Senior front-end developer writing about accessible design systems and web components — plus D&D props, ESP32 hardware, and learning in public.https://www.andrewgarman.com/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-09-fusion-360-first-model/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-09-fusion-360-first-model/Got a personal Fusion 360 license, opened the software, and immediately spent the session researching custom PCBs, panel-mount SD slots, and product viability for a prop I haven't printed yet.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-08-measuring-the-stack/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-08-measuring-the-stack/Measuring the confirmed electronics stack with calipers, sketching the housing footprint, and building a cardboard mockup — because it turns out a month of dreading Fusion 360 is easier to survive with scissors and painter's tape first.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-07-soldering-neopixel/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-07-soldering-neopixel/Learning to solder for the first time with a Pinecil V2, wiring the NeoPixel ring, and the moment all four gem quadrants lit up together — topaz, emerald, ruby, diamond — on a real bench for the first time.Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-06-discord-bot/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-06-discord-bot/Building Chronicler — the Discord bot that lets the DM control the Root Meridian from a slash command. Adding a WiFi web server to the ESP32. And the moment /compass east moved a physical stepper motor over WiFi from Discord.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-05-audio-full-system/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-05-audio-full-system/Fixing the stepper motor speed bottleneck, wiring up a DFPlayer Mini with five CC-licensed sounds, and hearing the compass come alive for the first time — motor and audio running together on real hardware.Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-04-the-stepper-motor/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-04-the-stepper-motor/First real hardware session on the Root Meridian — flashing firmware to an actual ESP32, debugging a stepper motor that refused to move for two hours, and the moment it finally spun.Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-01-root-meridian-concept/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-01-root-meridian-concept/How I secretly built a physical compass prop for one of my players — complete with a spinning needle, NeoPixel LEDs, audio cues, and a Discord bot only the DM controls.Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-03-stormwreck-chronicle/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-03-stormwreck-chronicle/The story of our Dragons of Stormwreck Isle campaign, told session by session. Four adventurers. One new DM. An island full of dragons, mushroom folk, and kobolds with ambitions.Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-02-becoming-a-dm-with-ai/https://www.andrewgarman.com/posts/post-02-becoming-a-dm-with-ai/What happens when a first-time DM pairs a $25 starter set with an AI collaborator — and discovers that good storytelling is about the ideas, not the execution.Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT