October 1, 2011

           Mark this date as a disappointment. Most of what could go wrong did, though most of it was coincidence. My debit card didn’t clear at the market, I was unable to follow Ray-B through simple but unfamiliar tunes, and there were only six or seven people at Bingo. But guess who I ran into. Remember Jerry, the Irishman from the thrift? That’s the guy who took Margaret Thatcher and Interpol to court for harassing him because he was distantly related to Bobby Fisher. (Or something like that.) He was on the beach and found a purse with $700 in it. When ladies carry around their own cash money, it must be welfare day. How’s that for love thy neighbor?
           He reports that Dickens did not head up to Massachusetts, but went west to where his wife has family. Dickens took a job as a security guard and is probably twice as happy as running his own business. Dave-O came over to add something to everything I said, including the finer facets of robotics. As with Wallace, Dave-O is proof you don’t have to actually be able to pronounce the bigger words to point out those homespun truisms that the educated so often overlook.
           I worked on some electronic switch theory. A small test board got built, so it wasn’t all brain work. Dave-O owns 165 drill bits. Remember in the high school lab there was always some strange light bulbs and sockets that was supposed to amaze you when the switch was turned on. The top of my desk is kind of starting to look like that lab. I always wondered which class used all that gear, because mine sure didn’t.
           Let’s look at a switch today. You turn the light on and off with a button switch. Let’s see how many ways we could turn a button on and off.
           1. The familiar way. You press the button and the light stays on until you turn it off.
           2. Next, you turn the light on, but it only stays on for five seconds.
           3. You press the button off and on really fast and the light flickers.
           This is a curious matter for the inquisitive mind. In each case above, you pressed the button and released it. But this is Florida, supposed some tomato cowboy comes along, presses the button but holds it down for more than five seconds? Does it still go out, or does it wait until he gets tired and releases the button. There is much more to this event than usually supposed.
           Ah, but if you read y’day’s entry, you’ll find we have a 555 timer. This gadget can tirelessly turn the switch off and on forever. Enter the Arduino. By controlling the pins on the 555, I can duplicate all manner of fancy light patterns without rearranging the wiring. It is a three step process. The code controls the 555 which controls the device, and that device can be just about anything including an IC or another 555. I do believe we are finally getting somewhere.
           Here is a photo of a lady I chatted with at the pub. She was nice and rather pretty, reminded me of Pearle. We got along fine but the spark wasn’t there. The chemistry was missing. The sad part is I think if she is interested, she’s leaving it until later, something that has never worked with me. I know my type, it has to be immediate, positive and exclusive, or it is nothing. It is here to cheer me up after a grueling day of nothing else. In fact, forget today. Too many things went unexpectedly wrong. I did e-mail E24 about a big order to be placed late next week. I picked up a few items at Radio Shack and Home Depot. Beyond that, don’t ask how it went.