Welcome to my collection of passion projects!

These are some things I’ve created because…

  • I wanted to learn more about the tools or technology.
  • Something needed fixing or improving around my house.
  • Or a friend said something to which I responded "Oh, I bet I can make that for you!"

Doorbell Butler

Smart doorbell with notifications and a custom jingle played on Google devices throughout the house

6 minute read

6 min read

My house didn’t have a doorbell when I moved in so I made my own! Instead of the traditional “ding dong” it plays a jingle written by my friend Nick Dahlquist throughout my house on Google Home devices.

The doorbell button is attached to an ESP32 which is connected to my WiFi. I also setup a few Docker containers on a Raspberry Pi to help with the automation.

Laser Cut Catan

Settlers of Catan laser cut and engraved in hardwood

1 minute read

1 min read

I wanted to begin my laser cutting journey by making a copy of this classic board game.

The design is pieced together from a version Glowforge released and a few other derivatives on Thingiverse. So far I’ve made wheat (birch), brick (cherry), ore (walnut), wood (oak), and sheep (birch) hexes!

A Smarter Remote

Universal infrared remote controlled through voice commands

5 minute read

5 min read

I replaced all of the remotes in my house with a microcontroller and an infrared LED.

Controlling it through Google Home is helpful when you can’t find the standard remote or it’s too far away!

Ship in a Bottle

Morse code blinking ship in a bottle that receives messages from the internet

4 minute read

4 min read

A few years ago my grandpa showed me a book that he had handwritten called How to Bottle It. In the book he describes the process of making a ship in a bottle.

I followed his instructions and added a technological twist of my own by augmenting it with IoT connectivity!

Camel Calculator

Algorithmic probability solver for the board game Camel Up

7 minute read

7 min read

Camel Up is a board game that boils down to pure probability but at the beginning of each leg of the race there are 29,160 possible outcomes!

Let’s ruin the fun and solve it by brute forcing the permutations.

Dining Room Table

Hardwood table built out of cherry with walnut inlays

3 minute read

3 min read

This was one of the first large woodworking projects I did and I really love how it turned out!

I made this table with my dad when I was in college. The process took a long time since we could usually only find one Saturday per month to work on it together.