Why I Started This Substack
I wanted to be more involved in the dev and maker space - and this felt like the right place to start.
I started this Substack for a pretty simple reason—I wanted to be more involved in the dev and maker space.
Writing felt like a good entry point.
It gives me a way to share what I’m learning, document ideas, and stay connected to the kinds of things I actually care about: technology, systems, how things work, and how they break. It’s also a way to slow down a bit and think more intentionally instead of just moving from one problem to the next.
I’ve spent most of my life around systems.
Not just computers, though those were there early—but anything that runs, breaks, gets rebuilt, and pushed a little further than it probably should. I grew up in South Florida, the kind of place where you’re either outside or taking things apart just to see how they work. For me, it was both. LEGOs, old computers, go-karts, whatever I could get my hands on.
That mindset never really left.
I’ve worked in electrical trades, traveled the country as a contractor, and eventually moved into industrial systems and maintenance. These days I work across some pretty advanced equipment, cryogenics, chip fabrication processes, pressure and vacuum chambers, and thermal systems, to name a few. It’s hands-on, unpredictable, and there’s always something new to figure out. And that’s kind of the point.
Over time, I realized I think about a lot more than just the job in front of me. Technology, systems, infrastructure, space, media, how things scale, how they break, how they get better, or don’t. I’ve had these thoughts bouncing around for years, usually staying in my head or getting lost in conversations that disappear as fast as they happen.
Writing is my way of fixing that.
This isn’t about being an expert or trying to sound like one. It’s about documenting how I see things—what I’m learning, what I’m noticing, what feels important right now. Some of it will be technical, some of it will be big-picture, and some of it will just be me working through ideas in real time. If nothing else, it’s a record.
But ideally, it’s useful. Something you can read in a few minutes and walk away with a new perspective, a better question, or at least something interesting to think about.
That’s what The Weekly Screensaver is meant to be.
Not noise. Not recycled takes. Just real thoughts, from someone who spends most of their time in the middle of how things actually work.
The personal blog of Andy August