About me

Jakub Grędzicki: The human behind the screen

TL;DR

• Who I am: An electronics, computer science, and space enthusiast (among other nerdy pursuits).
• What I do: I tear things apart to learn "how they did it," fix things that stopped working, and build new projects that—at least in my mind—seem doable and worth creating.
• Why I write: To share my curiosity, document my process of discovering how the world works, and bridge the gap between hardware and the stars.

The evolution: from space to circuits

Most people start at the beginning, but let's start with why we’re both here. Since I was a little kid, unaware of how the world works, I was obsessed with space. I watched every documentary on TV, read every magazine I stumbled upon, and memorized physical constants and planetary properties. I even read every book in my primary school's library that had the tiniest bit of space-related content.

This curiosity started early; I was the kid who couldn't leave a broken toy alone—I had to open it up to see the gears and wires inside. Growing up on a diet of MythBusters, How It’s Made, and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I became fascinated by the "how" behind everything.

Later, my interests shifted toward electronics. My physics teacher was moving to another city and asked if I wanted his stack of "Elektronika Praktyczna" magazines - which, of course, I did. Those magazines became my roadmap.

The Hands-on Years

This passion led me to a Technikum - a specialized technical high school in Poland that combines traditional education with intensive, hands-on professional training. While there, I was an active member of the school's Astronomy Club, where we had an on-site observatory and planetarium. Tracking celestial bodies through a professional telescope was where my childhood obsession met real-world observation.

After graduating, I took a three-year hiatus to work in the field. I served as an electronics repairman and worked in the production of electronic heating controllers. Soldering components and diagnosing hardware failures gave me a "battle-tested" perspective that you simply can't get from a textbook.

From "Breaking" to "Fixing"

My journey into software started with a bit of chaos. When I was younger, my constant "messing around" with Windows XP often resulted in an unusable computer that my uncle had to come and rescue. Today, the roles have reversed - now I am the one he calls when something needs fixing.

In my free time, I still run a "home lab," repairing everything from home appliances and audio equipment to computers. Whether it's a hardware fault or a software bug, I find a deep satisfaction in bringing dead tech back to life.

Back to beginning

I eventually realized that Computer Science was the key to bringing my three biggest interests - space, electronics, and software - into a single focus.

For my B.Eng. Degree, I was able to combine these worlds by building a working CubeSat model based on the RP2040 microcontroller. It was the culmination of everything I’ve learned so far: embedded systems meeting aerospace ambitions.

My goal now is to bridge the gap between hardware and the stars. Whether it's working on satellite systems or embedded firmware for aerospace, I’m building the skills to ensure that the "stuff" I used to read about in my school library is the same stuff I'm helping to build today.

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." — Albert Einstein

Beyond the keyboard

When I'm not writing or working, you can usually find me:

• Getting lost in The Witcher (books and games), Lord of the Rings, or anything by Brandon Sanderson.
• Reading up on psychology, astronomy, or the latest in tech.
• Riding my bike to clear my head.
• Games: played both on screen and on table.
• Searching for neighborhood cats to pet.