About

This website is about things that interest me.  More importantly, it’s about things that I think you might find interesting as well.

We live in an age where there are plenty of interesting things to do with your mind, but increasingly these are virtual activities rather than hands-on.  I’m old enough to remember a time before the internet… a time when real, hands-on “hobbies” were commonplace.  I hold a strong belief that engaging in such activities promotes enthusiasm, mental acuity, self-esteem, relaxation and a happier outlook on life.   Today it seems like internet surfing and gaming are taking the place of traditional hands-on hobbies, and young people in particular are suffering the consequences: decreased mechanical aptitude and less appreciation for what they can accomplish themselves, without a slavish reliance on the “consumer culture” of cheap, mass-produced items.

Luckily, there are some positive trends.  The “Maker” movement is taking off, stimulated to a large extent by increasing access to technologies like 3D printing and programmable platforms like the Arduino.   Programs like “Lego Robotics” in schools are truly a blessing, as they expose young people around the world to the joys of not just mastering concepts intellectually but also thinking through how to make something real… and then doing it.  That’s the underlying theme of everything you’ll find on this website: hands-on involvement with making, restoring, exploring, collecting or even eating interesting things.

So welcome to the website! I hope you enjoy it, and maybe you’ll discover some “interesting things” that you didn’t even know existed.