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!

Recycled Sparkfun Shipping Box Wire Dispenser
Solenoid-Powered 6 Brass Bell
2012 Kentucky Bourbon Festival
12VAC Power Supply from Ikea Wall Wart Light Power Supply
A Maker Review on Bluetooth Smart Beacons (or Apple iBeacons)
Cigar Coolidor (Wine Cooler + Humidor = Coolidor)
AC Current Detection with Allegro AC756 Linear Current Sensors
Swanky Chinese Lamp
Touch Screens: Some Interesting History and Info
Mac OS X Lion and iSCSI Using FreeNAS and globalSAN
Lipstick Camera Turned Video Microscope
iPotti #2: After a Number One, We Had to Make a Number Two
Sharp Clock (Saw Blade Recycling)
Desktop Warp Core - The Early Years
Desktop Warp Core - The SMD LED Strip Years
Fitbit Cheat-O-Matic 2: 3D Printed Mechanical Simplicity
meltmedia meltHack-A-Palooza V: The Lost Pushbutton
PC Power Supply Repurposed for Bench/Breadboard/Tinker Use
Dartboard Backstop from Office Corkboard
Making Mad Props for meltmedia's Interactive Superhero Marketing Launch: The Rest of the Props
Designing a New Man Cave and Workshop
Fitness Tracker Tester (& Pokemon Incubator?)
Objective-C/iOS/iPhone: UIColor from NSString
My Very Own Useless Machine Ever!!! (Finally!)
December 2014 Office Chairiot Mark II Update: Electronics A Plenty!
USB Foam Dart Launcher Assimilated (Partially)
Home-Aged Bourbon YUM!
How To Compete in Your Company's FitBit Walk Competition While Injured
Welcome!
Bourbon Bottle Chandelier - Bluetooth, Dimmable, Hand-crafted
Recycled Sparkfun Shipping Box Wire Dispenser
Solenoid-Powered 6 Brass Bell
2012 Kentucky Bourbon Festival
12VAC Power Supply from Ikea Wall Wart Light Power Supply
A Maker Review on Bluetooth Smart Beacons (or Apple iBeacons)
Cigar Coolidor (Wine Cooler + Humidor = Coolidor)
AC Current Detection with Allegro AC756 Linear Current Sensors
Swanky Chinese Lamp
Touch Screens: Some Interesting History and Info
Mac OS X Lion and iSCSI Using FreeNAS and globalSAN
Lipstick Camera Turned Video Microscope
iPotti #2: After a Number One, We Had to Make a Number Two
Sharp Clock (Saw Blade Recycling)
Desktop Warp Core - The Early Years
Desktop Warp Core - The SMD LED Strip Years
Fitbit Cheat-O-Matic 2: 3D Printed Mechanical Simplicity
meltmedia meltHack-A-Palooza V: The Lost Pushbutton
PC Power Supply Repurposed for Bench/Breadboard/Tinker Use
Dartboard Backstop from Office Corkboard
Making Mad Props for meltmedia's Interactive Superhero Marketing Launch: The Rest of the Props
Designing a New Man Cave and Workshop
Fitness Tracker Tester (& Pokemon Incubator?)
Objective-C/iOS/iPhone: UIColor from NSString
My Very Own Useless Machine Ever!!! (Finally!)
December 2014 Office Chairiot Mark II Update: Electronics A Plenty!
USB Foam Dart Launcher Assimilated (Partially)
Home-Aged Bourbon YUM!
How To Compete in Your Company's FitBit Walk Competition While Injured
Welcome!
Bourbon Bottle Chandelier - Bluetooth, Dimmable, Hand-crafted

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.

Visit Resource →
Developer Tools
Pico CSS

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

Visit Resource →

Resources for STEM

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

STEM Stuff
Khan Academy

“Our mission is to provide a free, world‑class education for anyone, anywhere. With practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard, Khan Academy empowers learners to study at their own pace, both in and out of the classroom. Covering subjects from kindergarten through early college, including math, science, reading, computing, history, art history, economics, financial literacy, SAT, MCAT, and more, Khan Academy focuses on skill mastery to help learners build the strong foundations they need to succeed in higher education and in their careers.” —Khan Academy About page

Visit Resource →
STEM Stuff
Computer Science Unplugged

“CS Unplugged is a collection of free learning activities that teach Computer Science through engaging games and puzzles that use cards, string, crayons and lots of running around. We originally developed this so that young students could dive head-first into Computer Science, experiencing the kinds of questions and challenges that computer scientists experience, but without having to learn programming first.” —CSUnplugged.org About page

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STEM Stuff
Tynker

“Tynker’s mission is to provide every child with a solid foundation in computer science, programming, and critical thinking skills to prepare them to become better architects of their future world. Our goal is to ensure that, by 2033, every high school graduate has been exposed to some formal coding education. We celebrated our 10th anniversary in 2022. We’ve helped more than 100 million kids learn to code. Our award-winning curriculum is used in more than 150,000 schools around the world.“ —Tynker About page

Visit Resource →

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
Girl Scouts – STEM

From the page: “Research shows that girls are keenly interested in STEM and excel at it. Yet, for a variety of reasons, girls often don’t pursue STEM—starting as early as elementary school.” Girls Scouts is helping to change that.

Visit Resource →
Women & Girls in Tech
Coding Resources for Women at Every Stage of Their Career

This page has a lot of good stuff for women interested in programming and tech. The major sections start with “The History of Women in Tech.” The other sections include “Coding Resources for Girls and Women at Every Age and Stage,” “Resources for Women Already in Tech,” and “Ways Companies Can Make Equitable Changes.”

Visit Resource →
Women & Girls in Tech
A Guide for Women in STEM: Closing the Gender Gap

(From the article intro) “Women are represented far less in technical occupations than men. According to the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), only 26% of computer and mathematical occupations are held by women.” Look at this article to find out more and to find resources for women in STEM, including scholarships and women’s universities with STEM degrees.

Visit Resource →