Summer Projects

Now that I’m officially on summer break, it’s time to get started on my summer projects! I’ve got a lot planned for this summer. I’m really excited to get started, and many of these projects are things that I’ve been planning to do for a while now but just didn’t have the time to do.

nya! - nginx: Your Analytics

nya! is an analytics package coming in two main components: a program silently running on a machine with an nginx server, and a front-end graphical user interface displaying a variety of data visualizations.

I’m planning on writing this in C/C++ with Python for generating data visualizations, and perhaps I’ll create some sort of a web-based GUI in the future depending on where my needs take me. This came from my own need to run an analytics daemon and generate data visualizations for my own websites.

SFF PC Build + New Arch Rice

This one’s really fun: I’m building a PC this summer. I’ve been bouncing ideas for this for a while now, at first wanting an SFF (small form factor) build, then wanting a larger rackmountable pseudo-server build, and then going right back to an SFF build. Half the parts will be from Micro Center, and the remainder will be ordered online:

There’s no discrete GPU for now since prices are still sky high, but having an Intel CPU with integrated graphics should do for me until GPU prices return to normal. This will be paired with a dual monitor setup and become my primary personal computer.

Once I have all the hardware put together, I’ll be spending some time creating a new Arch Linux Rice. My current setup is utilitarian and focused on maximum utilization of all available screen space, but having two large screens will give me a lot more room to get comfortable. Really excited! As usual, it will be an i3-gaps + Polybar setup, and I’ll be creating an in-between applications as I see fit if needed.

MPIS - Mobile Projectile Interception System

This one’s going to be really new and interesting, and also very important for me at a personal level. I’ve talked about Lambda Tau before, but I’ve never mentioned that one of the things we had in common were electronics and that we were planning on building a robot together. After the events outlined in If Love is the Answer You Hold, Hold On, I stopped practicing circuits and electronics because the hobby reminded me of whom I had lost. Completing this project is going to be 1) super cool and 2) an important step for me in moving on.

MPIS, short for Mobile Projectile Interception System, is a robotics and mechatronics engineering project at a hardware level and physics project at a software level. This is a mobile robot capable of detecting incoming projectiles and if the projectile will land within a certain radius of the robot, then the projectile will be intercepted mid-air using a counter-projectile.

Continuation Projects

I’m going to be resuming regular work on the book I’ve been writing as well as write more articles for “Zero to Hero Hacking”.

Other Stuff

I’ve been meaning to sanitize the source code of my personal website (the one you’re seeing here) and upload it to GitHub so that anyone can launch a website themed after mine. That can be expected to hit my GitHub sometime this summer, although I’m not sure when exactly I’ll find the time to do that.

Conclusion

Lots of cool stuff happening this summer! These projects are on top of my studying for the Network+ and Security+ certifications, and on top of the two jobs I’ll be working at IT Network and for the Brown Youth Academy. Really excited to unwind, relax, and do things that matter to me again.

Happy trails.