Software · Instruments · Writing
Darin R. Molnar, PhD
I build decision systems and harpsichords. The tools differ more than the work does — both are about getting a complicated thing to behave predictably under someone else’s hands.
Companies & ventures
Efforts in various stages of finished.
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shorelineconsultingco.com
Shoreline Consulting
Code, websites, and maker projects that pop. The consultancy — and the publishing imprint the books come out under.
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athenadecisionsystems.com
Athena Decision Systems
Software that makes regulated work easy to defend. North Star, the first product, checks an appraisal against the rules you choose before you send it.
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novagenetica.net
NovaGenetica
A living field guide to genetic algorithms and genetic programming: plain-language primers, the foundational books and papers, and software you can actually run.
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formattingnerd.com
FormattingNerd
A free format checker for APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE, and Harvard. Paste the paper, find out what’s wrong before your reviewer does.
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tortugaearlyinstruments.com
Tortuga Early Instruments
Contemporary harpsichord making — the history of the craft, a directory of today’s makers and suppliers, a quarterly maker spotlight, and one builder’s bench notes. The MIDI keyboard building and sales live here too.
Other things I’ve built
Smaller, shipped, still standing.
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Emblazo
One API call turns JSON into a finished PDF or image at the edge.
emblazo.com
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Slappy Nerds
A one-tap arcade game. Flap through pencils, slap rival nerds, chase the score. Coming to Google Play.
slappynerds.com
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JR Lawn Care
Lawn care and landscaping across Southwest Washington — plus the software that runs it.
jrlawncarenw.com
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Elect Moriarty
Campaign site for Justin Moriarty, running for Wahkiakum County Assessor.
electmoriarty.com
Writing
Books, most under my own imprint.
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Demanding Strongmen
Values, Insecurity, and the Global Dynamics of Authoritarianism
Shoreline Publishing Group · Comparative Politics Series, Book 1
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Essential Mandarin Chinese for Beginners
Characters, Phrases, and Vocabulary — the top hundred of each
Three volumes
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It has been brought to my attention…
Poems
2013
At the bench
What happens when the screen is off.
- Harpsichord making
- Building instruments from the ground up — cases, soundboards, jacks, and the long tedious business of voicing quill.
- MIDI keyboards
- Designing and building keyboard actions with modern guts, and selling them through Tortuga.
- CNC & woodworking
- Vectric toolpaths, FreeCAD and Fusion 360, and the machines that turn a drawing into a part.
- Early music
- The repertoire the instruments were built for, which is the only real reason to build them.
- Mandarin
- An ongoing study that turned into three books somewhere along the way.