splippers.com

Population: one human, a rack of machines, an unreasonable number of ideas

Welcome to the Splipperverse

A home-grown universe of small, strange and (mostly) useful projects, built on a rack of second-hand computers and a stubborn sense of curiosity. This page is the map.

Start the tour Skip to what's coming

So… what is it?

Think of a very large, very untidy garden shed, except the tools think. The Splipperverse is a collection of projects that share one idea: clever software doesn't need a data centre. Most of it runs on old HP desktops, a Raspberry Pi and a lot of cable, with small AI models doing the heavy thinking locally, so nothing has to be rented or sent away.

Made at home

Built on a home network from hand-me-down hardware. If it can run on a decade-old PC, it's welcome.

AIs, but small

Helpful assistants that search, sort and explain. They are deliberately modest: tools, not oracles.

Stories first

Under the engineering is a love of stories, history and the people behind them.

The tour

A few of the planets. There are many more moons.

ThoughtFarm

Finds every AI model on the home network, pools them, and puts them to work together, like a choir where every singer is a different computer.

Jonotron

A build engine that studies a project from several angles at once and suggests improvements. A workshop foreman who never sleeps.

ORAC Mk.II

A physical homage to the supercomputer from Blake's 7: a Raspberry Pi inside a 3D-printed perspex cube, arrogant and terse by design.

WritingRoom

A make-believe publishing house staffed by small AI editors, running on very modest hardware.

Ask ElAIne

A search-and-answer companion for the site built around Desperately Seeking Mrs Leeser.

Dooreen

An advisor that helps people with questions about doors, answering from sourced, checked material rather than guesswork.

A tribute to Albert Freethy

The Welsh schoolmaster who refereed the last Olympic rugby final and sent off the first man in international rugby history. Visit the tribute →

What's coming

Plans, not promises. Things are built in spare evenings.

  1. Public doors open. Dooreen and Ask ElAIne move onto proper, secure hosting so visitors can try them (first behind a login for a small test group).
  2. ORAC comes alive. The perspex cube takes its seat at the head of the ThoughtFarm fleet.
  3. The Living Museum. A browsable map of the Splipperverse: every project, when it was born and how it connects to the others.
  4. More tributes. More forgotten people and stories given a proper page, the way Albert Freethy has been.
  5. Sharing the tools. Where it makes sense, tidying up the useful pieces so others can borrow them.

Say hello

Curious, want to collaborate, or spotted something broken? Drop a line to info@splippers.com.