Current apps, AI experiments, and selected software projects
Software Projects and Apps
I started writing code as a kid. Even after years in engineering leadership roles, I still love building software outside of work.
Current Apps and Games
My recent hobby work includes a touch-first game alongside iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps built with React Native and native Apple frameworks. Many of the tools integrate on-device AI and machine learning, using OCR, LLMs, and vector search locally so they stay private and work without internet access.
Neil at Large
A playful coastal-town puzzle adventure about causing good-natured chaos as a very determined elephant seal.
Video Atlas
Private Mac video library with on-device scene search, collection themes, duplicate review, similar-video discovery, and encrypted local-network streaming to iPhone and iPad.
ReviveFrame
Native macOS app for restoring and upscaling old home movies, family clips, travel footage, and low-resolution archives locally on your Mac.
VideoTwin Finder
Native macOS app for finding exact duplicate and visually similar videos, with full-index scans, source filters, cached library comparison, and careful review before Trash.
Simple Clipboard Manager AI
Fast Mac clipboard history for Markdown-heavy work, with OCR for screenshots, rich text conversion, reusable snippets, and private on-device AI cleanup.
Bookletto for Family
Create personalized stories with on-device AI, then listen together with built-in read-aloud playback on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Filibuster
Generate lively spoken monologues from a topic, streaming an on-device LLM into text-to-speech as remarks are created.
Speech Track
Build precisely timed text-to-speech talk tracks, preview the generated narration, and export one shareable audio file.
Status Watch
Native iPhone and Apple Watch app that mirrors reliable iPhone status to the watch app and watch face complications, including battery, charging, network, Low Power Mode, and freshness.
Sheet Watch
Native iPhone and Apple Watch app that keeps one important Google Sheets cell visible on the watch app and watch face complications, with demo mode, refresh snapshots, and an optional range gauge.
Learn more
Spanish or Vanish
A vocabulary game that uses computer vision to identify objects and help you learn Spanish.
CJExplorer
A language lookup and translation app that uses OCR and computer vision for instant object identification.
Read Aloud Book Reader
Turn an ebook into an on-device audiobook and create chapter summaries with a locally run LLM.
AI Experiments
In February 2024, I built a personal chatbot with React, OpenAI, Python, and Flask, trained on my resume and writing.
Before ChatGPT, I used TensorFlow in Google Colaboratory to create and document an English-to-Cantonese translation prototype. It feels modest now that generative AI is everywhere, but it was a fun early exploration.
UX Design
In 2023, I started the Google UX Design Professional Certificate. The final course required putting my portfolio online. The capstone deck includes three case studies.
Professional Work
I'd love to show more of the work I've done for Apple, Electronic Arts, and other companies, but those projects are covered by non-disclosure agreements. Electronic Arts did issue plaques for credited games; you can see my selected work credits here.
Older Projects
Some older project descriptions have moved to a separate older projects archive. It includes university-era algorithms, OpenGL work, C# utilities, web apps, and medical imaging toolkit projects.
Quick links: ASCII Art Steganography, 3D Room Scene, Multiplayer UNO, Perl Blog, ITK Application, and MATITK.
