Here’s the top clientele of my fan club. It’s the first picture received on my new cell phone. Those who follow along know I am rarely the first to own new technology, but once I do, it becomes an integral part of my operations on the codicil that it proves useful. I have learned that cell phones can send me a photo even if I don’t own one. No, that was never obvious, and it is a cumbersome process anyway.
A cold front came through, enough to remind me why I don’t like living like Santa Claus. I’m cozy, with my survival gear, all in tip-top condition. I use it because it is miniature and stores in one cabinet most of the year when not needed. Most Florida pre-1990 houses do not have heaters.I read a prospectus of the trailer court recently, and nobody knows for certain when it was established or by whom. It is known that the court was in operation by the early 1950s when Hallandale brought in zoning requirements. There is a document that the court was purchased around 1954. This is one of the best trailer courts, but it is typical that of the thousands of people who lived in the 159 lots and 13 trailer hookups, not one of them documented anything.
The next few paragraphs will top all definitions of boring to some people I know. They’ll conclude I have too much spare time and won’t understand how any of this is supposed to make their lives any easier.
I took a serious stab at designing a 3 x 3 LED matrix, which I also refer to as a “grid”. I know this is wrong, and maybe soon I’ll look back at it and laugh. I stared at the diagram for three hours last night, when I could have been watching dating shows on Channel 7. If I had a TV, I mean. And cable. And too much spare time.
My thinking was that six wires could control nine LEDs, shown here. Positive 3 volts wants to flow through each LED, but can only do so if there is a voltage drop. A HIGH condition on both anode and cathode will not allow the current to flow. Thus, if I wanted the upper left LED to operate, I would make pin 3 HIGH and pin 9 LOW. Ah, I hear them say, but does that not block other combinations?
Yes, but remember combinations are only an illusion. In reality, these type of circuits flash one LED at a time. With all pins HIGH, all the LEDs would be off, and with LOW, all would still be off. Only the correct combination of HIGH-LOW at a node will allow that LED to appear to be on. Do not power up this circuit, I have not considered what can go wrong so this is entirely a paper plan. Notice my fancy new diagram of the Arduino? It is now part of most every circuit, so I must begin to show the pin configurations.
The six pins were chosen because they are the pins that can control PWM (pulse width modulation). I’m thinking ahead to a point where I could dim the LEDs as well as simply flash them off and on like everybody else. Somebody has to do the thinking part and you can’t do that on commercial breaks.
I think I will contact Hacktronics to see if they know where this matrix information might be available. Hell, I’ve got nothing to do for the next 21 months but read up on this stuff or watch cable TV. My choice. I sometimes look longingly at that pension fund but then I realize it would be wrong to dip in early, yet it is just so many damn long years to wait for it to maximize when I could use the money right now. In the end, I always decide to wait.
[Author’s note: real property values are plunging behind the scenes. The advertised prices and valuations are staying high, but this is wishful fantasies on behalf of brokers and banks. Another house on Dewey sold for $41,000, or 10% of the price just three years ago. Any tales of a recovery or turnaround are fantasy.]
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