Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

A good article on cognitive load. (Also, ponies!)

A good article on cognitive load.



(Also, ponies!)




Wrote a one-liner because I broke something and needed to know how fast the fixes were coming.

Wrote a one-liner because I broke something and needed to know how fast the fixes were coming.




iFixit has a Chromecast teardown, where it seems there's nothing fixable. Seems to be the trend.

iFixit has a Chromecast teardown, where it seems there's nothing fixable. Seems to be the trend.




My FitBit Ultra is showing signs of decay, so I'm thinking through what's next, and this is a good read...

My FitBit Ultra is showing signs of decay, so I'm thinking through what's next, and this is a good read to think through my next choice.




Ever wonder what "shaving yaks" looks like? http://i.minus.com/ibaDjk7AeIcvxv.gif

Ever wonder what "shaving yaks" looks like?



http://i.minus.com/ibaDjk7AeIcvxv.gif




Damian Conway on Perl at OSCON 2013

Damian Conway on Perl at OSCON 2013




Friday, July 26, 2013

The "problem" I have w/ Pi carputers is how to store the data and get it out to the world where it can...

The "problem" I have w/ Pi carputers is how to store the data and get it out to the world where it can be useful.



The problem I have w/ Pi carputers is I don't own a Pi yet.




The more scary thing would be them doing this to a cat straight off the lot, but still, everything can...

The more scary thing would be them doing this to a cat straight off the lot, but still, everything can be hacked.




Thursday, July 25, 2013

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Know the diff between the right and left brake lever? So do I. Now.

Know the diff between the right and left brake lever?



So do I.



Now.




It's kind of an obvious jump. The necks have been done by CNC rather than people, by and large, since...

It's kind of an obvious jump. The necks have been done by CNC rather than people, by and large, since the 1990s, which means you can have a neck that's got the same profile and radius as Clapton's Blackie or Stevie's #1, and crank 'em out by the hundred instead of lucking into them.



But beyond "Hey cool! honeycomb Tele!", you get uniformity. 200 "identical" Strat bodies from 200 different alder trees might give you 200 different tones and resonances, with some sounding better to you than others, but you burn off 200 different Strat bodies out of thermoplastics, they're going to be about as the same as you can get.



Plus, you can get strength-to-weight with internal honeycombing that makes 3D printing not just good for rapid prototyping, but showing the characteristics you want for production.




Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Monday, July 22, 2013

Seems like there are some geeks that live on the edge around here!

Seems like there are some geeks that live on the edge around here!




+Spencer Julian's Christmas lights

+Spencer Julian 's Christmas lights




It is easy for me to track my running/walking and biking, but my other gym activities are not nearly...

It is easy for me to track my running/walking and biking, but my other gym activities are not nearly so easily tracked by smartphone and FitBit.



So, as I want to quantify/track these things so I can document progress and keep myself motivated, what's a good app for this? Should I just make a Google Drive spreadsheet?




Altruistic pitch: It's a good cause. Everyone should get a chance to learn to develop with an Arduino...

Altruistic pitch: It's a good cause. Everyone should get a chance to learn to develop with an Arduino.



Greedy Pitch: If y'all get it up to $60,000, I get two breadboard kits to go with the two boards I'm getting.




Sunday, July 21, 2013

Yesterday I visited a friend who works for a defense contractor. I told him about the "Speed Enforced...

Yesterday I visited a friend who works for a defense contractor. I told him about the "Speed Enforced By Drones" thing and how I thought it was a no-brainer.



He wasn't in to explain that his company had drones that could di that.




Friday, July 19, 2013

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

It takes courage! No to be sleeping on the rotor but to take the picture standing on the blade

It takes courage!

No to be sleeping on the rotor but to take the picture standing on the blade




Chicago.pm is considering a one-day Perl workshop. I'm somewhat interested, depending on the agenda. ...

Chicago.pm is considering a one-day Perl workshop. I'm somewhat interested, depending on the agenda. The idea of hitting Chicago on a weekday isn't my fave thing, but there are worse things.



#perlworkshop




I know Matt can't make it this weekend to work on the 3D printer. [Enjoy Seattle, slacker. B) ] Is there...

I know Matt can't make it this weekend to work on the 3D printer. [Enjoy Seattle, slacker. B) ] Is there any interest in opening up GLC on Sat or Sun for another Open Hack Day?




Monday, July 15, 2013

My wifi card had come and been installed into my laptop. Will test for wifi as soon as it reboots.

My wifi card had come and been installed into my laptop. Will test for wifi as soon as it reboots.




Machine learning techniques are being applied to precision farming.

Machine learning techniques are being applied to precision farming.




Perl library that calls to xscreensaver-command to tell if the screen is locked. If the screen is locked...

Perl library that calls to xscreensaver-command to tell if the screen is locked. If the screen is locked, I'm not at my desk, so the kind of stuff I like to run when I'm at my desk (camera stuff, giving me messages via Festival) doesn't run. #perl




This lamp is not the way I'd build mine, but it certainly is a push toward making a computer-controlled...

This lamp is not the way I'd build mine, but it certainly is a push toward making a computer-controlled lamp, which, as we all know, is a big thing for me.




Sunday, July 14, 2013

My script to turn the TCM schedule into an iCal does work. Which means I should work at making it handle...

My script to turn the TCM schedule into an iCal does work. Which means I should work at making it handle the midnight-to-6am slot where the schedule says tomorrow is today.




We're considering LTL t-shirts. I of course think we should make our own.

We're considering LTL t-shirts. I of course think we should make our own.




Friday, July 12, 2013

Thursday, July 11, 2013

You can make calls from Hangouts! Yay! You have to know the number, even if the number is in the profile...

You can make calls from Hangouts! Yay!



You have to know the number, even if the number is in the profile of the person in the Hangout bar. Boo!




Saturday, July 6, 2013

Wrote some Perl to parse the Turner Classic Movies schedule. My idea is that I could put into iCal or...

Wrote some Perl to parse the Turner Classic Movies schedule. My idea is that I could put into iCal or something, so I can import the schedule into my Google Calendar.



Biggest issue is that it seems that TCM sees the day as starting at 6am, not at midnight. Reasonable, I guess, but it makes the conversion weird. Nothing I can't work around, but certainly worth noting before I proceed.



I've now looked at iCal and brought out the RFC. It strikes me that the protocol looks way pre-XML, much less JSON. I'm surprised there's no generator module in CPAN, only parsers.




So, what do we think about 1-5pm tomorrow for a hack time?

So, what do we think about 1-5pm tomorrow for a hack time?




Friday, July 5, 2013

Wednesday, July 3, 2013