Remote Harmony
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Today I spent a little while sorting out the remote control for the telly. I bought this fancy Harmony Remote a while ago in a second hand shop and I think it has turned out to be quite a bargain. I've used Harmony remote controls for a very long time and I've round that they work very well, within the limitations of a totally open loop control system, where the remote just pumps out an infra-red message and has no way of knowing if it has been received or not.
Anyhoo, configuring the remotes is something I don't do often enough to be able to remember all the steps involved. But I do know that I'll have to download a program and then plug the remote control into the computer. I'm using a version of Windows that is several on from the one for which the program was created. I'm installing a USB driver that was written ages ago. I'm using TVs and devices that are comparatively recent. And yet it all worked. The Logitech servers even remembered the settings from last time (because I'd put my Logitech username and password into Password Padlock). Now I can turn on the TV with a single touch.Very impressive.
Broken Device Dilemma
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Here;s the thing. Something I hardly use has broken. Do I:
- Take it as a sign that I don't really need this device in my life any more and move on.
- Take it as an opportunity to investigate the problem and try to get the thing working again, even though I'll hardly ever use it when it is fixed.
I think you know the answer to this question. I've ordered a replacement cable, just in case that is the cause of the problem....
The Lure of Lora
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I was on AliExpress the other day, always an expensive experience, and I happened upon some boards from Heltec that offer an ESP32 (the upgrade of the ESP8266), a tiny OLED display and, most interesting, a connection to the Lora network. I've been meaning to spend some time playing with Lora for a while. It offers low power networking with a range that can go up into kilometres. At first I ordered one, and then it occurred to me that a network with only one node isn't really a network, so I got a couple more.
They arrived on Friday the 13th last week and, much to my surprise given the date, they worked first time. I downloaded the sample programs, added them to my Arduino IDE installation and in no time at all I had two of the devices talking to each other.
Later on I discovered that I have been a little unlucky/stupid in that I've bought versions that work on the 433 MHz radio band, which is not the frequency that works the best for these devices. For the UK I should have bought the version that supports the 868 Mhz band that is used in Europe.
Never mind. I can still use them, but I'll get more interference because this band is used by radio amateurs, car keys and building alarms etc. I'm looking forward to finding out more about how the network can be used.
Jurassic Kingdom Tour
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Today finds us at the Jurassic Kingdom Tour in Leeds. Apparently they are going all around the country setting up their dinosaurs in different venues. I bet they look awesome on the back of lorries as they zoom down the motorway. There were lots of dinosaurs of various sizes, most of them moving around a bit and making sounds. Some exhibits were a bit spoilt by plaques stating that "actually this combination of dinosaurs could never happen" but at least they didn't have any cave men fighting with them, which even I know would be quite beyond the pale.
It was great fun and they also had someone selling 21st century donuts. Which was really nice.
Friday the thirteenth?
/I managed to get quite a few things working today. And then I found out that it was Friday the 13th.
Perhaps if I'd known what day it is they wouldn't have worked.
Farewell Windows Phone
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This is still my favourite my favourite ever phone. I got it nearly four years ago. Four years. That's several phone lifetimes ago. It has wireless charging and a fantastic OLED screen. Just like the phone that Apple are touting as revolutionary but haven't started selling just yet.
I found my Windows Phone far easier to use than anything else. It was as if a bunch of people had looked at iPhone and Android and asked "I wonder if we can do this better". Turns out that they could, but nobody cared. And now Microsoft have announced that they don't see mobile devices as a priority any more. Oh well.
I've always seen things like phones and whatnot as pendulums swinging around. Microsoft had the mobile space to itself for quite a few years, then the pendulum swung to Apple and Android. Perhaps when Apple manage to properly drop the ball with the iPhone and people get annoyed with buggy Android devices that never get patched we might see a return to Microsoft.
Until then I'll get my wonderful Windows Phone out every now and then, play with it and wonder at what might have been.
Building shelves
/Today I spent a while building some Ikea bookcases (it's always like this when I finish writing something - I have a frenzy of DIY followed by an abrupt return to usual levels of torpor).
I've a lot of respect for Ikea stuff. I get the impression that they have really thought about process whenever they put together their kits. I guess it is really Lego for grown-ups. Or perhaps Lego for people who want to think they are grown up every now and then.
Sofa so good
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If you've ever wondered whether an Ikea Vilasund sofa bed will fit in the back of a BMW i3 it turns out that the answer is yes. But only just. However, beware. It turns out that buying a sofa can be just the start of a chain reaction of effort. At least it was for me.
- Dismantle old sofa.
- Take old sofa to tip.
- Move large sofa out of way.
- Build Vilasund sofa in place of large sofa.
- Empty other room.
- Remove carpet from other room.
- start laying laminate flooring in other room.
- Find out you've not bought enough flooring.
- Buy more flooring.
- Lay it.
- Find out that you've still not bought enough flooring. Question arithmetic skills where area calculations are concerned.
- Buy more flooring.
- Finally complete the floor.
- Put large sofa in other room.
- Take more rubbish to tip.
- Rebuild other room.
- Buy nice rug and fit same.
We've finished now. By a process of considerable effort and expenditure we've just about got back to where we started.
Tate Modern Playground
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They have this "exhibit" at Tate Modern which is a carpeted playground with grown-up sized swings. It was great fun, although the queue for the swings was very long. For some reason they had this enormous silver ball swinging back and forth over the area, which made for some nice photo-ops.
Back to Hull
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We came back from London today, via a few favourite haunts in the city, including Covent Garden, the Tate Modern and whatnot. It was a great trip.
Science Superheroes on the Stage
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Today was the day that we all headed for London to do our talks for the Secret Science of Superheroes (in the shops now). We all wrote the book last year at a book sprint in Manchester. We wrote a chapter each. And today chapter writers had five minutes to tell the assembled multitude what they had written. I was on last, which was probably for the best...
Anyhoo, a great time was had, lovely audience. Before the talk we got to spend some time in the Lord Mayor's Chambers in South Kensington, which was most impressive. Then after our talk we had a splendid meal at the Elephant and Castle and then staggered back to the hotel and collapsed for the night.
I think we'll find some culture tomorrow.
Sorry about this
/Which item in your toolbox has the widest range of interests?
The eclectic screwdriver.
Hardware meetup, with hardware
/It's coming to something when I'm too busy having an interesting time to get around to taking pictures. But that's how it was at the Hardware meetup tonight at c4di. Ross was trying to get his Gameboy emulator to run off a rechargeable battery. He has the not unreasonable desire to be able to play games while the battery is charging. And one of his power supplies keeps glitching and cutting out. We actually used a soldering iron to try and fix things, but by the end we were perhaps a bit closer to getting everything working as it should. And we are having a lot of fun in the journey. And Paul showed me a bunch of very impressive stuff he had a hand in making work.
All good stuff. More in two weeks.
A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian
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We went out to acquire some culture tonight. A proper play, with actors and everything. It was at Hull Truck. A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian. It's based on a book with the same name. And it's great. Book adaptations can be tricky things to do. A book can have hundreds of pages and loads of moving parts and complexity that doesn't always make it onto the stage. But the adaptation gets it pretty much spot on. The actors really earn their money, one chap must have played around five parts through the evening, but everything fits together really well.
The plot is part soap opera, part history lesson and all enjoyable. Get to see it if you get the chance.
Secret Science of Superheroes: In the shops now, on the stage on Saturday
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Last October me and a bunch of like minded souls sat down and wrote a book together. We all did one chapter each. The title of the book is "The Secret Science of Superheroes". I did chapter 12 as it turned out. All about computers, AI, and whether or not you should be afraid of your toaster. My chapter was great fun to write and, after Mark and Andy had finished knocking it into shape, great fun to read. You really should read it, and all the other chapters to. You can take a proper look (and even buy it) here.
On Saturday myself and the a bunch of the other writers will be standing up at a Science Festival in Kensington and telling everyone about what we have wrote. If you're in London, it would be great to see you. You can find out more about the event here.
Raspberry Pi at c4di Hardware Meetup this Thursday
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If you were at the "Easy as Pi" HullDevs presentation from John Tasker last week (incidentally he has put his slides and sample code here) you might like to come along to our Hardware Meetup onThursday this week at the c4di, starting at 6:00.
If you have any questions, or have a Pi that you want to get started with, or want to see what you can do with your Pi, then come along. Hardware welcome. I'll be bringing some of my Pi collection, including the world famous Logo Blaster. You can sign up here.
Microsoft Surface Ergnomic Keyboard and Bluetooth
/Ha. It works now I've replaced the Bluetooth adapator. So, pro-tip. If you want to use the Microsoft Surface Ergnomic keyboard with your desktop under Windows 10 I would suggest that you use the Pluggable Bluetooth USB adaptor. This works a treat. If you've got a Surface Pro 3 I'd advise you not to get this keyboard at all, or at least try it to make sure it works before you part with any cash.
I'm hammering away at the keyboard now and I like it very, very, much. My previous keyboard, the Microsoft Sculpt Comfort one, was very good but it lacked the numeric keyboard and arrow keys that I'm used to. Mine version of the Sculpt Comfort also has the American keyboard layout which works fine most of the time, but had me keeping an old keyboard around (really) just so I could type the backslash character. Which I can type just like this now: \\\\ Yay.
Bendy Keyboard: The plot thickens
/Well, the replacement keyboard arrived today. Still stylish. Still beautifully made.
Still won't work with my PC. But it works fine with my iPad. Interesting.
I've ordered a replacement Bluetooth adaptor for the PC. The one I'm using was one I happened to have around when I needed it. At the time I thought this was lucky, but maybe it isn't after all.
Bad Bendy Keyboard
/I love the Microsoft Ergnomic keyboards. I’ve worked my through a whole bunch of them over the years. I’m convinced that if I’d spent the last thirty years typing on a “normal” keyboard I probably wouldn’t be able to type now. To celebrate completing “Begin to Code with Python” I thought I’d treat myself to the latest and greatest Microsoft ergnomic keyboard, the shiny Surface one. Then I can write another book with it.
The keyboard arrived today. It’s lovely. Beautifully made, with a fantastic touch action and a great range of keys.
But it doesn’t work. I can’t make it pair with my desktop (which uses a usb Bluetooth adapter) or, really annoyingly, my Surface Pro 3. I’ve put it in the post and ordered a reaplcement which will arrive tomorrow.
