Greetings List Lurkers,
Today is the day before the day that will live in infamy...
As for me I will be working the polls, hoping that the miracle of
Democracy does not turn into our funeral pyre.
Well we shall see...
An interesting week just passed. For me it has involved opening up the
pustulence scab that is visualbash (http://visualbash.org) and picking at
it. So here goes:
VISUAL BASH:
As I said last week, I always liked the "include" function in python (C
and a lota other languages :^). The trantor code (see below) was getting
kinda bulky, and I realized I needed an include function, so starting with
bash "source", I cobbled together a very serviceable include function
under the visualbash.org framework:
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/visual.bash#ImportingFunctionBlocks
In all humility, this is very good for the visual bash that I am writing, and I
think that this has legs and could go somewhere very cool (and I do not mean
Windows 10 :^). That said I am afraid it is not over yet. The next piece
is a menu generator that will allow you to test stub your "shi" files with
a crude but working "sh". Who knows where we go from there?
The "SanityScript" is still being born, and as I said above I am seriously
considering a "Menu Generator"
I will likely be needing to reorganize all of the visual bash functions
into functional includes... Possible include files are:
- ianda.shi
- dvdusb.shi
- sanity.shi
- maint.shi
- ops.shi
- dev.shi
- sphinx.shi
- tiddle.shi
I don't know.
TRANTOR
As we said before the first pass for Trantor is done. The second pass,
likely to be delivered to the Aldrich Public library for evaluation, is
where we integrate everything into one package that runs in a non GUI
based linux session. The neat thing here is that the workstation can
continue to act as a workstation. Why not? This shotgun marriage between a
workstation and a server, is what we are working on. The good news is
that this shell script called "ctrantor.sh" seems to work fine using the
http://visualbash.org framework with the new "include extensions".
As mentioned above the trantor project now uses the new visualbash include
function to load up various scripts full-o-functional goodness.
We are maintaining the Trantor project on Github:
https://github.com/flintiii/trantor
I need to get this into some type of organized format to put up on git
hub, as this is something that will please both Chris Yarger and Kevin
Cole.
The $89.00 2 Terrabyte drive for the Trantor project slid into the the
implementation platform, an the old dell workstation (Updike) from the
library, perfectly, so the new "trantor" now sports 2T SATA and a copy of
Mint 18. Loading 230Gbytes of LXFDVDs is done. The trantor project
benefits itself as you can cut usbs with great ease and facility. Within a
week or two I will be ready to bring this machine back to the Aldrich,
plug it in, set me some DNS A record, and rock.
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/trantor
On the inside of the Casa Flint network Trantor runs like a top mostly
thanks to sphinx. We actually now have a complete set of disks starting
from LXFDVD154 thanks to Neil at Linux Format. The next trick is to get
trantor on the public web. I am working on that hopefully in conjunction
with the Aldrich Public Library. So the test of trantor up and running.
If you want to see a preview try:
http://docbox.flint.com/~flint/trantor/test/
As you can see it contains all the scanned in CD covers and backs.
CD cover acquisition was accomplished with the use of gimp, a script-fu and
something called deskew. All the links will likely rick-roll till I get the
actual server online.
All that said sphinx now rocks my world. I am getting interest from some
parties in contributing more stuff to trantor. Do not be bashful (pun?). let
me know if you want something faithfully curated and systematically reproduced
as nice clickable html...
Otherwise it has been a very quiet week here in Barre Vermont.
Got over to Boston and saw this:
http://media.wix.com/ugd/c31f4d_27bfe8b6d3bb49cbb8b3fe7c7aa8970c.pdf
This is what I want the Barre Brain Barn to contain, except it needs to
cut granite instead of marble.
Some interesting stuff happening in these projects:
BAKEDAPPLES
Kevin cole has found a fellow traveler who is doing some UEFI based magic
on apples. Hopefully we can contact him and get him to rub antenna with
Dr. Mark.
These sites are mapped to the current wiki:
http://bakedapples.org/
http://bakedapples.net/
Projects that languish I summarize below.
KINDLE LIBERATION FRONT
The stop the presses news is here in this tiddler:
https://www.thanassis.space/android.html
...a serial port on ring and ground when you apply 3.3 volts to tip?
WOW!!!!
Still, why they don't build a version of the Universal Insight
Virtual Realty Glasses for the Kindle is beyond me. Dude... 3d
Teleconferencing way cool!
TADA
Is this a new project?
The Adult Swim video network, soon to be the "TADA Show" and clearly
Effin's project. Is there a recursive acronym in here somewhere?
Hopefully this will be discussed on:
https://hangouts.google.com/hangouts/_/flint.com/tada
JARVIS ON JENKINS
A very quiet week for Jarvis on Jenkins....
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/raspberry#JarvisOnJenkins
I wonder if Jarvis on Jenkins can be integrated into the PitchBox Garden?
Gardners talk to their plants don't they?
TECHNORUBBLE
- The Website
http://technorubble.org,http://technorubble.com
The new donation letter needs to be updated. The good news is that I can
maybe get that done today so that Dave can have a donation letter.
Again, we need more TechnoRubble. We are working out the details for
getting this. Part of it is the donation letter. The idea is to get
people to mail their TechnoRubble to us in a USPS Flat Rate Box. I am
frantically trying to complete the donation letter page:
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/donations
Ok, so it is DTML... Who cares?
VINYL CUTTER
A completed project. We have more vinyl and blades coming.
Cannot wait to try cardboard. That said where does the time go?
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/maker
3DPRINT
Have not even turned it on.
No change here... Thinking about inviting Toby from Filabot over and asking
for some help. This machind has only seen maybe 5 hours of actual operation is
that this lasted about two days. Why is this so damn hard?
The 3Decology constructed around the HICTOP Prusa I3 3D Desktop Printer, has
helped a lot, at least there is a place to store the tools this thing needs.
The take away here is that 3D infrastructure is important to facilitate
printing. But more important is the ability to render designs from the head
into products.
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/3D_print
Again, the thing is that there is a new guy in this part of town called
Antimony;
http://www.mattkeeter.com/projects/antimony/3/
This is the spot to watch. I am gonna learn this product or perish n the
process. I need Bezels for the...
PITCHBOX
Ordered a new lunchbox. Got it. It is a smiley face.. yuck.
You may have heard that the PiTch-Box is an enclosure built out of the shipping
case the Raspberry Pi Touch Display comes in. The power supply design is
actually coming along. The latest incarnation of the PiTchBox is the PiTchBox
LunchBox which should be up on the site.
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/PiTchBox
The wonderful thing about our current society is that there is a great deal of
activity in the area of basement agriculture. In the spirit of this and due to
the fact fall is on the way here in the Frozen North, I have ordered a basement
enclosure for growing plants in. The goal here will be to experiment with the
enhanced phosphor Grow Lights attached to the PiTchBox. This would Flint
Indoor Phosphor Enhanced Indoor Greenhouse to keep me sane this winter.
I got the tent in the mail two weeks ago... And I found the moisture sensors
this week (Yay!). More on this project as it unfolds (forgive the pun :^).
I hope to show Bit Ed one of the DC-DC converters, they are nifty, I will try
desperately to bring one today if I can find one.
The latest is that there is a git hub for this project which we are jointly
developing with the Arlington FOSS mob. Anyway, we need to continue to develop
the software and hardware PiTchBox library such as...
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. Why not do digital stone?
- 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... Shut up Effin.
- 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. How to get over it? Maybe slave
labor and more shelves...
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://docbox.flint.com:8081/vm - A Docker copy of VM370
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/kindle - The Kindle Liberation Front
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/pyrs - A pythonic interface to Income Tax?
- 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 got to go carve up a punkin.
I will continue to refactor this 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
