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[✕] The Lab · off-hours R&D

The things we buildbefore anyone asks.

Where we try new tools on our own time: an AI bet tracker, private finance apps, Mac and iPhone experiments, Chrome extensions and a workshop kit. Every one of them actually runs.

15 experiments

Not client work. Still built for real use.

  1. 01

    Hotspot Meter

    A Mac menu-bar app for anyone working off a phone hotspot: how much data the Mac has used, which apps used it, and whether it is tracking right now.

    • Swift
    • SwiftUI
    • macOS

  2. 02

    ClanOS

    A companion app for a Clash of Clans clan: rosters, war plans and every player's war history, collected automatically after each war.

    • Expo
    • React Native
    • Convex
    • Cloudflare

  3. 03

    Awards Night Show

    A presenter-run show for a company awards evening: 95 scenes, live prize wheels, bingo and reveals on a second screen, driven from one laptop.

    • Next.js
    • React
    • Cloudflare
    • Tailwind

  4. 04

    Magalies Town App

    An iOS and Android app for a small town, built as a prototype: what is on, where to go, a local marketplace and notices that businesses keep up to date themselves.

    • iOS
    • Android
    • Expo
    • Convex
    • Mapbox

  5. 05

    Ledgerflow

    A private money tracker that keeps everything in your browser: transactions, rules, CSV imports and a command palette, with nothing sent anywhere.

    • React
    • TypeScript
    • Vite
    • Dexie

  6. 06

    FinFlow Finance Dashboard

    A personal finance dashboard for freelance income: import a bank statement, group payments by client, track retainers on a payment calendar and ask Gemini about the numbers.

    • React
    • TypeScript
    • Convex
    • Gemini
    • Recharts

  7. 07

    Seshat for iPhone

    An experiment in voice typing on iPhone: a keyboard with a dictate key that records through the Seshat app in the background and types the words back where you were.

    • Swift
    • SwiftUI
    • WidgetKit
    • WhisperKit

  8. 08

    Drag to Pin

    A Chrome extension that pins a tab when you drag it left and unpins it when you drag it right.

    • Chrome extension
    • JavaScript

  9. 09

    X Bookmark Folder Search

    A Chrome extension that adds a search box to X's bookmark-folder picker, for people with too many folders to scroll.

    • Chrome extension
    • JavaScript

  10. 10

    Playback Shield

    A Chrome extension that stops streaming sites from opening an advert tab when you click play, on the sites you switch it on for.

    • Chrome extension
    • JavaScript

  11. 11

    ChatGPT Read-Aloud Speed Control

    A Chrome extension that adds play, pause and speed controls to ChatGPT's read-aloud voice, and remembers the speed you like.

    • Chrome extension
    • JavaScript

  12. 12

    AI That Gets Work Done

    A hands-on workshop kit for the Gauteng AI Community: build a working AI helper for a real task in one sitting.

    • Workshop
    • Claude
    • Codex

  13. 13

    Go Into Silence

    A meditation timer for 30, 45 or 60 minutes of silence, then a quiet place to write down what came up.

    • HTML
    • JavaScript
    • Tailwind

  14. 14

    AI Bet Tracker

    Reads betting-slip screenshots, grades each bet against live scores and keeps the record honest, with a dark 'war room' dashboard.

    • React
    • TypeScript
    • Gemini
    • Firebase

  15. 15

    NFL Player-Prop Predictor

    A local-only model that projects NFL player stats, with a dashboard that tracks its paper trades. Every byte of data stays on disk.

    • Next.js
    • FastAPI
    • scikit-learn
    • SQLite

Lab rules

Why we keep building.

  1. 01

    Build the weird thing

    A quick experiment teaches more than a deck, a roadmap or an opinion.

  2. 02

    Keep it shippable

    Even the odd ones get a working interface and real data.

  3. 03

    Bring it back

    What works ends up in client builds: faster prototypes, sharper design, better calls.