DIY

When I was young I told myself that when I was grown up I wanted to be able to do lots of things on my own, and never pay someone to do something that I could do myself.  Which is pretty much the basis for 99% of all DIY projects.

Anyhow, here are some of the project's I've done in the past year: 

THE RETRO PI

A Raspberry Pi is a miniature computer, the size of a pack of cards, that is very simply and cheaply built with basic components.  People have taken them and created modifications of both software and hardware to create home theater hubs, security systems, programming teaching tools, and (my favorite) retro console machines.

Basically people have created software programs that mimic old video game systems like the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Atari, and pretty much anything and everything built before 2000.  So with some birthday money I bought a Pi kit, put it together, and now I can enjoy Mega Man X, Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, many other wonderful games of my childhood.

All of the pieces.

The assembled gaming machine. 

OPERATION HD EXCHANGE

Our home computer is a 2012 model mac mini.  In 2010 Apple changed from this mac mini design to this slightly smaller configuration.  Then in 2011 they decided to get rid of the CD drive and that's been the design ever since.  The reason I tell you this is because while Apple got rid of the CD drive, they didn't do anything with the space that it previously took up, so every mac mini has room for an extra hard drive in that compact design.

My 2008 macbook has had a broken screen for a few years, and the power supply has seen it's last legs, but I've kept it around because it has all of my music and pictures from college and my mission.  Well, it just so happens that the hard drive in a 2008 macbook fits perfectly into the open spot in the 2012 mac mini, so I  got a mounting kit, and dismantled my computer to add this new drive inside so I could get rid of my laptop and add the additional storage to my desktop.

Opening up the laptop was the easy part.

Following along with the iFixit guide.

Action shot

It all went back together, a very good sign. 

Then I spent an hour copying files, backing up, formatting, etc.

work

It has been quite some time since I blogged. I have found more useful things to fill my time, mostly I got a job and they pay me to sit at a computer, so I don't do as much here at home.

I work at Anderson Engineering, it is a civil engineering firm that specializes in environmental remediation, but also does all general civil/survey stuff.  By 'general civil/survey' I mean road design, site layout and design, parcel surveys, and so on and so forth.  I however do not really work with anything general civil-ly or survy-ey, I am part of the Kennecott team and I just do environmental analysis, remediation, sampling, and reporting.  I really love my job.  I get to learn all kinds of things about Kennecott and their copper mining operation here in Salt Lake Valley.  I also do a lot of computer work, database management, map making/editing, and again, report writing.

Out side of working everyday I play StarCraft, I watch TV shows (Bones, Eureka, Doctor Who) with Stephanie.  We obviously expecting a baby in a month, which is a big deal.  Perhaps when he is born I'll actually update this blog from time to time with stuff about being a dad... but perhaps I won't.

That's not all my life, but that's all for now.

Desktop Update

Since HP7.2 has come and gone (great movie btw) I decided to update my desktop background:

I thought about creating countdowns for each game... but I don't really have the time (or need) for that right now.  But in also exciting news, the apartment we will be moving into has internet and cable as part of the rent, so I'll have the ESPN channels I need to watch all the BYU games :-)

Also, I got this background from this page on the Cougar Board

1 weeks

I recently got really geeky, and I created something so wonderful I just have to share it.
For the past three months or so I have had various pictures of BYU basketball players as my desktop background, but as BYU basketball ended, so too did the backgrounds.  I didn't feel like finding any special pictures at the moment so I just opened up the default picture folders that Apple gives you, browsed through some of the pictures (they give you a lot, some cool B&W pics, some weird nature ones, and a couple classic pieces of art).  I ended up picking this Japanese looking wave painting called "The Great Wave."

As I enjoyed my new background I began to fantasize of how great it would be to have a truly functional background, one that could display the time or date perhaps, or maybe show weather or have a calendar even.  So I began a google search for 'function desktops' or 'live desktops' even 'auto-updating desktop pictures'...  and although it took me a bit I was sitting in a boring class, so time wasn't an issue.

Eventually I stumbled upon GeekTool 3.0, and well, it's a tool for geeks!  With the program (a simple system preference pannel) you can create "geeklets" that allow you to take auto-updating images, files, or unix-shell commands and paste them on top of your existing desktop image.  It's really a great and amazing little tool, and as far as I'm aware it's for mac only, which makes me feel special.

I browsed a website where people had uploaded pictures of what they had done to customize their desktops and also uploaded files and scripts of their geeklets.  Some of them were really cool, and eventually I made my own desktop collection:

Now, the most exciting part of this is in the front and center of my desktop, a countdown!  This I'm particularly proud of because I had to do a hefty bit of editing to the geeklet I downloaded inorder to get this one to show up just the way I wanted it to.  I however did not go in depth enough to program it to read of singular times with singular units (1 hour, instead of 1 hours).  And this is why I am pleased to announce that I have precisely 1 weeks, 1 days, and two hours until my last class is over :-)

(Sorry this post is so long, but another new toy of mine is Bowtie, a desktop-level iTunes controller/identifier.)

sack lunch?

I love having lunch while I'm at school.  Don't tell my wife this, but I am actually really, really glad that she gets up and packs some leftovers into a tupperware for me to heat up and eat for the days lunch break. (I usually tell her not to worry about it, and that I'll be fine).  I like to be able to sit down, eat some real food, and take a break from staring a computer screens (food isn't allowed in the CAEDM lab you see).

What really irks me about having lunch though is using the microwaves on campus.  No, I don't have a problem with their interface, I do think there are enough of them, and I don't think they're *too* gross to be used, but the other people using them need a butt kicking if you ask me.

Why do we use a microwave?  to be fast.  What are most people I see using the microwaves doing?  not being fast.  I refuse to stand in line behing Mr. Picky-Eater as he heats his pizza for 25 seconds, stops, turns it, dabs grease off the top and puts it in for another 25.  I hate watching as people insert last night's casserole for 30 seconds, take it out, stir it, put it in again for 30, take it out, stir it, put it in for another 30... and on and on!

If I see someone standing in front of the microwave (there is only one in the Clyde Bldg.) there is usually someone behind them so I will go somewhere else, get a drink, to the bathroom, anything for a few minutes to avoid watching them take their precious time heating up food over and over.  Most days I end up having to go into the MARB where there are two microwaves and I have never had to wait in line.

To me a sack lunch is good for being cheap and fast (you don't have to wait in line to have someone else make your sandwich) and these people are ruining half of it.  Either they don't value their time much or they value their food way too much.