Welcome to the Lab!

Reclaiming our Agency

If I'm being honest, I've been spiraling for the past year or so. It feels like a brick wall's approaching and I have to figure out what to do before I slam right into it.

And what is that wall? Well, an overwhelming sense of dread. The thought of AI destroying our way of life - taking our jobs while destroying the environment. Loosing our last remaining bit of freedom and privacy to Orwellian surveillance and a police state. The disregard for private ownership and the ability to repair the few things we can still afford to buy. Having the ability to make our own decisions, without being influenced by society or having choices dictated to you. Big tech continuously harvesting our data without consent or recourse. Things that we used to enjoy becoming dull, lifeless, and void of meaning.

But I've found solace in one small area. My ability to think. My ability to solve problems, build things, and become self-sufficient. The ability to learn, and re-claim my agency as an individual.

Why "The LayerCraft Lab"

My name's Kevin and, for over a decade (since 2010!), I've worked in IT. I began as an IT support specialist working at a school district, then moved into retail and agriculture / manufacturing doing PC support and special projects. In 2018, I made the migration to full-stack software development - making my way from junior developer to senior engineer, tech lead, and team lead.

I grew up around agriculture and studied computer engineering, so I've always been drawn to those areas. Discovering CEA, or controlled environment agriculture, was amazing as it combined all three of my interests - agriculture, electronics, and software.

I love to learn, design, and build things in the real world, and hope to share that passion through The LayerCraft Lab. This is my new workshop - where I'll design, test, and share functional, open source solutions as I embark on a journey to build out my automated garden and perfect my 3D design and development skills.

What to Expect

So, what can you expect from the content published here? Quite simply, I'll be sharing

• Original designs: Files for 3D printed solutions focused on gardening, home organization, and automation
• Honest updates on my own gardening and maker journey: what worked, what didn't, and how I'm using the solutions I share
• Tutorials and how-to guides: step by step instructions on building your own devices, setting up automations, and running open source software
• Product reviews: How I use, and what I think, of various tools in the gardening and 3D printing space

The Code

There are a few things that I feel quite strongly about, and you can expect to see across my content.

1. No adds. I hate advertisements and hate collecting people's data.
2. No AI. You might be able to speed things up with AI, but it was built by stealing people's data without consent, takes enormous amounts of energy and water, and lowers your cognitive ability.
3. Original Designs. While I might take inspiration from others, any designs posted will be created entirely by me
4. Open & Repairable. Most products these days are designed to fail. I think you should have ownership and the ability to repair your own stuff. That includes all designs, software, etc that I share.
5. Personal Excellence. Far too many people accept mediocrity and failure. While I'm far from perfect, I always strive to improve my craft and myself. I hope you do as well.

Let's Build

So! Whether you're just starting your own maker journey, have been doing it for a while, or are just interested in what I have to say, I'd love for you to be part of the community.

Subscribe below and let's start...building our own future!