Mockd Inspiration
The Mockd project started over Christmas break of 2025. By this point, I had intended to create a utility to generate mock test data for various projects that I had been working on. I often find that I want to simulate traditional data or quickly generate large amounts of realistic data for load testing purposes.
I'm certain something already exists to fulfill this need. However, I have spent several months reading books and Medium articles related to deploying, scaling, and securing enterprise REST APIs. I've also recently read books on Linux system administration and observability. I yearned for the opportunity to put all this knowledge to use.
Suddenly, it hit me. That's it! I'll take this rather simple task I had been meaning to do and turn it into a REST API to share with the world. I'm hopeful that I'll continue to learn something by running this service, and maybe a handful of people will find value in what I'm working on.
Why the Blue Jay, though?
I started feeding birds at the beginning of the year. There is a certain comfort in observing these tiny creatures. There exists a great variety of birds to enjoy, each with their own personality and preferences. I have had the pleasure of observing several unique and interesting birds throughout the year. I have been visited by cardinals, woodpeckers, grackles, and even a brown thrasher.
A Brown Thrasher is pictured above. The Brown Thrasher is the state bird of Georgia. Thrashers spend most of their time on or around ground level. Their name is believed to have come from the thrashing sound the bird makes when digging through ground debris.
However, one bird species has eluded me—the blue jay. Early on, I heard that blue jays would seek out and destroy wasp nests. That fact alone inspired me to attempt to befriend the blue jay.
The blue jay is a member of the corvid family. Other notable members of the corvid family include crows, ravens, and magpies. Corvids are known for their intelligence. The blue jay is also known as a mimic. They have been observed performing the calls of hawks to scatter other birds from food sources. In addition, it is said that they will use deception to trick other birds by pretending to hide food when they suspect they are being watched.
Where are you going with this?
Just before Christmas this year, it happened. A blue jay showed up at the feeders. Let’s go!
I was overwhelmed with excitement. To my surprise, I was greeted by at least one blue jay every morning from that day forward.
I can’t think of a better mascot than my newfound feathered friend.
Photos sourced from Wikipedia.