Time to do something completely brand new.
Have you got any stuff lying around your house because you are sure you’ll get around to fixing it one day? I’ve got a guitar for the Rock Band game that’s been in bits for a few years now.
Part of the deal with learning amateur radio was it becoming a gateway into electronics and with the intermediate license under my belt and a little more electronics knowledge, it’s time to put some of it to the test
Continue readingThe paparazzi are determined to get a photo of me double-screening Netflix and Reddit. They post a tantalising link to a website that will try to activate my webcam, take a photo and post it to their file host to be auctioned to the Red Tops for their celebrity gossip pages.
Understanding the answer to stopping this means we have to understand how programs talk to hardware and how the different parts of the computer are connected and how they talk to each other. Otherwise we risk locking the door but ignoring the fact there’s no wall.
Continue readingOnce upon a time, I bought a mobile Internet modem from Three Mobile for my wife so she could get Internet access while travelling. Once her travels were completed and its duties discharged, I put it in a box and forgot about it.
Some years later I stumbled across it and thought maybe I could put it to use. At least I could get that network lock taken off it now it was well out of contract. Three, for their part, were only too happy to oblige just as soon as I turned up with the receipt. So I put it back in its box and forgot again.
This week I stumbled on it again, just as locked and receipt free as the last time I found it, but this time I decided I wasn’t going to ask anyone if I could get it unlocked.
DIY is starting to play a bigger and bigger role in my life and I discover, despite a fairly hands-on upbringing, I’m not sure I know anything.
Today’s problem: The bathroom sink is leaking from a tap. Not your classic drip that everyone knows just needs a replacement washer. In this case the body of the tap seems to be leaking.
It’s not a big leak, but the standing water might be what’s making the budgie sick. It needs to be replaced. Continue reading
A colleague has asked me to print some parts for a game he plays. It seems they are available on Thingiverse so getting the model was easy. Let’s have another crack at calibration and printing. Continue reading
My better half enjoys ballet and has some space in the house to practice. All she needs is a little bit of floor space but all she has as a stand in for a barre is a windowsill.
On the other hand, I have a membership at a tool library and a credit card for ordering supplies. Maybe we can do something better. Continue reading
For one of my birthdays a few years ago, I was given a Nintendo Wii along with the full Rock Band setup. Guitar, of course, drums and a microphone. The game is great, but in the fullness of time the guitar broke down. It was wireless and stopped pairing with the dongle on the Wii. The drums are excellent fun, but team play needs a lead guitarist.
The guitar was put in a cupboard and quietly forgotten until a conversation at work reminded me. It’s already broken. I can’t really make it worse by having a poke around with a multimeter. Continue reading
The first model was an education again. It took a few goes but I got there. The next model failed again. Time for some lessons learned. Continue reading
Printer filament arrived and the print was duly set going. The first dozen or fifteen attempts all had the same problem: The first layer didn’t stick to the print bed. The internet was consulted. The options were myriad. Masking tape. Pritt Stick. Panes of glass and custom chemicals were all suggested. Continue reading
I’ve been interested in 3d modelling since the days of Quake mapping. I always found it difficult because I could never wrap my head around the interface. Moving something in one plane would look perfect but it would have zoomed off into the distance when I checked the others. Fortunately there’s a 3D modeller for programmers Continue reading
