Welcome to Scuttlebots!

She’s definitely the better looking half

My name is Isaac Hayes and I live in Laramie, WY with my beautiful and crazy intelligent wife Jorden. We both claim Wisconsin as home but have moved all over the US since we’ve been married. Apart from my family and my faith, the two great passions I pursue are backpacking and robotics/circuit design (part of the larger culture of people often referred to as “Makers” or “Hackers”). I find something almost therapeutic in watching designs come to life and software or hardware creations begin to react and accomplish things (even if not always what we first intended). I’m a hands on learner to the core and I’m in to just about any project that lets me interact with things in fun ways. What I hope to fill this blog with is documentation of my projects that act as a jumping off point for discussion with others and maybe even some derivative projects inspired by what I’ve created. I fully believe in open source hardware and software so feel free to take what you see and expand. Just maybe throw a shout out my way if you do so I can follow along with your projects and get inspired myself!

Working on a snow beard snow shoeing across Rockies

I have a degree in Electrical Engineering from Olivet Nazarene University (’07). By trade I am a Process Controls Engineer for E2i Inc. Basically what this means is that I design and program the systems that control a manufacturing process from raw components to final packaging. We primarily deal with Food and Pharmaceutical manufacturing so there’s a decent chance you’ve had something at a hospital or grocery store from a process line I’ve had a hand in designing. I get to make big machines move and create products which I love so I think I’m pretty blessed with where I ended up! Although the paperwork from pharmaceuticals can get very tedious in a hurry, but life is always full of trade offs.

Jorden hanging in Dutch Harbor Alaska

My wife Jorden is currently a PhD candidate in Geophysics at the University of Wyoming and is in her final year. If you want to know more about her work you can find her website at WiggleTracer.com She’s an incredibly smart lady and I’m absolutely the luckiest guy on the planet to have been able to catch her! Her goal is to become a professor in geophysics after she graduates which will suit her perfectly (also, continued access to academic software. Score!)

One thing that both Jorden and I are passionate about is the integration of faith and science. Its true! You can believe in God AND evolution + the big bang. I absolutely love the idea of a God who loved math and science so much that he created them as the foundation upon which to build his physical universe. How cool is that?! There are many people who have been turned away from faith by the vocal rejection of science by some that has become the unfair stereotype. Its a tragedy of the highest order as its simply not true that all Christians reject science. Not even remotely. Science and faith offer a beautiful union that gives an amazing picture of our universe and loving creator who gave it purpose and meaning.

If you’d life to know more about any of my projects or have questions about what I believe feel free to shoot me a private message or comment on any of my posts! I love to discuss anything and everything, even if its about how I could have done something better or with someone who disagrees with me.

Backpacking the Inca Trail in Peru