First Smart Mirror Build

July 17, 2025

I built my first smart mirror using a Raspberry Pi 3+ and an old monitor I have lying around a year ago. After the PI stopped working I opened it back up to figure out why it stopped working. In process of doing so I accidentally shorted the 110V circuit and the circuit breaker in my apartment tripped. So I basically fried the monitor and PI so opted to start over with a newer monitor.

I’ll be posting the new monitor build soon, but wanted to share my original build for funsies. I do miss how the old monitor fit perfectly in the frame I had, but the viewing angle was terrible.

Components

• MagicMirror² software
• Raspberry Pi 3 1GB
• 11x17 Frame

MagicMirror² Modules

Core Modules

• Calendar
• Clock
• Weather

Third-Party Modules

• MMM-GoogleCalendar
• MMM-MonthyCalendar
• MMM-CloneWarsQuotes

Steps to Build

1. Install MagicMirror²: Follow the installation guide to set up the software on your Raspberry Pi.
2. Configure Modules: Customize the modules you want to display, such as weather, calendar, and news. You can find a list of available modules here.
3. Set Up the Hardware: Assemble the two-way mirror with the monitor and frame. Ensure the monitor is positioned behind the mirror for optimal visibility.
4. Connect the Raspberry Pi: Connect the Raspberry Pi to the monitor and power it on. Make sure it boots into the MagicMirror² interface.
5. Final Adjustments: Adjust the settings in the config.js file to customize the appearance and functionality of your smart mirror.

Key Takeaways

• This was a fun project that uses a Raspberry PI to create a functional smart mirror that I use daily.
• Using a modern Portable Monitor I think is the way to go, since it’s already low voltage and excellent viewing angle compared to older screens.

Want to thank the MagicMirror² community for their extensive documentation that made this project possible. If you’re interested in building your own smart mirror, I highly recommend checking out their resources and getting involved in the community.

I’ll be posting the new and improved build soon!!!

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Jekyll

April 23, 2025

I’ll be moving to using Jekyll to display my static pages and organize my posts. I was thinking of Node.js with express but Jekyll will do all that I need.

Roadmap V3

• Display pages using Jekyll
• All posts displayed on the main page, and tagged with categories like `csumb`, `project name`, etc.
• Project-related posts will show on the main page and on the project itself.

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Culinary Otter: A Recipe Web Application

April 18, 2025

Culinary Otter is a user-friendly web application designed for students and home cooks seeking culinary inspiration. It allows users to:

• Search for recipes using an external database.
• View recipe details, including ingredients and instructions.
• Create user accounts to save favorite recipes.
• Create customized recipes from recipe lists.
• Manage personalized lists of favorite recipes.
• Retrieve saved recipes for later use.
• Enjoy food images provided via an external API.

The project combines a robust backend, external APIs, and a polished front end to deliver a seamless culinary experience.

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Project Template

April 09, 2025

I’ve been working on improving the structure and design of my website to make it more user-friendly and visually appealing.

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Initial Setup

April 01, 2025

This is the initial setup for the Test Project. It includes basic configurations and layout testing.

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Tweaking Styles

March 26, 2025

Hope y’all enjoy the website refresh! I’ve been messing with CSS styles and figuring out ways of styling this blog. I’m glad I was able to finish my little roadmap below. I think the next steps to improve the site will be:

Roadmap V2

• Create a project template page.
• Create a project roadmap template (HTML/Markdown format page of some sort).
• Decide if I really want to use Node.js Jekyll to create a blog, or stick with hard coding.
• ...and whatever comes to mind.

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