In this project, I made myself a business card. It is a solar-charging RGB LED flashlight as well. In this post I’ll talk about the design and some of the testing done, in case you should like to make one yourself. A couple of years ago, I saw a ‘this business card runs Linux’ post …
If you follow the world of green energy, you will know there is a basic need to store excess energy from wind and solar in order to provide power when there is no wind or sun. Such systems also offer the potential for microgrids – ie being able to keep small parts of the grid, …
A Quick Feasibility Study on Home Pumped-Hydro Storage + Geothermal Read More »
Over the last several weeks, box after box has been arriving at the farm. My dad had decided to start brewing beer, in the name of testing the hops he grows. It is rather silly as no one in my family drinks alcohol. I saw a better opportunity in the pile of equipment he had …
Homemade Root Beer Soda, Yeast vs CO2 carbonation Read More »
For a few months I’ve been working on a projects for which I have been working on a rather ‘fancy’ circuit board. But three weeks ago I had the desire to build another circuit board, a much simpler one – which would be my first to actually get into production. And it turned out to …
One of the more exciting new features coming soon to AutoTS is the automatic detection of holidays. That’s exactly what it sounds like: figuring out when holidays are occurring and being able to generate that calendar for the future. Firstly, why is this needed? A couple of reasons. The big reason is that holidays are …
Sister breaks newish phone (Pixel 5A), but it’s still connect, just the screen is dead. Seems a shame to throw all that away, but usually repair shops are more expensive than just buying a new phone. Timely fact was this Verge article in the news feed announcing the availability of official Google parts on iFixit. …
Power, glorious power!That’s what I think when I see the stream raging through the ravine in early spring. I’ve wanted to put a hydroelectric generator in there for ages. There is one problem, there isn’t really enough water flow for enough of the year to do anything. Actually, it’s either dry or frozen solid for …
Hydroelectric Power for IOT devices (more fun than practical) Read More »
One of my coworkers had setup a nice webcam, and looking at it, I thought, wow, that makes a big difference. In the world of working fully remotely, it seems like something worth having myself. I have been relying on built in webcams for ages, and it works, but it could be much better! I …
My bed at the parent’s farm was hurting my back – and with a old 5 inch spring mattress, it was clear the mattress there was a leading factor. A 2″ foam topper had not done much to help. When a friend start shopping for a mattress for their new apartment, it finally occurred to …
DIY Mattress – a crazy idea that actually worked Read More »
Of the many natural disasters that can befall our fields, two plagues in particular trouble the lands here. The first is my dad, armed with a riding mower. The second is my dad, armed with a backpack sprayer of herbicide. If a plant is not currently laden with flowers or fruits, it is ‘a weed’ …
