Latest posts from James
Introduction Overview Hardware design and philosophy Hardware development Software development Conclusions Acknowledgements Introduction Our camper van now has three different "smart" energy-related devices, all of which require their own phone app to view their status: I was getting tired of constantly pulling out my phone to check these three apps—I'd much rather disconnect and be phone-free on…
In my opinion, the coolest thing one can do with a car is to operate it safely, responsibly, and efficiently to transport people and goods where they need to go. The second-coolest thing is smooth and controlled oversteer (a.k.a. sliding of the rear wheels). I think I've gotten pretty decent at the first coolest thing, so lately I've been working on learning how to do the second. Last year's GGLC…
A few months ago, I noticed that the passenger side exterior porch light on our Winnebago Solis 59P camper van was starting to peel and lift away from the van body at the leading edge. Unfortunately I didn't take a great picture, but the separation is circled here. If you have this problem, you could probably just use some non-silicone sealant like Lexel to seal the gap, rather than taking the…
This post is part 2 of 3. Part 1 is here , and part 3 is coming later. Pneumonia Upon our return from Tokyo the first week of May, I started to resume daily errands and chores, expecting that my lingering cough would go away by itself. However, about one week after our return, my cough got suddenly worse, and then that night I started coughing up small amounts of blood. I couldn't sleep for more…
Introduction At the end of 2024, I left my role as a systems engineer at Butlr to take some time off, rest, and contemplate my next steps. (I'm really grateful to my colleagues and leadership at Butlr for their support and encouragement in my taking this sabbatical!) I originally planned the sabbatical as a four-month break, with flexibility to extend. For a variety of reasons (travel, illness,…
Sharlene and I had our wedding celebration exactly one month ago, on March 21st, 2026! It was a lot of work and strife planning the big weekend, but it was very worth it. We were so lucky to celebrate our marriage surrounded by all of our amazing friends and family. Background We'd actually gotten legally married in October of last year, but this event in March was the real celebration. For us, we…
Introduction Summary of changes The original system Project goals 1. Lithium (LiFePO4) house battery 2. Li-BIM 225 isolation module 3. Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 portable power station 4. Lithium-compatible shore power converter 5. Hardwired charging for the Anker power station 6. MPPT solar controller Conclusions Resources Introduction Back in October 2025, Sharlene and I bought a lightly used 2022…
I complained on this blog three years ago about the death of Dark Sky, my favorite weather app, after its acquisition by Apple. Even now, years later, Apple Weather still feels like a poor replacement and I often find myself missing Dark Sky. However, yesterday I learned from my friend Henry that the creators of Dark Sky just last week launched a new weather app called Acme Weather ! My initial…
I have a more detailed format for my reading list this year, with page counts and comments. As in the past, the exclamation mark ( ! ) indicates books that I particularly liked. In 2025, I started 20 books and finished 15 of those. This is down from 2024 (started 27, finished 23), which itself was down from a peak in 2023 (started 45, finished 35). I think reading was just less of a priority for…
Back in May, I bought myself my first brand-new dedicated camera in about a decade. It's a Ricoh GR IIIx, a pocket-sized digital camera with an APS-C size sensor and a fixed 26.1mm f/2.8 lens (equivalent to 40mm on full frame). I'd known about these Ricohs before, but it wasn't until I actually picked up a GR IIIx in a Bic Camera store in Tokyo that I realized how much I liked it. It's small but…