I am kbx, also known as Keith or kb. I reside in Chicago, Illinois.
I love nearly all things technology-related.
By day I am a hardware and software engineer at Nabu Casa. While my formal education, background and career focus has been largely on network infrastructure, I was fortunate enough to come across the opportunity to join the team there — home automation is an area of deep personal interest and it’s been quite the perfect fit!
Home Assistant is the “brain” of everything I’ve automated in my home; I primarily use ESPHome and/or Insteon for control of most electrical things. While these platforms cover most of the bases, I also use ZigBee to fill some gaps. My Home Assistant instance is enabled as a HomeKit bridge so that I may also use it with my Apple devices.
When I’m not writing code or designing hardware, I dabble in 3-D printing and design. I used to do professional lighting, primarily at Double Door, a venue here in Chicago, before it shut down in early 2017.
While I enjoyed the time I spent at Double Door immensely, its closure left a gap that I have since filled with a rekindled interested in DIY electronics. I have since designed and built a few nifty devices, such as a binary clock, a nixie clock, an IR MegaBlaster and also a few not-yet-published-but-useful electronic trinkets.
Boldport Club is largely responsible for reigniting my interest in electronics. Since joining, I’ve received and built nearly all of the kits. A few of the other club members piqued my interest in 3-D printing which led me to purchase a 3-D printer in early 2018, adding another hobby to the list.
When I’m not working, designing, building or 3-D printing something, I’m probably watching something on one of the many wonderful streaming platforms we have available today. I have a friendly, cuddly pet lovebird who I love dearly and who makes me smile every single day. Nice weather sometimes motivates me to go outside.