Uncle Matt makes stuff

I build things and show you how I did it: the ugly drafts, the dead ends, the parts that caught fire. I don't always know what I'm doing. I've decided not to let that stop me. Pull up a stool.

Latest from the bench

Freshest posts first, across everything.

Video
28 July 2026Bench notes
First real pixels off the panel. It's an LED matrix run by a little ESP32, and watching an actual picture light up on it does not get old.
Read it
25 July 2026PolyFish
I rebuilt it for my dad's birthday
The best part of PolyFish isn't the fish. It's my dad's voice narrating them. He did his part in 2014. Rebuilding it so anyone could finally hear it was mine.
Read it
Video
23 July 2026Bench notes
Same automata, now with a motor instead of the hand crank. Turns out 'a motor' quietly meant 'absolutely feral speed.' The crank is more dignified. This is more fun.
Read it

Projects

Everything on the bench, finished first. The chip says how done it is.

PolyFish
shipped 🏴‍☠️

A whole underwater world running in your browser. The fish are low-poly. The dying is high-fidelity.
- Three.js
- WebXR
- Verlet physics
- GLSL shaders
updated 25 July 2026

Read the build Check it out
Six Degrees of Play
shipped 🏴‍☠️

The history of video games, wired up like a conspiracy board. Everything connects to everything.
- web app
- games history
updated 18 July 2026

Read the build Check it out
Oddball Creature Club
shipped 🏴‍☠️

Made-up critters with real attitudes. Character design, and a sticker habit I can't quit.
- character design
- stickers
Check it out build notes coming soon
Glint
in progress

A little LED tile you tilt, shake and double tap. I saw one at a Maker Faire, thought "I bet I can make that", and then went and found out.
- hardware
- LEDs
- toys
Automata
in progress

Hand cranked machines that make a printed character dance. Animate the motion in Blender, turn the curve into a cam, print the cam, crank the handle.
- 3D printing
- Blender
- mechanisms
Hoverbike
in progress

A game about going much too fast, a few inches off the ground.
- game
Lantern
in progress

Two paper festival lanterns, my first soldering iron, and a slow slide from nicer lights to designing a real circuit board.
- hardware
- LEDs
- PCB
updated 11 July 2026

Read the build
Numen
in progress

A game I've been chewing on for a while. Not ready to show the guts yet.
- game
The Backyard
in progress

A camera and one very confident raccoon. An observation post for whatever wanders through.
- critter cam
- hardware
- wildlife
Motion Lab
researching

Teaching motors to act. So far they mostly twitch, but menacingly.
- robotics
- servos
The Crossroads
researching

A story you walk into instead of read. Still drawing the map.
- narrative