Anna McPhee
HI! I’m a code wrangler and connection-seeker from New Zealand.
After many nomadic years across 42 countries, I’m now settled in regional Victoria, Australia with my partner and daughter.
What started as a one-way ticket to Bangkok in 2014 became an 8-year journey of building things with code, words, and communities; from Buddhist sanctuaries in Malaysia to refugee camps in Greece, from permaculture projects in Portugal to Amazonian treehouses in Colombia.
These days I write about the places where technology meets creativity meets humanity: making the web more accessible, finding patterns in unexpected places, and building systems that work for neurodiverse brains like mine.
After years of professional development work, I’ve learned that the best code, like the best travel stories, connects people to something larger than themselves.
When I’m not wrangling code, or chasing my daughter around the garden, I write about creative systems, personal growth, deep thinking, and the art of making things grow, whether that’s code, flowers, or communities.
My approach to both life and technology is decidedly nonlinear, which turns out to be exactly what makes both interesting.
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I Am an Engineer
I was my own worst gatekeeper until I realised that engineering isn’t about credentials, it’s about how I approach building software.
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Cocina Oaxaqueña
When I look at these photographs I collected across more than a decade in Oaxaca, the textures and colours transport me immediately – I can taste the flavours all over again.
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Living in Wonderment
I’ve always been curious about everything, but I’m learning there’s a difference between wonder that explores and wonder that performs.
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Is Your Bread Recipe an Algorithm?
I began to see algorithmic thinking everywhere – in my bread recipes, garden planning, debugging code. You’re probably already doing it too.
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Chocolate Frogs and Infectious Enthusiasm
Why do I still remember a biology professor eighteen years later? His infectious enthusiasm for frogs changed how I think about technical communication.
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Digital Artisans
We’re drowning in Generative AI, making it tough to spot human-made content. how do we find the genuine, human-made stuff online?
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The Journey to WordPress: A Legacy of Love and Code
How a storm, lightning, earthquake, and dying father’s prophecy led to eight years building WordPress at Automattic.
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An open letter to my father on his birthday
A birthday letter to my father who can’t read it—some conversations continue beyond death.
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Oaxaca guide: how to shop for produce at the market
Oaxaca market mastery: how to shop for produce like a local in Mexico’s culinary capital.
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Puerto Vallarta neighbourhood guide
Puerto Vallarta’s neighborhoods each tell different stories, from historic centers to beachfront modernity.
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