I’m still trying to finish my latest desk. I’m pretty sure I just ran into a wall on the inspiration. I had a thought, a vision, but not a reason. Without reason, any project is just another pile of clutter. With reason, and the project can finish itself.
So there I am. My desk is upside down, and just waiting for the next piece of scrap metal. The thing is, I just had no why.
Originally, just the hollowed out shelf of electronics, crudely pounded and bolted together, it now has a purpose. I’m drying it add being the home office equivalent of a space hulk from Warhammer 40k. I’m going to take what I have, turn it upright and priced to add more. More pieces, more power, more chaos. It will be a desk into itself.
Basic plan for 6 Dollar Teddy
Beyond the aesthetics of the project, as cybering up a stuffed animal for looks is fairly easy, I have some practical wants. Pretty soon, any of my scope lists turns into “…flamethrowers and chainsaws”. Obviously that doesn’t need to be in the initial phase. When do I call v1 done?
I’m thinking some basic mobility platform, though tethering is fine. Self directed random travel while avoiding hitting things using ir.
Now v2 is where it’ll get better. This will be the Lazy patch. All software will run as services or one off programs. Add Wi-Fi connectivity so I can upload to him. When a new patch comes in, it stops his main services, replaces the old versions, adds new ones, and starts the boot phase over. This will also be where security has too happen. While it doesn’t have itself the destructive quality if IoT items, anything connected to the network needs to be locked down. I strongly believe that IoT is a prank, quite possibly destructive, waiting to happen.
The Hal patch is where it’ll hide from people and be self charging. Cut its strings.
Beaglebone
Finally applied power to it. It looks like my computer doesn’t want to share internet. I have to figure out why. I’m currently thinking if how I’ll implement my emerged floor duster. I’ve been thinking of setting Teddy up for version one. If I give him a head mounted range sensor, he should be able to wander around, looking for edges. My biggest concern was stairs, but then I realized, if he reaches stairs the range will go from static to crazy large almost instantly. Thanks geometry!
Keyboard pt2
Got to trying a firmware update. No dice. Tried again. It wanted me to update Synapse. I’m trying that now. Its difficult not to describe software developers, that I’ve never met, in a fair and partial way when this is the software that the hardware provider turns out. Its not that I think they’re all a bunch of idiots, but maybe its quality control. Maybe its marketing. No matter what,m while I love the keyboard, the driver/software package is horrific.
It seems to be working now. For how long?
Fifth wall – continued
Have a single image upload option, when an image I’d uploaded to the theme, it copies the old background, adds the new image in. This provides for an easy revert option, probably have ways to actually revert rather than just manually. Also, save each image uploaded individually. Between that and the desktop surface, probably a couple variables, have a reroll function.
The fifth wall
I was going to call this post meta but realized id’s not really. Meta is more of having a post about a post, which despite the introductory paragraph, this is not.
This is about the theme of the website going forward. Not like purpose but appearance. I’m all about my controlled randomness. It’s was actually that about me that really made me start wondering about my own mental state. I would, especially during social circumstances, stop, think, and then do something really sideways. Given the choice I’ve time of waiting for a locksmith at my work place in the boonies of Carnation, I stopped. I thought. Lightly jumped into the back of my pickup truck. Good puddle they might want to back up, and kicked the back window out. Carefully. It wasn’t anger, it wasn’t particularly the best idea, I just had better things to do. And by better, I mean get gone. I was hanging out at the mall in the early morning with my friend who worked there. It was my birthday and I had nothing better to do. I realized I needed to vacate, so I did. There was a thought process, just nothing that makes sense in a Euclidean world. That’s enough extemporizing for now.
I want a website that’s changing, mutating. I want it to be consistent. I want it to be a them that’s usable by others. I want it to be unique to the individual.
In my youth, when I was a different me, wanted it to be an infinite gallery the viewer would go through like an old Scooby Doo background. The programming of this, without using flash our JavaScript seemed improbable. In my middling years I was imagining a coffee stained, blood and ink stained page from the journal of a Lovecraftian investigator. Almost impossible to look good without having defined length posts or hackery. Oh yeah, the entire them has to be non-destructive and on the fly. I want everything to keep appearance completely seperate from content.
I’m imaging a work table, texture selectable or replaceable. I’m the theme settings, have an upload option, where you upload individual pages to build a montage for the background. Each one is randomly scattered onto the table, as a mirror image, with a low contrast setting. Probably add a small drop shadow, and a tilt. Adding a page blank option would be dope as well. Obviously this would be a stretch goal. Create a page blank, ie thematically correct with the rest of your pages. It takes one of the posts you did, rasterizes it on top with a cliff diffusion mirrored and what not.
I can do this. I think.
LightBeer v2 – build time
Tonight I need to do the final coding and build my proof of concept. I figure six LEDs will be enough to verify the concept, and that’s still few enough that I can breadboard it all easily enough.
I also should figure out how many, as in sort, l have in the way of resistors. I know I have enough LEDs. Arduino is go. I might want shrink tubing. If I need more resistors, I’ll get heat shrink tubes while I’m at it. Otherwise, I could always just use a lot of hot glue.
We’re doing this.
LightBeer v2 – code prototyping
Setup
// Initialize all the pins
// global variable declarations
// array of anode pins by pair
// array of cathode pins by pair
(These should line up for easy reading)
// array of LED exclusives, as in if A, no B or C, except it will be numbers…
// array of LED current states by anode
//array of LED states by cathode
Loop
// grab a random number to choose led
//Check state cathode, if zero
//check state anode if less than two
//set cathode to +1
//set anode to anode+1
//Set each cathode on exclusion list to x
//update LEDs
//all anodes more than 1 go low, else high
//each cathode goes to abs(cathode state)
//change cathode state to cathode state+1
//If cathode state is now zero, set anode to anode-1, set cathode exclusions to zero
//Repeat
This whole battery bs
I think I need to order new batteries now. I’m getting tired of seeing a stack of local drafts on my phone when I go to post something new. Plus, it probably makes me seem even more like I’m having a psychotic break when I post half a dozen items at once. Or it makes me look lazier when I don’t post for a week.
Springs
The last time I looked at building a couch, either I was rolling in money or the price on upholstery springs is insane. Unless I’m wrong, an upholstery spring is still just a loose coil of semi-rigid metal.
I adjust looked at done instructions for making my own springs, but I want terribly impressed. I’ll probably research it more myself. If probably do well to keep on looking for a super at less than autonomic astronomical prices. I wonder if my co-worker’s husband who does car upholstery has an idea?