Greetings List Lurkers,
Well, this fine warm day in Central Vermont finds me frustrated. Two
items loom:
1. The HICTOP 3D printer, which has miraculously come back to life,
appears to need calibration or possibly work on the feed stock system.
In addition this particular printer type does not use closed loop feedback
induced positioning of any of the belt driven elements and this lack of
feedback can cause severe product distortion. So I need to research this
and the worst part of this is I think I have an answer to close the
feedback loop on the belt driven X & Y axis but how to implement this
solution in software is daunting.
2. My wife has a project which requires a current copy of Micro$oft Office,
for which we have acquired a license to via the job-related Micro$oft Home
Use Program (see how much trouble $9.95 can cause?). Yea but the
installer only runs under a recent copy of Windows, and works very well
under Virtual Box on Windows 7 Home. That said, suppose you want to
install this product under crossover or wine so you can run it on a sane
operating system like Linux Mint? While unsupported by the uncaring
megacorporation, Micro$oft, it appears the hack is to order the "backup"
DVD and install under crossover or wine from there. Did I get this right
or is there a better/easier way?
Based the kerfuffle with the Moose at the beginning of August, I am afraid
we will need to postpone our field trip to Northfield to visit with
Rachael Little and the gang. I fully intend to get together a field trip
to their Thursday night meeting once I get some new wheels...
The question remains what should I get? At this point I am thinking about
going to a bigger car selling market in order to close this deal. Watch
this space...
Anyway on to Projects!:
TRANTOR
The latest project coming sideways at us is Marius's server, which I have
tentatively named "Trantor" (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trantor). We
hope to have the entire Linux Format DVD series available there. God help me
if I have not started a visual.bash project for this, and the project now has a
website:
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/trantor
Our current issue is trying to get scanned in CD covers now in a random
collection of pdf formatted scans, faithfully and systematically reproduced as
nice clickable html... This project continues to lurch forward as time
permits.
3DPRINT
Got the new control board, and I am adding a 3Decology or infastructure to
facilitate printing, including a PDU.
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/3D_print
Other than my whining at the beginning of this newsletter, the vinyl
cutter has arrived, so I may be digging this out.
VMulater:
This is a working demo if you are interested in the wonderful world of zVM, I
have a ziddlewiki supporting this demo available at:
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/vm
Again, the bottom line is that Docker and tmux work fine together...
Anyone out there willing to go off the reservation with VM5.3?
Could you turn the Raspberry Pi into an IBM VM emulator? As discovered last
week, it appears yes...
http://www.rs-online.com/designspark/electronics/blog/my-raspberry-pi-thinks-it-s-a-mainframe
...and it appears here on a PI B. What will it do on a PI3? Still
holding.
THE TECHNORUBBLE REPORT TECHNORUBBLE - The Website http://technorubble.org,
http://technorubble.com
The report here is that due to the lack of attendence at the Williamstown
Flea Market, Dancing Dan McAllaster shut the Flea market down, which was a
real suprise when we arrived there bright and early Saturday morning.
Alternatives include the Waterbury Flea, which looks right but costs
$25.00 per booth. I am hopeful that Dan will be is joining Brett today at
the meeting and we can discuss in this project. In any event we will be
setting up at the Shelburne Mini Maker Fair September 24 & 25, 2016. While
last week we got sorting and packaging done. We need more TechnoRubble.
We are working out the details for this as we speak. The idea is to get
people to mail is their TechnoRubble.
PITCHBOX
As you know, the PiTch-Box is an enclosure built out of the shipping case the
Raspberry Pi Touch Display comes in. The power supply design is lagging in
that we have one that works and another that doesn't. The only answer is to
build a third unit and see who breaks the tie.
The good news is that it appears that a most viable PiTchBox power supply is an
old PC supply. I have received half a dozen 12VDC to 5V at 3A converters,
successors to the venerable 7805. One is going on the 3 D printer, the others
are getting added to the Pitch mix. I have one that is stable as a rock.
Another that goes west abour once a half-hour. The only tie breaker is to
build a third PiTchBox.
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/raspberry#PiTch-Box
The result of the tie breaker will likely be a candidate for the Flint
Indoor Phospher Ehnanced Indoor Greenhouse which I intend to develop to
keep myself sane this winter. More on this project as it unfolds.
Anyway, we need to continue to develop the software and hardware PiTchBox
library such as...
JARVIS ON JENKINS
You may recall that brother Kevin Cole has ported Jarvis, a voice recognition
product to run on a Raspberry PI3. This is exciting and we are attempting to
reproduce this here in the Casa Flint Lab...
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/raspberry#JarvisOnJenkins
In continuing travels and travials this project is on a haiatus, but is not out
of active developent... This week will hopefully bring some developments...
PYRS
PYRS is in deep, deep, deep, deep, background, I remain fascinated with the
idea of writing a python tax library... PYRS - A python interface to the IRS!
(http://docbox.flint.com:8081/pyrs) Maybe the conference can dissuade me. This
is at the hold point...
KINDLE LIBERATON FRONT
As mentioned a few weeks back, Due to the bandwidth issue, and my own traveling
adventures the entire Kindle Liberation Front is lagging, we hope that a
rumored appearance of no less than Joe Hart himself will bring about progress
in the area detailed below.
Again, the bad news is that all the new units are coming in with 5.1.3. Also, I
think I killed one of these 5.1.1. units with water. Good news is that I took
it apart and am drying it out. It may end up as parts. Hopefully in the coming
week.
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/kindle
To summarize, the meeting today is again at 40 Washington Street, Barre, VT
05641.
Topics for discussion as usual remain:
- Open Source Educational Human Development
I am working on an idea... I am changing the priority of our
eternal needs, and placing education first.
- Maker Movement A Maker Space in Barre? Why not? Could it be that the
commercial power centers do not yet appreciate the value? I need to
revise my paper on this subject and get it out to Lucas Jensen
who has good ideas about a Barre Maker Space.
- Move BOSI to become more git centric... develop gittlywiki... working!
check out tiddlywiki5 here: https://github.com/Jermolene/TiddlyWiki5
We still need to convert... Yea buddy...
- Blue Sky R&D, but in Vermont it will be Gun-metal Grey Sky(c) R&D.
- I fought the DREK and the DREK continues to win. Remember, What
really is holds us back is DREK!!! DREK is what happens to your
workspace (both hardware and software) when you fail to put stuff
away, or you let your friends or relatives use it. This is a cosmic
law. I am still fighting the DREK.
These five points are becomming almost like policy!
Anyway, we have the technology and we will have Pizza tonight 5-7 at Hedding
UMC.
This is the official notice of the Barre Open Systems Institute (BOSI) Adult
Swim. For those coming in via the Google Plus and the Internet, and there are
folks who are gonna try, the swim stars at 6:00 PM EST.
Our ongoing major objective is to continue to try to figure out how to invest
the time and resources to turn the Barre Open Systems Institute into more than
just the Adult Swim technical clinic and more into a real learning facility.
One direction we have been working on is to begin thinking about classes. The
curriculum that I am most interested in is teaching documentation.
Once again, the goal of the meeting shall be as usual, to get organized and try
to get the various projects moving forward, despite DREK. We continue to wonder
about how to build the BOSI curriculum to this webpage:
http://bosivt.org/classes, Take a look if you dare...
Remember, the BOSI Adult Swim is essentially about helping out fellow users of
open source products in a clinic environment. Despite my very best of
intentions, the Adult Swim is really almost a perpetual Linux install-fest, and
only secondarily a learning environment,
The ever growing list of projects (now on our web site :^) includes:
- http://ledroid.org - Ok, this is a real project eh?
- http://bzinga.net - What happens when you combine Bash and Zenity?
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/nodejs - ok, it is on the list.
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/snobot - jesum they love this robot
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/furmon - monitor that pellet furnace
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/arduino - moving in the arduino groove
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/javajive - to get better at Javascript
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/tsp - Temperature Sensors Project
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/robotsrules - The quest for Roberts Rules -
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/visual.bash - Yea, I am not kidding...
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/mrtg - remedial raw mrtg for the slow...
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/raspberry - all versions
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/strembot.org - maybe a very cool project.
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/organized - oh please let me be organized!
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/music - this may be the least organized
site ever!
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/bb - A big noble idea.
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/grantbot - A less noble idea to feed the
big idea...
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/gitlywiki - is tiddlywiki5 the answer?
Otherwise, Barre indeed remains a great venue for a Linux and Open Source
Software discussion and general system rejuvenation. Expect to be remotely
preached at on the various topics of Open Source and how I am confident it
shall cure all the evils and ills of this wicked world. In a perfect meeting,
people would come in, sit down, see the stuff we have been doing and hopefully
help us get the DIY stuff we are doing done, or maybe just fix a laptop.
So, do not forget that the Barre library stocks "Linux Format", and the latest
issue is on the shelf, and it is good. The DVD's are available to checkout and
copy, we shall to continue provide copies and isos of each and every one. I am
continuing to duplicate about a years worth of DVD's which is quite a task. You
may want to watch this space for developments.
Anyway, come and do open source stuff. For more information about the BOSI
Adult Swim meeting time and location try this:
http://bosivt.org/directions
Show up at Hedding UMC if you have questions or are interested in Linux or the
concept of free and open systems. Again, we are in the basement of the Hedding
UMC facility which is actually working out pretty well.
Somehow we need to make progress not more projects!!!
If you wish to be included on the "Linux_adult_swim" mailing list, send a
response to this note.
This is Flint signing off...
I will be refactoring our newsletter at some point in the future (do not hold
your breath :^)...
Kindest Regards,
Paul Flint
(802) 479-2360
(802) 595-9365 Cell
/************************************
Based upon email reliability concerns,
please send an acknowledgment in response to this note.
Paul Flint
Barre Open Systems Institute
17 Averill Street
Barre, VT
05641
http://www.bosivt.org
http://family.flint.com/flint
skype: flintinfotech
Work: (202) 537-0480
