Pier · essays and works by Ethan Pier

Pier · essays and works

Ethan Pier, full-stack engineer. I build interfaces and the pipelines behind them — this is where I keep notes on what broke.

13 essays10 experimentssince 2025

Awaiting a production run

A model leaderboard that keeps up

Moving the leaderboard from manual refreshes to daily checks: add models only when their identity is confirmed, and keep the last valid data when a source fails. Automatic updates still await production verification; explore the current leaderboard and its methodology.

Explore the leaderboardMethodology & sources

Tides · recent essays

Building this site · No. 6

The sea moves again

Last month I turned the homepage lights off. This month the first screen became a painted harbor, and its sea read like wallpaper. So I let it move, and only the water.

4 min read

All 14 pieces

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Lab · experiments

Fine streams of lamplight and ink drifting and curling along an invisible currentFine streams of lamplight and ink drifting and curling along an invisible current
Flow Field ParticlesTwo thousand points of lamplight drift on an invisible current — hover and they gather.

GLSL, physics, algorithm visualizations — mostly written from scratch; where a demo borrows, its note says so. Switch the 3D off and each demo still leaves a readable still and a note.

A suspension bridge sits in the lower middle of stacked orange-red clouds, with steam rising from a locomotive.A suspension bridge sits in the lower middle of stacked orange-red clouds, with steam rising from a locomotive.
A smooth union of sphere and box in a studio cove, sitting on the floor with contact shadows and reflections.A smooth union of sphere and box in a studio cove, sitting on the floor with contact shadows and reflections.
Blue-violet particles forming an undulating parametric surface.Blue-violet particles forming an undulating parametric surface.
Into the Lab · 10 experiments