jcm's blog

So, this is a plea for help. Back in the day, in the UK, it used to be possible to physically go to Maplin Electronics stores (now but a mere husk of its former self, barely worth the time of day) and get random components. They had huge stashes, and you could easily go buy an inexpensive pack of assorted resistors, a bunch of diodes, transistors, whatever. Building a home hacking kit was pretty easy. Then the Internet slowly killed them and hurt weekend hackers everywhere.

When I moved to the US, I brought a large quantity of passive, semi, and other components with me, and since I’ve not been doing much electronic hackery those have lasted a number of years now. But I’m in need of replenishing, and particularly in need of just a bunch of inexpensive bags of assorted components – nothing in particular, just a range of values to sit in my component boxes. I looked at DigiKey (whose website is always atrociously bad), Mouser, Newark, and all the rest (none of whom seem to know how to do good site design), but as usual the best option for the weekend hacker is to go with Sparkfun or Adafruit, and neither really does the “assorted parts” kit thing. Great if you want funky devices though.

I’m at a loss. Radioshack stores suck ass compared with even a few years ago, nobody else does decent retail components, and I’m not interested in navigating one-at-a-time expensive ordering with Digi. So where the heck am I supposed to go? I’m sure this is one of these things where I’m supposed to give up and watch MTV or enjoy Football (or another total waste of time), but I’d prefer not to. I’m more down with random intellectual pursuits instead. Recommendations for actually useful places to get what I want are quite welcome.

Jon.

So I decided to finally poke a little at my Arduino Mega 2560 last night, mostly as a random thing to do on the couch while watching Netflix. I wrote some simple programs to poke at IO ports – nothing that exciting. But I do now see the value of Arduino as a platform, especially if you just want to do something fun and not have to build an entire universe to get there. It’s not a full Linux environment, but that can be a good thing.

With Arduino, you don’t need to worry about lots of the usual microcontroller stuff since the AVR chip comes with a bootloader that interprets the “Sketch” you have compiled from Wiring (C-like) source code. You also don’t need to worry about flashing and driving serial lines because the board has one of those standard FTDI USB parts that provides both the serial programming interface and easily usable serial output, too. In other words, it’s a simple design, but also complex enough to be useful, and easy to use if you just want to make a simple gadget. At the same time, there’s a huge amount of potential there too.

As it was late, I ordered some parts on Sparkfun to replace a few in my trusty component box. I used to enjoy going to Maplin back in the day, but like Radioshack, their component selection shrank and I never really found a good place to buy small numbers of parts. Sparkfun isn’t perfect, but like Adafruit, it does seem to be one of the better places for hobbyist purchases these days. I picked up one of their FTDI based generic USB interfaces, some solid state relays, and a bunch of other bits for playing with Arduino some more as time permits. Maybe I’ll build a remote control power switch or whatever.

Jon.

So, sometime over the last 36 hours, someone saw fit to drive into my car and injure her in exactly the same spot she had been hit last time, way back in…last month. It seems that it happened in the private lot at the rear of my apartment, which only a certain number of people use, in addition to various snow removal contractor equipment. The damage doesn’t seem as severe, but of course, there’s no note or phone call, or “oh, sorry dude, did I just cause that giant gash in your car?”. Maybe they were too busy on their cellphone at the time to apply some level of concentration to the task of driving a heavy vehicle.

I first noticed this when driving Katherine somewhere and my car was making a crunching sound (from the wheel impacting the panel at the rear) as we hit rough parts of the road. I thought it was snow stuck in the wheel well, but sadly found after stopping that someone had swiped the panel above the wheel with some kind of heavy machinery. After some prodding, a contractor seems very willing to accept liability, in the kind of way that comes with a realization that you’re responsible for something you should have owned up to properly before. But we’ll see. Maybe they’ll cover the loss, or maybe my insurance will ding me again for another $500 deductible. Because I just love paying those. Oh yes.

Unlike too many other MA drivers, I enjoy taking care of my car, and following the rules of the road (Chapter 90, M.G.L,, and others) to the absolute letter of the law. I signal, observe proper breaking distances, check my rear view mirror every time I adjust my speed or location, and I constantly assess every other driver for risk assessment of stupidity. Yet, with all of the care and attention, I am no match for the stupidity and incompetence that I see on the roads all around me every single day. People don’t signal, they don’t look, they text and drive, they eat and drive, they text, eat, and drive while on their cell phone. They don’t think “gee, I’m driving a 2 ton killing machine that has actual safety consequences”. It’s just disgusting, and it’s no wonder some people give up owning cars or go off driving them. It’s like there’s a reward for the lowest possible driving standard, and it doesn’t matter if you whack into someone in a parking lot either, because it’s assumed everyone likes dings and dents (those being so common people have given up realizing they are neither inevitable nor necessary consequences of car ownership).

Photo: Proposed MX-5 Carputer design

I’m not taking this problem lying down. I’m going to write to the governor, requesting that some actual sanity be restored in this state’s driving regulation, and enforcement thereof, and I’ve a particularly nasty patent idea for an automated means to deal with bad MA drivers (I’m filing that one privately). Meanwhile, I’m going to install a (temporary) wireless night vision camera to monitor my car while I wait for time to build out a complete solution. That will involve installing front and rear “back up” cameras on the license plates, and other cameras, attached to a BeagleBoard installed in the car with a 3G radio. I need live, streaming video of everything that happens, from every angle, complete with location data. I want it so well done that the next person who hits me and fails to do the decent thing will regret it in court. Because if people don’t understand how to drive, they hopefully do understand being sued. That seems to work a lot better in the US sometimes, and if threat of legal action is the only way to get through to some people, then so be it. So, so done with crappy drivers.

Jon.

So every now and again, I watch documentaries I know are going to upset me. Yesterday, it was on how the bottled water industry is destroying this country’s ground water supplies to local municipalities (but I had to turn that one off because of how angry it made me – and boycott yet another corporation). Today, I watched a bit of “The Smartest Guys in the Room”, which I’ve seen many times before. Let me share some of my reasons for why Enron happened, because it angers me and I feel like ranting. Nothing will change, but I’ll feel better.

First, this country (the US) is too often regulation-averse. Reagan (the religious leader of modern Conservatism) told people “government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem”. This, coupled with “free market” thinking tells people everything will be magically ok, that the government is the big bad wolf, and that if we’d only let people decide their own fate without any rules whatsoever then the “invisible hand” will take care of everything. This is the biggest bunch of miss-guided horse excrement I’ve ever heard in my life. What’s worse, it’s somehow (historically) blurred with confusing critique of the current implementation of the capitalist system with being a commie or whatever other nonsense totally unrelated to the discussion (I’m a “Capitalist”, but of the sensible and sane variety).

Without any regulation, people with a high moral compass and sense of ethics (perhaps the kind of people Reagan imagined the world outside the confines of the bubble of the Oval Office to be filled with), coupled with wider thinking about the world might act only for the greater good. But don’t count on it. In reality, in the real world that actually exists (outside of Washington and Hollywood, as well as within), there are bad actors, people out only for themselves (who don’t give a crap about destroying the country in the process – and I don’t mean this as an indirect political slur, people abusing the system are from many different political backgrounds), and the rest. Regulation employs rules and principles that are designed to prevent abuse. It allows people to play games, but within the bounds of having some actual upper limits on how insane they are allowed to be with other people’s lives. Regulation is also far from perfect. Situations arise that were never considered, ways are found to abuse any system, etc. But when regulation fails, is insufficient, or excessive, the solution is to fix the regulation, not remove it entirely.

Second, we’re too reactionary. Rather than thinking ahead, “gee, we haven’t done anything with our infrastructure in 50 years, do you think that bridge is going to fail any time soon? What about that tunnel?”, we just wait until bad stuff happens and then spend billions of dollars more than necessary to correct for it afterward (see also, Healthcare). We tend to consider all kinds of (irrational) new rules and regulations in the wake of giant scandals, rather than introducing a few simple rules beforehand, and empowering our government and regulators to track down these impending disasters years before they happen. In a similar vain, we will probably wait until the water is around our feet before we wake up to climate change, because it’s not such a huge giant scandal yet (unlike bridges and tunnels, billions of dollars won’t be sufficient this time around, nor all the hot air Congress can generate).

There are other problems, such as an unwillingness to introduce additional necessary taxes in order to pay for new infrastructure, or government programs that can actually make people’s lives better, but the main problems are a lack of regulation and a need to react to everything years after it happens, rather than years before. I want to make it clear, I love this country, which is why I’m very saddened by these realities. I’m also a believer in Capitalism, and of the value in market-driven innovation, etc. But I’m a more touchy-feely, friendly kind Capitalist in which everyone has an even playing field, starts at the same point, and plays by the same (sane) rules.

Jon.

Living in Boston (well, Cambridge), one eventually comes to realize that there are some issues with driver education in this State. Here are a few Q&As to help those facing intellectual challenges on the road. I wish I could hand these out to people I see violating the rules of the road (yes, I’ve read Chapter 90 of the M.G.L.s and the drivers manual, as well as the rules for my own town…have you?). All of these Q&As would have applied in the space of the 2 hours I was on the road (on and off) today, except for the cop with the radar gun, which was a couple of weeks ago (at night, with his lights off, in the middle of the Mass. Ave bridge…like that’s not going to end horribly badly as some distracted driver fails to notice the obstruction one day).

Q). I love reading people’s bumper stickers and I can’t read at a distance.
A). Buy some glasses, or have a passenger read the bumper stickers for you. When you drive less than a safe distance from someone, you create a safety hazard and cause undue stress for other drivers around you.

Q). Why do people get angry when I use my horn? It’s the New England way!
A). Your horn is intended to convey safety concerns, and indicate your presence. Yes, even in the US. It is not a generic signal used to harass other drivers. When you use it at other times, it says “I’m a giant moron”. In CAPS.

Q). What are these sticks or levers on my steering wheel intended for?
A). These are called turn signals. You use them to indicate your intended direction of travel before making a manoeuvre. It allows other vehicles to avoid colliding with you, and is not a sign of weakness.

Q). Is it ever acceptable to wave someone across the street at a green light?
A). No. This is incredibly dangerous. It pre-supposes that oncoming traffic will not plough straight into the person crossing. Any decent driver education program would teach this, but Massachusetts fails horribly.

Q). I’m in law enforcement and like obstructing traffic so I can catch people speeding with my radar gun! Yeah!
A). You also create a safety hazard and should be suspended, and prosecuted.

Q). I don’t like concentrating on driving, I prefer to use my phone, read a magazine or a book, etc.
A). You should have your license revoked and be banned from driving.

Q). I think everyone should drive in the bike lane, it’s a whole new lane!
A). You should have your license revoked pending re-education. You should learn that you are a danger to others on the road, especially cyclists.

Q). I don’t like finding parking. I prefer to use the magic lights with the orange triangle symbol.
A). These are intended for emergency use to indicate your vehicle is disabled or that you are in need of assistance. When you use them to park in the middle of the road, you create a safety hazard and should have your license revoked.

I love my car, and I love driving. But driving in Massachusetts is a constant struggle of outwitting intellectually challenged morons who should not have a driver’s license to begin with, let alone be allowed to drive an SUV on the road, in winter. Driving (even in the US) is not a fundamental right. It’s a privilege that you get for following the rules. That’s not to say everyone is a bad driver, but it is saying that MA has a problem and does not do enough to solve it. Have a few cops out there actually enforcing the rules…and don’t forget to tell them that signals, traffic signals, and the rules of the road in general apply to them and everyone else equally in civilized society, not just to you and me.

Q). Hey Jon, didn’t you have an accident recently?
A). Yes. Someone hit me as I was making a left turn (at a left turn signal). Under MA rules, I am presumed to be at fault even though I was not the one in the wrong. The other driver had just had his car repaired from the previous accident, and was sitting on the plastic sheeting following an interior detailing. So, sorry, I’m not a bad driving example in this situation. I’m just the stiff who gets lumped with the insurance hike. And this post isn’t even about that, it’s about people not engaging their brains. There is also a difference between an accident and willingly ignoring sensible rules of the road, as in the above.

Jon.

So I was thinking over the holiday about what I expect to see in the coming year. I’ll write a more optimistic post about some of the great improvements I expect to see another time, but meanwhile here are some of the things I think will continue to suck this year, in many of the non-Enterprise Linux distributions.

1). People will care even less about UNIX and where we came from.

2). Churn rate of intrusive software updates will be too high.

3). Standards will be shunned and sidelined too often as unimportant.

4). The trend toward dumbed-down “User Experiences” will continue.

5). The wheel will be re-invented at least twice, probably more.

Meanwhile, my Mac running OS X will (sadly) remain compatible with itself, retain a similar user interface that works well for technical users, and will only receive tested, appropriate updates that work well under all situations.

Jon.