June Projects

This is a whole mismatch of what I have been working on in June.

First off a preamble: I have been working on a lot of different projects this month, so I thought I would just throw them all together in one post. And yes, I know it’s July now, but I wanted to get this out before the month ended. I know I am poor at documenting my work, so I am trying to get better at it. This could have been a blog post, but I thought it would be more fun to just throw everything together in one place in ‘Projects’ So here we go!

Project 1: CNC Machine Control

Ok I know this is not a true CNC machine, but I am looking to build a CNC machine that can cut wood and plastic. It will be a long time before this is Computer controlled but by installing the guide rails I will be able to use it with my cordless router to machine wood and plastic. I have been working on this for a while now, holdups being getting the right parts from China. I started this as I wanted to create a litter display container for a Kokedama I am making, but it has turned into a much larger project. I have been working on this for a while now, and I am finally getting to the point where I can start using it.

So the first step was to get the guide rails installed. Then installing the base for the router. Part way through fitting adjustable feet to the base, I realized that I had needed to accommodate material thickness of about 100mm, thus the changes.

Project 2: Python Data scraping

Chatting to Ben who is attempting to get in to medical school I was giving advice on how getting a good background in the NHS, its structure and how it works, its issues etc. would be a good idea. I suggested that he look at the NHS websites for content. Having a bit of spare time I trawled around the sites looking for relevant information. I found that the NHS has a lot of data available, but it is not always easy to find. I thought it would be a good idea to build a little app to curate the data in a succinct way, thus making it easier to quickly browse the data. Not complete by any stretch but moving nicely along. I have been using Python’s requests and BeautifulSoup libraries to scrape the data from the NHS related websites. The goal is to create a simple interface that allows users to search for specific information about NHS services, statistics, and other relevant data. Have five sources working so far. I will expand on this project in a future post, but for now, I just wanted to share the idea and the progress I have made. Might make the code available on my GitHub if you want to take a look. This is the report so far

Its worth adding here that this was definitely a collaborative effort with Copilot, and Claude which I have been using a lot more recently. It has been a great help in speeding up the development process and helping me to learn new things. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to get into Python development or data scraping.

Project 3: DIY Repair fix and Maintenance

Emergency project this one. The greenhouse staging had collapsed under the weight of the plants, so I had to quickly come up with a solution. I decided to build new supports and re lay the sand covering the heating wires on the staging.

Maintaining this 23-year-old greenhouse is a never-ending task, so that is both ends, the front and the windows so far, only the floor and roof remain from the original structure, but I love it. It is a great place to grow plants and experiment with different growing techniques. I have been using it to grow a variety of plants, including tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. The greenhouse staging is essential for keeping the plants off the ground and allowing them to get the light they need to grow.

Project 4: Just general maintenance

At this time of year, there is always a lot of maintenance to do in the garden. I have been busy weeding, pruning, and planting new plants. I have also been working on the lawn, trying to get it back into shape after the winter (it now looks more like a dessert after the sun). It is a never-ending task, but I love it. The garden is my happy place, and I enjoy spending time in it.

Project 5: Future plans

My this site is as always my main project. I have been working on improving the design and functionality of the site, as well as adding new content. I have so may ideas for enhancing the site, more dynamism and animation. Also looking at enabling comments and discussions on the site, so that people can engage with the content and share their thoughts. However this is going to be quite a major change I think and will require some thought. The new Astro.build live collections is preview and may provide a path for this enhancement.