Hi, welcome!

I'm Desi. I program software; build electronics; rapid-prototype physical designs with wire, cardboard, and 3D printers; write articles; design and build websites; sculpt, paint, carve, assemble, analyse, and troubleshoot things.

I've finished a doctorate about the interactions between native Australian legumes and the insect food webs that they support. It was great! I like to scratch my head at problems and come up with ways to do science at larger scales and lower cost, so I'm focusing on bringing out what citizen science and spatial analysis can do together.

This website is where I put all the stuff I want to share with a wide audience, in a more permanent format. Its purpose has changed many times since I founded it, so as you look around you may find fragments of the past, maybe even some cringe stuff from when I was a teenager! I keep these because I worry about losing the history that's in this website. You may find something in them for yourself.

I made a rapid note-taking tool called Scratchpad, an automation program called Instant Text Automator, and heaps of other productivity tools.

I've also made lots of web software, including the Random Noun Generator and Count My Days.com, which counts down the (very approximate) number of days you have left to live.

2019 Jan 05 — I made software to emulate a numeric keypad on keyboards that don't have one.

2017 Dec 08 — I made a DNA dilution calculator to make standardising PCR templates easier.

2017 Nov 24 — I made a scientific poster about weevils attacking unexpected plant species. Thanks, climate change!

2017 Sep 30 — I shared my findings re. diagnosing vibration problems in 3D printing.

2017 Sep 28 — I wrote The Complete Guide to 3D Printing on Blue Tape.

I host my 3D designs on Thingiverse so that anyone can access and modify them. They run a spectrum from art to tools to science equipment.

I use my stereo-microscope to take photos of flowers and insects in a project called Let's Make Micrographs! I haven't posted in a while, but I'd like to start again at some point!