Hidden Lake below Reynolds Mountain in Glacier National Park, with alpine wildflowers in the foreground

Ideas are easy.
Learning is the adventure.

Every project is a chance to learn something new, solve a real problem, and leave the world a little better than I found it.

Explore my projects Follow the journey

Photographed by DMSaur Hidden Lake • Glacier National Park • Montana

Featured project

Generator Power Advisor

Web app · iOS

Know what you can safely run

Generator Power Advisor started with one honest question during a power outage: can this generator actually run all of that at once? It grew into a careful little advisor that weighs your appliances, startup surge, elevation, and fuel, then gives a clear verdict — safe, near capacity, or too much — with the one change that gets you back to safe.

It's built for real situations: home backup during an outage, a job site, a campsite, a cabin, or living off-grid. It works offline, keeps your data on your own device, and never asks for an account.

iPhone app: submitted to the App Store.

Launch the web app Support Privacy

The journey so far

How a nagging question became an app

Nothing here happened in one leap. It was a string of small, stubborn steps — each one teaching me a little more about the difference between an idea and something that ships.

  1. The itch

    A real outage, a generator, and a question I couldn't answer with confidence. So I started sketching the math on paper.

  2. A rough working tool

    The first version was ugly and personal — just enough to answer my own question. But it worked, and that changed everything.

  3. From calculator to advisor

    Numbers weren't enough. People need a verdict and a next step, so I rebuilt it around a clear "safe / near / too much" answer.

  4. Grounded in the real world

    I added a generator database and a way to log combinations that actually work, so the advice leans on real results, not just theory.

  5. A look it deserved

    An honest tool should feel trustworthy. I built a calm, consistent visual identity and a full icon set, and cut every bit of clutter.

  6. Onto the phone

    I wrapped it as a native iOS app, wrote a real privacy policy and support page, and sweated the details reviewers care about.

  7. Out the door

    The iPhone app is submitted to the App Store — the moment an idea stops being mine alone and becomes something others can use.

What I'm learning

Lessons the work keeps teaching me

Shipping beats polishing

A finished thing in someone's hands teaches more in a day than a perfect thing in my head teaches in a month.

Design is a feature

If a tool feels trustworthy and calm, people believe its answers. Clarity isn't decoration — it's part of the function.

Accessibility from the start

Keyboard focus, contrast, reduced motion, honest labels. Building it in from day one is far easier than bolting it on later.

Constraints are a gift

No frameworks, no tracking, works offline. Tight limits force honest decisions and leave less to break.

Be honest about limits

An estimate should say it's an estimate. Trust comes from telling people what a tool can't promise, not just what it can.

Finish the last 10%

Privacy pages, edge cases, the boring polish before release — that unglamorous stretch is usually where "done" actually lives.

Things I'm exploring

Where my curiosity is pointed next

Honest about what's ongoing — these are directions I'm poking at, not finished products or promises.

Offline-first apps

Tools that stay useful with no signal — because the moments you need them most are often the moments you're off the grid.

Native from the web

Taking a well-built web app and giving it a proper home on the phone, without throwing away what already works.

AI-assisted building

Using AI as a genuine collaborator in the craft — faster iterations, sharper reviews, still with my hands on the wheel.

Home lab & automation

Wiring up the small systems that quietly run in the background, and learning what it takes to keep them dependable.

About

Hi, I'm the builder behind DMSaur

I'm a builder at heart. I like taking a real, everyday problem and working at it until there's something practical to show for it — something that holds up when a real person actually uses it. A lot of my ideas start outdoors, where the difference between a good plan and a working one tends to matter most.

I'd rather ship a small, honest tool than sit on a big, perfect one. The satisfying part isn't the idea; it's the long, unglamorous stretch of getting it out the door — and then watching it be useful to someone else.

Because I wanted to leave the world a little better than I found it.

Contact

Let's talk

Building something, curious about a project, or just want to say hello? The best way to reach me is email — I read everything that comes in.

Email support@dmsaur.com