I wrote a free, browser-based Moon simulator game. You're welcome to play. (I don't recommend trying it on mobile.) mooncraft2000.com (More info on developing it: engineersneedart.com/mooncraft200...)

So happy to find that ‪Perry Bible Fellowship‬ is on bsky.

My hobbyist analog computer project coming along… The "strip chart" displays two voltages from the computer: an implementation of the Lotka–Volterra equation depicting prey population (red) & predator population (orange). (Red LED indicates overload.) #analogcomputing #analogcomputers #electronics

Any fans of John Foxx? Ultravox!?

hormuz.pythonic.ninja "I did that!" —Anon

Ron McAdams & I chatted about my Mac game Pararena—published by Casady & Greene around 1992 (youtu.be/QpK6fYYr-6o). Was reminded that Michael (Greene) was not pleased with my proposed splash screen. (I had to move the figure down.) (He would have really disliked what AI did to it.) #MARCHintosh

This analog computer project is perhaps my longest ongoing electronic's project. From perfboard prototype to PCB, the Adder module is iterated upon… #electronics #analogcomputing #diy

Laying out a PCB is something I really hate—hurts my head. I wrestle with trying to keep it "elegant". I was explaining to my wife that every time I add a via, an angel in heaven cries. #electronics #pcb #kicad #angelscrytooeasily

(Publicly) claiming my @mobygames.com profile: www.mobygames.com/person/39762... (They need me to do this to approve, feel free to ignore.)

When I began playing around with what would be the game, Pararena, I wrote a simple app to render a parabolic playfield. If a thing can be rendered with math, then math can also be used to simulate the physics of that surface (render players, a ball on it…) Screenshot I took (and later "painted").

A sketch I put together in 1992. Back then I would have drawn it as line-art first and scanned it. Once digital color was added in Studio-8 or an early Photoshop. (Too risqué for Casady & Greene to put on the box for Pararena, so they hired someone to come up with truly atrocious box art.)

I've been diving deep into analog computing—working on pieces of a kind of hobbyist-grade analog computer. (The way I like to learn a thing is to build a thing.) (If anyone is interested, I've begun documenting in this Google Group: groups.google.com/g/analog-com...) #analogcomputers #electronics

Someone created a site including many of the games submitted to Hacker News (aka HN, news.ycombinator.com/active). (Look for my Mooncraft2000 among the games.) hnarcade.com/games/catego...

I started an analog computer "google group" because the only other one I am aware of is on Facebook. Yeah, no shit. groups.google.com/g/analog-com... #analog #analogcomputers #analogcomputing

I look back at the 3D-printing that I did in 2025, what I learned: engineersneedart.com/blog/3dprint...

In 2025 I finally got serious about creating a scale model of an experimental NASA lifting body—from balsa. So I got close to finishing it on this iteration… #nasa #balsa #modelaircraft #liftingbody #alwaysbeiterating engineersneedart.com/blog/m2f3202...

Thinking about the year that is ending… I put together a small post about the balsa “2001: A Space Odyssey” model that I built in early 2025. I will probably try to do some write-ups of a few of the other projects I completed. engineersneedart.com/blog/orion20... #balsa

A power module for a breadboard analog computer. On left: prototype board, on right: 1st iteration from JLCPCB.

Analog computer project in progress. Breadboard first. Circuits that are okay move to prototype boards… Parts get harvested along the way. IC's are easy because they are socketed. (I can't be bothered to harvest sockets). Switches, large caps… (I have a bunch of crap resistors I'm happy to lose.)

Still prototyping analog computing modules. Moving stuff from breadboard to prototyping boards ("ElectroCookies"). (Red & blue "cookie" seen here.) An article from a 1970's hobbyist electronics magazine inspired the project. I've gone past that circuit now though. (Unsure where I'll land…)

Playing with analog computing (but digital metering, so sue me). Last night (after several hours of hair pulling) I learned that a 1% 10 kΩ resistor color bands is indistinguishable from a 1% 120Ω resistor—that is flipped around. Breadboarding is messy. Will make up a PCB for part of it soon.

I put together an electronics kit + book intended as a gentle introduction to transistors and early computer logic gates (resistor-transistor logic or RTL). I set up a Tindie store page for the little over a dozen I have readied. (I'll create a web site soon.) www.tindie.com/products/jca...

A second analog (integrator) channel breadboarded (top). Both channels are tapped and displayed on the ESP32 "software meter" in the center (showing two needles at once). The new channel uses dual op-amps instead of singles. I may make another analog channel and have a go with a quad op-amp.

From breadboard (left—wires can be bumped loose) to protoboard (right—wires soldered). One channel of an analog/digital hybrid computer experiment. An op-amp acts as an analog-computer integrator, 3 more op-amps scale, offset & invert the voltage so it is within 0.0-3.3V range for the ESP32 ADCs.

Each year the wife hand-carves a multi-color X-mas card. A destructive process: inking/printing a color before carving for the next color. This year I suggested she make just one print at each stage (in black ink) for me to scan digitally—print on the Risograph. Seems to be going well.

Dialing back to the 1990's and the first commercial Glider (4.0) game… Ward Hartenstein blew my mind when I downloaded his "Hands-Off House" from AOL. You don't touch the controls to play—the house itself takes care of moving the glider along. B&W version playthrough: youtu.be/nIzy_Fmjexs

Just having some fun at Pioneer's expense, I guess. #SpacetoberChallenge #sciart #spaceart #illustration

Sweep meter is better. (Here it is responding to potentiometer acting as a voltage divider.)

Working on an "analog" voltage meter for a project. (This slide-rule version will not make the cut.)

After all this iteration, I placed an order for (I hope) the final board. Finishing up the instruction manual as well. I should have the boards for sale on Tindie in November. They're a kind of "breadboard helper" for playing with (learning about) transistor logic circuits.

youtu.be/vyeeQAcho00 Looks like Gruez (sp?) has posted a nice Glider history.

Prototyping my first learning-electronics project kit is winding down (I am finishing up the manual as well). Top is through-hole, bottom my first go at surface-mount (I learned a few things and have changed it some). (Hard to find a domain name these days. Went with CircuitPixies.)

Another Riso experiment with Crimson, Sky Blue and Black inks. #riso #risograph

My oldest daughter and I each have refurb'ed Riso machines. But she has a blue ink drum and I do not. With her visiting for a few days, she brought her drums and I was able to test a few Riso ideas out. #riso #risograph

Thanks, @ronscompvids.bsky.social for your midwest hospitality at #vcfmw this year. (And so many Mac laptops!) See you next year.

The process of prototyping an electronic project/PCB (from top to bottom). (I'm finishing up the project book now.)

Some somber thoughts on genealogy and the introduction of the camera. engineersneedart.com/blog/camera/...

Writing about your most embarrassing fuckups was, I thought, supposed to be more cathartic. Like the line from "Pink Rabbits", it wasn't that at all. 🫤 engineersneedart.com/blog/almostf...

So a guy (Daniel Valcanover) has spent 25 years trying to find a boxed version of the original Glider for Windows has tracked one down. Apparently he'll post the binary on MobyGames soon. Maybe here: www.mobygames.com/game/3998/gl... Even a photo of the box was unobtainium — until now of course.

I'm not sure I ever received the floppy disk, but I have the box and manual for the (rare?) Japanese version of Glider 4.0. Maybe someone can track down the binary. #VintageMac #RetroGaming

Placemat you might have found in a diner in 1960. I picked up a 1960 book of these placemats and I'm scanning all 200+ of them to upload to archive.org. It's one of those things I do from time to time. I'll post when available. Interstate 80 has mostly replaced US Highway 6 (below):

One last video for #Marchintosh ! I take a look at @engineersneedart.com unfinished Mac games. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlHs...

www.colino.net/wordpress/en... Discussion on HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4349... #VintageMac #RetroGaming #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

Custom water-slide decals arrived. They help take this balsa model to the next level. Studio-scale model (about 44" long) was designed in Affinity Designer, laser cut, coverered with Monokote. Then painted & a few 3D modeled parts added. Now decals. From "2001: A Space Odyssey." #scifimodelling

Things I miss about California: #1) The Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda, CA #pinball

My #minirack & #homelab is just getting started. Two Pis share space with a switch. A Pi 4 is running OpenWebRX+ & has two SDR boxes attached. I can scan the radio spectrum from any browser. Other Pi (5 with 16GB) is running Open WebUI & a number of local LLMs. Hoping to add a #GlobalTalk device.

In knew in 2021 that it was my last year working at Apple. So I suddenly started looking at where I worked as though I was a tourist. Here are some Apple Park photos. Perhaps you'll understand why I have described it as something like a beautiful art gallery — with no art. #MARCHintosh

Duane Blehm was the indie gamer that wrote early Macintosh shareware games: Stunt Copter, Cairo Shootout… Here's a little about him and his influence on me. engineersneedart.com/blog/duane/d... #VintageMac #RetroGaming #MARCHintosh

Of course we stopped for the photo-op. #VintageMac #RetroGaming #itwasamacgamecalledgliderfromthe90s

Brett, rest in peace. You were loved.