Colorful Me

I get a lot of people that try to figure out my style. Folks I dont have one. In fact, my style is probably a clash of a ton of other styles. In high school, I REALLY confused people. I got...a skirt DUN DUN DUN!!! It was pretty short too. It was a Tripp NYC skirt so I guess my parents, friends, and other classmates thought it was just my punk/goth side. In 2008, I dyed my hair pink. This REALLY got everyone confused.

Folks...I dont care for pink unless it is in my hair or the "other" color. Example. I fell in love with some black studded pants a while ago with pink trim. I also had pink shoes that I wore with lighter colors and my pink hair. Yes...my pink hair.

I also want to paint my nails and want a mohawk but dont want to shave my head. I dont like to use heat anymore so Im pretty curious on what my new hairstyles will be like.

naaah too organized!

Recently I used Beyond the Zone on my natural hair. The blue didnt stick well so the top is completely natural. The middle is a sort-of dark plum and the bottom is red. I have used BZ before and it didnt stick all that well but it was on sale. DAMN BEING ON SALE.

Anyway I have been looking for some crazy inspiration. In fact...I was looking at my hero, pidgeotto pidgeot. The middle one color and the sides a different color...like a dyed in mohawk.

except I will probably reverse it (lighter sides/bottom.) I shall call it *drum roll* REVERSE PIDGEOT!!!

Call me crazy but I wouldnt be so original if I took my ideas from people =]

BY THE WAY

Haircrazy is an awesome site. I suggest everyone check it out by clicking HERE

Read More..

When I was little

Remember when you were little and thought life would always have this or that?  A couple of weeks ago my grandmas fax machine went off.  I forgot to mute the modem and we were blessed with beeee burrrrrruuuup followed by the fax.  Yes her fax machine still handshakes very vocally.  Kinda got me thinking...I never thought life would change so much.

My dad is a computer nerd (I inherited it) and we, for the most part, had DSL at home.  I knew most people didnt however and was pretty used to that handshake...you know that funny sound your modem made right after your computer dialed out.  For those of you that dont know, it went a lot like this

beep...beep...beedeedee burrrrrr badangbadang shhhhhhhhhhhhhh

And many other forms of that.  My grandmother had AOL for a while which made a sort of creepy alien sound and went on with more shhhhhh-ing. Depending on how fast your ISP responded, it would continue or youd connect.  When I was little, I thought dial up (which was just called internet back then) would always dominate the market and only people with nerdy parents or that were extremely rich could get DSL (which was also called internet.  Dial up was considered regular.)  Now Im older and dont have screaming modems, I found out they have a mute button.

When I was really little, I thought nothing would ever replace VHS.  I would always watch my favorite parts over and over again till my tapes would come apart.  Not once did I ever stop to think that these would be replaced by DVDs or that we would be able to stream them online (after all...dial up is slow.)  When DVDs DID get big, I thought this was some pretty sexy technology.  Then came high definition DVDs.  Next thing you know, blu ray is out.

I knew my computer games were on CD (CD...not DVD like they are now) but figured most important things were kept on floppy disks only.  I was so excited one day when my dad bought colorful floppies.  I didnt have much use for them but hey they were cool.  I eventually found out about flash drives.  Of course, those were only for the rich and/or important people!  A little while after, I accepted them and figured that this was it.  Now computer games are on DVD and Im sure they will eventually be on blu ray.

Remember Sony Walkman cassette player?  I never had one but my sister did.  I was so jealous of her cool name brand Walkman!  Of course I was born in 1990, CD players were starting to hit big.  By the time my parents let me have something portable, CD players were battery operated.  My parents/grandparents still called them walkmen but hey I was cooler.  I had a CD player!  Then, mp3 players came out.  I held onto my CD players all the way up till college when my last one finally died.  I had an mp3 player somewhere in high school but it was nowhere near as durable.  I got an iPod, which also died shortly after.  It wasnt my fault...I got a bad batch of nanos that were known for not working.

I found my Razor scooter when I moved out of my moms house...wheels worn down and all.  I also found roller blades that were still in OK condition.

When my cousin got the chicken pox, the entire neighborhood had a sleep over at his house at one time or another.  We all got sick but were back to school in no time. Then they came out with a shot for it.  It is often seen as "child abuse" to send your kids to a pox party.

I thought Saturday morning cartoons were an American tradition.  You can still find them on some stations but it only lasts about 2 ish hours.  I remember ABCs motto..."five hours of summer once a week.  Five hours of summeeerrrrr One Saturday Morning!"  This is pretty much what got me out of bed in the morning.  After those were done, it was outside all...friggin...day.  By the way, I couldnt wait to be in 7th grade so bad so I could be like Pepper Ann and hang out like on The Weekenders.  At the same time I wish my school was like Third Street School and we had cool recess.

When I was really tiny, I truly thought that we would have flying cars by the year 2000.

But then again, I thought that world peace was coming in the near distant future as well.
Oh children.  Were so cute!

Read More..

The Little Choo Choo That Thought

That cute little engine...just a chuggin up those tough little tracks.  Very inspirational till you find out the tracks you are on will cause you to shave your head and go insane...no matter how strong you try to stay or how much you hate to admit it.

Here I am again with a shorted check...

go to work?  Get yelled at.  Dont go to work?  Get yelled at.  Come in early?  Get yelled at.  Come in on time?  Well you get the point.

But I wish that everyone would just understand me.  Its not so much that work is getting to me but the fact that I get to watch the world spin round while Im wasting my time here, fighting to get my proper pay.

A waste of time....Im to the point where I just want to jump into the unknown and get where I need to go.  This place doesnt want to pay me and Im stressing more than I should just to get a bite to eat.  But hey if I spent my time in the garden, I could get my food and have much less stress.  As far as rent and all that go?  Id rather be homeless.  Maybe that is me being minimalist though.  Im ok without the proper equipment over my head seeing as I hardly have that anyway.  But I dont find happiness in money, only false security.  Tell me people, what is the point of having a nice home or anything like that if youre too stressed, tired, or never home to enjoy it?

So here I am, going off the tracks.  The trail without the tracks is just as hard to get around and seems impossible.

Impossible


We said it was impossible to fly and all that fun stuff.  We said that blacks and whites could never mix in peace.  We said a lot of crazy crap was impossible...that was very possible.  Maybe I wont make any money and have a crap ton of bills but at least I wont come home after a fight with management.  Im my manager.  Besides, Im pretty good at governing myself.  I know how I think and know what I will and wont do.

Here I go...about to fly off my tracks into a heavily wooded foggy forest of unknown.  Im almost as excited as I am afraid...afraid of that unknown.

Read More..

otalisha

thats not her name.

So Felicia, Thim, and I went to Costco to pick up a pizza....For some reason they spelled Felicias name Otalisha. 

FAIL

And I accidentally mixed up nephew and baptism so now Davids nephew is Neptune XD.  So I forgot what Neptune looked like so I looked it up.  Its that pretty blue planet =]

OMG LEFT4DEAD MOVIE COMING OUT HOLY S***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read More..

Out of the Soviet Bears Cave

History books...arent they interesting?

I dont generally find history interesting unless you throw in science (such as in my college class Intellectual US History) or you hear it from someone else that was there.  Funny thing is, when you hear it from someone else, you will either do one of two things:

1. Think that person has the wrong facts
2. Think the history book is wrong

And Im not saying either is right or wrong but the thing about history is it is a story...his story.  Everyones story is different.

I remember someone some point in my life telling me that the Japanese history books had some things scratched out.  I dont blame them.  The US books probably have a bunch scratched out as well.  Many things are explained in short...many MANY things.  How many people know that Thomas Jefferson actually got to know his slaves?  How many people know that he also wrote about Africans being more efficient in their work due to things like them not having to use the restroom as much (scientifically speaking, Africans retain water due to their native environment not being so water friendly.  This is a hereditary trait much like how a person has pale eyes or a dog has short fur...all due to climate.)  How many people thought that this could further feed racism?  My history books talked about camps for the Japanese and others that looked Japanese, but it was only about a paragraph long.  I imagine a Japanese book really touches on it much like how we really go on about Pear Harbor.

But Im not here to bag on anyone.  I have another story.  Yay for story time!

I have a lot of friends that are either first generation American or that were born outside of the US.  I sort of befriended an older lady named Natalya and I love love LOVE her to death.  She is possibly one of the nicest people I know.  Anyway, Natalya came to the US from Russia probably around 5 years ago with two of her kids.  She has a son and a daughter that still live in Russia.  She grew up in the Soviet Union...oh yes she did.  Of course it isnt the same Soviet Union we hear about in US history books though.

She told me that when she was little, everyone went to school and everyone was forced to keep up and learn (which is why today Russias literacy rate is extremely high.  Even though the US requires children to go to school, were not as strict and our literacy rate is very low.)  Nobody was poor but nobody was rich either (generally speaking.)  Everyone had what they needed and nothing more.  According to her, now there are tons of homeless and starving.  "I love my new home," she would say "but western culture is ruining everywhere else."

Funny story, most of the people I know from outside of the US were poor...poor as in didnt have much money.  However their life stories are so interesting.  Take another friend of mine from Ukraine.  She showed me a picture of her old house with her dogs and her grandmother and aunt (both decided to stay.)  Yes it was small but their yard?  HUGE with lots a fresh fruits and veggies everywhere!  They didnt have much at all but they had one cow and a couple of chickens.  They had what they needed which would be poor according to western standards but well off according to other standards.  Another girl I know, Lyudmila, grew up in Uzbekistan and was also considered poor according to western standards.  What did they have?  A large garden with fruits and veggies, a cow, dogs, cats, chickens, and so on.  Again...well off in some standards!  Of course I know many more from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Thailand, and so on...most which had a way and seem corrupt by another.  Most of the people I know are young so they were often considered poor, even by their country even though they had the basic essentials...food, water, a house....

Tell me...whats so wrong with just having what you need?

Dont get me wrong, I know they had to work for what they did have and I know they had to get some money to cover what they didnt have.  Here in the western world, you are considered poor if you cant buy a new $100 TV without starving.  Why is that?

Read More..

maybe if I just wish a little harder

...some things will come true.

Today is a little better.  Some stuff bothered me but thats ok.

I think Im depressed...not that I have depression or anything. Just a little trapped and cant find my way out right now. Its ok if I poke around a little I will find my way out.

Yes thim...lets volunteer together at Mercy or something. I dont think youd want to do it at happy tails lol.

My tooth hurts lol. I need a job so I can get dental back.

I wish....************************************************************************************************************************************************


=]

das ist my wish tonight

Well theres one wish I sorta made I rather not have come true.  It was cruel and out of pure jealousy.  

Read More..

Little Bit of Information About LittleBits

So Im pretty sure everyone reading this blog knows what the Internet of Things (IoT) is. Anyone who likes to use or read about microcontrollers (MCUs) has probably read a couple news stories about the IoT or at least about how some microcontroller is being used in the IoT. The topic of tonights blog is littleBits, which are now "an easy and open way to contribute to the Internet of Things without wasting time prototyping devices from scratch."

littleBits circuit with module snapped and wired together

In addition to that preceding description of littleBits, the July 23 Engadget article about these modular electronic marvels says:

"The magnetic, interconnecting circuit boards that make up LittleBits library of electronic modules make it easy to build all sorts of neat (and noisy) devices with almost no technical knowledge at all...today LittleBits is announcing the Cloud Bit, a new module that, as company CEO and founder Ayah Bdeir puts it, allows builders to "just add internet" to almost anything...More complex modules -- like the Arduino module and todays WiFi-enabled Cloud Bit -- raise the ceiling of complexity for potential LittleBits projects. Its her hope that the product will be used for rapid prototyping of new ideas in addition to being a fun hobby toy. "If you wanted to recreate a Nest or recreate a Sonos or a DropCam, you could. If you wanted to create the next billion dollar idea, you could do that..."

cloudBit

The Wired article announcing the cloudBit has this to say about the new component and about littleBits in general:

"The cloudBit, announced today, is a new component that’ll connect any littleBits creation to the internet, allowing it to be programmed through a simple web interface. There have been other kits like this before, powered by Raspberry Pi and Arduino—but while those remain powerful, flexible, and inter-operable, none of them possess littlBits’s plug-and-play simplicity. So with the addition of the cloudBit, littleBits could become a reasonable, DIY gateway to the Internet of Things...Rigging together motors, sensors, and noisemakers can be painstaking work, requiring lots of soldering and testing equipment to make sure all your circuits are done right. littleBits, instead, is a modular library comprising dozens of neat electronic components that simply snap together in a line, with magnets...To get started, users first sync their cloudBit to the web app. From there, the web app can link to any any web API, including IFTTT (a service that allows you to chain together websites with simple “If this, then that” logic). Users can then use those data streams to turn the cloudBit on or off, or activate any partial state in between. By linking the cloudBit to any number of other bits, users can create whatever chain of mechanical reactions they like...the littleBits ecosystem now has 59 different components, ranging from basic items like motors, a microphone, and a keyboard to a growing body of sensors that detect everything from light to bends to motion to pressure. (There’s also an Arduino component, for more serious hacking.)"

littleBits tagline is "the easiest and most extensive way to learn and prototype with electronics." Maybe its because Im an engineer and not a marketing person, but from my perspective, it seems unlikely for any product to be both the "easiest" and the "most extensive" way to learn and prototype with electronics. My guess is that littleBits is probably a lot closer to the easiest claim of their tagline than the most extensive claim.

littleBits Big Drone Synth 

In spite of their overreaching marketing department, which may be an apt description of the marketing department at pretty much every company, I do feel littleBits does have a strong appeal for non-technical people who want to incorporate technology into unique or interesting products that theyve created in their minds. If an artist, sociologist, psychologist, disaster worker or many other types of people with no desire to figure out how to breadboard an Arduino circuit can fairly quickly learn how to snap together a couple modules that accomplishes something meaningful to them, they will tend to use that product again in the future and start learning how to do more with that product and complementary products.

What this potential appeal for non-technical people says to me is that if littleBits can figure out kits that are useful to a large number of target users and successfully market those kits, it could very likely lead to an active, growing and loyal user community. By removing the Arduino barriers (perceived or real) of learning at least the basics of electronic design and programming basics, littleBits has given itself a much larger potential market. The challenge for littleBits now is figuring out what modules will appeal to and get buzz among non-tech early adopters.

littleBits DIY smartphone-enabled thermostat

I think it would be interesting for the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group to build a product with littleBit modules, then build an MCU-based product that has the same capabilities and features of the littleBit product. We could benchmark the operation of both products, compare the component and build costs for both products and keep track of the actual build time to go from loose components to a properly and reliably operating unit. The main thing stopping us from doing that is the lack of components. If I can identify clear benefits for sponsors, Ill put together a project proposal for doing that comparison and pitch the project to potential sponsors.

One side note of particular interest to me is the IFTTT aspect of littleBits. Ever since I read about if this then that, a couple years ago, Ive wanted to experiment with it. Doing a littleBits project would be a good excuse to set up some IFTTT recipes and figure out how much value the service has for me. Ill have to bring up IFTTT at the next MCU meeting to find out how much, if any, people at the meeting have done with it.

If youre reading this blog post and have used littleBits, please come to the next Humboldt Microcontrollers Group meeting, which will be from 6 to 8 PM on Thursday, August 7, to talk about your experience with them and to demonstrate how to use them.

**********

Read More..

Humboldt MCU Opportunity Tech Companies Recruiting IoT Developers

One of my goals for this blog is to identify ways for Humboldt microcontroller (MCU) users to earn money and to try to highlight those money-making opportunities for people who are interested in them. It will help Humboldt people and the regional economy if we can increase the number of Humboldt MCU-related paid projects and jobs.

IoT concept graphic (from comsoc.org)

Wired.com had a short July 25 article, "Tech Giants Begin Recruiting for the Next Big Platform Wars", which talked about a technology-economy trend that Humboldt MCU people should be aware of and should look at as an opportunity for projects or jobs. The article says that the Internet of Things (IoT) is going to be a huge revenue opportunity for MCU developers, the next big platform. The killer app for the IoT hasnt come over the horizon yet, and there is no clear leader among companies competing to cash in on the billions of dollars expected to be spent on embedded computing systems and other IoT products and services. Even though no company has a firmly established lead, those organizations who want to have a chance in this race are hiring technical people, including MCU developers, to create and improve their organizations products. As Wired puts it:

Microcontroller (from ti.com)

"The Internet of Things is still young, but it’s real. There are already dozens of internet-connected devices available, ranging from home-automation tools to wearable fitness trackers. And it’s about to start growing at an even faster pace. According a new survey...17 percent of the world’s software developers are already working on Internet of Things projects. Another 23 percent are planning to start an IoT project within the next six months. The most popular devices? Security and surveillance products, connected cars, environmental sensors and smart lights and other office automation tools. The world’s largest tech companies are already in fierce competition to attract developers to their respective connected device platforms. After all, the winners of these new platform wars will define the future of computing."

Two previous technology-economy trend platforms early stages that employed a lot of developers were when businesses started having websites on the Internet and when the iPhone catalyzed a huge market for smartphone apps. New sustainable trends have a tipping point where the trend actually becomes an important economic factor and creates a significant amount of ongoing sales and reliable employment. The IoT appears to be approaching that tipping point, and the Wired article is saying the trend is sustainable and there will be a large number of steady employment opportunities for IoT developers. The Barrons.com article "Silicon Labs Tuned In for Upside" phrased it this way:

"...we dont think IoT for Silicon Labs will turn out to be an overextended hype cycle. Connected/smart-home adoption has parallels to smartphones in 2008, where developers created unanticipated high-value applications on a platform to drive rapid adoption. From that perspective, 50 billion IoT devices by 2020 does not seem unreasonable."

Other recent articles about MCUs, embedded computing and the IoT have also talked about MCU-developer opportunities in the upcoming months and years. So the question at this point is, how can Humboldt developers get involved with the IoT platform to make money? Ill talk more about this topic in some of the future posts on this blog. But for now, Humboldt MCU developers and users might consider doing some or all of the following activities.

1. Learn a lot about the IoT and microcontrollers and keep up-to-date on these two topics.
2. Learn more about the IoT and MCUs by designing and building unique projects and document them online.
3. Use the internet to document and promote your IoT and MCU knowledge and skill.
4. Teach a class about Arduinos, MCUs or the IoT.
5. Build and promote interesting MCU / IoT products and sell them online.
6. Identify and reach out to knowledgeable and interesting people who are relatively well-connected in the IoT and MCU communities.
7. Use craigslist and other online developer job boards to look for MCU / IoT job or project opportunities and to advertise your availability for MCU / IoT projects and employment.

All the above activities can be done without participating in any of the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group meetings or collaborative MCU projects.

But the above money-making activities can also be done with people who are active in the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group. In my experience, its often more fun and more interesting to work on projects or activities with other people who have complementary or similar knowledge and interests. If youre interested in discussing any of the above IoT money making opportunities, come to the next MCU meeting. Or email me at arcatabob (at) gmail {dott} com.

**********

Read More..