Posts

How I Built a Smart Mirror with Raspberry Pi and MagicMirror

Image
  How I Built a Smart Mirror with Raspberry Pi and MagicMirror (And Why It Almost Drove Me Crazy) Let me start by saying this: I did not expect my weekend Raspberry Pi project to turn into a two-week saga of frustration, tiny victories, and way too much Googling. But hey, that’s DIY tech for you. If you’ve ever seen those sleek smart mirrors in sci-fi movies (or on YouTube) and thought, “I want that, but I also don’t want to spend $2,000,” then this post is for you. Here’s how I built my own smart mirror using a Raspberry Pi and MagicMirror—complete with all the messy, unglamorous details. Why a Smart Mirror? (And Why Not Just Buy One?) First, the why. I’ve always loved the idea of a mirror that does more than just reflect my questionable morning hair. Weather, calendar, news headlines—all at a glance while I brush my teeth? Sign me up. But commercial smart mirrors? Oof. The price tags are wild (we’re talking "might as well buy a used car" terr...

Using WebRTC for Peer-to-Peer Video Applications

Image
  Using WebRTC for Peer-to-Peer Video Applications Using WebRTC for Peer-to-Peer Video Applications I’ll be honest with you—I didn’t exactly choose to dive into WebRTC. It kind of... chose me. You know how sometimes a project just lands in your lap and you say, “Cool, should be simple,” and then BAM—you’re three coffees deep, two browser crashes in, and wondering why the video stream is blank again? Yeah. That’s how I met WebRTC. Let me back up. It was mid-January 2025, and our small dev team at this scrappy startup had been juggling feature requests like circus performers. A client (bless their ambition) asked for a “simple” peer-to-peer video chat tool. “You don’t need Zoom,” they said. “Just a clean browser-based solution, low-latency, no servers for media.” Sounds easy, right? Right? First Date With WebRTC: Expectations vs. Reality When I first Googled WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication, in case you’re new here), ...

Mastering Professional Communication Skills

Image
  Introduction: The Day I Sent an Email That Nearly Killed My Career I’d just started a new job, and in an attempt to look super efficient, I fired off an email to our biggest client with the subject line: “Urgent: We Need to Talk.” Sounds terrifying, right? It was. Especially when the client called my manager asking if we were canceling the project. All because I didn’t realize the tone of that subject line screamed doom. That was the day I learned that professional communication is less about saying something, and more about saying it right . So pull up a chair—this post is the survival guide I wish someone handed me back then. A Quick History Lesson (Don’t Worry, No Pop Quiz) In the ancient days of… let’s say 1985, office communication was all about memos, faxes, and face-to-face chats. Fast-forward to today, and we’re juggling Slack, email, Teams, voice notes, and emojis. The medium may have changed, but the core principle stayed the same: If your message ...