My Hobbies
Woodworking
I’ve been an avid woodworker for the past 10 years. It’s a skill I learned from my Dad and a passion I’ve developed over the last decade. I started out making a cat tower and have graduated to dovetails, chess boards and furniture. It’s been a really rewarding progression and has resulted in some beautiful pieces that I’m particularly proud of.
HomeLabbing
In addition to my wood working I’ve maintained a homelab running on a VMWare server in my basement as well. It’s been an excellent environment for me to “play” with new technologies and to try them out in a low risk environment. I’m currently running containerized Plex, FreeNAS, and several web apps, like this WordPress server and a reverse proxy. In addition, I run a self-hosted version of BlueIris for IP cam monitoring and an internal domain controller to manage DNS. I run this in coordination with a SmartThings Hub for control of my many Zigbee plugs/lights. One of the next projects on the HomeLab docket is to migrate to Home Assistant, since I’ve been having problems with SmartThings recently.
3D Printing – New Hobby
I’ve been interested in 3D printing for a couple years now, but didn’t feel ready to dive in. Having spent some time with 3D CAM with my CNC I finally decided this past Christmas that it was time to buy a cheap 3D printer and dive in. Especially since it’s a hobby that can easily be done without a ton of extra space. I purchased a Creality Ender 3 v2 and the CRtouch probe and have it setup and printing. Now it seems the next hurdle is to finally master Fusion 360 so that I can design and print my own objects. I’m also interested in combining 3d printing and wood working to see if I can find some cool hybrid projects that add visual interest to my woodworking.
Leather Working – New Hobby
Another new hobby I’m enjoying is leather working. It seems like a calmer, quieter hobby that will allow me to exercise the design/artsy side of my brain. I’ve already been working on a tool pouch and a new keychain with some leather scraps I was gifted. I’m going to try and work on a new wallet case for my phone that’s customized specifically to all of the stuff I like to carry at one time.
