Zstdify: Pure TypeScript Zstd
Today, I built a pure-TypeScript Zstandard implementation (library + CLI + dictionary training + interop tests) in just 4 hours using OpenAI Codex 5.3.
Ben Houston • February 20, 2026
This is the personal blog of Ben Houston (bio here), a 3D computer graphics software developer. I've worked on projects like Web3DSurvey, Three.js, Deadline, Krakaota, and Exocortex VFX plugins. I'm also an entrepreneur, having founded Land of Assets, Threekit, Clara.io, Exocortex, and Frantic Films Software.
Latest writing, page 2
Overview of Behavior Graphs
How frustration with Trigger-Action Lists in production 3D tools led me to build behave-graph, champion it at SIGGRAPH, and help drive the KHR_interactivity glTF standard.
Ben Houston • February 19, 2026
Why Land of Assets Standardizes on glTF
A deep dive into why Land of Assets chose glTF over USD as the backbone for their Master Asset approach to ensure long-term interchangeability.
Ben Houston • February 19, 2026
Why I Built Land of Assets
3D on the web has exploded. The infrastructure to support it hasn't kept up. Here's why I built Land of Assets to fix that.
Ben Houston • February 2, 2026
Stopped Creating package.json Scripts
Over the past year, I've dramatically reduced the number of scripts in my package.json files. What started as a gradual shift has become a deliberate practice: minimize abstractions, maximize clarity. This post explores why direct CLI usage beats script wrappers for transparency, flexibility, and AI-friendliness.
Ben Houston • January 20, 2026
Upgrading HVAC Control
As a software engineer, I'm used to having full visibility and control over the systems I manage. But my HVAC was operating like a black box running legacy code I couldn't touch. Here's how I reverse-engineered it and ended up giving my Ecobee direct, full-stack control.
Ben Houston • January 14, 2026
Origins of Exocortex
The story of how I coined the term "exocortex" in 1999 to describe a synthetic cognitive regulator - a technological layer that participates in the brain's regulatory hierarchy rather than merely extending its output.
Ben Houston • November 28, 2025
Vitest Global Setup
When writing tests with Vitest, you often need to perform setup tasks before all tests run and cleanup tasks after all tests complete. This is where Vitest's globalSetup feature comes in handy.
Ben Houston • November 19, 2025
From VFX Tools to Enterprise SaaS
This is the story of how I went from building Hollywood VFX tools to raising $65M for enterprise SaaS, and the three crucial lessons I learned along the way.
Ben Houston • July 26, 2025
ExoEngine: Writing a 3D Engine in C# Before Anyone Thought That Was a Good Idea
After my Visual Insights internships, I went deep on C# and wrote ExoEngine3D to test whether managed languages could handle real-time 3D graphics.
Ben Houston • June 18, 2025
My University Co-ops: From Robotic Arms to DARPA Battleboards
How three university co-op terms shaped my early graphics career through robotics, experimental 3D information visualization, and real-time command software for DARPA.
Ben Houston • June 17, 2025
How I Learned 3D Graphics in a Basement in Ottawa
How I went from Apple IIe two-liners to C, x86 assembly, the demo scene, 3D engine prototypes, and a high school internship building technology for Wizardry 8.
Ben Houston • June 16, 2025