I remember making the decision to study law instead of pursuing my dream of becoming an electronic engineer, a path I thought I was destined for. My family, friends, and even I were surprised, considering all the times I had helped them fix their tech, invent something cool, or astound them with my tech genius. My sister, as she sat next to me while I examined my degree options, said something like, "You're already amazing at tech. Why don't you challenge yourself and do law?" I sat there, considering her suggestion, feeling both challenged and scared. After a day or two, I made my final decision: "Yeah, why not?" My journey into the law was an absolute rollercoaster into a deep and dark abyss.

Fresh out of high school, I quickly realised I wasn't the best at everything as I had once thought. Law demanded impeccable English, clear speaking, presentation skills, and much more - skills I did not have. Studying law made me feel like an idiot! I nearly failed my first semester because I couldn't connect the dots, and just as I was on the brink of leaving law, everyone around me believed I could succeed. Maybe fate was pushing me in this direction, and the challenge is what life said I had to face.

Studying law put me at my lowest and left me feeling lost. I noticed myself slowly detaching from my existence, becoming ungrounded as I studied tirelessly every day until 2-3 am. I found it hard to connect with everyone around me, even though many would say I knew a lot of people on campus and was friendly. My emotions were buried within me, overshadowed by sorrow and uncertainty about whether law was the right choice. I've always wondered if there were other students suffering the same way. My mistake was that I never asked. I never connected with those around me and opened up. I thought I had to deal with it on my own and so I pushed people away.

This is only part of what I have to say. Of course, studying law provided me with many positives, however I believe it's about time that lawyers and law students are more open about their experiences. By sharing your personal experiences as a lawyer or law student, you contribute to shaping a more efficient, supportive, and fulfilling legal profession for yourself and others in the field.

If you are in the dark right now, the light is within you and a journey lies ahead of you. You have to ground yourself. Allow your mind, body, and your soul to release the burden. Sit there in the discomfort and vulnerability a little bit each day. Feel the emotions rise and understand them, and then let go. Talk to your most trusted friends and family. They will bring you closer to your true self and direct you to the help you need.

I will be sharing more of my personal experiences about studying and working in law, and so can you. The future of your fellow law students and learned friends depend on it, and I dare say it is your our turn. Our turn to make a change.

A year ago I ventured into the USA to see some friends and family and I found myself quite annoyed that I had a $2000 desktop computer I could not take with me. It has all the power in the world to help me make YouTube videos, design things, and make cool stuff. I have a laptop but it does not have the raw power I need to do all the cool things my desktop does. 

You might say, why not get a gaming laptop or Macbook and spend $2000-3000? Well I can and I have considered many times, but I hate the idea of modern day laptops not being fully upgradable or repairable. I do not trust the longevity of modern laptops either, but one day I am inclined to try.

At the time though, I had an idea to build the perfect balance between a laptop and desktop. One that is upgradeable, repairable and can fit in your bag. I wondered what do movie makers and editors do? What do gamers need? Is this for me or is there people like me who felt the same? It irked me and I had to try building something.

I found this amazing video by Scott Yuan who made a portable mac mini.

After watching this video I researched for months understanding what I needed to build a prototype. It took me a few months to put the pieces together. I found some really unique communities like r/sffpc (small form factor PC) and forums where people were making the smallest power pc they could. It inspired me quite quickly. 

It was then when I found the perfectly sized Intel NUC 9. Shaped like a rounded box with the ability to put a powerful and removable GPU into it. The only problem was the hardware was a year or two old, but I had to have the shape and test this. I devised a parts plan for the PC:

• Intel NUC 9 i9 which is the size of two house bricks and can fit in a backpack
• NVIDIA 3060Ti ITX
• 64GB of DDR4 RAM
• A touch screen HDR 1080p display
• A bluetooth mechanical keyboard from Keychron
• and Logitech gaming mouse.

A total of around $3000 AUD. It was not cheap but thankfully I had the help of mWave in Australia to get the remaining parts and build this concept PC.

The combination of these items allowed me to make this video:

Some issues I came across:

• Making the bracket was super difficult and required hours of iterations and 3d printing.
• Creating a way to mount the keyboard and mouse to the case was difficult with limited space.

It just came together so well. When it came time to go back to USA, this PC came with me. It weighs around 6-7kg, but it's worth it! Slips into my backpack or baggage without a hitch! There was times the security would ask me to pull out the PC, but other times it was kept in there and I am ready to go. It was super fun to make and 8 months later it is still going strong with a new handle and carry case. I hope to make an update video soon, but for now this is it!

Enjoy! 

In early-2022 I modded my HP laptop from an old barrel jack plug we all know into the cool and convenient USB-C plug. This amazing HP laptop still has years left till it dies and I also wanted to try out whether using one charger for all your devices was possible. I made a video on how I modded that laptop here and how I charge it on the go alongside all my other tech:

(I also somehow got hackaday to cover this!)

I have always recycled old powerhouses, including this one, but soon enough I think I should treat myself to a new reliable Apple Macbook Air M2. I loved finding laptops that were basically new but had a few quirks that could be easily fixed with a YouTube tutorial. My last two laptops were 'bin' finds which were only a year old at the time and only needed an hour or two of tender, love and care.

As USB-C slowly dominates the market (if not by force from the EU - too bad Apple), we start to see how easily it will be to connect to our devices using one charger. My dream is to be able to connect all my devices to one charger, because I love the sense of nimbleness and convenience. Imagine travelling with just one charger for all your devices - it would truly make life simpler.

The problem is cables. I hate organising cables. Dealing with unorganised cables is annoying and so is storing them, but I believe I have a solution and it requires someone willing to dive into retractable cables and creating a robust and unique mechanism. Past patents show attempts to create this great solution (as far back as the 90s), but imagine the pain when laptops and several devices had different proprietary connectors and jacks.

2023 will hopefully be the end of that!

In other words, the time for a perfect portable and nimble charger is now. Let's make a charger that has a retractable cable assembly that can be replaced and upgraded over time. I think it would attract people like me who want a organised and nimble solution.

(PS: Are you or someone you know a good mechanical engineer willing to tackle this? Send them my way!)

Let's chat again when I have my hands on a USB-C iPhone.

Yallah bye!