An infestation of whiteflies at the mid to end of summer '24 killed the 12' holly bush and I had to remove it. We were not unhappy to see it go. After some research we chose a 'hearts of gold' Eastern Redbud tree to replace it with. It's been beautiful to see its transformation as it's grown over the first 6 months.
Sunday, October 05, 2025
Growing Flax
Last spring I planted some Blue Flax (Linum perenne) to cover the ground around the new tree. I wanted something native and pollinator friendly that would provide flowers with a nice color contrast to the many yellow and white flowers we have. We won't get the flowers this season, though, but it's a perennial so next year I look forward to many small blue flowers in early summer.
Sunday, September 07, 2025
Wild Bees
I've enjoyed the wild bees this summer. One of the highlights of the summer was coming upon a nectar and pollen feast these black bees were having in a gentle winding ravine behind the Las Madres Pueblo on my dad's property.
Sunday, August 10, 2025
VFD Filament Driver Circuit
Don't give up! I spent the last 3 years troubleshooting this circuit with an LM4871 chip with the goal of supplying a low voltage alternating square wave current across the filament of vacuum fluorescent displays. Spoiler alert: it was the addition of a single 10Ω resistor to lower the voltage from ~5V down to ~3.3V.
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Intro to Basic Python App with ChatGPT
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Alligator Clips in the Classroom Tip
How do you keep alligator clips from getting tangled up? I thought of this a few years ago and will never go back to my bin of tangled wires. It's so simple!
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Learning to Solder Technique
Friday, June 28, 2024
Milling PCBs in the Classroom, Updated Workflow
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Make Gears With Turtle Art
You can code gears with Turtle Art! If you have a fabrication machine such as a 3D printer, laser cutter, or CNC machine you can download the SVG file from a Turtle Art design to fabricate in your material of choice. Here is how I made these gears—5 and 10 inch in diameter—with a Fox Alien CNC machine.
Friday, June 30, 2023
Mycelium Bluetooth Speaker
Someone gave me the electronics to a bluetooth speaker so I figured I had to make a mycelium case for it.