Recent Posts

  • Putting Data in ESP8266 Flash Memory

    Putting Data in ESP8266 Flash Memory

    The ESP8266 has precious little RAM. You start with a little over 80KB, but the system takes up over 20K of that just for wifi and other required functionality. So best case you get under 60K of RAM for your use. In fact, if you use the Arduino toolchain you’ll be lucky to be left…


  • Multicast DNS Tribulations

    Multicast DNS Tribulations

    For my m8rScript project I really want to use Bonjour. It would give me a way of finding many ESP8266 devices on the network without having to nail down IP addresses. The concept is simple: you give your device a name, like yardweather. Then you type yardweather.local into your web browser and up pops the…


  • m8rScript

    m8rScript

    Embedded microcontrollers are amazing. For a few dollars you can have a postage stamp sized device with 500K of RAM, multiple megabytes of Flash ROM, Wifi, Bluetooth and lots of I/O. You can connect up displays for clocks and connected information terminals, add sensors to make your own weather station, ot hook up addressable LEDs…


  • Easy Library Table

    Easy Library Table

    My kids are in high school now so I thought it was time they had nicer desks than the ones we got them at Ikea. I wanted to make something that would last, that they could take with them to college and beyond. I also decided I didn’t want a desk with drawers on the…


  • Joinery for the Everyday Woodworker

    Joinery for the Everyday Woodworker

    Probably the most important skill for any woodworker is joinery. Attaching pieces of wood to each other is required on most any project and if it needs to withstand any kind of load you need a good strong joint. There have been lots of joinery techniques through the centuries, but modern techniques (together with modern…