Friends, what you see below is the prototype I threw together after my special ladyfriend, Christine, told me about the most amazing place she visited in London. She found a bar called The Cauldron — part tavern, part Disney-like experience — and had all kinds of things to rave about. On one of our Facetime … Continue reading The Inception of the Potions Party
Author: Brian Enigma
Brian Enigma is a Portlander, manipulator of atoms & bits, minor-league blogger, and all-around great guy. He typically writes about the interesting “maker” projects he's working on, but sometimes veers off into puzzles, software, games, local news, and current events.
Remaking the Disneyland Toy Story Jail
Along Disneyland’s Main Street (yes, yet another reference to the recent Disney trip with @ChristineRose) are little window displays. Each references some film, whether recent or past. (Marketing!) All have at least some basic mechanical animation, with a few being much more elaborate. One recent display was a Toy Story bank heist. There wasn’t much … Continue reading Remaking the Disneyland Toy Story Jail
A Laser Cut Index Card Box
About ten years ago — at a Container Store of all places — I found the most amazing little wooden box. It wasn’t fancy or decorative or ornamental. It didn’t have any special features or hidden compartments. It was a simple flip-top wooden box, described as “a recipe box.” At the time, I lived my … Continue reading A Laser Cut Index Card Box
IoT Paper Lantern, Milestone One
In my personal blog, I keep alluding to — but not actually getting around to writing about — a recent Disneyland trip with my sweetie. I’ll keep alluding to it here, since this blog is for projects, not personal stuff. (Though if you also like Disney stuff, you might be interested in my May the … Continue reading IoT Paper Lantern, Milestone One
Personalized Policing of Slack for Diversity and Inclusion
I work at a tech company that has great Diversity & Inclusion intentions, but — like many tech companies — faces occasional internal challenges. An idea that came up recently, sparked by a tweet, was to configure Slackbot, the friendly neighborhood Slack autoresponder, to gently poke at people if they used words that are problematic … Continue reading Personalized Policing of Slack for Diversity and Inclusion
Complicating Simple Projects With Lasers
One big thing that happened in my Maker life, back in November, was that I became the proud new owner of a Glowforge laser cutter. I’ve been so engrossed in little projects for it, that I completely neglected to write anything about any of them. A few weeks ago, I was preparing to move some … Continue reading Complicating Simple Projects With Lasers
Building a Custom Kitchen Timer
I have been learning to cook over the past year. Or technically, learning to cook better. I have had a reserve of about 6 recipes I’ve always used — mostly large trays of food like lasagne and casserole, with a week of leftovers. Baking is a different skillset, but one I’ve always been good at. … Continue reading Building a Custom Kitchen Timer
You are Beautiful, Inside and Out
I have perhaps gained a reputation among close personal friends. The phrase “real-life troll” has been kicked around by those that are in the know. I can neither confirm nor deny this allegation, but the following evidence has been entered into the record: Exhibit A: The “voice activated paper towel instruction” stickers. Exhibit B: The … Continue reading You are Beautiful, Inside and Out
Open Architecture Security Cameras
About a month ago, I got a pair of security cameras for the house. It took a bit of research to arrive at the right ones. There are a lot of cameras on the market, and most of them are cheap things locked into a vendor ecosystem. It was a bit more expensive, but I … Continue reading Open Architecture Security Cameras
Living With USB-C
I’ve had my MacBook Pro for a little over 6 months now. It’s the one with the touchbar and only USB-C ports. I was worried that those ports — no “conventional” USB ports nor an SD card slot — would be the most difficult part of the laptop. (It turns out that the most difficult … Continue reading Living With USB-C