Things with screws, wires, packets, pistons, pipes, or code.
A deliberately mixed shelf of the systems I like working on.
Repair & experimentation
Consumer electronics, components, test gear, embedded devices, control circuits, and whatever currently deserves a probe on it.
Nothing filed yet →Retro to modern
Apple II, x86, modern PCs, servers, small-board computers, Raspberry Pi, and the layers between hardware and software.
Nothing filed yet →Programming & integration
Business applications, automation, protocols, APIs, home automation, systems integration, and low-level experimentation.
Nothing filed yet →Packets & infrastructure
Routing, switching, wireless, firewalls, DNS, mail systems, secure remote access, and the occasional truly stubborn intermittent problem.
Nothing filed yet →Renovation, electrical & plumbing
Hands-on home renovation and construction, with a particular comfort around electrical, plumbing, layout, and practical engineering.
Nothing filed yet →Cars & restoration
Repair, rebuilding, fabrication, and several frame-up automotive restorations where every subsystem eventually lands on the bench.
Nothing filed yet →Usually less mysterious than advertised
Appliances make the list too, although I won't pretend most of them are high wizardry. Diagnose the subsystem, find the failed part, fix the problem.
Nothing filed yet →Signal chain obsession
Audio, video, home theater, receivers, displays, playback systems, network media, control, and the pursuit of making it all behave.
Nothing filed yet →Physical systems meet software
Home automation, device control, sensors, media systems, embedded platforms, and custom integrations that bridge the physical and digital worlds.
Nothing filed yet →The categories are porous on purpose.
A network problem turns out to be a power problem. A software fix is really a mechanical one. Most of the interesting work happens where two of these shelves meet, which is why they all sit on the same bench. See what that looks like in practice →