this and that

It seems that any pet I get is either black, white, or both. Not sure why, its just the way I role I guess.

Besides that, my day was full of this and that, mostly love and hate.

Typically Id use Google Chrome, but it wouldnt let me play Dr. Mario for some reason...so I used Firefox. I started blogging on my other blog and got about 2000 words on there when I had to leave my internet source.

Unfortunately I was using Windows. Today, it made me hate it more. While I was on the way back here (Adams grandmas house) Windows decided to restart for God knows why (last time I checked it already updated) and, of course, closed every program without asking me.

I logged back on and Firefox restored about 500 of my words on my blogger. Good Firefox. But damn thats a lot missing.

Now this is why I love blogger. It saved my draft all the way up to the 2000th word. WIN!!!

And Its still love/hate between Dr. Mario. BLEH.

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Humboldt MCU Opportunity Tech Companies Recruiting IoT Developers

One of my goals for this blog is to identify ways for Humboldt microcontroller (MCU) users to earn money and to try to highlight those money-making opportunities for people who are interested in them. It will help Humboldt people and the regional economy if we can increase the number of Humboldt MCU-related paid projects and jobs.

IoT concept graphic (from comsoc.org)

Wired.com had a short July 25 article, "Tech Giants Begin Recruiting for the Next Big Platform Wars", which talked about a technology-economy trend that Humboldt MCU people should be aware of and should look at as an opportunity for projects or jobs. The article says that the Internet of Things (IoT) is going to be a huge revenue opportunity for MCU developers, the next big platform. The killer app for the IoT hasnt come over the horizon yet, and there is no clear leader among companies competing to cash in on the billions of dollars expected to be spent on embedded computing systems and other IoT products and services. Even though no company has a firmly established lead, those organizations who want to have a chance in this race are hiring technical people, including MCU developers, to create and improve their organizations products. As Wired puts it:

Microcontroller (from ti.com)

"The Internet of Things is still young, but it’s real. There are already dozens of internet-connected devices available, ranging from home-automation tools to wearable fitness trackers. And it’s about to start growing at an even faster pace. According a new survey...17 percent of the world’s software developers are already working on Internet of Things projects. Another 23 percent are planning to start an IoT project within the next six months. The most popular devices? Security and surveillance products, connected cars, environmental sensors and smart lights and other office automation tools. The world’s largest tech companies are already in fierce competition to attract developers to their respective connected device platforms. After all, the winners of these new platform wars will define the future of computing."

Two previous technology-economy trend platforms early stages that employed a lot of developers were when businesses started having websites on the Internet and when the iPhone catalyzed a huge market for smartphone apps. New sustainable trends have a tipping point where the trend actually becomes an important economic factor and creates a significant amount of ongoing sales and reliable employment. The IoT appears to be approaching that tipping point, and the Wired article is saying the trend is sustainable and there will be a large number of steady employment opportunities for IoT developers. The Barrons.com article "Silicon Labs Tuned In for Upside" phrased it this way:

"...we dont think IoT for Silicon Labs will turn out to be an overextended hype cycle. Connected/smart-home adoption has parallels to smartphones in 2008, where developers created unanticipated high-value applications on a platform to drive rapid adoption. From that perspective, 50 billion IoT devices by 2020 does not seem unreasonable."

Other recent articles about MCUs, embedded computing and the IoT have also talked about MCU-developer opportunities in the upcoming months and years. So the question at this point is, how can Humboldt developers get involved with the IoT platform to make money? Ill talk more about this topic in some of the future posts on this blog. But for now, Humboldt MCU developers and users might consider doing some or all of the following activities.

1. Learn a lot about the IoT and microcontrollers and keep up-to-date on these two topics.
2. Learn more about the IoT and MCUs by designing and building unique projects and document them online.
3. Use the internet to document and promote your IoT and MCU knowledge and skill.
4. Teach a class about Arduinos, MCUs or the IoT.
5. Build and promote interesting MCU / IoT products and sell them online.
6. Identify and reach out to knowledgeable and interesting people who are relatively well-connected in the IoT and MCU communities.
7. Use craigslist and other online developer job boards to look for MCU / IoT job or project opportunities and to advertise your availability for MCU / IoT projects and employment.

All the above activities can be done without participating in any of the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group meetings or collaborative MCU projects.

But the above money-making activities can also be done with people who are active in the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group. In my experience, its often more fun and more interesting to work on projects or activities with other people who have complementary or similar knowledge and interests. If youre interested in discussing any of the above IoT money making opportunities, come to the next MCU meeting. Or email me at arcatabob (at) gmail {dott} com.

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Arduino And littleBits

So yesterdays post was about littleBits and the new cloudBits that seems to make it pretty easy for littleBits to play with the Internet of Things. Writing that post made me curious about the combination of Arduino and littleBits.

Arduino-At-Heart module for littleBits

A TechCrunch article from May 2014 covered the Arduino-At-Heart module for littleBits and the Arduino Starter Bundle. TechCrunch explains the collaboration between these two tech ecosystems this way:

"The world of littleBits...can now play friendly with Arduino. If you’re not familiar with littleBits, it might help to think of it as a DIY Electronics kit mashed up with LEGO. Each “bit” is an individual electronic component, like a speaker, or a light sensor, or a blinky LED. Snap them together, and you can do all sorts of cool stuff — no programming required...That “no programming required” point has always been one of littleBits’ biggest strengths; it meant that anyone could start putting stuff together, pretty much by accident. Alas, up until now, “no programming required” also meant “no programming allowed”...The littleBits idea is great — but once a particularly enthusiastic user hit the limits of what their kit could do, the next step (learning to

use a standalone Arduino board, which meant also learning proper circuitry, soldering, etc.) was suddenly a pretty big one...This morning, littleBits is introducing an Arduino module into the mix. It’ll snap right into place — no soldering required — just like the other littleBits modules, with one big difference: it’s programmable. You get the programmability of an Arduino, without having to learn the myriad other prerequisite skills. You jack into it via the onboard microUSB port, upload your programming via the standard Arduino IDE, and all of your littleBits modules fall in line."

The Engadget May 2014 coverage of the littleBits Arduino module rollout talks about some of the advantages of this module:

"...it also opens the door to interaction with your computer. Since the Arduino module has USB support built-in, you can create Etch-A-Sketches, Pong games and other programs that have LittleBits and your PC working in harmony. Rothman adds that many existing Arduino projects should work with only a few slight tweaks to pin assignments."

Arduino Starter Bundle for littleBits

This Instructables shows what was previously involved with adding Arduino capabilities to the littleBits synth kit before the Arduino-littleBits modules became available.

To learn more about the littleBits Arduino module, check out the webpage for that module. If you want to know more about the littleBits Arduino starter kit, heres a link to that webpage.

At the next meeting of the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group, Ill ask how many people there have worked with littleBits. If no one has, it would be an interesting exercise to get a few littleBits modules and see what all the options are for combining them with traditional microcontroller projects. If you have littleBits modules and are coming to the August 7 MCU meeting, please bring them to the meeting. Thanks!

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How to get through an intersection with no lights blinking red light

I was waiting for my bus today when PG&E shut off the power to the intersection. The turn lights completely shut off and the normal lights were blinking...typically what happens when street lamps are reset.

...

First few minutes, no fails. Good job. The first fail started when someone went into the turn lane and stayed there...for a very...long...time....as if she couldnt see that the stop light next to it was blinking!!!

So she finally goes. I notice that there is a guy at the cross walk waiting to cross...as if he couldnt see the giant blinking red lights. He continued to push the button to cross the street.

>.>

Then a lady came and tried to do the same thing but finally crossed. He jogged across along with her.

AND THEN

a car jumped in front of another car (this actually happened about five times from the fifteen minutes I was at the stop) as if the other car was supposed to wait when they had the right away.

OK so heres my guide to surviving outed street lamps and blinking red lights.

First off you do the same thing at stop signs, blinking red lights, and outed lamps. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. If you dont know what to do at a stop light then you should reread your drivers ed handbook.

Second, communicate. Is this dude about to go? If so, dont push on the gas pedal or walk into the street.

If you are on your feet and there is a blinking red light, the sign will not tell you to walk. Do what you do at a stop sign. If you dont have the common sense then whatever, get hit. Darwin at his
best.

If you are in the crosswalk and a car starts coming, STOP. If the driver proceeds to yell at you, smile and flip them off.

and most of all...
DO NOT VS BUSES!!!

they tend to win when things get physical.

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