Monday, December 22, 2014

Random Seasonal Wisdom http://ift.tt/1zW7Opd

Random Seasonal Wisdom



http://ift.tt/1zW7Opd




I referred to my PalmIII as "my computer's prehensile tail" because it mostly served as a screen for...

I referred to my PalmIII as "my computer's prehensile tail" because it mostly served as a screen for stuff my computer put on it, with no independent computing of it's own.



As I dealt with mobile computation after, through the Visor and iPaq and such, they were more and more their own device and less and less an appendage to my bigger computer.



Now, I have a bunch of stuff I downloaded with my phone that I want to put on my laptop, and I'm finding I can't mount my phone like a thumb drive like I had previously. Trying to figure everything out to do so with MTP now. If only I could program it on it (Tasker, IFTTT to the contrary), it'd be it's own device now.




Friday, December 19, 2014

Monday, December 15, 2014

What I got done: Pickup mounted to body Pickup wired to the jack Quick-grounded the bridge What I didn't...

What I got done:

Pickup mounted to body

Pickup wired to the jack

Quick-grounded the bridge



What I didn't get done:

Move the neck so the high E doesn't fall off the fretboard



I'm happy with today's progress. 




I've loved the original since Rumour and Sigh came out. I think this song is immune to bad versions,...

I've loved the original since Rumour and Sigh came out. I think this song is immune to bad versions, but this is especially good.




Is there a guitarist in your life? Thinking of getting them strings as a stocking stuffer? Here's a ...

Is there a guitarist in your life? Thinking of getting them strings as a stocking stuffer? Here's a guide.




I'm a guitarist who owns a violin (notice how I didn't say I play one), and I found this channel searching...

I'm a guitarist who owns a violin (notice how I didn't say I play one), and I found this channel searching for pickup information, but this video gives the solution to the "how do classical violinists sound like they have infinite sustain?" question I've had for years.




Saturday, December 6, 2014

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Everything I'd need to know to make a cocked-wah pedal. Which I kinda wanna do.

Everything I'd need to know to make a cocked-wah pedal. Which I kinda wanna do.




This enclosure, pre-drilled with four holes on top and two in the back,, could very well be the enclosure...

This enclosure, pre-drilled with four holes on top and two in the back,, could very well be the enclosure for an on-the floor Atari Punk Console. On/Off, volume, control 1, control 2, power in, signal out. Needs to happen.




That's a gear review you can trust

That's a gear review you can trust




Monday, December 1, 2014

A bit of motivation. h/t +*****​

A bit of motivation. h/t +*****​




Over at the 21B hackerspace in Fullerton, CA, [Dano] had an interesting idea. He took a zip tie, and...

Over at the 21B hackerspace in Fullerton, CA, [Dano] had an interesting idea. He took a zip tie, and trimmed it to have the same profile of a lock pick. It worked. Not well, mind you, but it worked. After a few uses, the pick disintegrated, but still the…




I remember a guitar mailing list in the 1980s, back in the early days of the internet. Guy was talking...

I remember a guitar mailing list in the 1980s, back in the early days of the internet. Guy was talking about playing a show, and when he was doing sound check, the engineer said "your stack is louder than the PA". I forget if he said "thank you" or "you're welcome", but that's the Bassman or Stack mindset he's talking about.



I use an EHX LPB-1 for the use he talks about using the OD-3 for, giving the amp more without adding grit or playing with frequencies. Great stuff to think about. 




Forgot to put the nearly fully assembled pedalboard up. Got the wah in, which I thought I couldn't do...

Forgot to put the nearly fully assembled pedalboard up. Got the wah in, which I thought I couldn't do.



Thanks to +Jeremy Glasgow ​ for getting the plugs into the holes and fixing the soldering, so I have the A/B switch first thing.



The gap in the lower corner? That'll be for the delay pedal.




This is me, starting with my Movember growth. (I prefer to think of it as Macho Beard Growing Month,...

This is me, starting with my Movember growth. (I prefer to think of it as Macho Beard Growing Month, or MaBeGroMo.) I thought the white hair of my chin beard aged me, so I trimmed down to mustache and soul patch. After consultation, I decided to go clean-shaven.



But I might, at any point, decide to go back to the handlebar.




My Telecaster body and the license plate I'm going to turn into a control plate/pickguard. Bridge is...

My Telecaster body and the license plate I'm going to turn into a control plate/pickguard. Bridge is on, ferrules are in, and I need to get a neck for it.




#Productivity for the win!

#Productivity for the win!




Pictured: Two treble bleed circuits in the making, plus some spares.

Pictured: Two treble bleed circuits in the making, plus some spares.




That's an Arduino ethernet shield for $35, and more. Next time you're looking for shields and stuff,...

That's an Arduino ethernet shield for $35, and more. Next time you're looking for shields and stuff, think Lafayette Electronic Supply.




Is "multimeter" pronounced "multi-meter" or "mul-teh-met-er"? Or some other way?

Is "multimeter" pronounced "multi-meter" or "mul-teh-met-er"? Or some other way?




Sunday, November 30, 2014

I have a new Tele body, pre-relic'd. I have a six-saddle bridge. I have six ferrules, which hold the...

I have a new Tele body, pre-relic'd. I have a six-saddle bridge. I have six ferrules, which hold the ends of the strings on string-through designs.



I tried to install a spare neck I had floating around, but it was slightly too wide for the pocket and was Strat-style, which means it has a curve where it meets the body in the pocket, while Teles are square there.



I pulled the neck off my HH Tele, and it fit the pocket perfectly, but the screw holes are a quarter-inch off, and I'd have to drill holes in the neck to handle it, which I'm not willing to do right now.



My goals for tomorrow's hack time are:



* Pull apart and re-assemble my pedalboard in preparation for the coming DigiDelay (ships Dec 10, I'm told). Big changes are volume pedal before distortion and my signal pad last, to allow it to be drop-to-apartment-volume at home and kill-switch playing out.

* Drill three holes to allow the installation of the bridge on the new Tele body, and use a soldering iron and a little brute force to get the ferrules into the body.

* Try to decide what to do about control plates and pickguards on this guitar. I have an old license plate I'm planning on using, a bit like a Thinline Tele pickguard, but then I'd have to cut off "Indiana" or flip it upside down, and neither is something I want to do.

* Take pictures of this work.

* Test cables and tag ones that need work. If possible, fix bad cables.

* Since I'll need my guitar and amp to test the pedal order and cables, I'll set up and test a "treble bleed" circuit, which allows you to turn the volume down without losing the high end. It's a .002 capacitor and 100k resistor soldered to the first two lugs of the volume pot. We'll see how much of a difference it makes.




Saturday, November 29, 2014

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Troy Grady put out some videos years ago about Cracking The Code, which was about finding the reasons...

Troy Grady put out some videos years ago about Cracking The Code, which was about finding the reasons why fast guitar playing is rare and difficult compared to, for example, piano or violin.



The new Cracking the Code is in a new format on YouTube, and it's great. The old Cracking the Code, however, had shots of the picking hands of great fast players -Tommy Emmanuel. Michael Angelo Batio. Mike Stern. Rusty Cooley. Albert Lee. -taken from a camera clamped to the neck between the picking hand and the fretting hand.



Now, you can film your own playing like he filmed the above masters plus others, with the Magnet. Or will soon, as it's a Kickstarter.



I love this idea more than most I've pushed.




Rules for Robots: Rule #64 - Robots are prohibited from taking part in all sports except for jai alai...

Rules for Robots:



Rule #64 - Robots are prohibited from taking part in all sports except for jai alai.



Rule #64a - If robots ever figure out the rules to jai alai, they must immediately explain them to the rest of us, because the sport makes no damn sense at all.




"Consumer electronics magazine from 1954 to 1982 - Complete Collection." http://ift.tt/1v2TQNJ...

"Consumer electronics magazine from 1954 to 1982 - Complete Collection."

http://ift.tt/1zO81Zs




Monday, November 24, 2014

Saturday, November 22, 2014

+Chuck Schwarz, what's going on with the filament? Instead of a spool on the rack, I'm seeing black ...

+Chuck Schwarz , what's going on with the filament? Instead of a spool on the rack, I'm seeing black ABS trailing down into the soldering tile drawer. I see a kink in the line, and looks like your print got about halfway done.




Thursday, November 20, 2014

Gives me ideas, but I need materials and time to do something with those ideas....

Gives me ideas, but I need materials and time to do something with those ideas....




Reminded of a story I heard but don't know as true. Operation Eagle Claw was planned by a group in the...

Reminded of a story I heard but don't know as true. Operation Eagle Claw was planned by a group in the Defense Department that went by a name something "Defense Intelligence Service for Covert Operations". And, as we know, it went south, so, if you were in the Pentagon with a DISCO SUCKS! bumper sticker on your car, there was a good chance you weren't referring to music.




Was wondering how to do that. Looks like I have another project.

Was wondering how to do that. Looks like I have another project.




Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Was wondering how to do that. Looks like I have another project.

Was wondering how to do that. Looks like I have another project.




My Net::SMTP::TLS code worked with a modification to IO::Socket::SSL. My Net::Twitter code worked without...

My Net::SMTP::TLS code worked with a modification to IO::Socket::SSL.



My Net::Twitter code worked without the modification to IO::Socket::SSL.



So, I could either tweet or send email.



So, I installed Task::Kensho::Email and rewrote my mail code. Simple.



#Perl




Chicago Music Exchange is giving away Death By Audio pedals

Chicago Music Exchange is giving away Death By Audio pedals




Seems like a trip to Lafayette Electronic Supply and an Open Hack Day (so Graham can come) to make the...

Seems like a trip to Lafayette Electronic Supply and an Open Hack Day (so Graham can come) to make the second best treble bleed and put it into some instruments.




Sounds like spending a few bucks at

Sounds like spending a few bucks at 




Tuesday, November 18, 2014

You never feel alone. You're really not alone... Always liked Son Volt over Wilco and any friendships...

You never feel alone. You're really not alone...



Always liked Son Volt over Wilco and any friendships I'd lose over that weren't worth having.




I stole licks from this and there are more to steal. Best version of a great song. Also a great Creston...

I stole licks from this and there are more to steal. Best version of a great song.



Also a great Creston guitar being played.




Monday, November 17, 2014

Today, I received an enclosure, a (slightly wrong) DPDT footswitch and three 1/4" jacks from Mammoth...

Today, I received an enclosure, a (slightly wrong) DPDT footswitch and three 1/4" jacks from Mammoth Electronics, which I combined with a schematic from +Instructables ​ to make an A/B switch. Often, people use them to switch between two amplifiers, but I intend to use it for dual inputs and occasionally a kill switch.



+Jeremy Glasgow ​ has the enclosure, which he will professionally drill out for me. Thank you for that. The success of this is drawing out my desire to finish the Atari Punk Console, perhaps with a cool enclosure for it.




Wednesday, November 12, 2014

I have a shopping cart at Mammoth Electronics. It contains three 1/4" jacks, a DPDT footswitch and ...

I have a shopping cart at Mammoth Electronics.



It contains three 1/4" jacks, a DPDT footswitch and a small enclosure. All I need to make an AB box to put at the front of my pedalboard.



All for ~$12 w/ shipping.



I should click "send" already.



http://ift.tt/1pDHQ3R




I loved this album as a teenager.

I loved this album as a teenager.




Thursday, November 6, 2014

Rats are nasty, diseased, have very shart claws and teeth, and are very protective of their pucker points...

Rats are nasty, diseased, have very shart claws and teeth, and are very protective of their pucker points, and collecting them is an involved and difficult process, so if you want my to sacrifice one of my hard-fought rats-asses, you have to show some hustle, son.




Squeeking ducks from another room.

Squeeking ducks from another room.




Design for Laser Cutting is 6pm tonight at +MatchBOX Coworking Studio. I'm jazzed for it. https://w...

Design for Laser Cutting is 6pm tonight at +MatchBOX Coworking Studio . I'm jazzed for it.



http://ift.tt/1xa4Zhz




Remember your days in ENAD? Take a moment. Reflect. Say your goodbyes. #RIPenad http://ift.tt/1xcWJhC...

Remember your days in ENAD? Take a moment. Reflect. Say your goodbyes. #RIPenad http://ift.tt/1xcWJhC




Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Eric, Derek and Warren. Great take. I think the Layla version is in F#m instead of Em to fit Duane's...

Eric, Derek and Warren. Great take. I think the Layla version is in F#m instead of Em to fit Duane's open-E running, after playing along on slide, but I could be wrong.



I think that LW can be a trap for shedding, because you can go for established patterns but it exposes you as an auto-pilot player. None of these players feel into that trap.




I always love a "Little Wing" version, and this as as good as any and better than most. The fourth ...

I always love a "Little Wing" version, and this as as good as any and better than most.



The fourth guy is Tony MacAlpine, and I've lived his playing longer than I've known Satch existed. Check out this Maximum Security album.




Free modded Soul Food? Germanium clipping? How can you say no?

Free modded Soul Food? Germanium clipping? How can you say no?




What I did at the soldering class.

What I did at the soldering class. 




Thursday, October 30, 2014

Remember talking to a Silicon Graphics guy about Linux on big computers. He talked about how there were...

Remember talking to a Silicon Graphics guy about Linux on big computers. He talked about how there were gaps in the otherwise sequential serial number listings because those went to an agency that didn't exist.



He said that even asking questions at vendor presentations can be a security breech, so he'd present and at the end, someone would ask, "Can you tell us about ... integers?" Then he'd go back, hit everything he could think of, go as far as he thought he could think, and then the question would be "Can you tell us more about ... integers?"



Don't know what brought that to mind, but it makes me laugh.




Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Pointed to this my Nick Rowe's talk at Reject.JS talk, where he couldn't get this video's audio to work...

Pointed to this my Nick Rowe's talk at Reject.JS talk, where he couldn't get this video's audio to work.




This is close to the way I'm wanting to set my life, but without getting into snark, I'd bet that this...

This is close to the way I'm wanting to set my

life, but without getting into snark, I'd bet that this person doesn't share his house with anyone, because setting the lights like this would be a hindrance on the life of anyone who doesn't share his exact schedule.



I like this, but it sounds like the first chapter of a smart-house-kills-owner techno-horror novel, written by someone who doesn't.



He just mentioned a girlfriend acceptance factor, suo that implies that it somehow works with others.



Anyway, I'd love to afford his kit.




Sunday, October 26, 2014

Friday, October 24, 2014

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Don't stare! Today, the moon will pass in front of the sun, off-center, producing a partial solar eclipse...

Don't stare! Today, the moon will pass in front of the sun, off-center, producing a partial solar eclipse visible in most of the United States. Remember, never look directly at the sun! Watch and learn more.




http://ift.tt/ZkA1qa

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Should I declare an open-hack day (partially focused on repairing the heating element on the Solidoodle...

Should I declare an open-hack day (partially focused on repairing the heating element on the Solidoodle) for Saturday?




Thinking of Empire Strikes Back, and thinking it doesn't make sense. If US is Empire, then Bush or ...

Thinking of Empire Strikes Back, and thinking it doesn't make sense.



If US is Empire, then Bush or Obama is the Emperor, and thus Vader is somewhere between Chief of Staff, Secretary of Defense, National Security Advisor. Death can rain down from the skies on his whim.



And we're supposed to be impressed that Boba Fett/Dog The Bounty Hunter got pulled into the story?




Preach it, Nick!

Preach it, Nick!




Monday, October 20, 2014

So, few of the long-time members of LTL showed up today. None of the RCAC contingent. Was it something...

So, few of the long-time members of LTL showed up today. None of the RCAC contingent. Was it something I said?



One thing I will say is thank you to +Jeremy Glasgow for fixing my cable. I'll have to work on or replace those 1' patch cables one of these days. How would I have bent the tips of 1/4" cables, anyway?




Nile Rodgers tells you all about playing funk guitar.

Nile Rodgers tells you all about playing funk guitar.




I have a CS3 that I never use because I have it set in "max-chicken-pickin'" with no attack and all ...

I have a CS3 that I never use because I have it set in "max-chicken-pickin'" with no attack and all sustain, and I find I rarely have use for that tone. Going to have to revisit it and find better settings. Thanks, Nick!




Friday, October 17, 2014

I've been saying for years that, when I was in CS, they changed the curriculum to make Statistics an...

I've been saying for years that, when I was in CS, they changed the curriculum to make Statistics an elective, and I felt at the time I was dodging a bullet, but now I feel I shot myself in the foot. This video makes me think I'm more in the dodge category again.




Have decided that the pronunciation of PostgreSQL is "post-Greyskull"

Have decided that the pronunciation of PostgreSQL is "post-Greyskull"




Will have to charge out my phone and try this some time.

Will have to charge out my phone and try this some time.




Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Testing Polls. The handlebar:

Testing Polls.



The handlebar:




Took +Chuck Schwarz's advice and set my TEDx Engineering Fountain spires upright. 550 layers and we'llsee...

Took +Chuck Schwarz 's advice and set my TEDx Engineering Fountain spires upright. 550 layers and we'llsee it done.




I present this post to remind you that personal opinion should not be mistaken for fact. The piece gets...

I present this post to remind you that personal opinion should not be mistaken for fact. The piece gets so much wrong about Ruby and Perl that it leaves me wondering whether Flash, Visual Basic.NET, or even Delphi might be doing better than I thought.




#truth

Friday, October 10, 2014

The Frustration of Dealing with Users This woman -- in honor of anonymity and cryptographic protocols...

The Frustration of Dealing with Users

This woman -- in honor of anonymity and cryptographic protocols, we'll call her Alice -- working on a startup has a problem. She has changes she wants to make in her website and she has no developer. She had contracted with a international developer, but th...




$5 ethernet chips for Arduino projects. The price is right.

$5 ethernet chips for Arduino projects. The price is right.




Monday, October 6, 2014

Friday, September 19, 2014

Can I interest you in an Orange Julius? :-) It wouldn't print at 0.1mm, because the model is pretty...

Can I interest you in an Orange Julius? :-)



It wouldn't print at 0.1mm, because the model is pretty detailed, so when it finished slicing (after over an hour), Repetier choked on the huge blob of gcode and threw an "out of memory" error. So this one's printed at 0.3mm (with support material that broke off the finished part pretty cleanly). Silver lining: While I was waiting for it to slice, I rigged up a better way to capture pictures at the end of a print. 




Friday, September 12, 2014

Thank you, Dave Rolsky, for handling DateTime so I don't have to!

Thank you, Dave Rolsky, for handling DateTime so I don't have to!




Leveraging the Forecast.io API A while ago, I got an API key for Forecast.io , with the intention of...

Leveraging the Forecast.io API

A while ago, I got an API key for Forecast.io , with the intention of writing something that takes a look at the day to say whether I could bike to work without getting weathered on. I have not written that, and I certainly haven't started biking to work on...




Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Greater Lafayette Information Technology Society (GLITS) is hosting Swift Fuels to talk about their...

The Greater Lafayette Information Technology Society (GLITS) is hosting Swift Fuels to talk about their R&D on fuel cells and renewable fuels. Not really IT, but it sounds right up our alley.



Tues, Sept 25 in Puccini's on the Levee. Food and refreshing beverages are available. Meet and greet at 5:30pm, presentation at 6. Should be neat.




Auto-awesome'd shot of a streetlight on when I left work last night.

Auto-awesome'd shot of a streetlight on when I left work last night.




Monday, September 8, 2014

Get a closer look at what happens when someone gets "Swatted".

Get a closer look at what happens when someone gets "Swatted".




"Any successful tool, software or otherwise, has a tendency to be progressively put to uses unintended...

"Any successful tool, software or otherwise, has a tendency to be progressively put to uses unintended by its original designers — until it breaks." -- Christoph Kohlhepp



http://ift.tt/1BnwvtD




Thursday, September 4, 2014

Google Cars not ready yet. This has been waiting in my tabs for me to finish. I think many of the issues...

Google Cars not ready yet.



This has been waiting in my tabs for me to finish. I think many of the issues will come, but some will be really hard. The networked nature of Google will mean that, should one car hit a problem area, the others will avoid it, but some of the other problems, like distinguishing a traffic cop and deciphering his hand signals, seem hard.




Friday, August 29, 2014

I always said that reading social cues is the ultimate use for Glass. Just that I always figured it'd...

I always said that reading social cues is the ultimate use for Glass. Just that I always figured it'd take a more creepy stalker direction.




Tuesday, August 26, 2014

If ANYONE knows, it's folks on G+. FAT32 sucks! Specifically, I want a file system that handles unicode...

If ANYONE knows, it's folks on G+.



FAT32 sucks! Specifically, I want a file system that handles unicode file names and can move files between Linux and Windows. Seems like a duh, but also seems like, if something exists, everyone I know would talk about it. Help?




Friday, August 22, 2014

In a way (except for the years in the exposition), Blade Runner: Origins. And as such, I NEED TO SEE...

In a way (except for the years in the exposition), Blade Runner: Origins. And as such, I NEED TO SEE THIS!




Can we see into the infrared spectrum just by changing diet? I've been saying "All science is computer...

Can we see into the infrared spectrum just by changing diet?



I've been saying "All science is computer science, essentially complexity science, because if you could do it without computers, it'd have been done by now." I guess I was wrong.




Thursday, August 21, 2014

Monday, August 18, 2014

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Missed a detail. Watch the scene after they bust Slimer, where Peter is talking to the hotel manager...

Missed a detail.



Watch the scene after they bust Slimer, where Peter is talking to the hotel manager. Look for Peter looking to Egon. Peter is talking, but he's getting the prices from Egon.



Also, when Ray gets pushed forward to deal with Gozer, Peter says "Get her", as retribution for Ray yelling "Get her" in the library.



Great movie, good review.




Saturday, August 16, 2014

River Wins!

River Wins!




+Robin Gingerich, would I be right to guess that the middle of Ft Wayne Regional Maker Faire might be...

+Robin Gingerich , would I be right to guess that the middle of Ft Wayne Regional Maker Faire might be just the wrong time to come talk to you about what you do and how you're organized?




I disagree with the thought that coding/programming == computer science, but beyond that, I do agree...

I disagree with the thought that coding/programming == computer science, but beyond that, I do agree.




Good talk on the use of Quantified Self data.

Good talk on the use of Quantified Self data.




The bench was of standing-desk height, but the monitor was still too low, so I improvised.

The bench was of standing-desk height, but the monitor was still too low, so I improvised.




Thursday, August 14, 2014

Monday, August 11, 2014

Jimmy DiResta always makes it look so easy. Even when he hits a problem and has to fix it, it looks ...

Jimmy DiResta always makes it look so easy. Even when he hits a problem and has to fix it, it looks like he meant to do that.




It could just be me, I need to experience more of his canon, but I couldn't tell you this wasn't a Scott...

It could just be me, I need to experience more of his canon, but I couldn't tell you this wasn't a Scott Joplin original just by listening.




Found this through an Atlantic piece on computer-generated music. The article complained about the dynamics...

Found this through an Atlantic piece on computer-generated music. The article complained about the dynamics, and sure, Bill Evans would never be that heavy-handed, but the audio samples would be much improved by putting the generated MIDI through a better piano patch.



And I think the Monk was nearly un-Monk-like, but that could just be me.




Monday, August 4, 2014

Think we need to hit it with more aqua net.

Think we need to hit it with more aqua net.






I get why I was wrong. Re: Database WTF In a line, date_time NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE...

I get why I was wrong. Re: Database WTF

In a line, date_time NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP . Specifically, ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP . I did not want that. I wanted to default to current timestamp, but I didn't want it to change. Well, in one case, I think. Not ...




Tried changing other values, and got same result. Rethinking table structure.

Tried changing other values, and got same result. Rethinking table structure.




A Database WTF Database table exists, and has three columns worth mentioning: run_id - the key to the...

A Database WTF

Database table exists, and has three columns worth mentioning: run_id - the key to the table date_time - timestamp created on row creation ack_error - a boolean set to determine if errors are silenced. This is my test code. It includes some functions I impo...




Wednesday, July 30, 2014

"Just" is like "A small matter of programming". Someone knows it'd be a big chunk of work, a substantial...

"Just" is like "A small matter of programming". Someone knows it'd be a big chunk of work, a substantial time sink, but is handwaving it.




It's never too late

It's never too late




"Do you enjoy reinventing yourself every few years? Are you comfortable in an environment where people...

"Do you enjoy reinventing yourself every few years? Are you comfortable in an environment where people 20 years younger than you are your technical peers? Is the idea of true, lifelong learning exciting, or is it exhausting? If not, then a lifetime spent programming is perhaps not for you."




The first Doctor

The first Doctor




Wrists annoying me. Re-purposed demo trackpad stand pieces as keyboard stand to get it better ergonomic...

Wrists annoying me. Re-purposed demo trackpad stand pieces as keyboard stand to get it better ergonomic angle.




6 Stages of debugging

6 Stages of debugging




6 Stages of debugging

6 Stages of debugging




Sunday, July 27, 2014

Ideas for either a home printer, or possible a #2 printer for LTL. http://ift.tt/1kife0W...

Ideas for either a home printer, or possible a #2 printer for LTL.



http://ift.tt/1pl9n9T




Taking apart printers to salvage their motors and rods is a common occurrence in hacker circles, but...

Taking apart printers to salvage their motors and rods is a common occurrence in hacker circles, but how about salvaging the electronics? A lot of printers come with WiFi modules, and these can be repurposed as USB WiFi dongles. Tools required? And old…




Yesterday, astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Earth showing Italy at night from the International...

Yesterday, astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Earth showing Italy at night from the International Space Station tweeting "I looked on in awe and was rendered speechless by so much beauty."



The Expedition 40 crew has been hard at work 260 miles above us in the floating laboratory. They set a new record for #ISS research completed in a week -- 82 hours -- this past week.



Image credit: NASA

#nasa #italy #earth #spacestation #exp40 #iss










Saturday, July 26, 2014

2014 Body Goals - Status Report Just because I haven't been writing about my goals doesn't mean I've...

2014 Body Goals - Status Report

Just because I haven't been writing about my goals doesn't mean I've forgotten them. In fact, a week ago, I participated in Zoo Run Run, a 5K around Columbian Park to benefit the Columbian Park Zoo, and my time was 34:12, which put me well past my goal for ...




There is a 15' tall 3D printer in Goshen, IN. I think we need to do a road trip.

There is a 15' tall 3D printer in Goshen, IN. I think we need to do a road trip.




Wednesday, July 23, 2014

The 70s were a golden age for a certain type of science fiction, and this really hits it. Think I need...

The 70s were a golden age for a certain type of science fiction, and this really hits it. Think I need to see this.




Name Things Like You, or "Do you ever feel like an idiot?" I was preparing a talk on developing against...

Name Things Like You, or "Do you ever feel like an idiot?"

I was preparing a talk on developing against the FitBit API yesterday, which lead me to look at the FitBit website, and I found something called "Alertness Checker", which I didn't recognize. The others, like TicTrac and FaceBook and IFTTT, I did, but not "...




Monday, July 14, 2014

Found out about this track from Jerry Seinfeld talking to Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner on "Comedians In...

Found out about this track from Jerry Seinfeld talking to Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner on "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee". I've seen the original movie several times and the musical once. Not so sure I would've recognized this if I didn't know the name.




Friday, July 11, 2014

Happy 158th birthday to Nikola Tesla! One of history's most prominent inventors, Tesla believed invention...

Happy 158th birthday to Nikola Tesla! One of history's most prominent inventors, Tesla believed invention is humanity's greatest product.




Lafayettech Labs member +Andrew Angellotti in WLFI. Congrats and good luck.

Lafayettech Labs member +Andrew Angellotti in WLFI. Congrats and good luck.




Just saw +Andrew Angellotti and Spingarage on WLFI. Coolness.

Just saw +Andrew Angellotti and Spingarage on WLFI. Coolness.




Usain Bolt knows what it's all about.

Usain Bolt knows what it's all about.




aka "Night of the Living Rednecks" from Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. I use it as an example...

aka "Night of the Living Rednecks" from Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. I use it as an example of what to do when you break a string. (http://ift.tt/1r44AN8) Also, proves that Portland wasn't always Portlandia.




Love this. Where did you get the camera mount? Did you 3D-print it? If so, is it on Thingiverse?

Love this. Where did you get the camera mount? Did you 3D-print it? If so, is it on Thingiverse?




Thursday, July 10, 2014

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Question about versioning with Perl modules My main two languages are Perl and Javascript, and I've ...

Question about versioning with Perl modules

My main two languages are Perl and Javascript, and I've been coding them here for several years. This means that I have a body of code I'm perpetually updating and maintaining old code. And, while I am shamed to admit this, I test in production, I dev in pr...




Question about versioning with Perl modules My main two languages are Perl and Javascript, and I've ...

Question about versioning with Perl modules

My main two languages are Perl and Javascript, and I've been coding them here for several years. This means that I have a body of code I'm perpetually updating and maintaining old code. And, while I am shamed to admit this, I test in production, I dev in pr...




Monday, July 7, 2014

The tuning pegs and strap pin are drilled and in. Now need to drill and taper the bridge pin holes and...

The tuning pegs and strap pin are drilled and in. Now need to drill and taper the bridge pin holes and glue the nut and I'll have an instrument.




Check out this amazing trailer for Luc Besson's upcoming film Lucy. Watch it for some serious butt kicking...

Check out this amazing trailer for Luc Besson's upcoming film Lucy. Watch it for some serious butt kicking by Scarlett Johansson.




Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Put my FitBit steps into a heatmap. Red days are really good days. First week of white is when I lost...

Put my FitBit steps into a heatmap. Red days are really good days.



First week of white is when I lost my Ultra and waited for them to send me a new one.



The three weeks in 2013 is when it stopped working and I wasn't watching the output to know, after which I wrote code to tell me n days without a sync and battery != "high".



What I see, beyond that, is that I don't do much of anything on weekends. Need to do something about that.




Friday, June 13, 2014

So, 1 out of 10_000 times a page is used, they might need to change this variable. It should only have...

So, 1 out of 10_000 times a page is used, they might need to change this variable. It should only have one of n allowed values, so I'm using a SELECT.



As a developer, the easiest way is to pull all the values it could be out of the database, pass them to the template, make them OPTIONs in the SELECT, and go from there.



It makes slightly more sense to make an AJAX thing and fill it after page load, so that the IO of getting that list out of the database won't delay the page any.



The coolest would be to trigger the filling of the SELECT when the user wants it, not on page load.



But I have the mechanism to make the first one go now, so I'll go with the first.




"88p – Our Skulls Didn’t Evolve to be Punched" http://ift.tt/1qFVTVL It's my understanding that...

"88p – Our Skulls Didn’t Evolve to be Punched" http://ift.tt/1qFVTVL



It's my understanding that bare knuckle boxing was mostly busy blows, and that it became much more dangerous with concussions when gloves meant that you wouldn't break the delicate bones in your hands with hits to the solid bone of the skull.




Monday, June 9, 2014

"Pale Blue Eyes" at the Opry.

"Pale Blue Eyes" at the Opry.




Maybe one day they'll see it how we see it. Maybe not.

Maybe one day they'll see it how we see it. Maybe not.






Exercise Before Work Not meaning as a rule. "Exercise takes priority over coding." My goodness that ...

Exercise Before Work

Not meaning as a rule. "Exercise takes priority over coding." My goodness that is so not me. Rather, today, I went to the CoRec and ran this morning, showered and went to work. Normally, I lay in bed watching YouTube videos for the extra hour. I hate to eng...




Got 3/4 of my steps in, then another ~1500 walking to the office. # Might have to run before work every...

Got 3/4 of my steps in, then another ~1500 walking to the office. # Might have to run before work every day.




Thursday, June 5, 2014

Football players are getting heavier and taller. I get it. When part of point is to hit and knock people...

Football players are getting heavier and taller. I get it. When part of point is to hit and knock people down, having bulk helps. Getting hit with a paperclip at 30 mph is different than being hit by a semi truck at 30mph.



What I find interesting is that, if you're 6'4" and 240 lbs, or 6'4" and 310 lbs, the league has a place for you, but if you're 6'4" and 280 lbs, it doesn't. Too heavy to be fast, too light to stop others? It'd be good to see more about the data....




Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Maria Menounos shares steps on how she lost weight and kept it off! http://bit.ly/1rJ9hNi Her new book...

Maria Menounos shares steps on how she lost weight and kept it off! http://bit.ly/1rJ9hNi



Her new book The EveryGirl’s Guide to Diet & Fitness is out today, and she names Fitbit as one of her faves. #EveryGirlsGuide http://bit.ly/1mElyzr




I'm seeing lots of prints start, nothing finish, but the last one was about 15 minutes ago. To me, ...

I'm seeing lots of prints start, nothing finish, but the last one was about 15 minutes ago.



To me, that means that a real job has started, which is good, or that something's being worked on and the solution is being looked for, which is good.




Monday, June 2, 2014

Friday, May 30, 2014

So, this is our Solidoodle, trying to print layer upon layer of nothing. That is not a good thing. ...

So, this is our Solidoodle, trying to print layer upon layer of nothing. That is not a good thing.



I shut it down soon after this.




Thursday, May 22, 2014

Will likely show up on Saturday afternoon to iterate on the Bluetooth earpiece, and maybe try to make...

Will likely show up on Saturday afternoon to iterate on the Bluetooth earpiece, and maybe try to make my Arduino and Raspberry Pi talk to each other via MQTT.



Will be at GLOSSY in Sunday 2-4 at Star City, and if y'all wanna show up, that's be cool of you. If after, you want to follow me to GLC for some Open Hack, even better.



Might show up early on Monday. Might not. Remains to be seen.




Pictures from (mostly) the route of the Purdue Spring Fling fitness walk.

Pictures from (mostly) the route of the Purdue Spring Fling fitness walk.




Damn right

Damn right 




Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Voltage Regulator Earrings #WearableWednesday http://ift.tt/1m56iZT Lenore from Evil Mad Scientist...

Voltage Regulator Earrings #WearableWednesday

http://ift.tt/1m56iZT



Lenore from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories shows off her voltage regulator + Phillips screw earrings last weekend at Maker Faire, photo by Jim St. Leger.



Read More

http://ift.tt/1m56iZT




Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Stopped by to start up another pass on Kerry's Bluetooth thing, and found an octopus head being printed...

Stopped by to start up another pass on Kerry's Bluetooth thing, and found an octopus head being printed. Sean was mesmerized.



Interested in an Open Hack on Saturday? Early Hack on Monday? Pre-meeting Memorial Day cookout?




Sunday, May 18, 2014

Seriously, +Google Fiber, what will it take to get this in my house? Between this and +Google Glass,...

Seriously, +Google Fiber , what will it take to get this in my house? Between this and +Google Glass , you guys pretty much own my back account...



GIVE US THE PRECIOUS!!!




Friday, May 16, 2014

I'd like it if the curves were a bit more curved, but I'm liking this so far. I'll print, test, then...

I'd like it if the curves were a bit more curved, but I'm liking this so far. I'll print, test, then maybe print again in another color, then put on Thingiverse.




Is there interest for a Saturday Open Hack Day? I have to be scarce by 5pm, but I could open it up Noon...

Is there interest for a Saturday Open Hack Day? I have to be scarce by 5pm, but I could open it up Noon or 1?




Wednesday, May 14, 2014

I saw this and thought of +Chuck Schwarz. Heating the bed is always a concern, and if the power came...

I saw this and thought of +Chuck Schwarz . Heating the bed is always a concern, and if the power came elsewhere but the control went through the Solidoodle, I could see things heating up better.



I'm sure we could dig up a laptop power supply for this. Thoughts?




For my boys' high school, "computer education" was Photoshop and PowerPoint, and I was offended. I'm...

For my boys' high school, "computer education" was Photoshop and PowerPoint, and I was offended. I'm glad to see some real computing get into the core.




Pretty damn true! Check out more of Thom Holwerda's comics at http://ift.tt/1lzhgqe

Pretty damn true!



Check out more of Thom Holwerda's comics at http://ift.tt/1lzhgqe




Tuesday, May 13, 2014

I have it! I know what will I need to bend my LCD to! Add a LoDo and some magnets and make a name tag...

I have it! I know what will I need to bend my LCD to! Add a LoDo and some magnets and make a name tag! Top line says my name, second line switches between a few possibilities, like twitter handle and such.



I have a plan, and now need a LoDo and FTDI.




Thursday, May 8, 2014

Arduino: The Hard Way. A blog documenting my educational quest for programming Arduino, using C, under...

Arduino: The Hard Way.



A blog documenting my educational quest for programming Arduino, using C, under Linux, without a GUI...



Should be a VERY nice "For Dummies" for any Geek starting from NOTHING but basic Linux command-line knowledge and basically knowing how to get to the "hello-world" point on an "Intro to Arduino" book.




+Joe Kline passed me a link to the NVIDIA Jetson TK1, making me want one. Here's +Newegg TV with more...

+Joe Kline passed me a link to the NVIDIA Jetson TK1, making me want one. Here's +Newegg TV with more details, as I want one more.




Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Discover the market share of CMS and the hegemony of WordPress infographic made by : http://ift.tt/SbuOOV...

Discover the market share of CMS and the hegemony of WordPress



infographic made by : http://ift.tt/SbuOOV




+YouTube, if I have watched a video, why does it stay on my what to watch page? And, if I scrolled past...

+YouTube , if I have watched a video, why does it stay on my what to watch page? And, if I scrolled past a video on several consecutive days, why don't you know I'm telling you "No, I'm not going to watch that."?




Tuesday, April 29, 2014

I need to do more hangouts so I can figure out how to save them. I thought I saved the talks at MatchBOX...

I need to do more hangouts so I can figure out how to save them. I thought I saved the talks at MatchBOX on Saturday, but didn't.




Good shot of Derrick Kearney at #GLOSSY's Lightning-ish Talks on Saturday. Unfortunately, because of...

Good shot of Derrick Kearney at #GLOSSY's Lightning-ish Talks on Saturday. Unfortunately, because of Hangouts, it's reversed.




Monday, April 28, 2014

Two projects got done tonight. First, we finished the make-the-Solidoodle-tweet project. It tweets ...

Two projects got done tonight.



First, we finished the make-the-Solidoodle-tweet project. It tweets as @ltl_solidoodle.



Second, I have my Ethernet Cheerlights in working order. I had to grok Strings a bit, but it works. Next steps are redoing it with $5 eBay Ethernet modules and the LoDo, then making a nice housing for it.




The Solidoodle barfed again. I think we need to retweak the bed.

The Solidoodle barfed again. I think we need to retweak the bed.




http://ift.tt/1kmQ0uz

At Lafayettech Labs

At Lafayettech Labs




Remember, kids: LTL meets tonight! 7pm at GLC!

Remember, kids: LTL meets tonight! 7pm at GLC!




Started an LTL Github Organization. Will put the coming tweet-a-print script there, plus whatever org...

Started an LTL Github Organization. Will put the coming tweet-a-print script there, plus whatever org-specific code we end up having. Tell me and I'll set you up as members.




Sunday, April 27, 2014

Wondering how YouTube decides what to show me. I get why they don't make it public, but wonder when ...

Wondering how YouTube decides what to show me. I get why they don't make it public, but wonder when it'll say "I succeeded this video 20 times and he scrolled past several times; let's stop suggesting it and come up with something else."




Quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever seen.

Quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever seen.




All the Power of GitHub in Your Terminal GitHub command line tools made with NodeJS. --- Image / ...

All the Power of GitHub in Your Terminal



GitHub command line tools made with NodeJS.



---



Image / Source:

http://nodegh.io



Demo:

http://ift.tt/1h3Dqwp



GitHub / Download:

http://ift.tt/1cAzmoF



License:

BSD 3-Clause License

http://ift.tt/SqDBIx

http://ift.tt/1h3DnRo




In my feed today: Captain America fan art referencing Frozen, and Frozen fan art referencing Captain...

In my feed today: Captain America fan art referencing Frozen, and Frozen fan art referencing Captain America. I've seen neither movie.




Thursday, April 24, 2014

Think it would make sense to have a GitHub organization for LTL? Throw our tools' config files and such...

Think it would make sense to have a GitHub organization for LTL? Throw our tools' config files and such in there?




Got my Cheerlights with Ethernet working last night, to the tweaking point, and decided that 2am was...

Got my Cheerlights with Ethernet working last night, to the tweaking point, and decided that 2am was not the time to tweek if I wanted to be up in the morning. Plugged it direct to power this AM and it is not working. Need to go to work, so I can't figure out what's wrong.



Did find that the Arduino Ethernet library does DHCP with Ethernet.begin(mac), which returns 1 or 0 depending on connection. Perfect for an if statement. If ( connects ) { do it } else { blink_all_day }




Tuesday, April 22, 2014

I saw a post recently with an image saying something like: To edit the config file, type: vi ~/foo...

I saw a post recently with an image saying something like:



To edit the config file, type:



vi ~/foo/config.cnf



If you're an emacs user, type:



sudo apt-get remove emacs

vi ~/foo/config.cnf



I don't really begrudge emacs folk their choice of editors, but as a vi guy, I laugh. Anyone know where I can find it?




Monday, April 21, 2014

This is a Python library which allows me simple access to MySQL databases. I have a library that does...

This is a Python library which allows me simple access to MySQL databases.



I have a library that does much the same for #Perl, except that the database identifier we use is stored as $DB::Database, so if you want to have two databases open at the same time, you just can't. So, if I want to copy a table from DB 1 to DB2, for example, I use Python.



If you know me, you know I'm a Monger, so you know how painful that is for me.



So, I'm (finally) learning Moo, and I'm trying to reimplement mydb.py as a Perl module. Not seeing the equivalent of _init_, though. Any pointers? Is that something I need Moose for?




Citizens of Lafayette, Springtime will soon be here and it is time to spruce up OUR community. THIS...

Citizens of Lafayette,



Springtime will soon be here and it is time to spruce up OUR community. THIS was a hard winter and we have some extra cleanup to do. Our Clean Sweep event will be May 17, 2014 this year, but we need to get a jump start on making our community beautiful. A citizen contacted me a few weeks ago and was concerned about all the litter. The citizen has started a challenge on their Facebook page asking everyone to pick-up at least 5 pieces of litter a day. What a great idea! Working together we can make a real difference and with a great Clean Sweep event we should be in good shape by Memorial Day weekend. Will you join me in participating in and spreading this challenge on your Facebook page or Twitter account? Let’s make Lafayette Beautiful!



Mayor Tony Roswarski




Friday, April 18, 2014

Any interest in an Open Hack Day this weekend?

Any interest in an Open Hack Day this weekend?




The Graphics Interchange Format in Conversation For me, it's a solved issue. When the inventor of a ...

The Graphics Interchange Format in Conversation

For me, it's a solved issue. When the inventor of a thing says it's pronounced a way, I give that weight. Similarly: For me, it's a shibboleth . I have been involved in web development since 1996, and if you pronounce it "Gif" instead of "Jif", that's a sur...




Monday, April 14, 2014

The rules of Lafayettech Labs (From Spouses): 1) Don't talk about Geek Club 2) Seriously, don't talk...

The rules of Lafayettech Labs (From Spouses):



1) Don't talk about Geek Club

2) Seriously, don't talk about Geek Club




Краткая и достоверная история развития приборов ночного видения.

Краткая и достоверная история развития приборов ночного видения.




Borrowing +Jeremy Glasgow's Ethernet Shield. Have it set to get www.purdue.edu right now, but the next...

Borrowing +Jeremy Glasgow 's Ethernet Shield. Have it set to get www.purdue.edu right now, but the next step will be sending some environmental message, maybe a light sensor, maybe not, to some other place via some networking protocol. Maybe HTTP, maybe MQTT.




The student team from the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers is once again national champions ...

The student team from the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers is once again national champions after winning the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Saturday (April 12) in Columbus, Ohio. (File photo by Vince Walter)



http://ift.tt/1iiX63b




Sunday, April 13, 2014

+Jeremy Glasgow, looking a bit into MQTT and would like to play with it and Arduino. Any chance I could...

+Jeremy Glasgow , looking a bit into MQTT and would like to play with it and Arduino. Any chance I could hold onto your Ethernet Shield between meetings? I will certainly give it back whenever you want it.




Friday, April 11, 2014

About Me I've been working on my resume recently. No reason, really. (If you have questions, ask elsewhere...

About Me

I've been working on my resume recently. No reason, really. (If you have questions, ask elsewhere. I'm fairly easy to find.) A recent response to my resume tells me it sucks at telling the story of me. Not too surprised; the form sucked before, and has beco...