Personal Projects & Interests is my sandbox for life outside the office—where spreadsheets, sensors, and code tackle real-world chores and passions. Here you’ll see data models guiding gear buys, DIY automations that make the house (and gate) smarter, endurance training logged like an experiment, and reflections that tie it all together.
Around 1710, the English theologian Thomas Woolston wrote that Christianity would be extinct by the year 1900. In 1822, Thomas Jefferson predicted there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die a Unitarian. While these predictions didn’t pan out, we live in a world that neither of them […] read more
Following a polarizing election that has left many in my community surprised and confused, Robert Putnam’s “Our Kids” provides a refreshing collection of research and engaging anecdotes told with generosity of spirit. Perhaps more than any other modern voice, Putnam excels at describing American society in a bi-partisan way. He and his previous best-seller, “Bowling […] read more
Yuval Harari (יובל נח הררי) has written a scholarly, thought-provoking and crisply written survey of “big history” that he uses to preach his starkly different views of philosophy and economics. Dr. Harari teaches at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he wrote Sapiens in Hebrew and accomplished the very idiomatic translation himself. Provocative and broad, […] read more
This post is about how to use design tools to save time and build nice stuff at home using computer controlled machines (CNC). In addition to describing my design process, I’ve also included the helpful references I found along the way. Our old thermostat was too small for our wall. I could have replaced the […] read more
Framing around bulkheads is painful. It is hard to get everything straight and aligned. I found the Shopbot to be very helpful. There are three problems I was trying to solve: (1) Getting multiple corners straight across 30 feet, (2) nearly no time and (3) basic pine wood framing would sag over a 28″ run. […] read more
My daughter had to make a “probability game” for her fifth grade math class. She has been learning javascript and digital design so we worked together to design and build a roulette wheel for her class. First, she drew out a series of sketches and we talked it over. She wanted a 0.5 inch thick […] read more
[mathjax] Motivation I had to upgrade the Lego table I made when my kids were much smaller. It needed to be higher and include storage options. Since I’m short on time, I used several existing automation tools to both teach my daughter the power of programming and explore our decision space. The goals were to […] read more
Humanity is now entering a period of radical transformation in which technology has the potential to significantly raise the basic standards of living for every man, woman and child on the planet. The future can be a scary place It can be easy to develop a gloomy view of the future. Malthus was the first […] read more
I love history, but raw history can be a bit boring and so I look for books that peer into the past with a different lens or narrative. Here, Tom Standage tells a popular history of the world through six beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca Cola. Full of the anecdotes and stories […] read more
Stephen Johnson loves making broad and interdisciplinary connections. He describes the complex evolution of technology, and the interactions of events leading to our modern world with an emphasis on understanding the true nature of role of innovation. In 289 pages, he surveys history, through the lens of the causal factors for science and technology in […] read more