About Martin
I'm Martin Pot, an engineer and software developer based near Perth, Western Australia.
I've been interested in computers, electronics and figuring out how things work for as long as I can remember.
That led me to a combined Science/Engineering degree at the
University of Western Australia,
where I majored in Computer Science and
Electrical/Electronic Engineering.
My final-year honours project involved developing a neural-network controller for motor speed control.
Since then, I've spent my career working with software, technology and engineering, solving practical problems
and building systems,
but my interests have always extended well beyond whatever happens to be part of my day job.
How I spend my time
I'm the sort of person who finds it difficult to leave an interesting problem alone.
I like understanding how things work, particularly when the answer isn't immediately obvious.
I'm quite happy to go down a rabbit hole investigating something that has caught my attention, even if it turns out to be
considerably more complicated than I initially expected.
That applies to both software and physical things.
I've spent a lot of time writing software,
working with computers and networks, and building websites.
I've also worked with electronics and embedded systems,
and enjoy the practical side of engineering where you actually get to build, modify, test and troubleshoot something.
And I'm not particularly restricted to technology.
Cars, photography and woodworking are among my other long-running interests.
They all provide much the same satisfaction in different ways: there's something to understand, something to make or improve,
and usually something that doesn't quite work the way you expected the first time.
I like making things
One of the common threads through my interests is that I'd generally rather make something work than just work around it.
If existing software doesn't quite do what I need, I have a tendency to write my own. If a piece of equipment isn't doing what it should,
I'd rather understand why than simply replace it. If I want to know how something works, I'll often end up taking it apart or experimenting with it.
Sometimes this results in a useful project.
Sometimes it results in a much deeper understanding of something that I probably didn't need to understand in the first place.
Either way, I usually learn something.
Martybugs.net website
MartyBugs is where I've been documenting many of those interests for a very long time.
There's no particular theme to the site beyond the things I've found interesting enough to write about.
You'll find software,,
electronics,
networking,
photography,
cars,
woodworking and various other technical projects and experiments.
Some of the material is highly technical. Some of it is simply a record of something I figured out.
Some of it is there because I thought it was interesting, or because I wanted to ensure the information was available for others to benefit from.
The site has accumulated a lot of history over the years, so if you're interested in how MartyBugs came about and how it has evolved,
there's a more comprehensive history of the site.
Still curious
Technology has changed considerably since I started working with computers, but I don't think the basic motivation has changed much.
I still like learning how things work, solving problems and building things. And I still occasionally find myself thinking:
"I wonder if I could make that work..."
That's usually when things get interesting.
If you'd like to get in touch, contact me.
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