Welcome to Time Traveler's Vlogs: My Crazy Journey Starts Today!

Hey everyone, I'm Jeff, a 43-year-old senior software engineer living in the quiet suburbs of Nashville. By day, I work from home, hammering away at code and fixing bugs in my home office setup. My wife homeschools our two awesome kids, a 12-year-old boy who's all about video games and a 9-year-old girl with an endless supply of art projects, so the house is always buzzing with energy. But when I get some free time in the evenings or on weekends, I escape to my garage workshop to tinker with electronics, build robotic projects, and geek out over gadgets. My faithful mini golden doodle, Max, is usually right there with me, snoozing in the corner or begging for treats.

A few weeks back, in late September 2025, I was taking a quick break from work and scrolling through an online surplus electronics marketplace. That's when I spotted this intriguing prototype smartwatch listed as an "experimental navigation device" from some defunct startup. The seller, a hobbyist clearing out his stuff, had it priced at just $50, touting its "advanced timing capabilities." I figured it could be a fun base for a custom project, maybe hacking it into my robotics setups, so I hit "buy." So today it showed up in a no-frills package with a basic charger and a note that read: "Handle with care; it's unique."

Let me tell you about this watch, it's a real standout. It's got a tough titanium case with a matte black dial, strapped on with a soft leather band that gives it that classic aviator look. The analog hands tick away over clean white markers, with a bright orange seconds hand for flair. There are digital displays built right in: one up top showing geographic coordinates in orange glow, and another at the bottom defaulting to this odd date and time, "NOV 5 1955 10:04 AM", probably some designer's inside joke. It's got a textured crown for easy adjustments and a side pusher that hints at extra functions. Etched on the dial is "TIME TRAVEL," which I initially laughed off as snazzy branding for a travel tool. All in all, it feels legit, like a premium hybrid watch mixing old-school style with cutting-edge tech.

This evening, after the family had settled down, I hooked it up to my laptop in the workshop and started poking around its software, standard stuff for me when I get a new gadget. Beyond the basics for time and location tracking, I uncovered hidden menus for entering specific dates, times, and coordinates. Could this be for simulating routes or something?

Today is October 5, 2025, and I'm kicking off this vlog site (and my YouTube channel, Time Traveler's Vlogs) to document whatever wild experiments and discoveries come next with this thing. Stick around, who knows what mysteries this watch holds? Let's dive in together!

-- Jeff