“It is not how long we spend with someone that matters. It's the effect of that encounter that makes the difference.”
Mimi Novic
The final moments of the year pass - and what a year! So much travel and such healing after the "interesting times" of 2017. Many visits with family both here and elsewhere. So many friends staying with us, and so many times that we were hosted. Thank you everyone for you contributions to tertiusactus - a third act worth every moment!
“The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers.”
Sydney J. Harris
We have made reference to the clock project before (here, here and here), and now with some summer time on our hands we have been working away at shaving superfluous bytes off the original poorly conceived code in order to accommodate the marvelous AtMega88A chip (AU$0.80 each).
And it's working beautifully with the basic premise as follows:
sleep all the time (100μA, most of which is PIR sensor)
wake up if heat is detected (i.e. a human) and display the time and temperature
wake up if slide switch to set clock is toggled, and use buttons to set clock time
So even though it looks like a dog's breakfast at the moment, the result is lovely and we'll chuck it all together in a nicely soldered package soon. Perhaps even make a PCB to save on soldering.
Cut the red wire!
The "fun" part of the project has been making the cradle AVR programmer which makes uploading code and therefore development such a breeze. We've made a few of these now for different chips and damn if they don't just work and make life so much easier. More power to the soldering iron we say.
Atmega88a being programmed by USBasp
Now we build the actual clocks and hopefully it will work well "out of the box".
To reinforce that it is really Christmas time, we had a visit from this little fellow today. Hey mate - enjoy the best the season has to offer!
“One benefit of Summer was that each day we had more light to read by.”
Jeannette Walls
As we hurtle towards 2019 there are some nice days around Christmas which include activities such as catching up with family and friends. Local gatherings have more meaning now that the faces are familiar, and we all talk about the weather, the hay, the fire season, the grandchildren (or grandpuppy if that's the case).
It has been 1102 days since arriving on the island and it is amazing what we have learned, including most important of all how to slow down and enjoy. It reminds us of holidays where we go from full work to full relaxation and several days are "wasted" as we dart hither and thither as if still in the daily grind of employment. Here in Tassie it has taken at least a year or so to understand the importance of doing nothing - mindfulness indeed!
It is not all relaxation though as we started making homebrew in November and finally after six weeks of less than mindful waiting we have opened the first one!
Looks like beer, tastes like beer
The result is a lovely crisp hoppy IPA with a punch like a heavyweight champion - perfect for watching cricket and "wasting" time during summer. Speaking (er, writing) of watching cricket, it remains quite cool here in Tassie despite the heatwaves assaulting the mainland. So de rigueur for staying comfortable is a blanket with legs.
Headless dog blanket
We hope that your festive season is just as relaxing - and that you enjoy your friends and family with presents and more importantly with presence.
“The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink”
George Orwell, 1984
We've been hearing a lot about end times lately, but it is certainly not new to wish for the end to personal responsibility and to hand over the gift of this life to someone else - and indeed the story of one of our most famous end times cults of the last four hundred years makes for fascinatingly faithful fare (sorry for the always annoying alliteration).
At the time of the ascendancy of the Münster Anabaptists, the signs for impending doom were generally accepted and of course the resultant bloody rebellion was the most awful news for the women in that society - first subjugated and sexually enslaved by their own men of faith, then violently dealt with by mercenaries hired by the local expelled bishop. Gosh, surely that couldn't happen again? Well, except for maybe Jim Jones or David Koresh or, er, OK so maybe we still need to be vigilant!
The apparent contradiction of some of the best conditions on the planet, together with the rising spectre of climate change and the ever-present threat of economic instability can lead to some interesting contrasts, all inflamed by the cauldron of the internet (accountability anyone?)
And speaking of contrasts, whilst our north island compatriots are facing temperatures of around 40 degrees at the moment, this morning we were collecting cherries in our raincoats, and then returned to our house where the fire has been on for the last 24 hours or so!
Yes sir, yes sir, three buckets full
Smelly Kelly loves to be involved all the time with what the humans are doing and so she actually stole some cherries to have for herself - not to eat apparently, just for decoration in her "nest".
What cherries?
So cozy is it inside at the moment that our little birdy type friends cannot stand being out in the rain - or maybe it is the faux berries on the Christmas decorations causing a bird brain fade?
Anyhoo, grateful are we for the cherries, the fire, the cozy puppies, the crazy birds and of course for life itself - may it not end soon despite the ongoing gloomy forecasts!
My favorite power food is Greek yoghurt and honey.
Misty May-Treanor
After heating up some ordinary supermarket milk (boosted with two heaped dessert spoonfuls of powdered milk) to just pre-boiling, we rapidly cool it down in an ice bath to room temperature and then inoculate it with a couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt from the last batch. Pop it in the EasyYo container for just over 12 hours, cool in the fridge and voila - surprisingly good yoghurt. Cheap and easy(yo), our favourite combination!
OK so we dug in to test it, making a heart shaped dent!
We've been to a couple of TFS run sessions lately, just to find out what to do if a conflagration looms on the horizon. Conclusion? Run away!
The circle of learning
It seems strange sometimes to think about a big fire on the property - we've often had our fireplace in action right up to around Christmas, and sometimes back on again late January! Just today, after a marathon session mowing and then slashing in the paddocks, down came the rain to alleviate the heat and humidity. Thanks Tasmania - we like the cool stuff.
With Anthony and Kym both at home at the moment (well done holiday season), we are looking forward to completing many projects around the place - helped by our many visitors? Time will tell, and it would be nice if the weather co-operated. As Christmas looms we are looking forward to a full house and even fuller stomachs.
“How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, His precepts!”
Benjamin Franklin
Bunnings currently sells Solar Lights at $1 a pop, but they throw an insipid light and have a paltry 150 Mah NiMh battery that gives little joy hardly commensurate with the importance of the season. So we felt a little "pimp my light" session coming on, which happily coincides with great success on the joule thief front. A typical joule thief oscillates like mad, producing voltage that is suitable for an LED, in that it flickers so fast that the human observing is convinced it's a solid lamp. Our $20 oscilloscope reports a frequency of around 140KHz:
Crazy oscillations
So recently we've been wondering if we couldn't wring the last out of our batteries in a more productive manner. Obscure Russian web page to the rescue, and our reworked circuit has been tested and found wonderful for producing a solid DC current that is suitable for flickering LEDs (which contain a small IC). Indeed the exciting news is that we are able to sustainably power our favourite Attiny13 microcontroller, which has interesting possibilities for the future (watch this space).
So all is now in order for a retrofit of the Bunnings light - firstly, cut out the existing circuit and change out the anaemic 150 Mah battery with a more respectable 2100 Mah version. Then replace inadequate generic solar garden light circuitry with our modified version based on the QX5252 chip.
Out with the old, in with the new
Before you can say "stable DC current please" we have the new circuitry in it's old housing and ready for lashings of hot glue.
Not dodgy looking at all!
Finally we can close it all up and gaze upon a Christmas landing strip that Old Nick will be no doubt chuffed to visit come late December. Here is the new trace via the oscilloscope...
Stable as, Bro!
And if you are wondering what is the point of all this, here is the result before suturing as well as the view that Santa will get from above.
