Mark Boszko, Author at Vixen Labs

Collapsed Pool Light card in Home Assistant showing the on toggle, preset color swatches, and Lock current color button

2026-05-03Apps, Home Automation

Pool Light Controller Bridge for ColorSplash XG & Home Assistant

I have a pool light with a Hayward / J&J Electronics ColorSplash XG (LPL-XG-CTRL-1) controller, and I’ve been frustrated for a while that the only way to control…

Busy Light menu bar menu with Busy, Concentrating, Free, and Off statuses, webcam light controls, and keyboard shortcuts

2026-04-13Apps, Home Automation

Busy Light — a macOS menu bar app that activates Home Assistant scenes (with auto-triggers for webcam, mic, screen lock, and more)

I’m exited to share the first public release of Busy Light, a little macOS menu bar app I built for myself: I wanted a door-mounted light outside my…

Blue servo on the pen lift mechanism of an AxiDraw SE/A3 pen plotter

2025-12-17Tools

AxiDraw Replacement Pen Lift Servo

The pen-lift servo motor for my AxiDraw SE/A3 pen plotter burnt out, so I needed a new one — but since Evil Mad Scientist Labs were recently bought…

2024-01-15Art

Pen Plotter Art

I’ve been experimenting with art created by code, and drawn in physical form with an AxiDraw pen plotter, and I’m not sure if it’s the ideal melding of…

Tall enclosed 3D printer with blue LED lighting printing a large spiral orange vase at a maker faire

2018-03-12Tools

HELPR — Part 0: Research on a new 3D printer design

I’ve been gearing up to make some more cosplay elements and props recently, so I’ve been tying to get my old 3D printer working, and it’s… not going…

Lava-glazed Pele tiki mug tagged number 13 amid foam shipping inserts, bubble wrap, coasters, and FRAGILE stickers

2017-11-13Tiki Mugs2 comments

Kilauea Cocktail

The Pele tiki mug kickstarter was a success, and the production of mugs is still ongoing, after a lot of trial and error getting the glaze to come…

Renderings of the Pele tiki mug in carved wood and glowing lava glazes on a bar top with a lamp behind

2017-06-27Tiki Mugs

Pele Tiki Mug – Back the Kickstarter!

I just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of the Pele Tiki Mug for Kilauea Cove! Kilauea Cove is my home tiki bar with the erupting…

circuit diagram for the volcano controller

2017-02-24Props5 comments

Kilauea Cove Build — Part 5: Smoke & Lights

Back to the good stuff — smoke and lights! Now that I have (almost) all of the decor in place, I can see how the lights will play…

2017-02-22Props2 comments

Kilauea Cove Build — Part 4: Shelves, Trim & Decor

Now that the walls are covered, the next step is the shelves and trim. There’s already some bamboo molding, but we’ve also got some carved tiki trim in…

three rows of bamboo trim covering the brown walls in the entire space

2017-02-20Props1 comment

Kilauea Cove Build — Part 3: Paint, Reed & Bamboo

As noted in the last update, I got the NeoPixel RGB LEDs working with the Raspberry Pi. I then cut the long NeoPixel strand into strips and glued…