of flying through the air with reckless abandon. The flingo is a true marvel of engineering, possessing an aerodynamic form that…

    June 29, 2023
    Sir Hugo
  • The Bedrock Ender Dragon Battle

    Hugo loves Minecraft, and dictated the plot of this Sir Hugo story to me one evening by recording plot details into my phone. I transcribed them and worked with ChatGPT to convert them into this story. Once upon a time, in a land filled with wonder and adventure, there was a family who loved to…

    June 29, 2023
    Sir Hugo
  • The Great Slinky

    Once upon a time, in a land filled with magical toys, there was a legendary toy called the Great Slinky. The Great Slinky could stretch infinitely and reach unimaginable heights. It was an amazing example of its type, surely one of a kind—it could circle the world 10,000 times! Many adventurers sought to find this…

    June 29, 2023
    Sir Hugo
  • The Magic Bubble Machine

    Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there lived two young knights named Sir Hugo and Sir Zora. They loved to run and jump and play, but they were also brave and always ready to help someone in need. One sunny day, while they were enjoying their day off, they received a…

    June 29, 2023
    Sir Hugo
  • The Goblin Party

    Sir Hugo and Sir Zora received an invitation to the goblin party in the most unexpected way. As they were playing in the forest, a tiny creature suddenly appeared in front of them. It was a goblin! But not just any goblin – this one was wearing a top hat and a bowtie and holding…

    June 29, 2023
    Sir Hugo
  • The Great Pizza Heist

    Sir Hugo, a young but mighty knight, was spending the day with his friend Sir Zora. They had planned to play with their toy swords and build a fort in Sir Hugo’s backyard, but their plans changed when they discovered that their beloved pizza had been stolen! The pizza had been ordered by Sir Hugo’s…

    June 29, 2023
    Sir Hugo
  • The Gigantic Monster in the Humongous Cave

    This is, sometimes, what you get when your 6-year-old dictates the plot of a story. Once upon a time, there were three brave knights named Sir Hugo, Sir Zora, and Sir Emmett. Sir Emmett was a chihuahua, but he was still a knight like the other two. What made him special was that he could…

    June 29, 2023
    Sir Hugo
  • Software Test Drive: Runway Gen2

    Runway gives you a few credits to try out their services, and I blow them all on a bunch of prompts to see if I can get something useful out of it. It doesn’t go very well, but YMMV.

    June 28, 2023
    Blog
  • Can’t Stop Won’t Stop

    TL;DR the chatbot can’t help itself, it has to respond, even when the input is something a human would take as ending the conversation.

    June 28, 2023
    Blog
  • Software Test Drive: Boomy

    I give “AI” music generation app Boomy a try.

    June 28, 2023
    Blog
  • What We Need More Of, Is Science

    I made this song in 2003, creating the instrumental tracks in a program called Fruity Loops, which is now FL Studio and the vocals and mixing were done in Cool Edit Pro. Cut to 2023 and there’s a service called Kaiber that will make never-ending zoom-in videos using AI. So this is a Kaiber-generated video…

    June 27, 2023
    Music
  • Chief Expectation Officer

    Welcome to the dark, twisted carnival of product management, where the regular rules don’t apply. Here, we dance a drunken waltz with science and art, wrapped up in the grimy trench coat of expectation management. Strap in, folks. It’s gonna be one hell of a ride. Take customers for instance. We gotta keep them as…

    June 8, 2023
    Product Noir
  • Surprises Suck

    No Surprises.

    June 1, 2023
    Product Noir