Alex Glow (merlin)

@alexglow

Sustainable electronics, robots, PCBs, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, open-source DIY hardware... + music, languages, art • Masto: @alexglow@chaos.social • Was @glowascii on bird site • she/her • thoughts & feels my own.

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Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· 26d

Gorgeous! Surely this is "Acoma"? GMaps shows the old sign, though the Lounge is gone, alas :') maps.app.goo.gl/AyFHkqx5BS5q...

Google Maps Street View screenshot for Acoma Lounge & Bar (in Butte, Montana), showing a new sign for Soho Asian Cuisine beneath a neon sign resembling the one from the post

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Jun 4

New #DayGlowShow today (Thurs)! Building #VirtualPet pals w/ @ishotjr.bsky.social – PLUS updates from #OHS2026, & a sneak peek from Backyard Brains 👀 Show info: dayglow.show Noon PST, 3pm EST, 7pm UTC: ▶️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=hatZ... ▶️ www.linkedin.com/events/74682... ▶️ www.twitch.tv/glowascii

Digital sketches of David & Alex ponder an Orb filled with virtual pets on portable devices.

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· May 30

Incredible 😆

Screenshot from when I replied to the tea post. The Bluesky interface says: "The post you're replying to was marked as being written in French by its author. Would you like to reply in French?"

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· May 28

Back home from @oshwassociation.bsky.social #OHS2026 !! What a week! 🤩 I'll do the traditional swag bag vid soon, but for now I'm curled up & plugging along on a big project I gotta square away. Today's extremely cursed workstation:

A big clipboard with a laptop stand, laptop, and cushion lashed to it via many bungee cables. There's a keyboard attached with double-sided foam tape; the whole rests on a pile of soft blue things, by a window (blocked out with a big lavender blob)

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· May 17

So @philnelson.bsky.social told me about @danhausen.bsky.social , a Fun Weird Lil Guy in wrestling, and it's been bugging me SO bad who he reminds me of. Yes, Mr. Burns (a canonical influence) & wrestler-Sting – but I think I've settled on a mix of Gríma Wormtongue, Klaus Nomi, and Conrad Veidt :D

Gríma whispers in the ear of an unnaturally aged King Théoden

Klaus Nomi, resplendent in a red doublet with slashed sleeves and ruff, plus his classic black-and-white makeup with touches of red above the eyes, looks down at the camera with a wide-eyed stare

Klaus Nomi again – onstage, in his big black & white triangle tux outfit thing

Conrad Veidt, an early German Expressionist movie actor, in stills from movies including The Man Who Laughs and The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. He also wears pale makeup with dark accents around his eyes and lips

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· May 3

...But if I didn't hoard Cool Stuff for 16+ years, how would I eventually dig up the perfect pair of vintage watch lenses to go with these LED #robot eyes??? (Someday I'll scan the packets, and use some in my long-dreamed-of dieselpunk Archimedes... but in like 12 more years... can't be hasty now)

A pile of incredibly cool paper packets holding watch lenses, with stylized text saying things like "Flexo Hi-Dome" and "Micro-sized Pocket Watch Round Lentille Electroglas". Nearby rests a pink anti-static bag, holding two 12-NeoPixel rings.

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Apr 16

One hour to go :D Chill and cozy stream, acoustic guitar + voice, more originals and fewer Space Songs (but not none!) ✨ Join us LIVE at tv.theindiebeat.fm 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 9pm UTC I'll also attempt to put the recording up at makertube.net/a/alexglow

Show info + a self-portrait, with additional links:
the_ merlin (alex glow) – NHAM In Concert on TlBtv

info:
- alexglow.com
- spacesongsunday.com
- @alexglow@chaos.social
- nham.co.uk
- theindiebeat.fm
- interview: https://nham.co.uk/2026/04/interview-with-alex-glow

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Apr 13

Doing a virtual concert on the fediverse this Thurs! It's part of a series by #NHAM, and will be live on #TIBtv. Also trying to record it for my #MakerTube (the new home for Space Song Sundays!) ✨ Chill set, mostly originals 💙 Thu. April 16 2pm Pacific – 5pm Eastern – 9pm UTC tv.theindiebeat.fm

Self-portrait of Alex, with concert info under the artist name "the_merlin". Flavortext: cozy & casual / mostly originals / beyond Space Songs (as I'll be playing only a couple of my favorite Space Song Sunday selections, among many others that rarely get an audience).

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Apr 2

Made a comment about being tilted like a pinball machine and ended up in the Xenon manual to see if there are any diagrams of the alert 👀 Man it's so tasty ia601702.us.archive.org/6/items/1979...

Xenon pinball machine diagram ("Figure III") from the 1980 manual – nearly plotted and labeled, including what seem to be later additions in a typewritten font, then photocopied in B&W. Includes "plumb bob tilt" and "inclined tilt" labels.

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Mar 24

Aawwwww yeah! @signal.org has opened up secure backups for #iOS users! I've been waiting for this since the announcement of support for #Android last October: signal.org/blog/introdu... // #Signal #Privacy #Security #Cybersecurity

"Signal Secure Backups" intro screen ("This is a beta feature and will be improved over time."):
Back up your messages and media using
Signal's secure, end-to-end encrypted storage service. Never lose a message when you get a new phone or reinstall Signal.
- End-to-end encrypted
- Optional, always
- Delete your backup anytime

Recovery Key explainer page:
- Your recovery key is a 64-character code
that you will need to restore your backup.
- Store your recovery key somewhere safe like a password manager, and don't share it with anyone.
- If you lose it, you won't be able to recover your messages.

"Choose Backup Plan" screen:
- Backups are end-to-end encrypted. Signal is a non profit. Paying for backups helps support us.
- Free tier: Text + 45 days of media including full text message backup & last 45 days of media
- $1.99/month: Text + All your media, including full text message backup, full media backup, and 100 GB of storage

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Mar 15

It's back! #Arduino Days is a free, online gala on March 27-28. @ishotjr.bsky.social & I are hosting 3 preview livestreams – details in thread 👀 • Day 1: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBQT... • Day 2: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqfm... • Official page: days.arduino.cc/about // @officialarduino.bsky.social

Arduino Days official "save the date" graphic, with cartoony art of people + robots + electrical components

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Mar 11

Maybe 'cause we're all creative nerds? Something in the testing methodology? Both? Definitely easier with the brightness up, so idk

My "just noticeable difference" color value is reported at 0.0028, and captioned: "Genuinely remarkable. You sailed past the theoretical human limit like it owed you money.
I'd accuse you of cheating but I don't actually know how you'd cheat at this."

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Feb 21

This book is so good :D I have the version with illustrations by Ralph Steadman (of Fear & Loathing)! An incredible match-up [I didn't mean the selection as a commentary, but here we are]

Steadman's illustration for "Fool", in his trademark splotchy black ink. The definition (longish) reads:
"Fool, n. A person who pervades the domain of intellectual speculation and diffuses himself through the channels of moral activity. He is omnific, omniform, omnipercipient, omniscient, omnipotent. He it was who invented letters, printing, the railroad, the steamboat, the telegraph, the platitude, and the circle of the sciences. He created patriotism and taught the nations war – founded theology, philosophy, law, medicine and Chicago. He established monarchical and republican government. He is from everlasting to everlasting – such as creation's dawn beheld he fooleth now. In the morning of time he sang upon primitive hills, and in the noonday of existence headed the procession of being. His grandmotherly hand has warmly tucked in the set sun of civilization, and in the twilight he prepares Man's evening meal of milk-and-morality and turns down the covers of the universal grave. And after the rest of us shall have retired for the night of eternal oblivion he will sit up to write a history of human civilization."

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Feb 16

An in-depth look at my hidden data earrings! This circuit board will be updated in a couple of weeks (see my next #Charmware post for a preview 👀). Also, there's now a website and newsletter! Getting closer to selling these. 🔗 Info & mailing list: charmware.tech // #privacy #security #chainmail

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Feb 10

Stoked to interview @mith.ro about wafer.space this Tues – kicking off a new season of #HacksterCafe ! Custom, low-cost, #OpenSource #silicon fab, crowdfunded on @crowdsupply.bsky.social 👀 📍 @hacksterio.bsky.social ⏰ Feb. 10 @ 3:30pm PST / 11:30pm UTC ➡️ www.linkedin.com/events/74268...

Video thumbnail featuring mithro's portrait with a silicon wafer in the background

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Feb 4

Want to save data to your earrings? I've been working on this #Charmware MicroSD #jewelry concept for over a year, and (as with the recent LED one), am SO EXCITED to finally pull together some semi-polished prototypes! Site coming soon at charmware.tech 👀 // #WearableTech #chainmail #privacy

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Feb 4

Alt text + tagging #USPol – point 3 is MASSIVE. It imposes extra costs and unexpcted barriers on tens of millions of married people, plus untold trans people and others who have changed their names. Many would be turned away from voting because they wouldn't know, or wouldn't have birth cert handy.

The GOP's new Voter Suppression Bill (deceptively called the "SAVE Act") would:
1. Require that election officials conduct ongoing voter purges using info from the DHS, SSA. or other agencies & "databases" that profess to confirm citizenship, with no penalty for the many thousands of mistakes that GOP officials typically make when conducting voter purges.
2. Require that everyone registering to vote or changing their registration (or re-registering after a faulty voter purge) prove their citizenship in person with approved documentation (eg, a passport or certified birth certificate, which up to 21 million citizens don't have).
3. Disenfranchise many of the 69 million married women whose last names don't match their birth certificates (because the bill doesn't list marriage certificates as approved documents).
4. Subject any election official to criminal penalties (a fine of up to 5 years in prison) & citizen lawsuits for inadvertently registering a single voter without approved documentation, even if the voter is a citizen.

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Jan 31

(FWIW, I was looking to see how a skeleton Miku costume might work, after seeing an "x-ray" image with bones in her ponytails)

Miku's outline in blue, with long series of forearm-esque paired bones in the ponytails; each splits at the end into two long "fingers"

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Jan 31

I searched "Hatsune Miku" in the #DuckDuckGo browser app, and it dressed up the little icon as her?! Any others I should know about? :D

Search bar with "hatsune miku"; the tiny goose in the icon has her iconic teal twintails and a matching neck bow

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Jan 5

Supposedly packing for CES – so of course, I already upgraded that earring... 🫣 [Swapped in a bluer elytron; dropped the rubber point; added servo tape to keep the elytra from flipping around sideways]

Prototype earring, hooked onto a camera case, shaded by my hand. Earring features a small, intricate black & gold PCB with a blue LED, which is covered by a small piece of jewel beetle wing casing; a second, full elytron hangs off the PCB, with a thin black rubber dart descending from it.

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Jan 5

New vid! #PCBs I made in 2025, pt. 1: LED charm ✨ www.instagram.com/reel/DTH1Nue... Been dreaming of prototyping with these new #Charmware (modular tech #jewelry) bits, plus elytra & bike-leather... and scraping together the braincells to publish. Eat it, burnout! :D // #Maker #WearableTech #LEDs

Alex holds up an earring made with a little black-and-gold board, a hidden blue LED, jewel beetle wing casings (elytra), and upcycled bike inner-tube rubber (which I call "bike leather").

Wearing the earring: the blue LED sheds its light on my cheek and palm.

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Jan 2

Heading to #CES next week! Will mainly be running around Eureka Park for startups; also scouting eco, bio/neuro, and exciting stuff outside of hype bubbles. Also looking for a spare ticket :) But I'll figure it out either way! // #electronics #hardware #sustainability #biohacking #neuroscience

Alex plays an electric guitar with her guitar pick PCB earring, at CES '25

Alex throws up the horns while being fitted with a demo robotic exoskeleton

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Dec 5

Cw for #food & unrepentantly cringe song spoof... I've got that apple cider tea The French toast fingerrrs Getting cozy in the chilly weatherrr It's time to NAP And have a SNACK Takin it slow, slow, slow, slow, slow, slow, slow, slow...

"Hot Apple Cider Tea" from The Republic of Tea, and "Protein-packed French Toast Sticks" from Kodiak

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Dec 2

Thx @timonsku.zip for the rec! Got some Mechanic from AliExpress; seems legit enough, & I'm not doing anything heavy-duty. :D Both tubes came from this listing, and each shipped with a blunt needle tip included by seller: www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832...

Tubes of black and white UV-curing solder mask, in two different packaging bags: one with "Mechanic" printed all over it, and one with a white stripe info label. (The printed-all-over one also has a stripe label on the back, but it's covered by the seller's sticker attaching the needle-tip baggie)

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Nov 26

Main Planchette update = a decoupling capacitor :) The URL isn't live yet; website updates are still pending, but hopefully by the time testers arrive from @oshpark.bsky.social , it'll be ready. :) Original tutorial is on @hacksterio.bsky.social – www.hackster.io/glowascii/ou...

A render of the board's front, with the hand-drawn designs in a white chalk-esque style.

KiCad's 3D render of the back of the PCB, which now features a 0.1uF SMT capacitor and "alexglow.com/planchette"

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Nov 26

Fixed my @kicad.org setup ~3 weeks ago; since then: - 2 new #Charmware designs (will post tests soon!) - Upgraded my #ESP8266 programmer planchette! (ordered yesterday) - New modified Joule Thief board for the holidays! (ordered tonight) ...And various other things, like this #Hades gem concept :D

A KiCad screenshot: an Ouija-esque planchette shape, with hand-drawn stylized nasturtiums and "ESP-01" on the front, plus its programming circuit with Program & Reset buttons, a 6-pin FTDI header, and an 8-pin header for the ESP module.

One of the Darkness gems from Hades, redrawn as a potential PCB design: white (silver HASL coating), black (silkscreen), purple (solder mask), and darker purple (copper under solder mask).

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Nov 7

Going live in a few to recap #Supercon! Plus: a vintage #electronics parts haul for my retro #cyberdeck, #HackOClock on my MicroSD data-storage #PCB #jewelry, travel hardware #EDC, etc. 👀 Pic by @hacksterio.bsky.social ! ▶️ youtube.com/glowascii ▶️ www.twitch.tv/glowascii ▶️ linkedin.com/in/alexglow

"Coming up shortly" graphic – a sick-ass cartoon of Alex riding a mechatronic rhino (offscreen), with Archimedes on her shoulder and a giant soldering iron strapped to her back, doing something cool with a laptop and hardware desktop. (This was created by a human designer Hackster.io contracted years ago! I don't own it, but it rules.)

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Oct 23

Also ended up on a whole bone-conduction audio tangent – incl. showing this ridiculous photo of my "Bass to the Face" project (which entailed feeding audio into a DC motor with a glue stick impaled on it, back in uhhhhh 2015??)

Alex, back when the hair stood up more, with a motor shaft clamped between her teeth, plucking a flame-red bass guitar that's plugged into a pathetically tiny Orange amp. A USB battery dangles from the motor, providing some extra Orange-flavored juice. Various art/tech projects clutter the area.

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Oct 22

Also made a couple designs to hold those pixel-art emoji I designed earlier this year, but it feels kinda egotistical to put my face on stuff. I do think the art is cute, though – and they'd be collectible :V [Decided to just make some and Let The People Decide™]

Yellow hexagon sticker with a pixel-me smiling, plus "Alex Glow" and "Hack on!" in white text.

Same, but with the skully version for Halloween :)

Smiling pixel-me over a big ol' "ALEX GLOW" in white Impact font, on yellow.

Same, but skully – and with "Hack on!" on the side (as in the first two).

Alex Glow (merlin)@alexglow· Oct 22

Oh man, that stream was like 5 kinds of nerdery in one :D Here are the sticker designs I'm trying to choose between. All will be HEXAGONAL (per the Hexbin standard: hexb.in). Helppp?