I finally found a business manager. I had only a single person show up for a actual interview out of the hundreds of inquiry.
He (gasp) followed the instructions to email a resume and showed up for the interview.
Fathers day was about what what you would expect. They showed up around 1pm, made me cook a extravagant meal, did the dishes and left.
So much to do this week.
Project Sentry Gun: Build Your Own Autonomous Tracking Turret
Over a decade ago, I built my first sentry using a laser pointer and a bunch of 3D-printed parts. It was a fun weekend project that sparked something bigger. Today, Project Sentry Gun is one of the most complete, open-source autonomous targeting systems available.
Before diving in, here’s a critical tip that isn’t covered in every guide:
Do not use a GoPro or any camera with a rounded wide-angle (fisheye) lens. The distortion at the edges of the frame will throw off your aiming calibration. While the center of the view can be calibrated accurately, moving targets near the edges will be misaimed. Stick with a standard webcam with minimal distortion for best results.
Project Sentry Gun is home to one of the most versatile, fully open-source sentry gun systems on the web. Our system autonomously detects, tracks, aims, and fires at targets using:
What makes us unique is our commitment to complete openness. Everything is open-source:
The project has been built and deployed on six continents and in more than 20 countries — it’s even used by the Australian Navy in their training programs.
You’re in the right place. Everything you need is freely available:
Hundreds of people have successfully built their own sentry guns using this system. Whether you’re a hobbyist, educator, or just love robotics and computer vision, this project offers a rewarding challenge.
Check out the build guide first, then explore the forum to see what others have created — from simple laser pointers to full-motion paintball sentries.
Have fun, stay safe, and happy building!
Want to build your own?
You're in luck! All the help and information you will need is here, and the software is free and open-source. Lots of people have already used this system in their own sentry guns, with successful results. Check out the links on the left side of this page for all the resources you will need, including a step-by-step guide to the entire build process. After that, check out the forum to see others' completed sentry guns, sentries in progress, ideas and improvements, and FAQ's.
there are several newer open-source sentry/turret projects, though none seem to have the same level of polish, documentation, and longevity as the original Project Sentry Gun (which dates back to ~2010–2014). Most modern alternatives leverage Raspberry Pi + OpenCV (or more advanced AI like YOLO), which offers better performance than the old Processing + Arduino setup.
| Project | Platform | Key Features | Year (approx.) | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shooty | Raspberry Pi + OpenCV (Python) | Autonomous paintball/airsoft/Nerf turret, motion tracking | ~2020s | github.com/xoxota99/shooty |
| Hacker Shack Tracking Turret | Raspberry Pi 3 | Motion tracking, autonomous + manual modes, well-documented | 2016–2017 | github.com/HackerHouseYT/Tracking-Turret |
| Automated Airsoft Turret (norton-chris) | Raspberry Pi 4 + Coral TPU + LIDAR | Advanced tracking (camera + LIDAR), aimed at wildlife | Recent | Search GitHub for norton-chris/Automated-Airsoft-Turret |
| AI-Powered Turrets (various) | Raspberry Pi / other | YOLO / modern object detection, face/pose tracking | 2023–2025 | GitHub topics: "turret" + YOLO |
There are also many one-off Instructables, Hackaday.io, and YouTube builds (e.g., AI water gun turrets for pigeons or Portal replicas from late 2024).
Recommendation: If you liked the original, start with Shooty or the Hacker Shack project for a modern refresh — they’re easier to adapt with 3D-printed parts and current webcams.
It is now Friday.
Despite daily promises since last week, the electrician still hasn’t shown up for the new shop wiring. The setup at the meter is atrocious — the whole thing needs a proper junction box, and the wiring to and from the meter is badly undersized.
Sexytary has a cold and refuses to go back to the bank to wait in line and withdraw money for the cargo container. As a result, we still can’t move materials and equipment.
At least the landlord has had his people cut the grass. Unfortunately, the new shop is still full of wood and construction scraps from the previous tenant. On the bright side, they haven’t started charging rent yet.
We did get the driveway gravelled on Wednesday. It only took 4 cubic meters, so I’ll need a couple more loads for landscaping and to gravel the building interior. The existing concrete pad is slapdash and only covers about 25% of the floor. I’ll probably pour another couple of inches on top — I’m thinking of adding 1-inch square wire mesh and a couple kilos of chopped strand fiberglass in the top coat, then sealing it with waterglass. Maybe throw in 10 bucks worth of cement pigment for fun.
FaceBorg banned me for an hour this morning, which really pissed me off. I mostly just use Messenger and try to avoid the doom-scrolling, but the propaganda they push is awful.
The rainy season has technically started, but it’s been strangely dry compared to normal — almost like the 2020 lockdown period with almost no rain.
Father’s Day is this weekend. I feel kinda used. I’ve been told I need to pay for and cook a big spread — roast beef, homemade pita bread, the works. Meanwhile, the stepchildren will arrive late because they and their mother plan to spend the day gallivanting around Makati.
Last Mother’s Day, her kids treated her to a lavish meal at a fancy restaurant in Makati. I wasn’t invited. I only found out through her public Facebook posts (we aren’t friends on FB). I only saw it last week because I barely use the platform.
On a more positive note, I’m working on bringing a family member from the US over to join the business. He’s been struggling to find work there. As soon as employers see he’s a white boy and not an illegal, the job offers evaporate. I can’t promise him a big salary, but he’ll have a roof, food, a car, and pocket money without daily living expenses. Fingers crossed.
All week I’ve been advertising for a business/office manager. Responses were slow until I paid for an ad — then I got around a hundred applicants. The problem? Only two followed the instructions. One never responded after I invited them for an interview. Most just messaged “How much Salary?” without discussing qualifications. It was pretty offensive. Only one actually looked at my business page.
I’m desperate for someone to handle the office side — HR, QuickBooks, job tickets, and all the growing paperwork. As the crew expands, these tasks are piling up, and I have zero desire to deal with them. Thankfully, the rest of the crew is mostly in hand. No gamblers, drinkers, smokers, or chronic absentees. Work gets done. Sales are extraordinarily strong, and it’s shaping up to be my best year since 2019, pre-COVID lockdowns.
With a lot of hard lessons learned along the way, I now find myself doing what others call “screwing off.” The difference is that my version of screwing off often leads to big money coming in. So I’ve learned to sit patiently, let the crew do their jobs, and stay out of their way.
Nose ring is a law at this point. As much as the sun rises in the East, or Newtons laws.
I am so sick of this hippie era beatnick commie nonsense. Theories formulated under the influence of hard drugs and mental illness by wackjobs on draft deferrments in the universities. They get older, get into power and corruptd this generation.
