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When in Ballard, you need to visit to Troll -
Cheering on the young runners at Dunlap Jog-a-thon
Category Archives: Maker
Practical Lock Picking
Title: Practical Lock Picking, A Physical Penetration Tester’s Training Guide Author: Deviant Ollam Completed: December 2025 (Full list of books) Overview: I’ve been into lock picking for years. I don’t remember when I got started but it was probably around … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Lit Review, Maker
Tagged Book Review, books, engineering, lockpicking
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Ring and Other Metalwork
I learned to weld in shop class in 8th grade. Two years later, my new shop teacher showed me how to weld well. Working with middle schoolers now, I’m shocked that we ever let any of them near metalworking equipment … Continue reading
The Things We Make
Title: The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans Author: Bill Hammack Completed: May 2025 (Full list of books) Overview: I found Bill Hammack a few years back when I stumbled on a video … Continue reading
Posted in Lit Review, Maker
Tagged Book Review, books, engineering, Reading, Science communication
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Jellyfish and the Bomb Cyclone
Several weeks ago, Seattle was hit with a bomb cyclone which brought gusts of wind over 70 mph. Seattle fared better than many surrounding towns but we had the top ~50′ of a redwood snap off next to our house. … Continue reading
Lockpicking and Other Mischievous Ways to Learn Engineering
Over the summer, I presented at WA-ACTE Summer Conference Presentations on Robotics and Lock Picking. It’s now Fall Conference time and I’ve decided to update my lock picking presentation. You can find the slides here but I outline some other details … Continue reading
WA-ACTE Summer Conference Presentations on Robotics and Lock Picking
(Updated: Additional links requested in the session at bottom) I’m presenting to middle and high school CTE teachers at this year’s WA-ACTE Summer Conference on two topics: Robotics and Lock Picking. The “Lockpicking and other mischievous way to learn engineering” … Continue reading
LilyTiny
It’s time for ToorCamp again and this year I’m helping people learn to program LilyTiny microcontrollers. You can use these at the Fairie Yurt to control the EL wire (prototyping this currently) or over at the Maker Stage to create … Continue reading
Nuts and Bolts
Title: Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (in a Big Way) Author: Roma Agrawal Completed: Jan 2024 (Full list of books) Overview: I was very excited to read this book, hoping it could tell a story … Continue reading
Posted in Lit Review, Maker
Tagged Book Review, books, engineering, Reading, Science, Science communication, Technology
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Blood in the Machine
Title: Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech Author: Brian Merchant Completed: Dec 2023 (Full list of books) Overview: The term “Luddite” gets thrown around a lot these days. I had a general idea that … Continue reading
A Runner's Ramblings 