May, 2026

Did I mention that I’ve been on a 3D printing kick?

Well… Not all of my projects are for my neighbors, or friends, or Andrea and my’s kitchen. This one was just for me. For my own curiosity, and for fun.

I’ve always appreciated the idea of being off-grid. Being independent, self-sufficient, and self-contained. It’s why I enjoy backpacking so much; everything I need, I’ve got in my backpack. I go, I set up camp where I see fit, and I can survive with what I’ve got.

To that end, I’ve loved the idea of portable power generation – Ideally a light solar panel, but what about a wind turbine? I’ve seen the countless “hacks” where people put a small windmill on their car for car camping… so you know what? Let’s make one!

So I did. It’s neat! It can make a bit of power, and the bearings work flawlessly, letting it twist and turn in the wind, and letting the Archimedes spiral blade spin like crazy. Transferring that power into a storage medium… well, that’s a PCB-problem for another day.

For now?

This thing looks pretty dang cool, and the mechanics work beautifully. I’ll call it a win.