I'm a physicist, that enjoys making things from scratch, and delving into the all aspects of the creative process, from design, fabrication, software, hardware, firmware and more. I believe that we grow and learn though playing around and our eventual mistakes, so I try experiment and make mistakes often. I encourage others to do likewise.
For that reason and more, Cooking is an obsession of mine, as the mistakes are often quite enjoyable to get rid of. I enjoy making dishes from base ingredients whenever possible. As a child, the kitchen was the only place where I was allowed to play with fire and knives, so I latched on to it at quite a young age.
Tools, or what most folks refer to as technology, is also a pleasant rabbit hole. I enjoy making hardware and software that solves human problems in sustainable ways. I believe that there are tools of conviviality, and tools that require more attention then they are worth. I'm always conscious of the give and take in this matter, and spend far to many mental cycles trying to come up with new ways to use the tools that we have in a manner where are bodies and minds are improved, not disregarded.
Projects
I'm not much for the spotlight, but it's become apparent that it's good to document your work, and over the years I've been involved in some amazingly impactful projects.
Scratch
A decentralized Resource management tool built on the Secure Scuttlebutt protocol, which I also love as a global community, and try and contribute to as much as possible. Read more...
A solar powered long range meshing message platform that allows folks to communicate when the Internet and cellphones aren't in service. Each board has a LORA transceiver for long range communication (miles!) and a WiFi and Bluetooth transceiver to communicate to cellphones, tablets or laptops locally. The design is now been picked up by several Chinese manufacturers and available for purchase on Amazon and Ali Baba. Which is a win in my opinion. Making hardware is often a race to the bottom.
I designed the first two circuit boards for this project, taught folks how to build them, and helped in the design of the early meshing protocols. This project, like all good open source projects has swept in many interesting people who continue to contribute.
tinySSB
A new meshing protocol for the disaster.radio boards, t-beam and other Lora enabled boards. An exciting new development that I've been collaborating with @CFT (Professor Christian F Tshudin) which incorporates a minimized version of the Secure Scuttlebutt gossip protocol, and some simple CRDT (conflict free replication data types) for coordination of collaborative tools, and voice transmission. Demo Repo
Wood Biomass Gasification
I wrote firmware to run a few of the gasification systems that All Power Labs offers. I love this technology, and think it's one of the most promising facets of alternative energy that very few people are talking about. Utilizing pyrolysis (breaking down large molecules with heat) from a minimized combustion chamber and a reducing environment provided by hot charcoal produced from the combustion, one can take woody biomass (wood chips, nut shells, seed pits, etc.) and produce a natural gas substitute called syngas or producers gas, which is composed mostly of methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This can be use to run internal combustion engines, external combustion engines (steam or Stirling engines) or produce flames for cooking and heating.
Read more about the hardware and software
Blacksmithing
I've done a few pieces over the years, having a professional blacksmith live in my house, and taken some courses from James Austin. Read more..
Goldsmithing
After years of working in an office, and spending my spare time learning how to fabricate jewelry and fine objects out of precious (Gold, Silver, Platinum) and other nonferrous (copper, brass, bronze) metal alloys, I decided to go independent for awhile. I spent 3 years working as a Goldsmith, selling online, and to the precious people that I met who wanted symbols of their love. Sadly, I did not document nearly as much as I should have. This was a wildly fulfilling time in my life, but I like being part of a team, working on projects that solve globally important projects. Plus I hate doing sales. Read more...
Other Software
I've worked for a number of companies over the years, writing database driven software, firmware, back end and what not. Check out my Github account for some public facing software (I mostly don't use this anymore preferring to self host on GitSSB or my own servers) and my rarely updated resume.