tw's blog

Die Roller is rolling

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It rolls a die, controlled by USB. It’s not done yet.

Working on this project makes me hungry for some reason.

An der schönen blauen Donau

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Clara and I performing a recorder duet at our school talent show; Very Serious Classical Music. read more...

Troubleshooting Rule #3: Is it working as designed?

Sometimes you start by troubleshooting assuming something’s broken, when really it’s just not working the way you expected. Put another way, it’s “working as designed” - but you and the designer miscommunicated, or disagreed.

Some questions to ask: read more...

Fall Creek School of Rock

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The final edited video for the first performance of our elementary school’s School of Rock - an 80-member rock band including ages from pre-K to fifth grade and skill levels from complete novice to experienced performers. That’s me oompahing on the tuba at 1:33. I suggested the song, arranged it and did lead vocals and tuba for a performance by our adult band as a demo for the kids, and coached the wind section. My daughter is visible singing at 2:02 (on left, in profile) and at various other places. The whole project was a blast, and we’re now working on our next song in the second 10-week session. read more...

One Bottle of Pop

Fellow parent Angela Comprone (of Not From Wisconsin) and I helped Clara’s first grade class learn “One Bottle of Pop.” This is our performance at this week’s school assembly. I was impressed that they could really get the round going.

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Wavin' Flag

Clara received this song on a mix CD from her cousins, and it got into both of our heads. So she wanted to perform it at our school’s assembly. I’m very excited that we can do harmonies together now!

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A cat that fetches?

Of course many cats like to play with toys, and chase them, but I’ve never had one before that would bring a toy to me, fetch it back, and repeat ad infinitum. I thought that was a dog thing.

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New robot chassis

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For some reason, I’ve always wanted to build a robot with tracks, and I’ve lusted after the Tamiya tank tread kit at SparkFun. So, when I scored $40 of credit on their recent Free Day, I bought it and the relevant accessories. read more...

Oscar 1994 - 28 November 2009

Oscar on the sidewalk

(the photos below and more are in a gallery of Oscar photos)

I first met Oscar at a party given by Mary Crinnin. I was playing guitar, and he came up and sat next to me all while I was playing. read more...

Beard trimmer from cordless to cordful

Finished trimmer with power supply

Some people are not men (it’s true). Some men don’t shave (or trim their beards in any way). Some don’t use electric shavers (or beard trimmers). All those people may not find this article the least interesting.

Those who do use electric shavers (and I will use that word to include ‘trimmers’ henceforth for simplicity), however, are likely familiar with the dominant shaver design paradigm: the cordless shaver. read more...

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