Category: Uncategorized

Cat tree is done. Ish. It’s good enough, but quite honestly is so rickety I’d only consider putting a cat on it. Anything more delicate than one of those feline demons is straight out.
Phone. Yeah. That shit is starting to piss me off. I’ve got a SIM card loaded. I can see a screen. Everything else is jacked though.
Is it the SIM, or is it the module, or is it the code. (Or a combination of any of the above)

So I was able to jump pop the Wif’s laptop. It was able to upload the test SMS code without going into a death spiral. What it wasn’t able to do though was send our receive a text.
Next steps:
Touch base with Ting’s customer service, and make sure my SIM card is for reals activated.
If so, get a burner on Amazon, and make sure SIM card works.
If that passes, get a FONA from Adafruit, and see if that works. If it does, start looking at make the RePhone into BLE slave to the FONA powered my phone.

I have the firmware update on the RePhone now. I’m getting the serial line to work, right until I try to do anything phone related. Then it just goes to shit. This is under Linux, which deff isn’t supported (what?) so next will be trying it under Windows.
In the meantime, I did get the newest image of Raspbian downloaded and thrown on an SD card I spaced even having. So while the Wif is at school tomorrow, unless she takes with her, it looks like I’ll be trying to get shit working under Windows. Otherwise, I need to relook at the RePhone as this is getting redickulous (spelling retentional).
If it works and I can send and receive stuffs, it’ll be time to hookup the mini hookup board, and get the Pi Zero acting as the brains of the bunch.

Smoothie (x4 or whatever) I the extra stepper controller.
Motors from Sparkfun (assuming I don’t have any lying around, that will work, I think)
Hardware like pulley and timing belts from Sparkfun
Hot end from?
Starter filament from?

So, I’m getting closer to doing this. At the money I’m willing to pay, I can get a kit that’s a cheap knockoff. Which I’m cool with, but it’s not what I really want.
On the other hand, I could build my own. Assuming I’m going that route, I’m currently looking at what to buy. Not counting the mechanicals yet, I need:
Stepper motors
Control board
Motor drivers
Hot end

I’m probably going to go with a Shapeoko or a Smoothie board as they both have the stuff I want. I think. I only just thought about a second look at the Shapeoko while showering. Open hardware, software, and extensibility ate the key.
That’ll put me back 100 to 150. Throw on a minimum of 3 stepper motors, and a hotend, and I’m rocking close to 200.
Plans.

I was bsing with a co-worker about this. He was stoked and then he got into wanting to mod discs for disc golf night play. I’m currently brainstorming ideas. Accelerometer, pov, Wi-Fi? Yes please.

2 more work days to go. I think I need to order stuff.
Last night I got home at 930ish while the Wif was still at clinical. Rather than vegetating, I bust out some dishes, and prepped pizza dough.
Started a list entitled shit I want. It’s a list if the things I want to do what I do better. Things like a baking stone and canning stuff.
I should add some servos to that list, or maybe just start with a cheap 3d printer kit and go from there. I like the idea of building my own from the floor up, but it might be easier to get some experience first…

So cold.
I think it’s time I take a second look at making tactical turtlenecks.
Black, stretchy, tight. Zipper, do I want to go full our just neck? Pathways in the arms for el wire and a pocket for a controller. Core and extremity temperature gauges? Chest strap channels? Wrist flap for watches? Kidney pockets?
When I Amazon some other stuff (lots of random on my list right now) I should order up some fabric as well. To a degree, I’m better off doing anything than nothing.
Especially as I’m getting killed on Worlds Collide in Eve. I always forget that the game is so not done friendly at times.

The Wif has me making chicken cordon bleu. I’m thinking I need to bucks a press next time to do the flattening. It’s be good for schnitzel and something else she said but it was some language I don’t speak. Something Mediterranean with lamb and rosemary.
I figure a foot per side, one inch retaining walls, half inch thick. Add a replaceable bottom plate, and I could build a cider press. Should make the retaining walls a bout taller, call them six inch. Have a block system for setting the height of the finished product. Probably drop back down to eight inches per side. Cherry or maple maybe?
Do I want to go with a screw or bottle jack mechanism? I’m going to say screw. I don’t need two thousand pounds of pressure, just even pressure across the meat.

So I’ve been working a lot of overtime, and I’m working on rewarding myself when I do that. And yesterday I signed up for a giveaway on Arrow.com, and I get an email for 10% off my first purchase. It looks like I’m buying:
Raspberry Pi 3
Pi Noir
Maybe another display module
Some stepper motors (for an unrelated project)