Gee, it would seem our teens are not confused enough. The mixed messages of the media need help scrambling adolescent perceptions of reality. Now they have their own book section at the Barn. “Paranormal” romance fans can get that comfy feeling that they are not alone having grope sessions with aliens and vampires. I suppose, however, it is a superior system to when I grew up and there was not enough information.
I expended massive brainpower on the Arduino until the wee hours this morning. Until 4:30 AM. The author needs me to proofread his work, the people he’s using are missing too many spellchecker errors. Maybe I’ll volunteer since every word has to be read in context and I’m doing that anyway, it’s the way I study. But “data” and “date” are not to be mixed, and a lot of folks don’t know that “betyouen” means “between” in Hong Kong.It is revealing that on topics where I guessed, which was most of them, my approach and solutions were virtually identical to the Great Learned Ones. Better yet, on topics I’d never heard of, like shift registers and writing to on-line storage let’s just say I could now pass any exam they throw at me. I’m once more longing to build PCBs, printed circuit boards, as the book is mainly concerned intermediate computer code (beginner’s my eye). The code could, in a pinch, be copied by a novice, but that is hardly learning to program.
Hot or not, the antenna goes up soon. I estimate twelve feet in the air through the back wall by the work shed door with my old D-Link router as a booster on the cable run. It is so annoying to see that free Hollywood Wireless signal just out of reach, even if it is still an old 802.11g network.
We are getting calls from GMRS, who claim since they are “not selling anything” they do not respect the no-call list. I suppose there are as many definitions of asshole as there are telemarketers, but the true mark of an incorrigible asshole is they have no concept of leaving other people alone. Then again, I grew up with people who could explain to you at some length that being an asshole without an unwilling audience just isn’t fun.
To get off the GMRS list, call 1-676-0661 and talk to an operator. They act quickly and apologize, but they wouldn’t have to do either if they learned to leave other people alone in the first place. Trust DC to make half a law against the second most unpopular interuption known to the average household.
The club meeting was cancelled, M had to work late. But I’ve videoed a new experiment called the “English Traffic Light”. In England, I gather, the light changes to yellow after both the green and red signal. I modified it. The purpose of this apparently simple operation was to see if I could get the Arduino to randomly interrupt a regular cycle of operations. That is exactly what a crosswalk signal button does. I was unsuccessful.
First of all the sample code was not thought out well, which I consider misleading on the author’s part. His code merely interrupts a green light, while mine interrupts a sequence of events. The problem is, the crosswalk button has no memory and can only be operated when pushed at the right moment. Still, a lot was learned and I report this is the first time in a circuit I used calculated values for resistors.
I will pursue this concept on similar robotic principles. The robot goes along doing its job until a sensor triggers a different behavior. That event must be random and I suspect this important issue is going to be difficult to nail down. How do I just know that article after article is going to fail to mention how this is done and I will only discover the answer when I’ve re-invented it on my own?
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