Building Transit Tracker
A reflection on the Transit Tracker project, its origins, and why it's personally meaningful.
TJ's Blog
This is where I write words tangentially related to technology.
Latest posts
So you want to get around by bike...
Everything you've ever wanted to know about getting around your city by bike — especially how to get started.
Edit GoPro MAX Footage with Insta360 Studio
Learn how to edit your GoPro MAX's footage with Insta360 Studio so you can use its advanced features like Deep Track.
The Ultimate Guide to Local and Private Home Automation — Part 1: Foundations
The first in a series of posts about how to stand up your very own local and private home automation system using Home Assistant.
Adding PM2.5-based Indoor AQI to Home Assistant
Add indoor AQI to your Home Assistant instance with an existing PM2.5 sensor.
Bloom in Eevee with Transparency
There is a Blender bug which prevents bloom from being exported properly when transparency is enabled. Here's how to get around it.
Designing and Building a Custom Gamepad From Scratch
How I learned to design and build my very own custom arcade-style gamepad in just under a month, complete with custom hardware, software, and PCBs.
How to (Kinda) Download More RAM
That's right. Jest no more.
Making a Dumb Lock Smart with DIY Hardware and ESPHome
It turns out you *can* teach an old lock new tricks!
Unlock the Full Power of Cheap Smart Plugs with Tasmota
Learn how to install open source firmware on a cheap Emporia smart plug in order to unlock its full potential.
Creating a Comprehensive Personal Backup Solution
Learn how to create a comprehensive backup solution for all your important stuff based on the 3-2-1 backup strategy.
Linux Fingerprint Authentication on ThinkPads
Learn how to enable fingerprint authentication on your ThinkPad with a Linux distro.
Custom Scripts for APC UPSes
Write scripts that react to events that happen on your APC UPS!
Switching to Ghost
If you've been here before, you probably noticed that things have changed. That's because this blog is now powered by Ghost! It's a very nice publishing platform that really beats writing Markdown for every post.
Hacking Chinese Drones for Fun and (No) Profit
Reverse engineering a WiFi-enabled Chinese drone to figure out how to control it from my own software.