Raspberry Pi communications protocol

I had thought to write  in Python a communications protocol to manage the I/O ports on the RPi from a program on a PC via a wireless link.   I had been putting together my ideas for how to configure each port for input or output, communicate this to the RPi and then handover to the program to manipulate the data on these ports.

But in the last two days I have come across two different ways that people have already implemented this sort of thing, so  I thought I would just reference them here in case I want to dig into this again in the future.

The first is using NetIO  http://netio.davideickhoff.de/?p=hardware#raspberry

The other is very clever and uses a Wii controller to drive a Roomba vacuum: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/2348

There we go.

Grey Power Party

In days of yore, the older generation were revered, and considered to be the wise sages or elders who could guide the community best. Now they are considered as either a nuisance or as a milk cow.

It is time to turn this around and get rid of the young upstarts who have been running down this country for the last 20 years.

I propose, as a starting place, the following points for a manifesto.

1. National debt: Margaret Thatcher had the right idea. We must not spend more than we have and we should not borrow. Stop Borrowing from the IMF, and stop paying out huge sums of money in foreign aid. The countries that need aid can go direct to the IMF. If there is still an imbalance, then we must discuss with the EU the size of our contribution.

2. Unemployment: Instead of paying people benefit or unemployment, they will be taken into the army and trained. Not to be soldiers, but in many other support and ancillary fields- Engineering and technology, catering, construction etc. We will need many new camps to house these army personnel, and they can build them. There will be no more money for nothing.

3. Illegal Immigrants. These will not be allowed to linger in camps, or be housed as benefit claimants, but will be sent to work the land. The larger army noted in 2 above will need feeding, and these are the people who will grow it.

4. Health: Preventative medicine will be the norm, but all aspects must be evidence based.
   - Organ donation will be an Opt-out situation, but people that opt-out will be responsible for their own health and may(?) not use the NHS.
   - Simplify Doctors expectations. They must not have a plethora of targets to meet, for each of which they are paid. This is too complex.
   - Obesity – Education, Nutrition and exercise. If you are obese, you are charged equivalently for things that you use. If you can afford to eat that much, then you can afford to pay for it.
   - Smoking – If you smoke, there is a premium to be paid to the NHS for any care given.
   - There will be a charge for all prescriptions. Too many 'free' prescriptions are picked up and never used.
5. Aid: If foreign countries want aid from us, it should be given in the form of skills to help these countries. Our unemployed university graduates should be paid to go and assist these countries. We will give them a salary, flights and accommodation. For students who do not have a job 6 months after graduation this should be mandatory instead of claiming unemployment and being treated as in 2 above. The salary will not be large.

6. Education and universities: It is not that we are interested only in what can be done for the oldies. We are aware that in our dotage the youth of today will hopefully have grown up and be able to run the country. Therefore we need them to have a good education. This education needs a good foundation and therefore has to start with the modern version of the three 'R's'. Reading and Arithmetic are still essential. In the post war period everybody could work in three umber systems, and convert easily between them. (Decimal, base 12, and base 20). And pounds weight (base 16) and stones (base 14). Fractions were also an essential part of the system. They still are. If the UK is to remain an industrial and inventive leader, then we need to re-invent the technical education concept.

Bicycle Crank Length: Bicycle Crank Length: Does it Matter?

Bicycle Crank Length: Bicycle Crank Length: Does it Matter?


The one consideration not mentioned in this post, is that the longer the crank length, the closer the crank will be to the ground as the rider leans into a corner. The outer edges of my pedals are worn due to this. If I had longer cranks I would not be able to turn as sharply.

Therefore when you consider the best length for the cranks for a cyclist of a given height, maybe the  bottom end should be higher  for a longer crank, thus changing the geometry of the whole bicycle. If the bottom end is higher, then the top  of the travel of the pedals will be higher also, but by the amount higher the bottom bracket is plus the extra length of the crank.

Now we have to consider at what angle of teh knee the cyslist can give the optimum force to the pedal.

At this point I will leave it all to the author of the original post.

Cheers,

Life.

So, I have just turned 66. I hope to live to 90, so that gives me another 24 years.
24 years  at 365 days/year at 24 hours/day gives me 210,240 hours left to live.

But I expect to sleep for 8 hours a night (I hope) so that reduces my available lifetime by
8 x 365 x24 = 70,080 hours.

 Equals about 140,000 hours left to live.

I had better get on with it.

Windows 8

I have recently installed a Beta copy of Windows 8 on a computer.  There was a link to it from winnews.com.

The first problem was finding an available computer with a DVD drive, but by doing some swapping around of drives I got one into my Big-Dell computer. It installed quite easily, as long as I let it have it's head. I deleted all the partitions from Drive 1, and let it install there.

The only problem was that it did not find my wireless USB stick right off, but once I installed the driver from the XP disc it was happy. It did not need the configuration/management utility. I also installed Libre-office and Google Chrome, and both of those work well.

It seems quite fast, as it should on that computer. It keeps asking about the security of things I am connecting or installing, which is good, but I have to consider what Virus checking/firewall to put in place.

It doesn't have the familiar start menu, but on power-up it does have a set of icons on the desktop for different functions. Once I have entered one, or done something different, I am not sure what to do to bring these icons back. It it not intuitive.

The biggest thing missing at this point is a software power-off means. I have had to use the big button so far.

Three Early Stages of Retirement

1) I wear all the shirts that I usually wore for work until they wear out.

2) I wear all the other shirts in the wardrobe that I didn't like or they were kept for important days at at work.

3) I get to buy shirts that are colourful, or plaid, or cheap, or from teh charity shop, that my kids think are totally not with it.

I am at the end of stage 1. I am not looking forward to some of those shirts in stage 2 as they were itchy, or didn't feel quite right in the fit.  I wonder if I can get rid of some of them in the charity bags?