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Jim's Journal

jim
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09/05/2008 15:37 #45588

UB Faculty/Staff LOL!
Category: work
Finally, finally, took the time to go get my UB Card (need to be prepared for buying CS4 when it comes out in October). Bad hair day, for sure, with the wind. Hard to read, but I am technically in the staff category at UB.

image

The company I work for is just somewhat related to UB, I am not actually teaching or anything crazy.

I am eligible for staff parking on campus though :)

tinypliny - 09/05/08 22:48
And you look way different than you did when I saw you last. I am constantly amazed at how you pull this off.
tinypliny - 09/05/08 22:47
Whoa. Does that give you access to the UB Library e-resources? :)

09/04/2008 22:05 #45577

Progress
Category: electronics
Have the matrix hooked up to the LED driver chip and that to the microcontroller. Will figure out how to program it tomorrow. Mmm, bitshifting.

image
jim - 09/04/08 22:53
if you look a few journals back I describe it in a bit more detail and post a video of my inspiration. Typing on my phone right now so I'm too lazy to say more :)
jason - 09/04/08 22:43
Huh. This is a surprise. What are you building?
tinypliny - 09/04/08 22:18
I think you qualify as flashy in my dictionary. ;-D
jim - 09/04/08 22:12
No video yet - I was just sticking wires where they needed to go, and figuring out how to decipher wiring schematics and parts datasheets. Nothing is blinking yet. I need something flashy to show on the video ;)
tinypliny - 09/04/08 22:09
Hey! Where is the video?? I love your videos!~:)

09/04/2008 10:52 #45561

Election
Category: politics
This is a freaking 4 hour news cycle election.

I usually try very hard to stay out of commenting on politics on (e:strip), and confine my anti-religion rants to 2 or 3 per year, but I'm falling under the weight of an urgent need to talk about every little detail of the political season.

Aaargh. 2 more months to go.


tinypliny - 09/04/08 19:50
Heheehe.. I have learned more about presidential politics hanging out here than I ever knew my entire life!
drew - 09/04/08 11:36
I am waiting for Palin to talk about her ties to the Assemblies of God church. She would be the first Pentecostal VP (or, if it happened President).

More on Pentecostalism: :::link:::

09/01/2008 21:30 #45534

Republicans Flailing
Category: politics
So, after a couple days of revelations about Sarah Palin, the nail in the coffin comes: she was a member of an organization that sought Alaskan sovereign nation status.

Yes, that's right: John McCain choose a secessionist for his running mate, and his slogan is "Country First". Clearly they didn't check Palin out at all. He just sort of panicked, I suppose.

Can you imagine if Obama had belonged to a 3rd party that in any (even minor) way challenged the US's legitimacy?

Alaskan Independence Party. Source:
jim - 09/02/08 20:52
Looks like Sarah Palin only addressed the Alaska Independence Party convention, but was not a member. Her husband was, though.

Very weird to be sympathetic to an anti-American organization and then to run for the vice-presidency on the GOP ticket.
johnallen - 09/02/08 20:45
jason - 09/02/08 11:31
This is something I agree with you guys on. No matter who the candidate, any and all past or present shady associations should be thoroughly investigated. No striving for the lowest common denominator, no looking the other way. That's fair.
james - 09/02/08 11:03
Ya know, I used to be really into novelty third parties. I could really get behind the anti-masonic party, or expell-the-Irish party. They are just so cooky you just know they wear crazy hats. And so, I am sympathetic to Palin for having problematic past associations. Except the in this case, when we refer to the past we are talking about this year, when she addressed the AIP at their 2008 convention.

Oh snap!

09/01/2008 15:18 #45531

Microcontrollers Part 3
Category: electronics
I'm building a DIY version of this Tengu thing ( ) for my first full project.

I've got the LEDs for the eyes in and programmable, and have the face matrix assembled but that's not yet programmed. It will eventually be hooked up to sensors to react to the environment as well.

So far this weekend I've spent a lot of time relearning C and especially pointers. Matrix and timings for the rest of the animations will be challenging, too. Trying to fit everything in a few Kb of space brings me back.

::Download Flash Video::



Watching myself on video makes me realize I really need to work on my um's. :(

Here's a video of what it should end up looking like, although mine won't look so polished:



tinypliny - 09/01/08 19:38
Totally random but I love that song by Gloria Gaynor!
tinypliny - 09/01/08 19:35
To make you thoroughly uncomfortable, yeah, you said um 15 times. ;-)
  • maniacal unhinged laugh**

Hey, don't blame me! You were the one who made me count!