JHMirage
Jeff Hoffman, also JHMirage

Finding hobbies may actually be my hobby.

Hi, I'm Jeff. I spend my days as an engineering leader at OCI, and an unreasonable amount of the rest of my time rotating through code, cameras, games, synth patches, board game inserts, and whatever else looks interesting enough to become the next obsession.

This site is the public version of that situation: a warm little home for half-finished experiments, favorite rabbit holes, and the handful of projects brave enough to survive the hobby carousel.

Browse the current rotation Find me around the internet
Current operating theory: there is no such thing as too many hobbies, only insufficient shelf space.
About

A cheerful case study in being into too many things.

I'm Jeff Hoffman. Professionally, I lead engineering work at OCI. Personally, I seem to have built an entire side identity around spotting an interesting hobby, learning far too much about it, and then making room for the next one without fully letting go of the last.

That means this site needs to be flexible by design. Some things here are active, some are ongoing, some are cooling, and some are one spark away from becoming active again. That is not a bug in the system. It is the system.

Warm

Invitation over presentation

This is meant to feel like a guided walk through the workshop, not a polished deck of career highlights.

Honest

Half-finished still counts

I hop around too much to pretend every interesting thing arrives fully complete, so the site is built to show real progress.

Expandable

Ready for future artifacts

Galleries, screenshots, audio clips, and better links can all slot in later without rewriting the whole page.

Interests

The main rotation right now.

These are the lanes most likely to show up in conversation, on my desk, in my browser tabs, or attached to a surprisingly specific gear purchase.

In progress

Programming / AI

This is where tools, prototypes, design docs, and technical experiments tend to pile up. Right now the clearest example is Potion Throw.

Representative project: Potion Throw

Public home pending
potionthrow.com has a reserved spot here the moment the project site is ready to catch up with the work itself.
potionthrow.com coming soon GitHub profile
Ongoing

Photography

Mostly astrophotography, usually with a side quest involving new gear, incremental improvements, and the occasional argument with the sky.

Representative angle: Astrophotography and first-light experiments

Favorite photos landing soon
Ongoing

Gaming

Both video and tabletop live here, because apparently one game hobby was never going to be enough.

Representative split: Steam profile and BoardGameGeek collection

One hobby, two very different shelves
Digital backlog on one side, physical collection on the other.
Steam profile BGG collection
Off-and-on

Music

VCV Rack and Eurorack simulation are the current version of the music hobby: patch, listen, tweak, repeat, and occasionally save something worth revisiting.

Representative experiment: modular-style ambient and synth sketches

Audio snippet coming when one survives review
Active

3D Printing

Board game inserts are the current favorite excuse to combine problem-solving, practical design, and the joy of making a box behave the way it should have all along.

Representative build: board game inserts and organizer experiments

Gear and model links can grow here
Favorite Makerworld models and printing notes will slide in later without changing the structure.
Makerworld links coming soon
Spotlight

Potion Throw is the clearest example of the whole pattern.

It is creative, systems-heavy, a little whimsical, and exactly the sort of project that makes it easy to lose a weekend in a very satisfying way. It also neatly represents how I tend to work: follow the interesting thread, document the thinking, and keep refining until the thing feels real.

It stands in for the broader Programming / AI category for now, but it also earns the extra space because it demonstrates the most important rule of this site: unfinished does not have to mean hidden.

Flagship

Representative project

Potion Throw is the current best snapshot of my build-and-iterate instincts.

Status

Real, not finished

The work exists, the design exists, and the public project home is simply still catching up.

Why it matters

Proof of the site's thesis

Projects can be worth sharing before they arrive wearing a launch-day badge.

potionthrow.com reserved for later See the broader GitHub trail
Also in Rotation

The hobbies that are cooling, not gone.

Some interests are quieter right now, but they still absolutely belong on the map.

Cooling

Sleight-of-hand magic

This one never really disappears. It just waits patiently until the right move, deck, or performance idea reminds me why it stayed.

No public showcase yet
Cooling

Watch repair

Tiny mechanical systems, careful disassembly, and the quiet thrill of getting old pocket watches to tick again still have a permanent reservation in the hobby lineup.

Bench notes may return later