Jonathon Pena builds software, automation, dashboards and web products around real operational and business problems. Based in Houston, Texas.https://jonathonpena.dev/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-crm-is-a-real-app/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-crm-is-a-real-app/Two days after the clickable concept, the CRM has real accounts, a database, a Today view built around daily routines, and push reminders that arrive even when the app is closed. Not launched yet.Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-designing-a-crm/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-designing-a-crm/Early concept for a lightweight CRM built around a salesperson's day, not a database schema. Prototyped the pipeline board and account drawer.Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-rebuilding-my-portfolio/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-rebuilding-my-portfolio/Replaced a one-page static site with a content-driven site built around projects, a build log, writing and experiments.Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/writing/building-with-ai-without-giving-up-control/https://jonathonpena.dev/writing/building-with-ai-without-giving-up-control/AI makes me faster. It doesn't get to decide what the system is. A few rules I use to keep it that way.Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/writing/systems-before-software/https://jonathonpena.dev/writing/systems-before-software/Most operational pain isn't missing software. It's an unclear process that software then makes faster at being unclear.Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/writing/why-i-learn-by-building/https://jonathonpena.dev/writing/why-i-learn-by-building/Tutorials teach you the happy path. Building something real teaches you what happens when the path runs out, and that's most of the job.Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-audio-layers-are-next/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-audio-layers-are-next/The video side of the pipeline renders correctly for the Rainy High-Rise Fireplace prototype. Next I'm separating fire, rain and music into configurable audio layers.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-why-a-lead-engine/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-why-a-lead-engine/Watching a real sales workflow, most of the week goes to research rather than selling. That's the problem I'm building around.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-woodfox-astro-rebuild/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-10-woodfox-astro-rebuild/Third version of the Woodfox site. Coffees are now Markdown files with a status, so the menu can change with the harvest without touching layout.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-07-ffmpeg-in-the-pipeline/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-07-ffmpeg-in-the-pipeline/Python now drives FFmpeg instead of me typing commands. Lesson so far is to test on thirty seconds before rendering three hours.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-06-content-engine-start/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-06-content-engine-start/Starting a pipeline for long-form ambience video. The goal is to make a new render come from a config file, not an editing session.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-03-woodfox-first-version/https://jonathonpena.dev/build/2026-03-woodfox-first-version/First version of the Woodfox site. Hand-built HTML and CSS, a hero video, product photos, and a lot of commits moving one logo around.Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT