September 3, 2015

Yesteryear
One year ago today: September 3, 2014, another country band.
Five years ago today: September 3, 2010, sleeping for 8%.
Six years ago today: September 3, 2009, readership, but no cash.

MORNING
           So this morning I went for coffee myself, since no club meeting was scheduled. Guess who showed up anyway. We took the time to go over all the projects. And hoo-rah, I got the code (for the display I’m working on) to count on a single LED. It involves three nested loops, which drastically reduced the number of code lines, but departs from ease of comprehension. Still, it works as far as getting it to count. That makes my day.

           This is made in Iran. The latest in anti-helicopter weaponry. This puppy fires an explosive shell that punches right through the armor of all known US military helicopters. Called the Arash but marketed under the name “The Prophet”, this makes it cheap and easy to knock down the multi-million dollar toys the Americans love so much. And guess who taught them how to make such things?
           I took another look at Pinterest. Nope, still not for me. Worse, I find these type of sites only serve a function of organizing or connecting people who are absolutely incapable of producing the same results using methods normally acceptable to conventional society. There is a chance I’ve never seen the site used properly or seen anyone produce impressive results, but if it is that rare, maybe I should not expect any more from it than is apparent after a few minutes. Also, I’ve heard rumors of privacy concerns.

NOON
           I think nothing, officially, ever happened in the world on September 3. My theory is that the date makes 99% of the northern hemisphere realize another summer has gone by and they are still washouts. None of the women lost weight, none of the men got their pitching arms back. Mind you, we got a lot done over here, but mind you again, we always get a lot done over here.

           Did you know there is such a thing as a “Florida Summer House”? They are sold in England and Ireland for around $3,000 USD. They are one room with a “loo” and fancifully named, since they lack air conditioning. They just might catch on here, being they are cheaper than the storage sheds from Home Depot. And somewhat roomier.
           Jesus Murphy, that Jorge Ramos is going off the deep end. The guy is just a mess. Listen to him try to shout down everybody by going spastic on every point they make. Shout, Jorge, shout, drown them out before they can answer. At first I thought the man was just juvenile, but it is far more serious than that, his depravity goes deeper. I think the guy is headed for the nut house.
           His rants that you “can’t build” the wall and you “can’t deport” 11 million are getting weaker all the time, so weak that he just changes the subject when asked why they can’t be done. It should not be too much longer before the media decides he’s made enough of a fool of himself and quit hosting them. The man does not want to be interviewed. For obvious reasons. But he sure loves the air time.

NIGHT
           Stay home like I did, lots of lemonade, with a nice fan. I took on the code to make the Arduino display the count and I actually got it to work on a single LED. It has to flash them in sequence, but the ability to do so is already a vast leap ahead of what else is out there. Well, I shouldn’t say that, because often, late in a project, I’ve found there is something out there. Not like it helped me any.

           It’s too hot to even go outside when the sun sets. That means a lot of study and general reading, so there will be something to show for it shortly. But I have not coded anything this tough since back in my university days. Even then, most of the assignments given at graduate level were careful not involve anything that was not covered in class.
           But this project requires lots of extras. See the temperature display? Actually, you don’t see it because it is off more than it is on. And only one LED in each figure is on at any moment in time. It is your eye filling in the blanks. That is called POV for “persistence of vision” and that’s what I’m working on. Each little lamp has to be on for 50 thousandths of a second minimum.
           I think.

ADDENDUM
           Here’s a thought: Music is one of those things that, even if you do it surprisingly well, is not always something you’d want to do for a living. Learning to play to perfection is not what most audiences seek. If you want to play for connoisseurs, try Europe. Or what’s left of it.


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