Jason_Mloza - Stardance

Ship Changes requested

@Jason_Mloza on my APOD site · 5 days ago

What did you make?
I built a NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day website that uses NASA’s APOD API to fetch and display the picture of the day, its title, date, explanation, and copyright information. I also added a custom interface so users can explore the content instead of just seeing raw API data.

What was challenging?
The hardest part was getting the API, environment variables, and frontend to work together properly. It worked locally but initially gave me a 403 error after deployment, which forced me to understand the difference between local and production environments and fix my Vercel configuration. I also had to work through several smaller bugs while building the site.

What are you proud of?
I’m proud that I actually got the project from an idea and tutorial into a working, publicly deployed website. The biggest thing for me was seeing data from a real NASA API turn into an actual experience that someone else can visit and use. I also learned a lot from the problems I ran into instead of giving up when things broke.

What should people know so they can test your project?
The project doesn’t require an account or any special setup. Just open the live website and wait for the APOD to load. The site fetches the current Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA, so the content will change as NASA publishes new APODs. If an APOD is a video rather than an image, the site displays the available media accordingly.

Try project → See source code →

Open comments for this post

@Jason_Mloza on my APOD site · 5 days ago

49m 49s logged

NASA APOD
A simple web experience for exploring NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day.
I built this project to practice working with APIs and learn how to turn data from an external service into an actual web experience. The site fetches the current APOD from NASA and dynamically displays its title, date, media, explanation, and copyright information.
It started as a project I was experimenting with and went through a few frustrating bugs before I finally got it working the way I wanted. Getting the API request, environment variables, and frontend rendering working together was the part that taught me the most.

Ship

@Jason_Mloza on My first slack bot! · about 1 month ago

I built Alfred, a Python Slack bot that helps users with simple commands directly inside Slack. It can tell jokes, perform calculations, and share random facts. I’m proud that I built, deployed, and connected the bot so it can run continuously without my laptop being open. The most challenging part was learning how to manage API keys and environment variables safely while deploying the bot. You can test Alfred by inviting it and using /alfred joke, /alfred calc , or /alfred fact.

1 devlog
1h
Make a Slack Bot

Try project → See source code →

Open comments for this post

@Jason_Mloza on My first slack bot! · about 1 month ago

47m logged

Building Alfred: A Slack Bot Assistant
I built Alfred, a Python-based Slack bot that brings simple tools directly into Slack.
Using Slack Bolt and Socket Mode, I created commands like:

/alfred joke — tells programming jokes

/alfred calc — performs calculations

/alfred fact — gives random facts

I also deployed Alfred as a background worker so it can stay online and respond continuously.
One of the biggest lessons was learning how to properly handle secrets. GitHub blocked my first push because sensitive keys were included, which taught me the importance of using environment variables.
Alfred is now deployed and running, with more AI features planned for the future.

Ship

@Jason_Mloza on My own site! · about 1 month ago

I created a personal portfolio website that showcases who I am, my skills, projects, education, achievements, certificates, and contact information. The website was built using HTML and CSS with custom styling to create a clean and modern design.

One of the biggest challenges was designing a layout that looked professional while remaining responsive and easy to navigate. I also spent time organizing the content and styling different sections so they would have a consistent appearance across the site.

I am most proud of creating a website that represents me as an AI developer and software developer. The projects section highlights my work, and the overall design reflects my interests in technology, artificial intelligence, and science.

To test the project, simply visit the deployed website and navigate through the different sections. Visitors can view my projects, learn about my background, explore my skills and achievements, and use the contact section. The source code is available in the public repository, which includes a README explaining the project.

AI Usage: I used AI as a learning and assistance tool for brainstorming ideas, troubleshooting code, and improving content wording. The website design, structure, customization, and implementation were completed by me.

1 devlog
2h
Personal Site

Try project → See source code →

Open comments for this post

@Jason_Mloza on My own site! · about 1 month ago

1h 47m 13s logged

Building MY Personal Website

today i worked on building my personal website and improving it from scratch . It has now turned into what i can say my central hub of projects, achievements and journey as a developer.
This website is more tha just a portfolio it is a record of my growth as i continue building projects, participating in hackathons and developpoing my skills in AI, software development and technology.

Ship Changes requested

@Jason_Mloza on Alfred · about 2 months ago

What did you make?

I built Alfred, a personal AI assistant designed to run locally on your own machine. Alfred uses a FastAPI backend and local LLMs through Ollama to generate responses without depending entirely on cloud AI services.

The goal was to create an AI assistant that feels personal, customizable, and accessible while learning how modern AI systems work under the hood.

What was challenging?

The biggest challenges were connecting all the different parts together — building the backend API, integrating the local AI model, handling responses efficiently, and creating a smooth user experience.

Getting local models running on limited hardware was also challenging because performance depends heavily on available CPU/GPU resources.

What are you proud of?

I’m proud that I built Alfred from scratch and turned an idea into a working AI assistant. This project helped me learn more about APIs, AI models, backend development, and building complete applications.

Seeing Alfred respond and work as a real application has been one of my biggest milestones as a developer.

What should people know so they can test your project?

To test Alfred:

Clone the source code from GitHub.
Install the required dependencies.
Install Ollama and download a supported model.
Start the backend and frontend.
Open Alfred and start chatting.

Make sure your machine has enough resources to run a local LLM.

GitHub:
https://github.com/jasonmloza/Alfred

3 devlogs
2h

Try project → See source code →

Open comments for this post

@Jason_Mloza on Alfred · about 2 months ago

1h 4m 7s logged

Alfred is now alive. I built the React frontend, connected it to a FastAPI backend, and integrated Ollama for local AI inference. The assistant can now have conversations privately on my machine.

Open comments for this post

Reposted by @Jason_Mloza

@Jason_Mloza on Alfred · about 2 months ago

32m 42s logged

🧠 Alfred Devlog #2 — Giving My AI Assistant a Brain
Today I reached a major milestone with Alfred 🤖
When I started this project, the goal was to build my own AI assistant inspired by futuristic assistants like JARVIS — something that could understand conversations, help with tasks, and grow over time.
The biggest step this week was moving Alfred from an idea into a working AI system.
What I built:
✅ Built Alfred’s backend using FastAPI
✅ Integrated a local AI model using Ollama
✅ Created a /chat API endpoint for conversations
✅ Tested Alfred’s ability to receive messages and generate responses
✅ Cleaned up the GitHub repository and improved the project structure
Now Alfred can actually communicate:
User:

“Who are you?”

Alfred:

“I’m Alfred, your friendly and knowledgeable personal AI assistant…”

Seeing my own AI assistant respond through a system I built from scratch was honestly one of the coolest moments of this project.
How Alfred currently works:
User
↓
API Request
↓
FastAPI Backend
↓
Ollama AI Model
↓
Alfred Response
The next major step is building Alfred’s frontend interface — giving him a proper face and making the experience feel like a real assistant.
Future plans:

🎙️ Voice interaction

🧠 Memory system

🛠️ Tool integration

📱 Mobile companion app

⚡ More autonomous capabilities

This project is still evolving, but Alfred is officially alive. 🚀
#Stardance #HackClub #AI #Python

Open comments for this post

@Jason_Mloza on Alfred · about 2 months ago

32m 42s logged

“Who are you?”

Alfred:

“I’m Alfred, your friendly and knowledgeable personal AI assistant…”

🎙️ Voice interaction

🧠 Memory system

🛠️ Tool integration

📱 Mobile companion app

⚡ More autonomous capabilities

This project is still evolving, but Alfred is officially alive. 🚀
#Stardance #HackClub #AI #Python

Open comments for this post

@Jason_Mloza on Alfred · about 2 months ago

23m 30s logged

made good progress on Alfred, my AI assistant project.✅ Built the backend for Alfred.✅ Installed Ollama to run AI models locally.The next steps are:Install and connect a language model through Ollama.Integrate the model with Alfred’s backend.Polish the user interface.Build a mobile app so Alfred can be used on the go.My goal is to create an AI assistant that’s fast, private, and useful for everyday tasks. This is still an early version, but it’s exciting to see everything coming together.