Today's soundtrack is Michael Card: Signature Songs. This morning's project is part two of the burping button project. I now have the necessary wiring to hook up the device to the button. Hardware: I started by taking off the top of the device to access the GPIO pins, then I attached two M/F wires into … Continue reading 03.29.2018: 30 Minutes of Raspberry Pi
03.28.2018: 30 Minutes of Songwriting
Today's soundtrack is Devin Townsend Project: Epicloud. I spent this morning's session setting up GVST's pitch correcting VST, Gsnap, in Reaper. I was able to set the vocal sources to accept the inputs of both my USB mic and Midi commands from a separate track, allowing me to input desired notes on the track. I … Continue reading 03.28.2018: 30 Minutes of Songwriting
03.27.2018: One Chapter of Nonfiction
Today's soundtrack is The Alan Parsons Project: I Robot. This evening, I'm continuing Ayn Rand's Philosophy: Who Needs It; I'm now on the second chapter, titled "Philosophical Detection." Rand begins the chapter by lamenting the decline of philosophy; she believes it has been abolished by Linguistic Analysis and Existentialism. She says that "the best way … Continue reading 03.27.2018: One Chapter of Nonfiction
03.26.2018: One Chapter of Math
Today's soundtrack is Wolf Alice: Visions of a Life. This afternoon, I'm on Chapter 13 of Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies, "Word Problems With Fractions, Decimals, and Percents." The chapter begins by discussing word problems that involve adding and subtracting fractions, decimals, or percents. The first step, of course, is to break the problem … Continue reading 03.26.2018: One Chapter of Math
03.25.2018: 30 Minutes of Raspberry Pi
Today's soundtrack is Kutless: Alpha / Omega. This evening's project is part of a larger project and is a bit of a crossover; I'm going to be working in Python to write a program for the Raspberry Pi. I found a fun-sounding project for my students: make the Raspberry Pi burp when you touch a … Continue reading 03.25.2018: 30 Minutes of Raspberry Pi
03.24.2018: 30 Minutes of Raspberry Pi
Today's soundtrack is Florence + The Machine: Lungs. I'm working with Raspberry Pi for the first time today. I started by plugging the HDMI cable into the second slot of the family computer's monitor, as it has dual input capabilities. I have a second keyboard and mouse ready to use (though I really have no … Continue reading 03.24.2018: 30 Minutes of Raspberry Pi
03.23.2018: One Lesson of Python
Today's soundtrack is Falkenbach: Asa. This afternoon's lesson in Coding Projects in Python continues work in Turtle Graphics. This lesson is called "Kaleido-spiral"; in it, I'll be learning to tell Python how to make pre-programmed repeating shapes and patterns. I started by importing Turtle, then making the background black, setting the turtle speed to fast, … Continue reading 03.23.2018: One Lesson of Python
03.22.2018: One Chapter of Math
Today's soundtrack is Monotheist: Scourge. I'm now on Chapter 12 of Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies, "Playing With Percents." "Percent" means, in practice, "out of 100" (p. 171). The symbol "%" means "percent." Percentage, fractions, and decimals are all ways of talking about parts of a whole. Any percentage under 100 is less than … Continue reading 03.22.2018: One Chapter of Math
03.21.2018: 30 Minutes of Songwriting
Today's soundtrack is Necrophagia: Season of the Dead. I'm working on writing lyrics today; I came up with a short phrase the other day that I want to expand upon. I also created a meme based on the lyrics.
03.20.2018: One Chapter of Nonfiction
Today’s soundtrack is P.O.D.: Murdered Love. I’m starting Pat Pattison’s Writing Better Lyrics as I sit in my car waiting for my wife to finish choosing her books in the bookstore. I couldn’t bear to sit in there any longer; the atmosphere was stiflingly hot, likely the environmental preference of the lone cashier, an elderly … Continue reading 03.20.2018: One Chapter of Nonfiction
03.19.2018: One Chapter of Nonfiction
Today’s soundtrack is Gorillaz: Humanz. I’m sitting on the beach in front of the hotel; my crocs are my desk on which my laptop rests. The sun above, the wind at my back, and the Pacific’s dull roar fill my senses with happiness. Today I’m reading the preface and the first chapter of Malcolm Gladwell’s … Continue reading 03.19.2018: One Chapter of Nonfiction
03.18.2018: One Chapter of Nonfiction
Today's soundtrack is Alt-J: An Awesome Wave. I'm sitting beside the window in my hotel in Seaside, Oregon. The sky is grey; the green ocean is endless. Rough clumps of beach grass sway in the wind, and the frothy whitecaps break against the beach in a dull roar of defeat. I've waxed eloquent today; this … Continue reading 03.18.2018: One Chapter of Nonfiction
Steven Mills 