From d6aa926d830c985591ae900c923a5812e21637fd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Braeden Sowinski <braeden@sowinski.dev>
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 2026 15:27:40 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] simplify readme

---
 README.md | 108 ++++++++++++++++++++++++------------------------------
 1 file changed, 48 insertions(+), 60 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c90598a..b3f16c6 100755
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,68 +1,56 @@
-<h1 align="center">Braeden Sowinski</h1>
+# Braeden Sowinski
 
-<p align="center">
-  <i>
-    Software engineer and Computer Systems Technology student at BCIT.<br>
-    Focused on backend systems, APIs, data-driven software, and practical technical problem solving.<br>
-    Building with C, Go, Java, JavaScript, and Python while continuing to explore systems concepts and scalable software design.<br>
-  </i>
-  <br>
-  <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sowinskibraeden">
-    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/LinkedIn-eb5234?style=flat-square&logo=linkedin" />
-  </a>
-  <a href="mailto:braeden@sowinski.dev">
-    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Email-eb5234?style=flat-square&logo=gmail&logoColor=white" />
-  </a>
-  <a href="https://sowinski.dev">
-    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/sowinski.dev-eb5234?style=flat-square&logo=html5&logoColor=white" />
-  </a>
+Backend and systems-focused software developer and BCIT Computer Systems Technology student.
+
+I build APIs, backend services, developer tools, self-hosted infrastructure, and software that interacts with real systems.
+
+<p>
+  <a href="https://sowinski.dev"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/sowinski.dev-111111?style=flat-square&logo=firefox&logoColor=white" alt="Website" /></a>
+  <a href="mailto:braeden@sowinski.dev"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/email-111111?style=flat-square&logo=maildotru&logoColor=white" alt="Email" /></a>
+  <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sowinskibraeden"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/linkedin-111111?style=flat-square&logo=linkedin&logoColor=white" alt="LinkedIn" /></a>
 </p>
 
----
+## Selected Work
 
-### Languages
-[![C](https://img.shields.io/badge/c-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=c)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![Go](https://img.shields.io/badge/go-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=go)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![Java](https://img.shields.io/badge/java-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=java)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![JavaScript](https://img.shields.io/badge/javascript-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=javascript)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![TypeScript](https://img.shields.io/badge/typescript-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=typescript)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![Python](https://img.shields.io/badge/python-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=python)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![OCaml](https://img.shields.io/badge/ocaml-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=ocaml)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <td><b>ReforgerMods.net</b><br><sub>Public Arma Reforger Workshop API and supporting services</sub></td>
+    <td><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Go-111111?style=flat-square&logo=go" alt="Go" /> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/API-111111?style=flat-square&logo=fastapi" alt="API" /></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td><b>Custom Gitea</b><br><sub>Historical contributions, private activity aggregation, and profile language analytics</sub></td>
+    <td><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Gitea-111111?style=flat-square&logo=gitea" alt="Gitea" /> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Analytics-111111?style=flat-square&logo=chartdotjs" alt="Analytics" /></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td><b>Boker / myboker.org</b><br><sub>Poker session and balance tracking</sub></td>
+    <td><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Python-111111?style=flat-square&logo=python" alt="Python" /> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/PostgreSQL-111111?style=flat-square&logo=postgresql" alt="PostgreSQL" /></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td><b>git-fleet</b><br><sub>Multi-host Git workflow tooling</sub></td>
+    <td><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Git-111111?style=flat-square&logo=git" alt="Git" /> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/CLI-111111?style=flat-square&logo=gnubash" alt="CLI" /></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td><b>Red Team Hacks 2026</b><br><sub>3rd-place RF signal classification and geolocation project</sub></td>
+    <td><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Python-111111?style=flat-square&logo=python" alt="Python" /> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/RF-111111?style=flat-square&logo=gnuradio" alt="RF" /></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
 
-### Technologies and Tools
-[![Node.js](https://img.shields.io/badge/node.js-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=node.js)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![PostgreSQL](https://img.shields.io/badge/postgresql-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=postgresql)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![MongoDB](https://img.shields.io/badge/mongodb-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=mongodb)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![Docker](https://img.shields.io/badge/docker-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=docker)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![Git](https://img.shields.io/badge/git-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=git)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
+## Current Focus
 
-### Operating Systems
-[![Debian](https://img.shields.io/badge/debian-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=debian)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![Linux](https://img.shields.io/badge/linux-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=linux)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
-[![Windows](https://img.shields.io/badge/Windows-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=windows)](https://github.com/SowinskiBraeden)
+<p>
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Go-111111?style=flat-square&logo=go" alt="Go" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/TypeScript-111111?style=flat-square&logo=typescript" alt="TypeScript" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Python-111111?style=flat-square&logo=python" alt="Python" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Rust-111111?style=flat-square&logo=rust" alt="Rust" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Java-111111?style=flat-square&logo=openjdk" alt="Java" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/C-111111?style=flat-square&logo=c" alt="C" />
+</p>
 
----
-
-### Currently Exploring
-- Low-level systems (assembly and computer architecture)
-- Functional programming with OCaml
-- Backend engineering with Go and Java
-- Relational modeling & PostgreSQL
-- Scalable, data-driven software design
-
----
-
-<details>
-  <summary><b>GitHub Stats</b></summary>
-  <br>
-  <p align="center">
-    <img src="http://github-profile-summary-cards.vercel.app/api/cards/profile-details?username=SowinskiBraeden&theme=transparent" />
-    <img src="http://github-profile-summary-cards.vercel.app/api/cards/stats?username=SowinskiBraeden&theme=transparent" />
-    <!-- <img src="https://github-readme-stats.vercel.app/api/top-langs/?username=SowinskiBraeden&langs_count=6&hide=EJS,css,html&card_width=699&hide_border=true&theme=transparent" /> -->
-    <img src="https://github-readme-stats-fast.vercel.app/api/top-langs/?username=SowinskiBraeden&langs_count=6&hide=EJS,css,html&card_width=699&hide_border=true&theme=transparent" /> <!-- original vercel app paused -->
-  </p>
-</details>
-
-<p align="center">
-  <img src="https://komarev.com/ghpvc/?username=SowinskiBraeden&color=eb5234&style=flat" />
+<p>
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Backend%20systems-111111?style=flat-square&logo=serverfault" alt="Backend systems" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Linux-111111?style=flat-square&logo=linux" alt="Linux" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Networking-111111?style=flat-square&logo=cloudflare" alt="Networking" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Containers-111111?style=flat-square&logo=docker" alt="Containers" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Observability-111111?style=flat-square&logo=grafana" alt="Observability" />
+  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Developer%20tooling-111111?style=flat-square&logo=gnubash" alt="Developer tooling" />
 </p>