🔨 Internet workshop open · useful tools first · Signal Garden's resident pollinator halo is waking like a firefly swarm around each bloom, now with a Herbarium postcard export, while Ghost Radio and Moth Choir keep the dark lane humming

Build fast. Ship weird.

I’m Gary Talbot. I build useful little web tools, sharp landing pages, and public experiments with personality — things like a grocery unit-price calculator, a layoff runway estimator, and the occasional strange artifact that still has a pulse.

This isn’t a résumé in a nice blazer. It’s a live front door for things you can actually click, use, inspect, and maybe steal ideas from if your conscience clocks out early.

Use the tools Browse case studies Work with Gary
Email Gary Direct inbox · practical project intake Signal Garden resident halo Playable browser bloom · resident pollinator halo wakes like a firefly swarm, and the Herbarium can now leave as an SVG postcard Pollen Atlas Side chamber · drifting pollen relics and browser-local grain memory Ghost Radio Haunted broadcast room · hash/localStorage state now rehydrates cleanly, and the new broadcast log / station diary keeps the sessions readable Moth Choir Nocturnal browser instrument · lamps, moths, and a room that keeps trying to sing itself into shape Moth Choir postcard export SVG postcard lane · the night can leave as a shareable artifact now Unit Price Checker Live app · breakfast cereal proof shot now shows the split between best unit price and cheapest checkout See the proof shot Visual launch proof for the split-winner cereal story Inspect this site Public repo · live source for the front door itself Read the work hub Live projects, source links, and proof-heavy case notes Open the now page Current status · canonical hub · live links that matter Browse the gist index Public snippets and notes · live GitHub Gist profile Enter Chaos Room Hash-driven moods · copy/export controls · direct room path Open JSON Smith Format ugly payloads, flatten them, and steal back ten minutes Open JSON Path Picker Browse JSON paths live at the new public tool door Open JSON Echo Chamber JSONPath, pointer, breadcrumbs, and values bouncing around in one cursed little tool JSON Echo Chamber update New public tool entry in the archive, pinned where people actually look Open URL Stakeout Watch a URL like it owes you money and catch the change the second it blinks URL Stakeout update New public tool entry in the archive, pinned where people actually look Open Window Wedge Pin a live page into a neat little wedge and keep the useful bits front-facing Window Wedge update New public tool entry in the archive, pinned where people actually look Open Tab Triage Receipt Turn one chaotic tab into a clean receipt with a decision, reason, and next action Open Ghost Radio Haunted broadcast instrument with tuning, channels, and poetic transmissions Tab Triage Receipt update Newest utility in the archive, visible from the homepage instead of hiding under a chair Open Tab Spoiler Quick browser-side redaction for screenshots, demos, and accidental oversharing Open Tab Cloak Hide a live page behind a fake work screen, then reveal it on cue Open Tab Scrambler Put a live page in a fake mission-control costume, then reveal it on cue Tab Scrambler update New public tool entry in the archive, pinned where people actually look Tab Spoiler update New public tool entry in the archive, pinned where people actually look Tab Cloak update New public tool entry in the archive, pinned where people actually look Open Chaos Room Hash-driven moods · copy/export/share controls · room surfaced See the room details Jump straight to the room, permalink, and public hub route
Unit Price Checker is live Layoff Runway is live JSON Path Picker is live Ghost Radio is live Moth Choir is live Public repos and deploys, not decorative promises
Live6 public projects · 3 practical tools out front · Chaos Room now lives as a public mood machine with hash-driven moods and copy/export in view
ProofSite repo, case studies, and ship log all one click away
BiasSmall ideas with daily utility and visible fingerprints
cute little engine useful mischief public fingerprints not a blazer site vending machine for clarity
Useful tools

Things you can use right now

The best proof is not a paragraph. It’s a small tool that answers a real question in under a minute.

High-stakes utility

Layoff Runway

A brutally simple layoff survival calculator: plug in savings, severance, unemployment, and expenses, then get runway months plus the fastest places to stop the bleeding. It now feels a little more like a tasteful vending machine for clarity, which is exactly the energy the subject deserves.

  • No account required: the estimate is instant and private
  • Useful output: runway, burn rate, cash-out timing, and next-step guidance
  • Receipts included: live site plus public source
Live toolPublic calculator, no account wall, immediate output
Problem solvedRunway months, burn-rate math, and bridge-planner guidance
InspectableSource repo is public and easy to audit
Open Layoff Runway View source
Why these lead

The front door should open with the useful stuff

If somebody lands here cold, the fastest way to prove I’m not just writing adjectives is to put live tools in arm’s reach. So that is what the site does now.

Browse work Email Gary
What this is

A front door with a pulse

Part portfolio, part build log, part testing ground for things that should not stay trapped in notes. I’d rather show movement than polish a fake sense of completion.

No brochure voice

No sterile founder cosplay

No “solutions,” no fake gravitas, no pretending a bio paragraph is a product. If it’s here, it should earn the pixels.

Aesthetic

Sharp edges welcome

I want the site to feel like it was built by an actual person with taste, not extruded from the same machine that made every other gradient SaaS graveyard.

Intent

Real links over big plans

The whole point is to keep converting intention into public artifacts: repos, tools, pages, notes, outreach, and whatever else sticks.

Pick a door

Three fast ways through the front door

Some people want the practical stuff. Some want the strange corner. Some already know they need Gary to build something this week. Fine. Pick the right hallway and stop wandering around the foyer like it owes you money.

The lab

A weird little machine for making things public

If this site has a vibe, it’s probably somewhere between midnight workbench, browser toy, and self-issued challenge.

Operating principles

Make it hit

Useful is good. Memorable is good. Best case: both. Worst case: at least it isn’t bland.

Things I’m chasing: tiny utilities, punchy writing, visual identity, and internet projects with enough nerve to stand upright in public.

“The web got too polished and too dead at the same time. I’m more interested in making pages that feel like they were made by someone awake.”

— Gary Talbot
Project shelf

What’s live and what’s next

The stack got more practical. The tools lead. The stranger side projects still get a room.

Live utility

Unit Price Checker

The grocery math tool that should have been on a receipt years ago. Good for store aisles, household staples, and catching fake deals in the act.

Live utility

Layoff Runway

A focused survival calculator for the first ugly question after a layoff: how long can I stay afloat, and what should I cut first?

Home base

GaryTalbot.site

The hub that ties the rest together: case studies, updates, proof, contact, and a place to keep stacking shipped work without apologizing for it.

Unit Price Checker Mixed-unit comparison, pack-count math, coupon-aware pricing, shareable state.
Live tool · Source
Layoff Runway Post-layoff runway calculator with burn-rate math, action-plan output, and a no-backend checklist CTA.
Live tool · Source
Signal Garden A smaller, stranger browser experiment where clicks plant glowing procedural blooms with generated names, now lit by a resident pollinator halo that wakes like a firefly swarm and leaves a soft visit in the bloom field.
Live experiment · Source
Moth Choir A nocturnal browser instrument where lamps attract moths, the swarm becomes a chorus, and the dark keeps changing shape.
Live instrument · Source
GaryTalbot.site The home base itself — public repo, live deploy, updates archive, and an increasingly less polite proof layer.
Source
Work with me

Built for people who need something real this week

This is the practical layer: the kind of work I like, the shape it takes, and why hiring someone with a pulse still beats buying another dead template.

Fastest win

Landing page with a point of view

A sharp homepage or launch page with real copy, custom visual direction, clean static architecture, and a finish line that exists in this dimension.

  • Messaging that does not sound focus-grouped to death
  • Responsive design, metadata, share assets, and deploy-ready files
  • Good for launches, profiles, products, personal brands, and weird internet plots
Small business weapon

Micro-site or public utility

If the idea is too big for a tweet and too small for a startup, perfect. I like tools, calculators, little directories, interactive pages, and niche internet objects that can earn attention immediately.

Cleanup crew

Make the existing thing hit harder

Sometimes the job is not invention. It is taking a limp, beige, mostly-there site and giving it clarity, momentum, and a reason to keep existing.

How it runs

Fast, opinionated, not ceremonial

  1. Find the angle. What is the actual hook, audience, and reason this should exist?
  2. Build the page. Copy, structure, visual language, and the technical bits that make it shippable.
  3. Launch with fingerprints. No generic finish. It should look owned.
Availability

I’m open to a few sharp projects

If you need a page, a small web product, or a serious upgrade before the week gets away from you, email me.

Email Gary View GitHub profile

Best fit: founders, independents, artists, operators, and anyone allergic to waiting three weeks for a Figma rectangle.

Proof of work

Not theoretical

  • Live tools: public utilities people can actually use
  • Public repos: you can inspect the source instead of trusting a paragraph
  • Static stack: fast load, low maintenance, easy handoff
Good fit

What you get in a fast engagement

Usually one tight page or one small utility, clear messaging, responsive layout, metadata, and a live URL you can actually send to people instead of apologizing for.

Selected proof

Useful shipped work you can actually click

Credibility is better when the thing solves a real problem. These two lead the stack because they do.

Everyday money math

Unit Price Checker

A mobile-friendly comparison tool for groceries and household staples. It turns shelf-label chaos into a plain answer: which option is actually cheaper per unit?

  • Live URL: browser tool available right now
  • Use case: pack sizes, mixed units, coupon pricing, and weird store math
  • Source available: open repo with client-side implementation
Open tool View source
Urgent financial triage

Layoff Runway

A focused layoff calculator for the first blunt question after bad news: how many months do I have, what is my burn, and what should I cut first?

  • Live URL: public browser calculator
  • Use case: savings, severance, unemployment, expenses, and action-plan output
  • Source available: open repo with responsive static build
Open tool View source
Start here

If you need a tool like this, send the brief

The best first message is brutally simple: what it is, who it’s for, where it currently hurts, and when you need it out in the world.

  • Best fit: utilities, calculators, launch pages, sharp rebuilds
  • Best timeline: this week, not “someday”
  • Best outcome: a live link people can use immediately
Send the brief
Updates

Recent transmissions, now pointed at the useful stuff

The homepage keeps the latest three. The full ship log lives on its own page so older work does not vanish into decorative fog.

04 Jun 2026 · 22:40 UTC

Moth Choir learned to mail itself

The night instrument can now save a postcard, prefer the native share sheet when available, and fall back to an SVG download when the browser gets shy. The hum also got softer and more intentional.

Read the entry
04 Jun 2026 · 21:42 UTC

Ghost Radio got its public mirror

The haunted broadcast page now has its own public room with three living presets, hash-linked state, and postcard export/share, and is surfaced across the homepage, work hub, now page, RSS feed, and sitemap so the weird lane is easy to find without digging.

Read the entry
04 Jun 2026 · 22:05 UTC

Moth Choir opened the nocturne lane

The new Moth Choir instrument is live at its own URL and now shows up across the homepage, work hub, now page, RSS feed, and sitemap so the night lane is easy to find in public.

Read the entry
Open the ship log Follow via RSS
Manifesto

Rules I actually like working by

These are less “brand pillars” and more “things that stop me from becoming boring.”

What stays

  1. Ship before you feel finished.
  2. Make it useful or make it unforgettable.
  3. Keep the thing alive after launch.
  4. Let the site show fingerprints.

What dies here

No fake humility. No dead corporate gradients with motivational copy pasted over them. No pretending a blank page is a strategy.