Learning to KiCad with the other foot
My wife, who was a crack soccer player in her youth and an overall able athlete, is full of sport metaphors for life. One, particularly relevant to the story to...
Author: charlie
Hacking hardware
This past month or so I’ve delved into hacking hardware (not building, but taking apart). I’m leading the efforts at Owl, the company I work with, t...
Pause for station identification
Wow. The world is such a different place since my last station identification. I’m writing this in the midst of the largest global disruption since perhap...
The value of the open source community
One of the most valuable components of open source hardware and software making is availability of code and guides built by a community around a solution, hardw...
Fun with cardboard circuits
The usual progression for making printed circuits is (very roughly) you design the circuit, prototype it on a breadboard, design your PCB, and iterate on your P...
Acquiring new skillz, one achievement and a time
I am reminded of D&D, where everyone starts at Level 1 and you need to go adventuring to gain experience. Overlaid on that, each character has their class a...
Rapidly leveling-up on a new, well-trodden path
In the past 8 months or so I’ve been on a journey to learn everything I can about microcontrollers, circuits, electronics, components, sensors, and embedded sof...
Getting back to the physical world
I first heard of the distinction between bits and atoms to describe the digital and physical worlds back in the mid-90s. Back then, atoms ruled – books, factori...
Project: Neopixel celebration goggles
I was checking out some DIY electronics at a local Microcenter, dying to buy something (hardware hacking has started to consume my attention, lately). I saw som...
Thoughts on personal data usage in the age of ‘peak data selling’
The way we use deep personal data needs to change. Indeed, I’ve been saying this for a few years now. As everyone knows, megacorps like Google and Faceboo...