The Other Side

Make To Own

They tell me that the key to a successful dissertation is finding a hobby to help relieve the inevitable stresses that arise along the way. My advisor baked cakes, a lab mate took up archery, and I guess for me it's tinkering.

I am excited about the potential that cheap and pervasive computation can bring to our everyday lives. However, I temper that excitement when the costs are exchanged for our personal data. I have a Ring doorbell. I have an Alexa (though it was a gift - thanks C1!). They can serve a purpose, but I am not sure if the trade-offs are worth it.

If you take a look around my website, it's pretty obvious that I like to build (thanks Dad!). Over the last year or two I have started exploring more with DIY approaches to common commercial IoT based solutions. I figured this would be a good place to document my reasoning, sources, and results.