I spend my days solving complex Salesforce architecture problems—designing systems, automating processes, and making technology work seamlessly for organizations. But when I close my laptop at the end of the workday, you’ll find me tinkering with a Raspberry Pi at my kitchen table, digging in my ever-growing perennial gardens, covered in sawdust from whatever project has taken over the garage, experimenting with a new recipe in the kitchen—probably something from Japan, Korea, Thailand, or India—or adding to my collections of Hot Wheels and vintage ceiling fans.

My grandfather and I used to build things together in his garage. My dad will tell you I could probably rewire our entire house in a weekend if I wanted to (though I promise I follow code). He’ll also tell you about the time he found me in the kitchen at 3am as a teenager, making spaghetti and meatballs from scratch because I couldn’t sleep and wanted to try a new recipe. That love of building, fixing, creating, and figuring out how things work has never left me. It extends to my passion for restoring vintage ceiling fans—I even run a separate site dedicated to collectors and archiving fan history at iheartfans.me—and my love of cars, which manifests in both my growing Hot Wheels collection and working on my vintage VW Bug. Whether it’s perfecting a Japanese comfort food recipe, designing a home automation system, restoring a vintage fan, or planning next season’s garden beds, I approach everything with the same curiosity and problem-solving mindset that drew me to Salesforce development.

Why This Blog?

Over the years, I’ve built home automation systems, created Home Assistant dashboards on Raspberry Pis so we can control our entire smart house without pulling out a phone, automated household chores that used to eat up our weekends, expanded my perennial gardens season after season in honor of my mom and her love of gardening, and taking on projects like building a slate patio from scratch. My 3D printer runs constantly—there’s always something new to print, whether it’s a custom organizer I found online, a tool holder someone designed, or a bracket that solves a problem I didn’t know I had until I saw the design. Each time I start something new—whether it’s wiring up smart switches, hunting for the perfect 3D print file, or designing a garden bed layout—I find myself diving into dozens of blog posts, forum threads, and YouTube videos, piecing together information from all over the internet.

This blog is my way of documenting that journey and compiling everything I learn into one place. I’m not an expert in everything I’m tackling. I’m learning right alongside you, making mistakes, finding solutions, and hopefully making it a little easier for the next person who wants to try something similar.

What You’ll Find Here

Expect posts about the projects that get me excited: Raspberry Pi builds, home automation setups, smart home integrations, gardening adventures (successes and failures), landscaping projects, home remodeling like redoing our kitchen, 3D printing projects and sharing the best files I find online, organizing spaces with custom printed solutions, cooking experiments with dishes from around the world, and whatever else I’m working on around the house. Some posts will be deeply technical, others might be about finding the right shade perennials, perfecting a bowl of ramen, or sharing that perfect 3D printed organizer that finally solved your drawer chaos. I’ll share what worked, what didn’t, the resources that saved me hours of frustration, and the lessons learned along the way.

Whether you’re a fellow tinkerer, someone curious about home automation, a gardener looking for ideas, a home cook exploring new cuisines, or just like seeing what happens when a Technical Architect brings that problem-solving energy to every corner of life, I hope you’ll find something useful or inspiring here.

Thanks for stopping by. Let’s build something together.

— John