Welcome to my blog/how-to/misc site. My name is Nicolas Collins, I am a full time software developer, and a life long learner. On this site I hope to document some of what I have learned over the years along with my attempts to try to apply the knowledge through the tried and true methodology of tinkering. If my skills progress past just tinkering I hope to show others how some of the things I have learned can be applied to a project of some type. The system of learning, tinkering, then doing is what lead to the name for the site. Not every article, or post will always adhere to the same formula, but I hope that it can provide at least some amusing reading for others.
While software is my full time job it isn’t my only area of interest, far be it. For that reason the breadth of topics that I may talk about may seem unconnected and varied. At the end of the day I enjoy learning topics based on the smallest spark of interest. Growing up this has lead to my family to joke that my hobby is hobbies themselves. While that may be true I don’t think learning as a hobby is so bad.
To give potential readers an idea of what may be in store if you stick around I’ll provide a brief overview of some of the hobbies I’ve had or have. Trains and steam engines are probably my oldest and most active hobby which has lead so far to my owning a 1/2 scale traction engine. My robotics hobby caused me to always saying I wanted to be a robotics engineer growing up and is what lead to me becoming a software developer. Volunteering at a local antique sawmill has expanded my appreciation for antique and mechanical mechanism. Amateur radio(KJ4HMI) was added as an expansion on my interest in electronics. Then there are more from there.
I hope you choose to stick around and enjoy this fun journey of Learning, Tinkering, and Building!
