This is my digital-age scrapbook, a place to collect, share, and reflect. I hope you find something here that’s useful. If you have any questions or just want to connect, feel free to reach out.
Electronics, robotics and engineering are my favourite hobbies. I also enjoy ‘technical creativity’, such as designing this website and post-processing photos. I have a midi keyboard with digital audio workstation (DAW) software (Bitwig Studio) and like to play around with sounds and create tracks. It doesn’t stop there – there are many things I want to learn, create, design, develop, build…
Electronics
This is my passion. I have been learning electronics on and off since I was around 8 years old. I studied Electronic Engineering and worked in the field for 5 years before moving into IT, but it remains a serious hobby.
Photography
Capturing photos is something I enjoy doing when out or on holiday with my family. Post-processing photos and creating panoramas allows me to combine the technical skill of Photoshop and Hugin and other software with modest amount of creativity I have to create the final artwork.
3D Modelling & Printing
3D Modelling is something I got involved with when Google released Sketchup, and again later when RS released DesignSpark Mechanical. I create 3D models for projects where I need to explore the structure and visualise the end product, or print.
Software Development
In the 90s I taught myself assembly language for the Microchip PIC microcontroller VBA for Excel and Access. I moved onto Visual Basic using Visual Studio 6.0. This ultimately lead to me completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science.
Website Design
I was always fascinated with web design, but it was a lot of work back in the 90s / 00s. WordPress made it easy and now I maintain a website as digital scrapbook, for showcasing my hobbies, and for sharing what I have done in case someone finds it useful.
Engineering
This integrates various hobbies of mine – electronics, software development, metalwork, woodwork, 3D modelling, etc. to create something that utilises some or all of these skills to create a product.
Home Automation
Home automation is something I always wanted to do, as the idea of controlling and automating things in my home really appeals to me. If I can control the TV from the couch, why stop there!
Metalwork
I took metalwork as a subject for five years during high school. I thoroughly enjoyed crafting items from metal. It has equipped me with the necessary skills to create parts for my other hobbies. I now have a fully equipped workshop.
Gaming
I was first introduced to gaming with Wolfenstein 3D, on a 286 PC in 1990! In the mid 90’s we downloaded DOS game demos via a 56K modem, and it took half an hour to download a 30Mb game! Currently I play Call of Duty for action and Satisfactory for open world and building.
DIY
I generally like building things, and as I have the skill I do a lot of home improvement myself. It’s not my favourite pastime, but I cannot justify spending thousands on renovation and construction if I can do it myself.
Other Interests
This section covers everything else I am or was interested in learning or doing, such as buying, servicing and selling vintage Singer sewing machines.
Collecting
I love collecting stuff, and have various collections of things, but sometimes I think I take this too far…. 😄
