Why am I writing this blog?
Over the years, I have benefited from technical knowledge freely shared by others, and from Open Source software in particular. So now I feel it is time for me to give back, to share some of the insights I have had, and some of the code and schematics I have created, with the community.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll also admit that I see this as an opportunity to showcase my skills and achievements, which may encourage some reader to hire me as a consultant …
Who am I ?
I have a background in neuroscience, I have worked 25+ years in the medical device industry, in various roles from product management to software development and systems engineering and requirements engineering to research. In recent years, I have also developed an interest and gained some experience in building home automation solutions.
I am of course interested in technology and in designing and building gadgets, but I am also interested in finding out how my own behavior and my views change when interacting with gadgets as a user.
What will you find in this blog?
I will describe some of the home automation gadgets I have built, with the intent of enabling you to build a copy of the thing, but also to share insights and building blocks with you that can be used in other, unrelated projects (hopefully). In describing those gadgets, I want to share not only the source code and schematics, but also my objectives and design decisions, in other words: the requirements for the design as much as the implementation, the why as much as the how.
Beyond that, I will try to describe how interaction with those gadgets has changed my behavior, my attitudes. Now that I know how much we spend a week on the washer & dryer, and the home server and our personal computers, and the ironing board, etc. — did that affect how we behave? how we make purchasing decisions for new equipment? You get the idea.
What do I expect from this blog?
As I share my designs and insights with you, I hope that you will share your thoughts and opinions and ideas and questions with me, by adding comments to these posts. I am not interested in lecturing, I am interested in conversations. Who said “none of us are as smart as all of us“? I like that quip.