Greetings List Lurkers,
It cold here in Barre this PM, and I am late getting this out to my
esteemed readers. As is more and more the case, I find myself huddled up
to my faithful pellet stove which is operating at max and consuming
pellets like there is no tomorrow. Anyway, on to the projects that border
my reality.
PITCHBOX
I did not expect to lead with the PiTchBox as a story, that was before I
got involved with duplicating a Yarger Production, the famous Pellergy
Video Looper:
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/raspberry#RaspberryPiLooper
I am sorry to say, that this simple process of SD card duplication has
turned into a week of agony. The three main problems I needed to iron out
were:
1. Windows 10 will not read a Linux VFAT partition,
2. Who knew there were different boot loaders for different pi models?
3. Have a 700 Milliamp 5 Volt power supply or go home.
The good news is that all this Raspberry colored blood letting is that the
PiTchBox is back to being a worked upon project. Lest you forget...
The PiTchBox is an enclosure initially built out of the shipping case the
Raspberry Pi Touch Display comes in. The next version called the
PiTchLunchBox uses a classic lunch box to hold all the pieces. The power
supply design is actually sort of the best part, and will include some
kind of current indicator. The latest incarnation of the PiTchBox, the
PiTchLunchBox should be up on the site.
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/PiTchBox
Beyond getting the Pellergy Video Looper on it's feet, 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
that we are in the dead of winter here in the Frozen North, I have ordered
and received a basement enclosure for growing plants in. The real barrier
here is fear, I have never grown stuff before. I am reading "The
Martian", a book my daughter gave me, and so I am inspired. The goal here
will be to experiment with the enhanced phosphor Grow Lights attached to
the PiTchBox. Thus would a Flint Indoor Phosphor Enhanced Indoor
Greenhouse keep me sane(?) this winter.
I got the enclosure in the mail weeks ago... And I found the moisture sensors
this week (Yay!). More on this project as it unfolds (forgive the pun :^).
The PiTchBox Greenhouse may yet get to be a fully grown project.
KINDLE LIBERATION FRONT
Last meeting we put into Dave-the-Geek's hands a Kindle, with the hope
that his following the master Kindlenista, Joe Hart, would get some distro
booting on the Kindle in Barre City. As mentioned previously, The new
batch of kindles (at $33.00 each) came in, and one was shipped to the
Kindlenista himself and he made the magic work, as he has:
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/kindle#LatestDispatchFromKLF
Joe has worked the magic and he is now officially ahead of me. I have not had
the time to test out this incredible hack, and it needs to be tested, so I am
enlisting DTG to help. I think that Joe is going to do some testing using this
method, which needs to be translated to a more clearly defined wiki...
Speaking of the Hart, he was right that cheap Kindles are back!
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-7-Inch-Tablet-8GB/dp/B00TSUGXKE
They are even available in color. The price went up three bucks to $39.00 but
anyway, get one now!
I really want a version of the Universal Insight Virtual Realty Glasses for the
Kindle. 3d Teleconferencing way cool! Anybody see such a thing?
TRANTOR
This project is still operating in development at the library and we have
had good success in figuring out how to open it to the world. The latest
is that we are going to talk to the folks at the Kimball library as they
apparently already have routed inbound destinations. Once this is
accomplished we will switch to the excellent hardware platform that Marius
delivered. This production case contains both USB2.0/3.0 and and a DVDRW.
This will be the production device. The first and second passes for
Trantor are done. The second pass, is in the Aldrich Public library for
evaluation. We are indeed using one of the original Gates Foundation
grant based Dell machines. Sarah the librarian wanted the actual pictures
to be hot, they are now. So it is time to develop a development cycle...
The vision is:
- Take the existing code
- edit it with enki, a restful editor almost built for the job.
(a most difficult to install but rewarding bit of software)
- if necessary propagate the change using a shell script
(thank god for sed and awk)
- run "ctrantor.sh mkitso" which builds new web site from files
- check out the result...
- lather rinse repeat...
The hard part of this turns out to be getting:
1. enki running with the preview mode working
(invaluable once running)
2. getting sphinx running or maybe more accurately
3. making the system "sane" - a menu choice.
It was only this morning that I gained a partial victory in the enki
department. The ticket at this time appears to be to run under Linux Mint 18
as opposed to Ubuntu Trusty...
Connectivity:
As mentioned above we have had good success in figuring out how to open it to
the world. It turns out that Kimball Library in Randolph currently maintains a
Koha server for its open source library management system.
Supertech librarian Jessamyn West has guided us on how to proceed
vis-a-vis the SoV DII. Apparently a properly delivered email is all you
need. So we get this working and deliver the trantor v 1.3 machine to the
Aldrich, swap it with the existing 0.015 system, set up static IP, avahi
bonjour and things may actually be accessible via DNS for the world.
Well a fellow can dream...
Configuration Management:
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
As discussed I continue to hack 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. My birthday in Montreal is a current excuse.
The trantor project benefits itself as you can cut DVDs and USBs with great
ease and facility.
http://docbox.flint.com/~flint/trantor/ ("Rick Roll version")
Restful Web Site: Thanks to sphinx, we actually now have a complete set of
disks starting from LXFDVD154, we sent Neil at Linux Format, an email in an
attempt to expanding trantor to include all the Linux Format DVDs since they
started publication. So far no response from London. Now that it is installed
at the Aldrich, next trick is to get trantor on the public web. So the test of
trantor up and running. If you want to see a preview try:
All that said sphinx now rocks my world. BTW the trick to sphinx is enki,
which is turning out to be a pain to install. 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 The real question here is
should I simply rebuild bosivt.org based upon sphinx? We could do it all in...
TECHNORUBBLE
Nothing new really. We are following up on the sort of interesting angle
to deploy TechnoRubble at Libraries. J West is interested in working this
angle and I would very much like to set up at Kimball and see if this
would work. I have been a week focused on Pi's and Jessamyn is no doubt
all about celebrating the holidays. This meeting we are gonna untangle
and back TechnoRubble out of the big haul of stuff the picking at CVSWD
got.
- The Website http://technorubble.org,http://technorubble.com
The new donation letter has been updated.
Again, we need more TechnoRubble. The TechnoRubble untangling and packing is
part of that effort. Part of this effort was the donation letter. The idea is
to get people to mail their TechnoRubble to us in a USPS Flat Rate Box. I am
going to complete the donation process page as soon as I can and post it.
VISUAL BASH:
The name of this game remains we really need to clean up. Now that we
have the "include" function that is similar to the one in python (C and a
lota other languages :^) we need to git this.
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/visual.bash#ImportingFunctionBlocks
The "SanityScript" is still born by now, but the next piece is a menu generator
"menubot.sh" that will allow you to test stub your "shi" files with a crude but
working "sh". Who knows where we go from there?
I will likely be needing to reorganize all of the visual bash functions into
functional includes... Possible include files are:
- ianda.shi - Identification and Authorization
- dvdusb.shi - DVD/USB utilities
- sanity.shi - System sanity tests
- maint.shi - Maintenance includes
- ops.shi - Operational includes
- dev.shi - Development includes
- sphinx.shi - Sphinx generator includes
- tiddle.shi - Tiddle includes...
I am ulikely to get any of this done during the meeting. Visualbash is really
fun to work on...
TADA
Is there someone who can help with this project? If so why can we move it
towards the goal line? The Adult Swim video network, soon to be the "TADA Show"
was 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
3DPRINT
The PiTchBox and 3Dprint are related because I really need a plastic bezel
for the front of the box, and I want a 3Dprinter to print it, and the
Raspberry Pi based octoprint device is central to the operation of the
3Dprinter.
Without a doubt the greatest waste of Flint time and money on the planet!
Bad money after good, we haver a new model 3D printer on the way. That
said, we had great luck with openscad, brother Kevin's design software. We
got this damn thing to the point that I can produce the design of bezels I
need for the PiTchBox. Sadly I cannot print them because the printer we
have is screwed up. Will the new one work better? Thinking about inviting
Toby from Filabot over and asking for some help. This machine has only
seen maybe 5 hours of actual operation is that this lasted about ten 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
I am gonna learn this product or perish n the process. I need Bezels for
the PiTchBox...
While he is staying warm in Plainfield this afternoon, I eventually 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.
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? The secret
may be empty pellet bags...
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:
*** Note this is broke as of this newsletter ****
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:
*** Note this is broke as of this newsletter ****
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 gotta go and finish off Jim Archer's POS Windows
7 machine, as I have already installed Mint on it.
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
