3/14/2023

At first glance, the topics of makers, programming, physics, robotics, genealogy, philosophy, and mathematics may seem disparate and unrelated. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that there are connections between these topics, and they are all related to my overarching interest in understanding and exploring the world around us.

Makers are people who enjoy creating things, whether it be through woodworking, crafting, or other DIY projects. Programming is a similar process of creating things, but it involves using code to build software or websites. Both makers and programmers are interested in building things and finding creative solutions to problems.

Physics and robotics are fields that deal with the study of the physical world and how it works. Physics seeks to understand the fundamental laws that govern the universe, while robotics focuses on creating machines that can interact with the physical world. These fields are closely related since robotics is heavily influenced by the principles of physics.

Genealogy is the study of family history and lineage. While it may seem unrelated to the other topics, genealogy requires a deep understanding of history and the social and cultural forces that have shaped our world. By exploring our ancestors’ stories, we can gain a better understanding of the world they lived in and how it has evolved over time.

Philosophy and mathematics are both fields that deal with abstract concepts and ideas. Philosophy seeks to understand the nature of reality and the human experience, while mathematics seeks to understand the underlying principles of the universe through logic and reason. These two fields are intertwined since philosophy often relies on mathematical concepts to explore ideas and theories.

Overall, these topics are related through my interest in exploring the world and understanding how it works. They all represent different aspects of human experience and provide unique perspectives on our place in the universe. By exploring these topics, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the world and the people who inhabit it.

12/31/2022 – Disaster Strikes!

It took me a while to rediscover how to add to my webpage. This time I have saved the links and logins so I can find everything more easily in the future. That, however, is not why I have not been adding any new content lately. While eating French fries, playing a game on my computer, and watching TV (isn’t this what everyone does?), I spilt some ketchup on my laptop’s keyboard. After the superficial cleaning (how I am used to cleaning most things), the space key started sticking. “Well, this will be a pain in the neck project, but a project nonetheless,” I thought. On the weekend I set out to simply pop off the effected keys, clean them, and put them back on. After popping them off and cleaning them, I realized that putting them back on was harder then I expected. These weren’t the same kinds of keys from the olden days I was used to, but laptop keys with a bunch of really small parts. The space key, in particular was very difficult to get back on. After many frustrated tries where the sticking was gone, but the key was just not working correctly and getting stuck or not going down all the way, I investigated further. I found that as I popped off the keys, I actually damaged some of the clips and other small parts on the keys. I decided that instead of spending the rest of my life ordering specific keys (there’s no way they would be the correct ones) or fixing the existing keys, I would instead replace the entire keyboard. This is where the actual project starts. Before all of the details, here are the main things I learned with this project:

  • Have the correct tools
  • Keep track of screws
  • It will take longer than you expect
  • You’ll end up fixing things you didn’t know were broken

I ordered a new keyboard on Amazon. l I naively assumed I could just pop the plastic off of the laptop, put the new keyboard in and snap the case back on. I quickly found that the keyboard isn’t actually on the top, it’s on the bottom. After opening the bottom of the laptop case (the way you can actually get into it), I had to systematically take apart each layer of the computer.

10/16/2022 – Starting the Webpage!

I made a website! This website is for makers or people who want to become makers. I learn by doing and want to share what I make and what I learn with all of you! The first step in this journey was to create a webpage.

I started by using GoDaddy’s own web builder, but quickly realized that I want to be able to personalize the webpage more. I also wanted to learn more; just using the simplest website building tool would not actually give me the skills I wanted for creating websites. The second plan was to also learn AWS at the same time and set up a webserver there. I quickly realized that would be more involved than what I wanted to do immediately. Therefore, I found a happy medium by using GoDaddy’s webserver hosting platform. I can learn here how to create a page and host it. I am using WordPress to create this webpage. Eventually I will be moving this to my AWS account, but would rather work on content for now. The website creation will be an Agile process.

Currently, you will notice that this website is really just a template without much content. My interests span a wide variety of activities. I want this page to include those interests as well. At some point some content may break off into their own websites, but for now I will be keeping it all here. This blog will also be the homepage until I have a better idea of what this webpage will be and have content for a homepage. For now, have fun following me on this first maker project of building a webpage!