Featured
No Time — Like the Present
What if we've been measuring time all wrong? A wandering meditation on consciousness, clocks, and the slippery nature of now. Does time exist, or is it a story we tell ourselves to make sense of change?
Photos
The Photo Gallery
Storms, fungi, forests, and found things.
Tech
ChipRack — After the Shortage
The great semiconductor crisis changed everything. Here's what modular PCB systems look like now and what comes next.
Poems
"The code compiled,
the silicon smiled,
the electrons went somewhere else entirely."
the silicon smiled,
the electrons went somewhere else entirely."
Verse & Worse
Poems that don't take themselves too seriously.
DIY
▶
GutterGrow in Action
Growing Up the Wall
Vertical gardening with recycled guttering — full guide inside.
Philosophy
Education vs. Alternative Truths
When facts become negotiable, what is education even for? A provocation worth reading twice.
History
Transputers & Optical Links
The parallel computing revolution that almost was. A deep dive into forgotten silicon dreams and what they tell us about today.
About
Simon Smith
Computer scientist, breadboarding guru, vertical gardener, occasional poet. Based in the UK.
Say Hello →For Sale
Odd Items for Sale
Breadboards, books, GutterGrow kits, mystery boxes of electronics, one small hammer. Strange things at reasonable prices.
DIY
GutterGrow: Part Two
Watering systems, nutrient mixes, and what happened when the slugs arrived. The sequel nobody asked for but everyone needs.
Long Read
☕ ~15 min
The Long Meditation on Time
An extended essay on consciousness, the present moment, and why time feels so different at 3am than at noon. Buckle up.
Philosophy
More on Time
Things change and we invented time to measure how we experience that change. It may be a mistake to view time as anything more than a human measuring stick.
Tech
ChipRack Proposals
The follow-up: concrete proposals for what a modular PCB ecosystem could look like after the supply chain meltdown.