make. break. in no particular order.

My name is Andy and I make lots of random stuff. Read more about me on the About page.

What's New, You Ask?

I've released a tiny little macOS menubar utility I use to quickly swap my SSH config files between different environments or use cases. It's called Sshwitch.

Side note: On this website, I am using the super-cool Input font for this site. If you write code and you want to use it for your code editor, grab it here: https://input.djr.com/

Latest Blog Articles

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock
📆 Dec 30. 2025
📁 Computer Stuff

CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock

My thoughts on the CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 dock

The Shed Beast: A 12x16 Wood Frame Storage Shed
📆 Mar 23. 2020
📁 Uncategorized

The Shed Beast: A 12x16 Wood Frame Storage Shed

Designing and building a massive 192 sq ft workshop shed.

Fitness Tracker Tester (& Pokemon Incubator?)
📆 Oct 12. 2016
📁 Uncategorized

Fitness Tracker Tester (& Pokemon Incubator?)

A generic device for... testing fitness trackers. Yeah, testing.

Photo Parade!

2012 Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Fitness Tracker Tester (& Pokemon Incubator?)
Objective-C/iOS/iPhone: UIColor from NSString
Stripe - Card Processing for Developers
My First Amplifier Circuit: LM386 Easy Amp
FitBit Contest at meltmedia - No Cheat-O-Matic
The 2014 Southwest Maker Fest in Mesa, AZ
CAD: Now My Most Important Maker Tool
iPotti™ Released!
Charlieplexing MORE LEDs (20, to be exact)
Adjustable Workbench Cigar Holder
Electronics Workbench LED Upgrade
iPotti #2: After a Number One, We Had to Make a Number Two
Solenoid-Powered 6 Brass Bell
Mac OS X Lion and iSCSI Using FreeNAS and globalSAN
AVR Serial Communications Using XBee RF Modules
Ventilation Upgrade
Backyard Propane Fire Pit, Pavers and Outhouse Project
Bourbon Bottle Chandelier - Bluetooth, Dimmable, Hand-crafted
Office Chairiot Mark II - Progress Update
Electronics and Hack Workbench
Desktop Warp Core - The Early Years
December 2014 Office Chairiot Mark II Update: Electronics A Plenty!
PC Power Supply Repurposed for Bench/Breadboard/Tinker Use
LED Mood Lamp
LED Reading Lamp
Cigar Coolidor (Wine Cooler + Humidor = Coolidor)
Swanky Chinese Lamp
iPhone Lens Adapters from Photojojo
My Very Own Useless Machine Ever!!! (Finally!)
2012 Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Fitness Tracker Tester (& Pokemon Incubator?)
Objective-C/iOS/iPhone: UIColor from NSString
Stripe - Card Processing for Developers
My First Amplifier Circuit: LM386 Easy Amp
FitBit Contest at meltmedia - No Cheat-O-Matic
The 2014 Southwest Maker Fest in Mesa, AZ
CAD: Now My Most Important Maker Tool
iPotti™ Released!
Charlieplexing MORE LEDs (20, to be exact)
Adjustable Workbench Cigar Holder
Electronics Workbench LED Upgrade
iPotti #2: After a Number One, We Had to Make a Number Two
Solenoid-Powered 6 Brass Bell
Mac OS X Lion and iSCSI Using FreeNAS and globalSAN
AVR Serial Communications Using XBee RF Modules
Ventilation Upgrade
Backyard Propane Fire Pit, Pavers and Outhouse Project
Bourbon Bottle Chandelier - Bluetooth, Dimmable, Hand-crafted
Office Chairiot Mark II - Progress Update
Electronics and Hack Workbench
Desktop Warp Core - The Early Years
December 2014 Office Chairiot Mark II Update: Electronics A Plenty!
PC Power Supply Repurposed for Bench/Breadboard/Tinker Use
LED Mood Lamp
LED Reading Lamp
Cigar Coolidor (Wine Cooler + Humidor = Coolidor)
Swanky Chinese Lamp
iPhone Lens Adapters from Photojojo
My Very Own Useless Machine Ever!!! (Finally!)

Maker Resources

A radnom sampling of tools and resources I find useful. View all resources →

Learning Platforms
FreeCodeCamp

A non-profit organization that consists of an interactive learning web platform, an online community forum, chat rooms, online publications and local organizations.

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Developer Tools
Pico CSS

Minimal CSS framework for semantic HTML. It makes things look great without writing classes.

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Resources for STEM

Find stuff for learning Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. View STEM

STEM Stuff
Alice

“Alice is an innovative block-based programming environment that makes it easy to create animations, build interactive narratives, or program simple games in 3D. Unlike many of the puzzle-based coding applications Alice motivates learning through creative exploration. Alice is designed to teach logical and computational thinking skills, fundamental principles of programming and to be a first exposure to object-oriented programming. The Alice Project provides supplemental tools and materials for teaching using Alice across a spectrum of ages and subject matter with proven benefits in engaging and retaining diverse and underserved groups in computer science education.“ —Alice Home page

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STEM Stuff
How Stuff Works?

“HowStuffWorks explains the curiosities of our world, delving into everything from cyber security and housecleaning tips to the physics of black holes and the history of slang. We provide factual, unbiased content that’s fun to read — seriously, check out this piece on the world’s ugliest animal and tell us you didn’t at least crack a smile when you found out why blobfish are so ... blobby.“ —HowStuffWorks.com About page

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STEM Stuff
PhET - University of Colorado Boulder

“PhET provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations. We extensively test and evaluate each simulation to ensure educational effectiveness. These tests include student interviews and observation of simulation use in classrooms. The simulations are written in HTML5 (with some legacy simulations in Java or Flash), and can be run online or downloaded to your computer. All simulations are open source (see our source code). Multiple sponsors support the PhET project, enabling these resources to be free to all students and teachers.“ —PhET About page

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Resources for STEM & Women/Girls in Tech

Technology is super cool and it shouldn't care who makes it that way. Women/Girls in Tech.

Women & Girls in Tech
Bridging the Gender Divide: Guide to Overcoming Broadband Access to be a Woman Leader in STEM

I was sent a link to this article on Reviews.com. It has some great content on the subject of girls in STEM, which you can jump to by clicking this link to the article. Down in the article is a pretty hefty list of links to things like scholarships, projects that encourage young girls to get into STEM, in-college programs that promote women in tech, and even a list of degrees in STEM. Check it out!

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Women & Girls in Tech
National Girls Collaborative Project

The vision of the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) is to bring together organizations throughout the United States that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

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