The Shipyard — Projects & Systems
The Shipyard is the working inventory of projects and systems being built at Stormy Sailors Maker Lab. Some are commissioned and in everyday use, some are actively evolving, and a few are still on the drawing board.
Commissioned Systems
Stormy Social Deck
Status: Commissioned. Social Deck is the Maker Lab’s private social-publishing console. A post can be composed once and published to Facebook and Instagram from a single authenticated dashboard. The system includes dedicated login protection, TOTP authentication and trusted devices. Its Meta app is now Live, and real-world publishing to both Facebook and Instagram has been successfully tested.
Stormy Links
Status: Operational. Stormy Links is the Maker Lab’s own branded URL shortener. It creates compact five-character short codes or custom slugs, redirects visitors to the intended destination and records click statistics. An internal API connects it directly to Social Deck, where the URL Cannon can create and insert a short link without leaving the post composer.
Stormy Sailors Website
Status: Operational and evolving. Stormysailors.com is the public home of the Maker Lab. The site has undergone a substantial refit with the Stormy Sailors Studio theme, refreshed branding, improved desktop and mobile navigation, the Ship’s Log, dedicated project pages and a clearer structure for documenting what is being built.
Tether
Status: Operational and in everyday use. Tether provides the working connection between the iPhone and the Linux workstation, bringing selected phone functions into the desktop environment. After the earlier pairing and integration work, Tether is now live and part of the regular Stormy Sailors workstation setup.
Active Projects
QR Forge
Status: Operational and under active development. QR Forge began as a dynamic QR-code system and has grown into a broader set of practical QR tools. The current work includes lost-pet and pet-rehoming profiles, microchip information, multiple photographs, public pet pages, printable lost-pet posters and a FOUND state for successful reunions. QR Forge has its own repository and clean application foundation, with usability and presentation continuing to evolve.
The Tactical Pirate
Status: Active development and hardware testing. The Tactical Pirate is a portable toolkit for wireless diagnostics, reconnaissance and security learning on equipment and networks we own or have permission to assess. Built around the LILYGO T-Embed CC1101 Plus, its interface is organized as a ship with a Main Deck and dedicated departments. Battery telemetry, infrared functions, manufacturer identification, packet capture, mission handling, export tools, AP+STA networking and the Quarterdeck web interface have all been brought aboard. The Letter of Marque remains the project’s ethics guard.
Tactical Pirate Dockyard
Status: In development. Dockyard is the Linux-side companion for the Tactical Pirate. Communication between the handheld and Dockyard has been verified, and the longer-term goal is a practical place to import, organize and review mission files produced during authorized testing.
StormyOS and the Bridge Computer
Status: Operational and evolving. StormyOS powers the Stormy Sailors Bridge Computer, built around a Raspberry Pi 4. It brings workshop information and services together through stations for engineering, weather, Docker, the website, QR systems, Formula 1 and other Maker Lab functions. The dashboard continues to grow as new systems join the fleet.
StormyOS — Captain’s Tablet
Status: Planning and interface design. The Acer Iconia Tab A11 is being considered as a portable, touch-friendly companion to the Raspberry Pi Bridge Computer. Four proposed departments are the StormyOS Command Deck for server and Docker status, Engineering Reference Station for pinouts and documentation, Tactical Pirate Quarterdeck for accessing the handheld’s web interface, and Ember Station for lighting, weather and workshop mischief. The concept is a lightweight browser-based dashboard; integrations have not yet been built or commissioned.
Stormy Sailors Kiosk
Status: In development. The kiosk is the public-facing side of the Maker Lab’s digital infrastructure: a display for projects, useful information and selected workshop material. It remains part of the broader Bridge Computer plan and will expand as more public-facing systems are ready.
Local AI Workshop
Status: Operational experimental environment. The local AI workshop combines Ollama, Open WebUI and SearXNG for private language-model experimentation, writing, research and coding. Local models and search integration are working; the system remains a workshop rather than a finished product and will continue to change as useful ideas are tested.
E-paper Maker Badge
Status: Design and hardware research. The badge remains a proper maker build rather than an off-the-shelf product. Work is focused on choosing the computing and display hardware and determining how much intelligence can sensibly be carried on the badge itself. Candidate hardware and dedicated AI-compute ideas are being explored before construction begins.
Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses
Status: Acquired; prescription fitting and workflow evaluation. The Captain has acquired Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses and is exploring their use for hands-free Maker Lab demonstrations, recording and everyday reference. Prescription lenses are part of the setup plan. Recording, transcription, privacy and practical integration with the wider Stormy Sailors workflow will be evaluated before any capabilities are declared commissioned. This is distinct from the camera-free meeting-glasses concept under Project Black Flag.
Ideas on the Drawing Board
Project Black Flag explores smart-glasses workflows for hands-free project recording and meeting transcription, with separate approaches for camera-equipped project glasses and camera-free meeting glasses.
Dreadnaught remains the name reserved for a future, more capable portable computing platform when the right hardware and mission come together.
Alongside the Shipyard
Not every experiment remains an active build. Coastal-navigation practice has been taken off the active project list, while 3D printing and laser engraving are paused until new equipment comes aboard. They can return to the Shipyard when there is useful work to do.
The Shipyard changes as the Maker Lab changes. Projects may be commissioned, rebuilt, paused or occasionally sent over the side entirely. That is part of making things.
Think Like A Captain. Play Like a Pirate.