The Ek's Files
Putting the "Ek" in "Geek"
MSI Wind Not So Karmic (yet)
Nov 5th
As promised in my previous post, I gave Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) Netbook Remix a test drive on my MSI Wind U100 last night. The results were promising yet disappointing. Karmic Koala is clearly not ready for the MSI Wind, but I’m crossing my fingers that the situation will change soon.
Had I done a little research beforehand, I’d have discovered this in advance. The release notes mention two separate issues: one with USB, and the other with the screen flickering. Indeed, I experienced the screen flickering, which was enough (in my opinion) to render this version unusable. Hopefully that’ll be fixed soon.
Ubuntu 9.10 Released! First Impression
Nov 3rd
The release of Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) is old news, I know. And after one of my previous posts, you might think I wouldn’t care. But one of my previous Ubuntu installations left behind a few files that, by Windows XP standards, had invalid filenames (I’m to blame for that, not Ubuntu) and couldn’t be deleted. So I grabbed the latest Ubuntu iso, burned it to a DVD, and booted from the Ubuntu Live CD (it’s a way to run Ubuntu without actually installing it) to see if I could delete them that way. I was impressed with what I saw.
Sneak Preview: New ASCOM Driver
Oct 29th
Update: Yang reported an error with the driver not handling COM ports other than COM1. I think I’ve corrected that issue, so if you had the same problem, uninstall the driver, redownload it, and reinstall and give it a whirl.
If you’re using this new driver, please leave me a comment below and let me know.
I’ve been working on an updated ASCOM driver for my digital setting circles project for quite some time now. Yeah, I’m slow. At any rate, it’s just about ready for prime time, but I could use some beta testers to give it a whirl. (See below for a link to the download.)
What’s new, you ask? Well, I rewrote the thing, basically. It still bears some resemblance to the old driver, but it also now includes syncing and slewing capabilities, and an upgraded interface for performing the alignment process.
Netbooks for Astronomy?
Oct 18th
Being a techie kind of a guy, you’d think I’d be more abreast of the latest in computer hardware and gadgets. But up until a few months ago, I was pathetically unaware of the new class of computer hardware known as the netbook.
Netbooks first popped up on my radar screen when I stumbled upon an article describing how somebody was successfully running Mac OS X on theirs. That was (and still is) intriguing to me–OS X is supposed to be pretty slick, but I’ve always been put off by the Mac price tag. But I digress.
Consolidation
Oct 11th
If you were expecting to land on one of my other web sites (like one of my blogs, or my Digital Setting Circles web site), you might be a bit surprised at having been thrust into unfamiliar territory. But, rest assured, you’ve arrived in the right place. In one of my seemingly-endless fits of dorkery, I decided to consolidate all my web content back in one place. And this is the place. Hopefully, your arrival is the result of being smoothly redirected.
Bye Bye ‘buntu
Sep 20th
A year ago I was having a lot of fun playing with and using Ubuntu. I’d created a nice dual-boot system that allowed me to switch between Ubuntu and Windows as desired, and I probably spent more than half my time on the Ubuntu side. That was, until two things happened:
1) I got my iPod Nano, and
2) Ubuntu 9.04 was released.
Field Day 2009: NKØE, wGØAT, Rooster, and Peanut Head for the Hills
Jun 30th
Update (20 Sept 2009): Here’s wGØAT’s YouTube video of the whole excursion!
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Field Day 2009 was a total blast for me this year! After missing the last few years for various reasons, I finally managed to get out of the house and on the trail with Steve wGØAT and his QRP goats Rooster and Peanut (well-known characters here in the list). As usual, we chose Mt. Herman (just west of Monument, Colorado) as our Field Day site, due to its close proximity, elevation, and abundance of excellent campsites.
I met Steve at his place on Friday afternoon, and he promptly provided me with my own official QRPgoat expedition t-shirt–a picture of Rooster with the caption, “Old Goats Rule–QRP Adventures.” For me, this was like getting my Gold Card–I knew I’d *arrived*!
Notes to Self
Jun 23rd
I think I got my money’s worth during last night’s guitar lesson. At my previous lesson, Charlie Hall (my guitar teacher) had given me a neat little arrangement of Here Comes the Sun (written by George Harrison) to work on. One of the things I like about Charlie is that he keeps me supplied with interesting music to use for learning and practice, and I had no trouble motivating myself to work on that piece for the past two weeks. I got it down, too, more or less–I never play anything without making a mistake or two, and I could certainly stand some improvement, but I could get through most of it and feel like I was making music.
So I showed up to my guitar lesson yesterday evening, and while I was waiting for my turn with Charlie I played through the song a couple of times for warmup. No problems there.
Then it was my turn with Charlie.
SENA Bluetooth Adapters with Digital Setting Circles
May 25th
Eddie from Australia wrote me recently to tell me about his success using a serial-to-bluetooth adapter to connect his Digital Setting Circles board to his laptop (avoiding the serial cable which is an obvious tripping hazard, especially in the dark during an observing session). Eddie is using the SENA Parani-SD 200 serial-to-bluetooth adapter connected to the DSC board, and the SENA Parani UD100 USB-to-bluetooth adapter with his laptop.
A Box for the Digital Setting Circles Board
May 25th
A question from a builder of my Digital Setting Circles project caused me to notice a plastic enclosure that another builder had used to contain the circuit board for that project. Oscar’s web page gives a nice narrative on how he built my project, and this page shows a nice enclosure with a clear plastic top he used for the project. The box came from Jameco, and it appears to be part no. 141832. Make no mistake–you’ll have to cut holes in the sides for the serial connector, encoder connectors, and battery connector, but at least the box is about the right size and looks to be easy to work with. I’m sure there are other suitable enclosures out there, as well.
If you’ve used another enclosure and liked the results, leave a comment below and tell me about it.
