When I was nine, I wanted a laptop more than anything.

Not to play games. I just thought laptops were the coolest piece of technology I'd ever seen, and I needed one of my own.

My parents saved up and got me a black Dell running Windows XP. One of those with the latch on the front. My mom threw a whole party for it. She made cupcakes shaped like little laptops with graham cracker screens, icing dots for the keys, and a piece of red licorice for the mouse. She said she'd never seen a kid more excited to open a gift in her life.

About a year later, she came home from shopping and found it in pieces on the living room floor.

This was not a cheap gift for a nine-year-old, and she wanted to know how I was going to get it back together. I didn't have a good answer. I just needed to see what was inside.

Two days later, I had the whole thing running again. My mom thought I was a genius. I wasn't. I was just a kid who couldn't leave things alone until I understood how they worked, and that never went away. It turned into a degree in computer engineering, a career in electronics, and eventually a YouTube channel where I document the things I build.

So I started Second Shift.

The name is exactly what it sounds like. First shift is my day job. Second shift is what happens on nights and weekends, because I can't stop thinking about it.

Everything I make here is built the way that nine-year-old would want it built. Repairable. Open firmware so you can make it yours. Documentation thorough enough that you can actually fix it. And if I ever stop making something, the full design files go public.

I'm Cody. Welcome to Second Shift.