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Author SHA1 Message Date
Tanner Collin
42698372ad Split home page into two columns 2021-06-16 07:28:38 +00:00
150 changed files with 966 additions and 3317 deletions
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Title: About
Date: 2022-07-23
Category: Notes
Summary: About me and my website.
Short: a
Wide: true
## Me
I was born in the early '90s and spent a lot of time growing up playing with computers and electricity. It eventually became my passion and lead to me getting a degree in electrical engineering with a minor in computer engineering. I then got into makerspaces and the maker movement: like-minded people getting together to build things for fun. Most of what I build is software because I can work on it from anywhere. When I build physical things they usually involve electricity as a means to allow software to interact with the world. I work in the home automation field and have spent a lot of time automating my own home.
### Uses
I do my computing on a ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop running Debian GNU/Linux with GNOME. Most of my work is done over ssh because it allows me to pause or move to my desktop quickly and there's less risk of losing data. I edit text with Vim in Byobu (tmux) terminal sessions. I browse the web with Librewolf, a privacy fork of Firefox. I mainly communicate via Telegram Messenger or email.
I don't like tweaking or configuring settings so I try to leave things default unless something really annoys me or it improves my workflow greatly. It's easy to sink an infinite amount of time into optimizing your workflow and then die having made nothing.
## Website
There's two versions of this website, a main version at <https://tannercollin.com> and a lite version at <https://t0.vc>. The reason is because I found myself continually removing features from the main version for sport and to satisfy my millennial craving for brutalist design. I was already running several [[t0 Services | services]] on t0.vc subdomains but had nothing on the main domain. So it's the perfect use for it and I can experiment to see how brutalist I can make it.
### Colophon
I use the static site generator Pelican to build the websites from a folder of markdown documents which I edit with Obsidian in Vim mode. This makes writing content feel like taking notes, since media and internal links are taken care of. The two versions are simply different themes loaded by different Pelican configs. The output is uploaded to my host via rsync and served by Nginx.
You can find the [source code](https://git.tannercollin.com/tanner/personal-site) on my Gitea.

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content/Acoustic Panels.md
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Title: Theatre Acoustic Panels
Date: 2021-10-21
Category: Creations
Summary: Panels for acoustic treatment in my home theatre.
Short: 3
Acoustic treatment is one of the most overlooked aspects of home audio. There's no point in spending money on premium speakers if the room they are playing in has poor acoustics.
The primary purpose of acoustic panels is to reduce the reverberations caused by sound reflecting off the smooth walls of the theatre. The path of the reflected sound is a longer distance to your ear compared to the sound coming directly from the speaker. This causes the reflected sound to be delayed by the time it reaches your ear. The delayed signal interferes with itself, causing comb filtering which distorts the signal.
Acoustic panels are placed geometrically where the sound from the speakers would reflect off the wall to reach the listener's ears. The insulation inside the panels absorbs energy from the soundwave which reduces its volume and interference.
![[ panel1.jpg | twelve L-shaped corners of the panels stacked together leaning on a table saw in a wood shop]]
I made six frames in the wood shop of my local makerspace, [[Protospace]]. After cutting the 1x4" pine boards to length, I made a jig so I could quickly join them together with screws.
![[ panel2.jpg | a panel with insulation inside on the ground about to be wrapped with black fabric]]
I added 4" batts of Rockwool insulation into each frame after it was assembled. I then wrapped the frame with black speaker fabric and stapled it in place while trying to pull it taut.
I sat in my theatre while a friend slid a handheld mirror along the wall until I could see the middle of the speaker in its reflection. This told me the centre point of where to mount each panel because the reflected sound would take the same path to my ear.
<span class="aside">(Four in the front, two in the back)</span>
![[panel3.jpg | four black acoustic panels mounted on the walls in my home theatre]]

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content/ChatGPT Peanut Butter Cookies.md
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Title: ChatGPT Peanut Butter Cookies
Date: 2023-03-24
Category: Writing
Summary: A recipe generated by ChatGPT for peanut butter cookies.
Short: 2
<span class="aside">(describe a house fire in the style of a crappy blog post that people put above recipes that tell their life story before getting to the point about how their house burned down) </span>The flames danced around the living room, illuminating the memories that were now nothing more than ash. It was a warm summer evening, and we were all gathered in the backyard, enjoying the company of good friends and family. Little did we know that our lives were about to change forever.
As we sat there, we heard a loud explosion and turned to see our house engulfed in flames. The fire department arrived quickly, but it was too late. Our home was destroyed, and with it, all of our belongings and cherished memories. It was a devastating loss, but we are grateful to have each other and the support of our community during this difficult time.
<span class="aside">(conclude it with a segue for a peanut butter cookies recipe) </span>As we rebuild and move forward, we find comfort in the small things, like the smell of fresh-baked peanut butter cookies. Here's a recipe that has been passed down in our family for generations. We hope it brings you the same warmth and comfort it has brought us.
<span class="aside">(give me a recipe for peanut butter cookies) </span>
Ingredients:
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract in a bowl.
3. Mix until well combined.
4. Roll the dough into small balls and place them on a baking sheet.
5. Flatten each ball with a fork, making a crisscross pattern on top.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
![[cookies1.jpg]]
![[cookies2.jpg]]
![[cookies3.jpg]]
![[cookies4.jpg]]
Human: The cookies turned out not bad. Too sweet, unsurprisingly with all that sugar. I like peanut butter cookies that are chewy, I'll ask for that next time. The mouthfeel is basically peanut butter giving way to grains of sugar.

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Title: Fake Dog for Home Security
Date: 2022-06-27
Category: Creations
Summary: Fake dog barking for home security while on vacation.
Short: 7
I set up a fake dog that barks if my surveillance cameras are triggered while I'm out of town on vacation. It's a pair of computer speakers plugged into a Raspberry Pi, which is an inexpensive single-board computer. One speaker faces the front door and the other faces the side door.
When the front door camera is triggered my surveillance camera system sends a message to the Raspberry Pi. A simple program plays an audio clip of a big dog barking through the side speaker and then the front speaker. The change in speakers simulates a dog moving towards the front door. The opposite happens if the side door camera is triggered.
You can find the [source code](https://git.tannercollin.com/tanner/woof) on my Gitea.
![[fake-dog.jpg]]
## Technical Details
My surveillance cameras sit on a separate network without internet access and their RTSP streams are consumed by the Blue Iris NVR software running on a dedicated Windows box. When an object is detected moving through a defined area for certain cameras, Blue Iris is configured to send an MQTT message to the `iot/cameras` topic via the Mosquitto broker running on my media server.
A Python script kept alive by Supervisor runs on the Raspberry Pi and listens to the topic using the `asyncio-mqtt` module. It receives and tries to decode a JSON message like `{"serial": "SE-N-ZoneB"}`. If the camera's serial is found in a dict at the top of the script, the corresponding audio file is played using Pygame. Controlling which speaker barks is done by muting the left or right channel in the stereo audio file.
![[fake-dog2.png]]
## Future Improvements
The dog has a lot of false positives from the cameras being triggered by car headlights or small animals<span class="aside"> (like a real dog)</span>. This isn't a big deal since no one is home to hear it bark and it isn't loud enough for my neighbours to hear (I've asked). I would rather have a false positive than a false negative.
A huge improvement would be to combine the camera data with a physical trigger. A break beam sensor mounted on stair railings or an accelerometer mounted under the steps would work for this. But it would be annoying to mount, route power to, and harden for harsh Calgary winters. Perhaps the accelerometers are sensitive enough to mount inside, close to the entrances.
Update: a reader emailed me mentioning that he has a similar set up that's triggered by a HFS-DC06 radar sensor mounted inside his house. This module seems like a good option for me because it can sense through an external wall.
## Efficacy
According to [former burglars](https://news.t0.vc/TRMA), barking dogs and security cameras are some of the best deterrents to home invasions. The dog sounds fake to me, but I know it isn't real. I'm hoping that a rushing burglar won't spend time pondering if the barking is from an elaborate speaker setup and will just move on to a different house.
I previously caught a prowler who went into my backyard and tested my garage door handle to see if it was locked. He then broke into my neighbour's truck and garage after. He gets to have his face on my website:
![[fake-dog3.jpg]]
The extra peace of mind while I'm away is worth the evening it took to set up. It was very easy to make because I reused the code I wrote for [[Protospace]]'s PA system doorbell that you can find on [GitHub](https://github.com/protospace/doorbell). It operates similarly by playing an audio file based on which 433 MHz doorbell is pressed.

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Title: Garage Door Opener Hack
Date: 2021-12-26
Category: Creations
Summary: Hacking my garage door opener to work over Wifi.
Short: 5
In the quest to automate as much of my house as possible, I thought it would be useful to be able to remotely control my garage door from my home automation system. If I suspected that I forgot to close it while leaving, I could check in my security cameras and then close it from anywhere. It's nice having this peace of mind, even if it almost never happens.
Instead of reverse engineering the wireless protocol, cracking the encryption, and sending my own commands, I figured it would be much easier to hack the hardware. I cracked open a spare remote to find that it contained a basic PCB with simple tactile switches.
![[garage1.jpg | the six parts of the spare remote on my desk: metal clip, plastic buttons, battery, PCB, and two halves of the case]]
My plan was to solder an Arduino controlled relay in parallel with the button that toggled the garage door. I would also power the remote from the 3 V pin. I soldered four wires on to the appropriate pins.
![[garage2.jpg | a closeup of the green PCB with two wires soldered to the battery terminals and two to the button pins]]
I drilled a hole in the plastic case and routed the wires through it while reassembling the remote. It's connected to an Adafruit ESP8266 Arduino with a relay module shield.
The Arduino joins my isolated home automation Wifi network and connects over MQTT, a simple messaging protocol, to my automation server. When it receives a command over MQTT it toggles the relay on for a quarter of a second and then off, simulating a button press.
![[garage3.jpg | the completed system: an arduino with a white relay and wires leading to the reassembled garage door remote]]
Update: this system has been flawless for two months now. It's worked every time I've tried to toggle the door and has never opened by mistake.

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Title: Hand of Ozymandias
Date: 2012-03-23
Category: Creations
Summary: A withered hand I welded out of scrap metal.
Short: hand
I was visiting my cousins in Radium, BC and decided to learn stick welding at their shop. I wanted to create a sculpture, so with pieces of scrap metal I welded together this hand. The beads are far from perfect. Working with small pieces of rusted metal made it difficult.
![[hand1.jpg | a rusted hand welded together out of scrap square stock metal tubing]]
## The Name
One of my favourite poems is [Ozymandias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias) by Percy Bysshe Shelley. It's about the inevitable complete decline of all rulers and the empires they build, however mighty in their time. This is the hand of Ozymandias sticking out from the sand, grasping for life after he has been reduced to dust.
## Construction
I eyeballed the joint angles and my cousin cut them to spec with an angle grinder. It was made in a machine shop with no real planning done ahead of time. In between welds, I used my own hand as a reference. Below is a picture of me adding a bead to it.
![[hand2.jpg | me welding the hand causing a very bright white light that washes out the photo]]

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content/Hydroponics Aphid War.md
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Title: War with Aphids and Mould
Date: 2022-07-29
Category: Notes
Summary: I lost a war against aphids and mould.
Wide: true
Short: hwar
[TOC]
My [[Hydroponics#Home Round 3 | hydroponic strawberries]] suffered from aphid and mould infestations. This took me by surprise because one of the advantages to growing plants hydroponically is that you don't get pests from growing indoors.
The aphids and mould probably came from the strawberry starters I bought from a plant store. I didn't bother rinsing the leaves when washing away the dirt. If one aphid egg or mould spore was still on the plants after transplanting into my hydroponics system, that would be enough to infect them all.
Lesson learned: Wash starters thoroughly with soap (including leaves) to prevent aphids or grow from seeds. Don't let plants grow so dense that airflow is blocked.
## Aphids
While maintaining the garden, I noticed small white flecks which I just assumed were somehow part of the plant. I later noticed a sticky substance on some of the leaves which I thought might have been water that got mixed with something. I was in total denial until I turned over a leaf and saw a bunch of aphids crawling around.
The white flecks turned out to be eggs the aphids were laying. The sticky substance was honeydew, a sugary liquid that aphids secrete.
![[hydro-war1.jpg]]
I bought a bottle of Safer's insecticidal soap to use against them. I have a walk-in shower in the downstairs basement bathroom beside the grow room, so I moved all the plants into there. I then sprayed the leaves as much as I could, top and bottom. I let it drain for a while and then rinsed thoroughly with water.
![[hydro-war2.jpg]]
Three days later I noticed the aphids were still alive. So I bought five more bottles of aphid spray and emptied them into a bucket. I then took each plant out of the system and dunked them in the bucket, covering all leaves and the net cup. I pushed the plants in and out of the bucket forcefully, to make sure all the aphids were flushed off. I then rinsed the plants in the shower thoroughly like before.
![[hydro-war3.jpg]]
Three days later I did this all over again, just to make sure they were gone. This seemed to work but I noticed the aphids returned a couple months later. It was one of the reasons I decided to end this round of growth experiment.
## Mould
A few weeks after the aphid dunking I noticed some kind of mould or powdery mildew on the strawberry crowns, right in the centre of the plants.
![[hydro-war4.jpg]]
I assumed this was because I let the plants' leaves get too dense and they were blocking airflow to the crown. The airstone bubbles air into the water reservoir and the only place the humid air can escape is through the net cups and strawberry crown.
I rinsed all the plants off like I did with the aphids and set up an extra fan to try and increase airflow. This worked well for a couple months until I noticed it had returned and started making the plants unhealthy. This was the other reason I decided to end the experiment.

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Title: Grow Log, Home: Round 1
Date: 2022-07-29
Category: Notes
Summary: Grow log for my home hydroponics setup, round 1.
Wide: true
Short: hlog1
2022-02-21: Started germinating
2022-02-24: First noticed sprouts
2022-02-26: All sprouts are through except spinach
2022-02-27: Put grow light on top of dome set to minimum
2022-03-02: Checked inside. cress's roots have reached the tray below. accidentally squished front lettuces while trying to put it back. sprayed more nutrient solution on mineral wool. probably could have transplanted already. turned light off before bed, opened blinds.
2022-03-03: Plants look very sad. connor suggested more light. put light on max and went for coffee. light ended up cooking the plants.
2022-03-04: Plants look worse. Terminated.
## Germination
- index is top left in tray
- rinsed all equipment with water
- shake plant food
- 1 L growth solution prepared
- 1.3 mL plant food
- 0.4 mL pH Down for 5.8 pH
- 12 mineral wool cubes each soaked for 10 seconds
- three seeds of each, except two of Spinach because they are large
- hole was opened with a broken toothpick
- seeds tamped down the hole with the toothpick
- 1 cm of fresh water added to the bottom of the tray
- remaining solution was strained and put in spray bottle
### Result
(columns left to right)
- iceberg lettuce LT541
- 2 cm root below mineral wool
- same
- arugula MS483
- 7x 2 cm roots
- 10 roots, 1x 10 cm
- romaine lettuce LT470
- 3x 1.5 cm roots
- 4 roots, 1x 6 cm
- cress MS495
- 2x 12 cm roots
- 5 roots, 1x 12 cm
- butterhead lettuce LT458
- 2 cm, 5 cm, 8 cm roots
- 4 cm, 2 cm roots
- spinach SP705
- never germinated
- never germinated

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Title: Grow Log, Home: Round 2
Date: 2022-07-29
Category: Notes
Summary: Grow log for my home hydroponics setup, round 2.
Wide: true
Short: hlog2
2022-03-05: Started germinating
2022-03-07: Just barely noticed germination
2022-03-08: Noticed all leaves except spinach again
2022-03-10: Transplanted into tote
2022-03-12: measured pH: 6.0
2022-03-20: thinned out weak plants
2022-03-25: lettuces have no roots below net pot. others have lots of roots in the water. some leaves have a weird film on them, some have white stuff.
2022-03-28: Three lettuces wool dry on top. No roots below net cup. Roots are growing a bit out the sides. Dropped wool to bottom of net cups, topped water up to 1 cm above bottom of net cup. This might harm the other plants? The lettuce roots grew through a lot of the clay balls but not enough to reach the water.
- I assumed the clay balls would wick up enough water that it wouldn't matter.
2022-03-30: EC measured 1.1. trimmed oldest leaves, lettuce roots now good in water
2022-04-01: pH measured 6.7. brown tips on lettuce.
2022-04-06: Harvested first salad, arugula and cress taste horrible like paint thinner. Lettuce was good.
2022-04-14: Terminated.
## Germination
- index is top left in tray
- rinsed all equipment with water
- 1 L growth solution prepared
- 1 L tap water
- 1.3 mL plant food
- 0.5 mL pH Down for 5.5 pH
- forgot to shake plant food
- 12 mineral wool cubes each soaked for 10 seconds
- three seeds of each, except five for arugula and cress in X pattern
- hole was opened with a broken toothpick
- seeds tamped down the hole with the toothpick
- remaining solution added to the bottom of the tray
### Result
(columns left to right)
- iceberg lettuce LT541
- arugula MS483
- romaine lettuce LT470
- cress MS495
- butterhead lettuce LT458
- spinach SP705
## Growth
- used 102 L HDX tough totes
- sides bow out quite a bit, try duct taping
- 100 L growth solution prepared
- 100 L tap water (estimated)
- 117 mL plant food (needs more?)
- 10 mL pH down to 6.0
- cut six holes into Foamular
- transplanted sprouts into net cups
- layer of clay balls under and around sides of starter plug
- filled tote pretty much to brim
- tote sides bowed out quite a bit. maybe it's 110-120 L full of water?
### Layout:
(reading order)
- iceberg lettuce LT541
- romaine lettuce LT470
- butterhead lettuce LT458
- arugula MS483
- cress MS495
- arugula MS483

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Title: Grow Log, Home: Round 3
Date: 2022-07-29
Category: Notes
Summary: Grow log for my home hydroponics setup, round 3.
Wide: true
Short: hlog3
2022-04-14: Planted strawberry starters.
2022-04-21: Observed fresh white roots shooting out horizontally.
2022-04-23: Cut flower buds off BCDEF.
2022-04-24: Measured EC at 1.2 and pH at 6.8. Added 20 mL of pH down.
2022-04-25: Measured pH at 6.2.
2022-04-28: Cut a bud off of E.
2022-05-01: Cut buds off BCDF.
- too many buds, no longer tracking
2022-05-05: Noticed some young leaves are brownish. Turned grow lights down to 50%.
2022-05-22: Noticed sticky leaves and white flecks. There's tons of aphids.
2022-05-24: Sprayed all plants liberally with aphid spray and rinsed off after.
2022-05-27: Noticed aphids are still alive. Ordered more spray.
2022-06-01: Dunked plants in aphid spray, rinsed off with water.
2022-06-04: Dunked plants in aphid spray again, dunked in freshwater, transferred plants back. Measured pH at 4.0. Added more water to bring it up to 5.6. EC at 0.8
2022-06-19: Swapped nutes for General Hydroponics. (2nd preparation below)
2022-06-20: Noticed some sort of powdery mildew at base of leaves on a couple plants. Rinsed all with water and removed dead leaves.
2022-06-??: Started hand-pollinating with a q-tip. Breaks cotton up.
2022-07-05: Measured pH at 4.4, EC at 2.1. Added 5 gal water to bring it up to pH 5.5, EC at 1.4. Tons of flowers, pollinated with small brush.
2022-07-19: Measured ph at 3.8, EC at 1.8. Added 5 gal water. Measure later.
2022-07-20: Ate first strawberry. It was delicious.
2022-07-23: Way too much mould, aphids, and dead leaves. Terminated.
## Preparation
- boiled clay balls to sterilize
- rinsed dirt off 6 strawberry starters
- three normal
- two pulled thick roots out and broke away rest
- one washed with Method hand soap
- 90 L-ish growth solution prepared
- up to bottom of net cups
- 100 ml plant food to 1.2 EC from 0.3 EC tap water
- 20 ml pH down to 6.0 pH from 6.5 pH with food
- holes cut in net cups, roots thread through
- remaining space filled with clay balls
- tote lid covered with aluminum foil
- air stone added to one side
- 16 hours of light
## 2nd Preparation
- drained tote with 5 gal buckets, washed out with water
- transferred 20 gal with 4 x 5 gal bucket trips
- measured plain water EC at 0.2
- added 132 mL Bloom, 94 mL Micro, 94 mL Gro
- measured 1.7 EC, 6.5 pH
- difference of 1.5 EC
- added 15 mL pH down to 6.2 pH
- ** stole 5 gal for Protospace

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Title: Hydroponics
Date: 2022-07-29
Category: Writing
Summary: My experiments growing food with hydroponics.
Wide: true
Short: h
[TOC]
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil by delivering nutrients via water. In theory, it offers many advantages over soil: no dirt, no weeding or pests<span class="aside"> (therefore no herbicides or pesticides)</span>, no mould, no root rot, year-round growing indoors, less space required, 90% less water usage, and 30-50% faster growth. Downsides include electricity consumption if using grow lights or water pumps and the need to hand-pollinate flowers from the lack of bees.
## Home Experiments
I'll outline my hydroponics experiments here, describing what I tried, what worked, what didn't, and lessons I learned. I have a small storage room in my basement that I use for hydroponics. It's about 5' x 10' large with unpainted drywall and a concrete floor.
### Home: Round 1
Started: 2022-02-21, ended: 2022-03-04.
[[Hydroponics Log 1 | Grow Log]]
I tried germinating iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, butterhead lettuce, arugula, cress, and spinach seeds inside a germination dome. I used rockwool starter plugs soaked in growth solution. Everything except spinach sprouted. I placed a grow light on top of the dome set to minimum. Apparently this wasn't enough light since the sprouts got really leggy so I blasted them with light instead. An hour later they got soft and fell over from their own weight. I decided to restart.
Lessons learned: what leggy sprouts look like and to use enough light.
![[hydroponics1.jpg]]
### Home: Round 2
Started: 2022-03-05, ended: 2022-04-14.
[[Hydroponics Log 2 | Grow Log]]
I tried germinating the same seeds as last time but with more light. Everything except spinach sprouted again and I transplanted them to a large tote. They sat in net cups put into 4" holes drilled into pink hard foam insulation called Foamular. Arugula and cress grew roots much faster than the lettuces and drank the water level down below the rockwool. This caused the lettuces to dry out, stunting their growth, making the problem worse. Everything eventually grew and I was able to harvest a salad that tasted bad. I ended the experiment because the lettuces were so stunted.
Lessons learned:
- Make sure all the roots make it into the water.
- Start cress and arugula later, they grow fast.
- Don't rely on clay balls to wick water up to the rockwool (it won't).
- Don't bother germinating in a dome, just do it straight from the net cups.
- Don't use Foamular to hold the net cups. It requires a higher water level, doesn't index for time-lapse photography, and drops pink foam bits into the water.
<span class="aside">(Top: lettuces, bottom: arugula, cress, arugula)</span>
![[hydroponics2.jpg]]
### Home: Round 3
Started: 2022-04-14, ended: 2022-07-23.
[[Hydroponics Log 3 | Grow Log]]
I bought six strawberry starters and rinsed all the dirt off of the roots. Things were going well until I noticed they were covered in aphids. I sprayed them with aphid spray but it wasn't enough, so I went to [[Hydroponics Aphid War | war with aphids]]. I ordered five bottles of aphid spray, drained it into a bucket, and dunked each plant. I let the plants grow too big (by pruning buds) and the leaves started blocking airflow to the crowns. The crowns became humid and started growing mould which I had to rinse off. I used a small paintbrush to pollinate the flowers by hand. After returning from vacation, one strawberry was ripe for me to eat. But the aphids and mould had returned so I ended the experiment.
Lessons learned:
- You can be fairly rough when washing dirt off of starters' roots.
- You can get pests in hydroponics if you aren't careful.
- Wash starters thoroughly with soap (including leaves) to prevent aphids or grow from seeds.
- Boil all equipment before using it to sanitize.
- Don't let plants grow so much that the leaves block airflow.
- Wash hands before hydro gardening.
- Hand-pollinating flowers is tedious.
- Strawberries drop tons of pedals all over the floor.
![[hydroponics3.jpg]]

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Title: LED Dress
Date: 2016-03-18
Category: Creations
Summary: A dress made out of LEDs that twinkle like stars.
Short: 4
A friend of mine was attending a stars and constellations themed ball. She wanted to wear a dress that was lit up with LEDs acting as twinkling stars. Seven of the 28 stars are aligned to resemble the Big Dipper constellation and twinkle differently than the rest, which twinkle in a random pattern.
![[dress1.jpg | a girl wearing a blue dress with a number of LEDs shining through the fabric]]
## Construction
The LEDs came from that strip that was cut up and soldered together with very small wires. Each of the LEDs can be controlled individually.
![[dress2.jpg | the controller circuit board, and the string of soldered together LEDs]]
Twenty-one of the stars are light magenta in color and twinkle by fading randomly. The seven LEDs that form the Big Dipper continually scroll through a gradient of three colors. Instead of calculating the values of each color in the gradient as the program runs, a lookup table is used.
<video autoplay muted loop style="display:block; margin: 0 auto;">
<source src="{static}/media/dress3.mp4" type="video/mp4">
Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>

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Title: Remote Control Light Switch
Date: 2014-10-09
Category: Creations
Summary: A device to toggle my lights remotely.
Short: remote
I wanted the ability to toggle my bedroom light remotely for convenience. I designed a circuit that allows me to control my light with any device that can load a webpage.
I still wanted to be able to control the light manually, so I bought a metallic face-plate and turned it into a capacitive touch sensor. The slightest touch anywhere on the plate is enough to toggle the light. I had to electrically isolate the metal screws from it because they screw into a grounded switch box.
![[light1.jpg | my custom light switch, a Raspberry Pi computer, and an old iPhone]]
## Function
I have a Raspberry Pi ($35 computer) on my home network that runs a web server. When you connect to it in your web browser, a page loads with buttons to turn the light on or off. When you press a button, the server executes a command that sends a message over Bluetooth to the light switch. The Bluetooth module in the wall receives this message and forwards it to the microcontroller, which processes it and toggles the relay. The whole circuit is also powered from mains by an AC-DC converter.
This entire process happens quicker than half a second, so it feels instant.
![[light2.jpg | the front side which has several electrical components]]
<span class="aside">(Black stuff's liquid electrical tape)</span>
![[light3.jpg | the back side which has wires soldered to connect all the components]]

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Title: Choosing a Linux Flavour
Date: 2020-10-31
Category: Writing
Summary: A recommendation on which flavour of Linux to run.
Wide: true
Short: linux
[TOC]
People often ask me which flavour of Linux they should install. In summary, choose Ubuntu if it's your first time. Once you are comfortable, install Debian the next time you need to install Linux.
I run Debian on my computers and servers.
## Linux Distributions
<span class="aside">(Interjection: it's technically called GNU/Linux)</span>
When people refer to the "flavour of Linux" they are talking about a Linux distribution (distro). It mostly describes what software is distributed in its software repository.
"A typical Linux distribution comprises a Linux kernel, GNU tools and libraries, additional software, documentation, a window system, a window manager, and a desktop environment." [Wikipedia]
The major Linux distros are practically all the same. If you master one it's easy to pick up the others. The main differences you'll run into are which tools you use to install new software, and the desktop environment, which is what all the windows and buttons look like.
I recommend two Linux distros, Debian and Ubuntu. Ubuntu is based off of Debian, so they are very similar.
## Pros of Debian
Debian is one of the oldest distros and many other distros are based off it. You can see a timeline visualization of all its derivatives here:
<https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg>
This image is what originally convinced me to use Debian. Scroll down until you see it and zoom out so you grasp how many derivatives it has.
Debian is also non-commercial and requires that all software in its main repository is free and open source. This is important because that grants you the right to study, change, and distribute the software and source code to anyone and for any purpose. They also follow a strong social contract you can see here:
<https://www.debian.org/social_contract>
It's also a very stable Linux distro since they freeze all software features on each release. This makes it great for servers because nothing will break when it updates.
The main Raspberry Pi distro is nearly identical to Debian, so you'll also gain familiarity with it.
## Cons of Debian
Since Debian requires all its software to be free and open source, proprietary hardware drivers aren't included in its main repo. This can make installing Debian difficult if your hardware requires proprietary drivers. You'll need to use an installation image found here:
<https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/>
The fact that Debian freezes software features can also mean that your software gets old until the next Debian release. If you want versions that are bleeding edge, you'll need to use Debian Unstable as described here:
<https://wiki.debian.org/DebianUnstable#Installation>
Don't be fooled by the name "unstable". I use it for my personal computers and it runs fine.
## Pros of Ubuntu
Ubuntu is incredibly easy to install. You can also try it out before deciding to install it. The distro pretty much just works on what ever hardware you have.
It's very beginner friendly because it's so popular. Any problem you search for will reveal dozens of threads with people solving the same problem.
## Cons of Ubuntu
Unfortunately Ubuntu is developed by a commercial company, Canonical. The company's interests come first, before the users' and they have a track record of betraying their users' trust and privacy.
Years ago Ubuntu had a feature enabled by default that would send your desktop searches to Amazon so they could suggest products for you to buy:
<https://www.pcworld.com/article/2840401/ubuntus-unity-8-desktop-removes-the-amazon-search-spyware.html>
Currently whenever you remote login to your Ubuntu machine, it phones home to Canonical and they collect info about your system:
<https://ubuntu.com/legal/motd>
While these reasons are fairly minor, they are quite frowned upon in the Linux community and are reason enough to switch to Debian once you are comfortable with using Linux.
[Wikipedia]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution

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Title: Notica
Date: 2022-05-17
Category: Projects
Summary: Send browser notifications from your terminal. No installation. No registration.
Short: n
[Notica](https://notica.us) allows you to send browser notifications from your terminal to know when a slow command has finished running. It doesn't require installing anything or registering an account. It also works over ssh unlike `notify-send`.
You can find the [source code](https://github.com/tannercollin/Notica) on Github.
![[notica1.png]]
I do most of my work on remote servers over ssh. When running a slow command (like `apt install`) I'll distract myself by browsing sites like my other project [[QotNews]]. The command will finish running, but I'll still be wasting time reading news articles. Notica helps me stay on track by alerting me when the command finishes.
Example uses of Notica would be:
```
$ sudo apt install freecad ; notica finished installing
$ rsync -av backup/ myserver:/mnt/backup/ ; notica done backup
```

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Title: Man's Reach Exceeds His Grasp
Date: 2012-04-11
Category: Creations
Summary: My first attempt at painting with acrylic.
Short: painting
The painting is called “Man’s Reach Exceeds His Grasp”. I've always wanted to try painting and thought I had a good idea, so after a couple of drawings I attempted to paint it. I eventually got it framed at Michaels. Many thanks to my friend Laura for the opportunity to do this, I couldn't have done it without her help.
![[painting1.jpg | a painting of water pouring out of a vase and into a hand, then turning to sand]]
## The Meaning
It’s hard to see in the photo, but the moment the water touches his hand it turns into sand and is taken by the slight breeze. The title is a quote from Andrea del Sarto, a poem by Robert Browning. It is also said by Nikola Tesla’s character in my favourite movie, [The Prestige](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/).
“I, painting from myself and to myself,
Know what I do, am unmoved by men’s blame
Or their praise either. Somebody remarks
Morello's outline there is wrongly traced,
His hue mistaken; what of that? or else,
Rightly traced and well ordered; what of that?
Speak as they please, what does the mountain care?
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what’s a heaven for?”
– Robert Browning from *Andrea del Sarto*
## Creation
I started with the background, trying to make it blurry and out of focus, then slowly progressed to the foreground. The hands were drawn in pencil and painted in. It was quite difficult to get the blending and shadows perfect, but I had Laura to tell me when things didn't look right. Below I am trying to figure out what a hand looks like in a mirror.
![[painting2.jpg | me looking at my own hand in the mirror as a guide]]

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Title: Automatic Plant Waterer
Date: 2014-06-05
Category: Creations
Summary: A device that automatically waters plants.
short: waterer
One day I decided watering my one plant was too much work, so I automated it. It's also great for when I'm on vacation. The plant is a year old now and doesn't look as good as it used to (kinda like you). So this machine is like its life support.
<span class="aside">(Update: this plant died long ago)</span>
![[waterer1.jpg | the device and pump on a 2L pop bottle with a tube running to a flowerpot]]
## First Attempt
The design was very simple and soldered together on perf board. A microcontroller turns the pump on for 20 seconds, then waits 24 hours and restarts. The pump ran way too fast so it was slowed down to 10% power.
This design suffered from a fatal problem. After running, there was a chance that the tube would stay full of fluid. If the water level in the pop bottle was too high, it could siphon out. I woke up with a flower pot overflowing with water a couple of times.
![[waterer2.jpg | a new version feeding into a different plant]]
## Second Attempt
I liked the idea so much that I made a second iteration. This one used a custom printed circuit board with a lot more features. The pumping duration could be adjusted with a screwdriver. This was useful as the plant (now a [Ming aralia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyscias_fruticosa)) grew.
Another feature was the ability to run the pump backwards. This completely eliminated the siphoning problem from before. After pumping for a set duration, it would run backwards until the tube was cleared of water.
<span class="aside">(Also dead)</span>
![[waterer3.jpg | the new version beside a big Ming aralia plant with bushy drooping leaves and skinny stems]]

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Title: Protospace
Date: 2022-05-01
Category: Writing
Summary: An outline of my projects at Calgary's makerspace Protospace.
Wide: true
Short: p
[Protospace](https://protospace.ca) is Calgary's original makerspace, a place where people go to make things and work on projects. It's a two-bay industrial shop with a full wood working area, metal working area, electronics lab, two laser cutters, five 3D printers, and sewing room. Members pay $55/month for 24/7 access to the facility and everyone is equal: Protospace has no owners and decisions are made by the membership.
![[protospace1.jpg | both Protospace bays, metal on the left and wood on the right]]
## Do-ocracy
The driving principle behind Protospace's success is do-ocracy. If you want to make a change and it would take fewer than four hours to revert, go ahead and do it. Under a do-ocracy people are encouraged to be bold and improve the space however they want. Larger changes and disagreements are decided at the next monthly members' meeting.
Under this system, I've created several projects in order to make Protospace a better place. I'll outline them here:
### Spaceport
[[Spaceport]] is our member portal and my main project at Protospace. It tracks memberships, transactions, courses, class attendance, access cards, and statistics about Protospace and its members.
It's free and open-source software. Everyone has the right to study, change, and distribute the software and source code to anyone and for any purpose. Here's a screenshot of the home page:
![[spaceport1.png | a screenshot of the homepage of Spaceport]]
### Garden
I set up a simple hydroponics garden in a broken medical lung testing chamber that someone donated to us. Some members have a hard time turning down free junk, and it sat upstairs for about a month in the classroom filled with lung testing equipment. I eventually got tired of looking at it so one night I gutted it and threw out all the internals.
A picture of the garden is taken every 5 minutes and uploaded to Spaceport. I'll eventually make a time lapse of the vegetable growth and plot a graph of the internal air temperature.
![[protospace-garden.jpg]]
### Telemetry
Telemetry is a catch-all project for random sensors and displays around Protospace.
- Two air quality and temperature sensors
- A web server for querying sensor data
- Alarm armed / disarmed sensor
- A script that detects who's logged into various computers
Here's a graph of the air quality on Spaceport:
![[protospace-dust.png]]
### Airlock
Airlock is our door lock controller. Vetted Protospace members are given key cards which they scan to access the building 24/7. Airlock periodically polls a list of valid card numbers from Spaceport and checks scans against that list. If a valid card number is scanned, a relay and electric latch is opened. The card number is also reported back to Spaceport so that it can keep a log of who scanned when.
### Doorbell
We have a doorbell because members who aren't yet vetted don't get a key card and can't scan into the building 24/7. Instead they have to use the doorbell to request entry into the building. Our normal wireless doorbell's chime isn't loud enough to hear throughout the space and you can't tell which door the person is at (front or back).
I used a software-defined radio to detect our wireless doorbell's signal and play a chime over the PA system throughout the entire space. A voice then says whether it was triggered by the front door or back door.

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Title: QotNews
Date: 2022-05-18
Category: Projects
Summary: Hacker News, Reddit, Lobsters, and Tildes articles pre-rendered in reader mode. Optimized for speed and distraction-free reading.
Short: q
[QotNews](https://news.t0.vc) is a news meta-aggregator. It gathers top articles from four news aggregators: Hacker News, Reddit, Lobsters, and Tildes along with their comments. The articles are then transformed into readable versions with consistent formatting and distractions removed. All articles in the main feed are preloaded by the client so they load instantly when clicked on.
You can find the [source code](https://git.tannercollin.com/tanner/qotnews) on my Gitea.
![[qotnews1.png]]
I tried to make QotNews the perfect news site for me. I easily get annoyed by cookie banners and distracted by visual clutter when reading normal news articles. I especially hate auto-playing videos and "download our app" popups. All articles have consistent styling that's easy to read:
![[qotnews2.png]]
It's by far my favourite project and has paid the most dividends for the amount of time I invested in programming it. I use it multiple times per day and it's become the main source of all my news. Since all the articles and comments are preloaded and saved in localStorage, it's also great for reading on airplanes.

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Title: Sensors
Date: 2022-05-24
Category: Notes
Summary: Graphs of various sensors around my house.
Short: d
## Graphs
These graphs are live and updated once per minute, assuming the script works:
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Solar_Power.png)
Black: power (W), green: energy (kWh)
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Living_Room_Air.png)
Black: PM10 (ug/m³), red: PM2.5 (ug/m³), blue: CO₂ (ppm), green: VOC
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Outside_Temperature.png)
Black: temperature (°C)
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Bedroom_Temperature.png)
Black: temperature (°C), blue: humidity (%)
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Nook_Temperature.png)
Black: temperature (°C), blue: humidity (%)
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Misc_Temperature.png)
Black: temperature (°C), blue: humidity (%)
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Nook_Thermostat.png)
Black: temperature (°C), red: setpoint (°C), green: state (off / running)
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Gas_Usage.png)
Black: total (MJ), green: delta (MJ)
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Water_Usage.png)
Black: total (L), green: delta (L)
![a graph](https://sensor-pics.dns.t0.vc/Living_Room_Lux.png)
Black: light (lx)
## Live Dashboard
A live interactive version can be found on this [dashboard](https://sensors.dns.t0.vc/).
You can find the [source code](https://git.tannercollin.com/tanner/sensors) on my Gitea.
## Data Capture
Most of the data is captured by two cheap RTL-SDRs (software-defined radios) that are set to listen to 433 MHz and 915 MHz radio frequencies. I use the open-source project [rtl_433](https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433) to automatically decode the signals and forward them to an MQTT broker, which is a messaging server that services can publish and subscribe to. Other sensors run an MQTT client directly or expose their data through other means like a web interface that I poll.
The data gets collected by a central Python script that process and stores it in an InfluxDB database for "efficient" storage. The script also runs a web server that queries the database and exposes the data over an API to the dashboard at various dates and ranges. The dashboard is written in JavaScript / React using a simple chart library.
My biggest regret was using InfluxDB. It's a stupid database and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The documentation is confusing and I ran into timezone issues with `group by time()`. It also assumes the column data type is an integer if your sensor happens to send it a whole number at first and it won't let you change that. Just stick to Postgres / SQLite.

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Title: Solar Car
Date: 2013-04-27
Category: Creations
Summary: About my time volunteering with the University of Calgary Solar Car Team, where I designed a maximum power point tracker.
Short: car
I joined the University of Calgary Solar Car Team in my first semester for a chance to learn things, gain practical experience, and meet people that share my interests. The car was the top Canadian team in a 3000 km race from Darwin to Adelaide, Australia in 2011. We met up at a shop on campus every Saturday morning to work on the new Generation IV of the solar car.
![[solar1.jpg | the MPPT device, a printed circuit board with bulky round electrical components held in my hand]]
## The Helianthus MPPT
I was in charge of designing and assembling the MPPTs (maximum power point trackers) for the new generation solar car. An MPPT extracts as much power out of the solar cells as possible. The solar array operates less efficiently without them. The Generation IV car, Schulich Delta (pictured below) uses seven of them: one per section of solar cells with similar lighting conditions. Andrei and I designed the MPPT above.
![[solar2.jpg | the solar car from an angle with a driver inside]]

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Title: Spaceport
Date: 2022-05-16
Category: Projects
Summary: Member portal for Calgary Protospace. It tracks dues, courses, training, access cards, and more.
Short: m
[Spaceport](https://my.protospace.ca) is the member portal that I wrote for [[Protospace]], a makerspace that I frequent in Calgary. It is by far my largest project and the one I've spent the most time on. It has a database of all our members and tracks their transactions like dues and training fees. It allows members to sign up for classes and our instructors to teach courses. It also manages the access cards that members use to get into the building.
You can find the [source code](https://github.com/Protospace/spaceport) on Github.
![[spaceport1.png]]
Spaceport is tightly coupled to Protospace and has many integrations:
- Syncs credentials to our AD controller for computer logins
- Manages AD group membership to restrict machine use
- Syncs credentials to our Discourse forum [Spacebar](https://forum.protospace.ca)
- Manages Discourse groups to restrict topic access
- Syncs credentials to our [MediaWiki](https://wiki.protospace.ca)
- Processes PayPal payment notifications
- Syncs valid member cards to our door controller Airlock
- Tracks training certifications for our tool lockouts
- Emails interested members when a class is scheduled
- Shows who's connected to our [Minecraft server](http://games.protospace.ca:8123/?worldname=world&mapname=flat&zoom=3&x=74&y=64&z=354)
- Tracks who's logged into our laser cutter and CNC router
- Tracks and bills for laser cutting time
- Shows if the building alarm is armed or disarmed
- Displays charts of various environmental sensors
- Displays a photo of our garden
![[spaceport2.png]]
As of writing this there's 234 current Protospace members and 1408 historical or inactive memberships that it manages. Data is stored in a 49 MB SQLite database which makes it easy to back up or sync with my development server. The back end is written in Django / Python and the front end is React / JavaScript with Semantic UI for the graphics.
Site data is automatically compressed and [[Backup Strategy | backed up]] daily by two members. The software is free and open-source and can be set up by reading the documentation. Protospace directors also have admin access to the server's host in case something happens to me.

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@@ -1,48 +0,0 @@
Title: Things I Recommend
Date: 2022-06-24
Category: Writing
Summary: Software and products that I recommend you use.
Wide: true
Short: 1
This outlines some software and devices I recommend you use: uBlock Origin, Sponsorblock, Aegis Authenticator, ThruNite T1 flashlights, Logitech G Pro Wireless mice, and ThinkPad Laptops. Nothing here was sponsored.
[TOC]
## Software
### uBlock Origin
uBlock Origin is an open source ad blocker and something I install immediately on all my devices. Running an ad blocker makes browsing the web way better. It removes distracting ads (even from YouTube), invasive tracking, and makes you safer by removing potentially [fake links](https://news.t0.vc/LOBW/c#drekipus1657325184). It's the best piece of software I use even though it mostly remains unseen. And it even works on your phone.
You can install it on [Firefox Desktop](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-CA/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/), [Firefox Android](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-CA/android/addon/ublock-origin/), and [Chrome Desktop](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en). Make sure you install the correct "Origin" version and avoid "ublock.org".
### SponsorBlock
SponsorBlock automatically skips over sponsored segments in YouTube videos. Not YouTube ads (that's what uBlock Origin is for), but the actual parts of the video sponsored by companies to advertise their products. It uses a crowd-sourced database of timestamps to seamlessly jump over those parts. It also allows you to skip to the highlight of some videos by pressing "enter" so you aren't wasting time watching exposition.
You can install it on [Firefox Desktop](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-CA/firefox/addon/sponsorblock/) and [Chrome Desktop](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/sponsorblock-for-youtube/mnjggcdmjocbbbhaepdhchncahnbgone?hl=en).
![[recommend1.png]]
![[recommend2.png]]
### Aegis Authenticator
Aegis is a two-factor authenticator (2fa) app for Android that's free and open source. The killer feature and why I recommend it is that it supports automatic encrypted backups of the database in JSON format. You can unlock the app with a password or optional fingerprint. It supported true OLED dark mode. An alternative app is andOTP but there were [problems](https://news.t0.vc/EQYR/c#williamwchuang1553266688) with the backups' encryption back when I switched to Aegis.
Enabling 2fa on your accounts is essential for security, especially preventing credential stuffing attacks. Backing up your 2fa data is important in case you lose your phone. It saves you having to dig out recovery codes or try and convince someone that you own the account.
You can install it on Android via the [Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beemdevelopment.aegis) or [F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.beemdevelopment.aegis).
## Devices
### ThruNite T1 Flashlight
This is a tiny rechargeable flashlight that can output 1500 lumens, enough to hurt your eyes if you look directly into it. It has a magnet on the back to stick to things and an optional pocket-hat clip. I liked it so much I've bought three of them and gave one to a friend who then bought himself a couple more.
![[recommend3.png]]
### Logitech G Pro Wireless Mice
I've used a lot of wireless mice, and this one is by far my favourite. It has a USB dongle which I prefer because Bluetooh pairing annoys me. If you disable the LEDs the battery lasts for a few weeks of solid usage.
I like it so much that I own five of them: one for my office desk, nook desk, laptop bag, home theatre, and surveillance cameras NVR. I leave the last one plugged in so that when a mouse battery dies, I can swap it with a fully charged mouse that's ready to go. It also ensures they wear at a somewhat even rate.
### ThinkPad Laptops
I've had several different laptops over the years and have settled on buying ThinkPads going forward. I hate Lenovo as company because of their [Superfish scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfish#Lenovo_security_incident), but I can't deny that ThinkPads are absolutely solid. I currently own a ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen.
A lot of Linux developers use ThinkPads which means Linux is well supported on them and the drivers just work. The laptops are easy to pop open and service. Many parts are user-replaceable. My laptop charges off a small USB-C phone charger that I carry around. In a state of sickness-induced exhaustion, I spilled an entire glass of Gatorade on it and then drenched it in water to try and flush it away. I took the back off, drained it, and then pointed a fan at it for 24 hours. The laptop was working fine the next day.

19
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@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
Title: Wine Crate Coffee Table
Date: 2018-09-12
Category: Creations
Summary: A coffee table made out of wooden wine creates.
Short: 0
My close friend Odai saw a simple coffee table design online that was built out of four wooden wine crates. They are quite cheap and available at any hardware store. We each wanted to make one so went and bought eight crates and some plywood to use as a base.
We went to my local makerspace, [[Protospace]], to build them in the wood shop. We thought it would be a quick job only taking a few hours, but it turned out to be a twelve hour job over a couple of days. At least we were in good company!
![[wine1.jpg | the table before staining. four box-like wine crates are on their sides and joined together in a spiral. a messy wood shop is in the background]]
![[wine2.jpg | the two tables after staining. one face is centred and the contrast between the dark stain and light wood grain shows.]]
The wine crates were glued and then brad-nailed together. Extra wood was added under the thin top strips for support. After the glue dried, the brad nails were painstakingly removed because the ones we used were too long and stuck out.
After being attached to the base, the entire table was sanded and then stained. We let it dry overnight and returned the following day to add a quick layer of varnish.
![[wine3.jpg | the table in my living room with blankets inside the wine crates and a plant pot in the centre growing a bonsai tree and a succulent]]

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@@ -3,40 +3,54 @@ Date: 2021-04-08
Category: Writing
Summary: Details about the backup system for all of my data.
Wide: true
Short: backup
[TOC]
Regularly backing up all the data I care about is very important to me. This article outlines my strategy to make sure I never lose essential data.
Regularly backing up all the data I care about is very important to me. This
article outlines my strategy to make sure I never lose essential data.
## Motivation
Backups should be as automatic as possible. This ensures laziness and forgetfulness won't interfere with the regularity.
Backups should be as automatic as possible. This ensures laziness and
forgetfulness won't interfere with the regularity.
All software used to create and store the backups should be free and open source so I'm not depending on the survival of a company.
All software used to create and store the backups should be free and open source
so I'm not depending on the survival of a company.
Backups need to be tested to ensure they are correct and happening regularly. Multiple copies of the backups should exist, including at least one offsite to protect against my building burning down.
Backups need to be tested to ensure they are correct and happening regularly.
Multiple copies of the backups should exist, including at least one offsite to
protect against my building burning down.
Backups should also be incremental when possible (rather than mirror copies) so an accidental deletion isn't propagated into the backups, making the file irrecoverable.
Backups should also be incremental when possible (rather than mirror copies) so
an accidental deletion isn't propagated into the backups, making the file
irrecoverable.
## Strategy
The key is to have one central location that all your files, projects, and data are cloned to and then back that directory up to multiple locations.
I have one backup folder `/mnt/backup` on my media server at home that serves as the destination for all my backup sources. All scheduled automatic backups write to their own subfolder inside of it.
I have one backup folder `/mnt/backup` on my media server at home that serves as
the destination for all my backup sources. All scheduled automatic backups write
to their own subfolder inside of it.
This backup folder is then synced to encrypted 2.5" 1 TB hard drives which I rotate between my bag, offsite, and my parents' house.
This backup folder is then synced to encrypted 2.5" 1 TB hard drives which I
rotate between my bag, offsite, and my parents' house.
## Backup Sources
I use the tool `rdiff-backup` extensively because it allows me to take incremental backups locally or over SSH. It acts very similar to `rsync` and has no configuration.
I use the tool `rdiff-backup` extensively because it allows me to take
incremental backups locally or over SSH. It acts very similar to `rsync` and has
no configuration.
### Email
I have every email since 2010 backed up continuously in case my email provider disappears.
I have every email since 2010 backed up continuously in case my email provider
disappears.
I use `offlineimap` to sync my mail to the directory `~/email` on my media server as a Maildir. Since offlineimap is only a syncing tool, the emails need to be copied elsewhere to be backed up. I run `rdiff-backup` from a weekly cron job:
I use `offlineimap` to sync my mail to the directory `~/email` on my media
server as a Maildir. Since offlineimap is only a syncing tool, the emails need
to be copied elsewhere to be backed up. I run `rdiff-backup` from a weekly cron
job:
<span class="aside">(I'll explain what backup_check.txt does below)</span>
<span class="aside">I'll explain what backup_check.txt does below</span>
```
*/15 * * * * offlineimap > /var/log/offlineimap.log 2>&1
@@ -69,7 +83,9 @@ sslcacertfile = /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
### Notes
I use Standard Notes to take notes and wrote the tool [standardnotes-fs](https://github.com/tannercollin/standardnotes-fs) to mount my notes as a file system to view and edit them as plain text files.
I use Standard Notes to take notes and wrote the tool
[standardnotes-fs](https://github.com/tannercollin/standardnotes-fs) to mount my
notes as a file system to view and edit them as plain text files.
I take weekly backups of the mounted file system on my media server with cron:
@@ -80,7 +96,9 @@ I take weekly backups of the mounted file system on my media server with cron:
### Nextcloud
I self-host a Nextcloud instance to store all my personal documents (non-code projects, tax forms, spreadsheets, etc.). Since it's only a syncing software, the files need to be copied elsewhere to be backed up.
I self-host a Nextcloud instance to store all my personal documents (non-code
projects, tax forms, spreadsheets, etc.). Since it's only a syncing software,
the files need to be copied elsewhere to be backed up.
I take weekly backups of the Nextcloud data folder with cron:
@@ -91,7 +109,9 @@ I take weekly backups of the Nextcloud data folder with cron:
### Gitea
I self-host a Gitea instance to store all my git repositories for code-based projects. My home folder is also a git repo so I can easily sync my config files and password database between servers and machines.
I self-host a Gitea instance to store all my git repositories for code-based
projects. My home folder is also a git repo so I can easily sync my config files
and password database between servers and machines.
I take weekly backups of the Gitea data folder with cron:
@@ -103,23 +123,36 @@ I take weekly backups of the Gitea data folder with cron:
### Telegram
Telegram Messenger is my main app for communication. My parents, most of my friends, and friend groups are on there so I don't want to lose those messages in case Telegram disappears or my account gets banned.
Telegram Messenger is my main app for communication. My parents, most of my
friends, and friend groups are on there so I don't want to lose those messages
in case Telegram disappears or my account gets banned.
Telegram includes a data export feature, but it can't be automated. Instead I run the deprecated software [telegram-export](https://github.com/expectocode/telegram-export) hourly with cron:
<span class="aside">Saves the messages to a sqlite db</span>
<span class="aside">(Saves the messages to a sqlite db)</span>
Telegram includes a data export feature, but it can't be automated. Instead I
run the deprecated software
[telegram-export](https://github.com/expectocode/telegram-export) hourly with
cron:
```
0 * * * * bash -c 'timeout 50m /home/tanner/opt/telegram-export/env/bin/python -m telegram_export' > /var/log/telegramexport.log 2>&1
```
It likes to hang, so `timeout` kills it if it's still running after 50 minutes. Hasn't corrupted the database yet.
It likes to hang, so `timeout` kills it if it's still running after 50 minutes.
Hasn't corrupted the database yet.
### Phone
[Signal Messenger](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcrime.securesms&hl=en_CA&gl=US) automatically exports a copy of my text messages database, and [Aegis](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beemdevelopment.aegis&hl=en_CA&gl=US) allows me to export an encrypted JSON file of my two-factor authentication codes.
[Signal
Messenger](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcrime.securesms&hl=en_CA&gl=US)
automatically exports a copy of my text messages database, and
[Aegis](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beemdevelopment.aegis&hl=en_CA&gl=US)
allows me to export an encrypted JSON file of my two-factor authentication
codes.
I mount my phone's internal storage as a file system on my desktop using [adbfs-rootless](https://github.com/spion/adbfs-rootless). I then rsync the files over to my media server:
I mount my phone's internal storage as a file system on my desktop using
[adbfs-rootless](https://github.com/spion/adbfs-rootless). I then rsync the
files over to my media server:
```
$ ./adbfs ~/mntphone
@@ -133,17 +166,23 @@ $ time rsync -Wav \
localmediaserver:/mnt/backup/files/phone/
```
Unfortunately this is a manual process because I need to plug my phone in each time. Ideally it would happen automatically while I'm asleep and the phone is charging.
Unfortunately this is a manual process because I need to plug my phone in each
time. Ideally it would happen automatically while I'm asleep and the phone is
charging.
### Miscellaneous Files
The directory `/backup/files` is a repository for any kind of files I want to keep forever. My phone data, old archives, computer files, Minecraft worlds, files from previous jobs, and so on.
The directory `/backup/files` is a repository for any kind of files I want to
keep forever. My phone data, old archives, computer files, Minecraft worlds,
files from previous jobs, and so on.
All the files will be included in the 1 TB hard drive backup rotations.
### Web Services
Web services that I run like [[t0 Services]] and [[QotNews]] are backed up daily, weekly, and monthly depending on how frequently the data changes.
Web services that I run like [txt.t0.vc](https://txt.t0.vc) and
[QotNews](https://news.t0.vc) are backed up daily, weekly, and monthly depending
on how frequently the data changes.
I run `rdiff-backup` on the remote server with cron:
@@ -160,13 +199,17 @@ I run `rdiff-backup` on the remote server with cron:
55 14 1 * * rdiff-backup --remove-older-than 12B --force tbotbak@remotebackup::/mnt/backup/remote/tbotbak/monthly/t0txt/
```
The `tbotbak` user has write access to the `/mnt/backup/remote/tbotbak` directory only. It has its own passwordless SSH key that's only permitted to run the `rdiff-backup --server` command for security.
The `tbotbak` user has write access to the `/mnt/backup/remote/tbotbak`
directory only. It has its own passwordless SSH key that's only permitted to run
the `rdiff-backup --server` command for security.
### Protospace
I run a lot of services for [[Protospace]], my city's makerspace.
I run a lot of services for [Protospace](https://protospace.ca/), my city's
makerspace.
The member portal I wrote called [[Spaceport]] creates an archive I download daily:
The member portal I wrote called [Spaceport](https://my.protospace.ca/) creates
an archive I download daily:
```
40 10 * * * wget --content-disposition \
@@ -176,7 +219,8 @@ The member portal I wrote called [[Spaceport]] creates an archive I download dai
https://api.my.protospace.ca/backup/
```
The website and [wiki](https://wiki.protospace.ca) that I sysadmin both get backed up weekly:
The website and [wiki](https://wiki.protospace.ca) that I sysadmin get
backed up weekly:
```
0 12 * * 1 mysqldump --all-databases > /var/www/dump.sql
@@ -184,7 +228,9 @@ The website and [wiki](https://wiki.protospace.ca) that I sysadmin both get back
20 12 * * 1 rdiff-backup /var/www pshostbak@remotebackup::/mnt/backup/remote/pshostbak/weekly/www/
```
The Protospace [Minecraft server](http://games.protospace.ca:8123/?worldname=world&mapname=flat&zoom=3&x=74&y=64&z=354) I run gets backed up daily:
The Protospace [Minecraft
server](http://games.protospace.ca:8123/?worldname=world&mapname=flat&zoom=3&x=74&y=64&z=354)
I run gets backed up daily:
```
00 15 * * * date -Iseconds > /home/tanner/minecraft/backup_check.txt
@@ -224,7 +270,8 @@ My backup folder `/mnt/backup` now looks like this:
└── telebak
```
This directory tree is the master backup and I make a copy of the entire tree every Saturday to a hard drive.
This directory tree is the master backup and I make a copy of the entire tree
every Saturday to a hard drive.
The directory is copied over with the following script:
@@ -244,17 +291,32 @@ umount /mnt/external
cryptsetup luksClose external
```
I wrote a Python script `checkbackup.py` that goes through each backup and compares the timestamp in `backup_check.txt` files to the current time. This makes sure that the cron ran, backups were taken, and transferred over correctly.
I wrote a Python script `checkbackup.py` that goes through each backup and
compares the timestamp in `backup_check.txt` files to the current time. This
makes sure that the cron ran, backups were taken, and transferred over
correctly.
## Rotating Hard Drives
I rotate through 2.5" 1 TB hard drives each Saturday when I do a backup. They are quite cheap at [$65 CAD](https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX65194) each so I can have a bunch floating around.
I rotate through 2.5" 1 TB hard drives each Saturday when I do a backup. They
are quite cheap at [$65 CAD](https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX65194)
each so I can have a bunch floating around.
I keep one connected to the server, one in my bag, one offsite, one at my mother's house, and one at my dad's house. Every Saturday I run the script above to take a copy and then swap the drive with the one in my bag. It then gets swapped when I visit my offsite location. Same for when I visit my parents<span class="aside"> (I go back home about twice per year)</span>. This means that all hard drives eventually get rotated through with new data and don't sit too long unpowered.
The drives are all encrypted with full-disk LUKS encryption using a password I'm unlikely to forget.
I keep one connected to the server, one in my bag, one offsite, one at my
mother's house, and one at my dad's house. Every Saturday I run the script above
to take a copy and then swap the drive with the one in my bag. It then gets
<span class="aside">I go back home about twice per year</span>
swapped when I visit my offsite location. Same for when I visit my parents. This
means that all hard drives eventually get rotated through with new data and
don't sit too long unpowered.
I run the check-summing `btrfs` file system on them in RAID-1 to protect against bitrot. This means I can only use 0.5 TB of storage for my backups, but the data is stored redundantly.
The drives are all encrypted with full-disk LUKS encryption using a password I'm
unlikely to forget.
I run the check-summing `btrfs` file system on them in RAID-1 to protect against
bitrot. This means I can only use 0.5 TB of storage for my backups, but the data
is stored redundantly.
Here's how I set up new hard drives to do this:
@@ -270,8 +332,12 @@ $ sudo cryptsetup luksClose external
## Future Improvements
I'm working on a system to automatically back up all my home directories to my media server. I need this to grab Bash histories and code that's work-in-progress. I've been burned by not having this once when a server died.
I'm working on a system to automatically back up all my home directories to my
media server. I need this to grab Bash histories and code that's
work-in-progress. I've been burned by not having this once when a server died.
I'd like to automate backing up my phone by connecting it to a Raspberry Pi when I go to sleep.
I'd like to automate backing up my phone by connecting it to a Raspberry Pi when
I go to sleep.
I need to get better at fully testing my backups by restoring them on a blank machine.
I need to get better at fully testing my backups by restoring them on a blank
machine.

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@@ -3,36 +3,45 @@ Date: 2021-04-10
Category: Writing
Summary: Bypass ISP blocked ports using VPN port forwarding for public access.
Wide: true
Short: ports
[TOC]
My residential ISP blocks inbound traffic to common ports like 22, 80, and 443. I use an OpenVPN tunnel to forward these ports so that I can self-host a public media server. It does __not__ require users to be on the VPN.
My residential ISP blocks inbound traffic to common ports like 22, 80, and 443.
I use an OpenVPN tunnel to forward these ports so that I can self-host a
public media server. It does __not__ require users to be on the VPN.
This article explains how I set it up and is targeted towards Linux sysadmins.
## Overview
I have a cheap $5 per month virtual server with [Digital Ocean](https://digitalocean.com) that runs Debian GNU/Linux 10. An OpenVPN server is running on this virtual server.
I have a cheap $5 per month virtual server with [Digital
Ocean](https://digitalocean.com) that runs Debian GNU/Linux 10. An OpenVPN
server is running on this virtual server.
My media server at home has an OpenVPN client connected to the server and is assigned a static IP on the VPN network.
My media server at home has an OpenVPN client connected to the server and is
assigned a static IP on the VPN network.
The virtual server has routing enabled and forwards inbound traffic __from the internet__ to my media server at home. This allows me to have external HTTP and SSH access.
The virtual server has routing enabled and forwards inbound traffic __from the
internet__ to my media server at home. This allows me to have external HTTP and SSH
access.
## Server Setup
Spin up a Debian 10 virtual server on your favourite hosting provider and set your user up as you would normally. You should probably harden this server. Assign a subdomain to it like `vpn.example.com`.
Spin up a Debian 10 virtual server on your favourite hosting provider and set
your user up as you would normally. You should probably harden this server.
Assign a subdomain to it like `vpn.example.com`.
Install the following requirements:
```
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install openvpn easy-rsa ufw
$ sudo apt install openvpn ufw
```
### OpenVPN Server
These steps roughly follow [this guide](https://wiki.debian.org/OpenVPN#TLS-enabled_VPN).
These steps roughly follow [this
guide](https://wiki.debian.org/OpenVPN#TLS-enabled_VPN).
Generate TLS certificates and keys:
@@ -43,20 +52,19 @@ $ sudo make-cadir easy-rsa/
$ sudo chown -R tanner:tanner easy-rsa/
```
Replace `tanner` with your Linux username, this is temporary.
Replace `tanner` with your own username, this is temporary.
<span class="aside">(The `.rnd` file prevents a warning)</span>
<span class="aside">The `.rnd` file prevents a warning</span>
```
$ cd easy-rsa/
$ export EASYRSA_CERT_EXPIRE=36500
$ export EASYRSA_CA_EXPIRE=36500
$ ./easyrsa init-pki
$ head /dev/urandom > pki/.rnd
$ ./easyrsa build-ca
```
Enter a password you won't forget in case you want to add another client later. The Common Name you choose is not important.
Enter a password you won't forget in case you want to add another client later.
The Common Name you choose is not important.
Generate Diffie–Hellman params:
@@ -76,19 +84,22 @@ Generate a client cert:
$ ./easyrsa build-client-full mediaserver nopass
```
We make a `mediaserver` client because we want to assign a static IP to it. You need to make a different one for each client you want with a static IP.
We make a `mediaserver` client because we want to assign a static IP to it. You
need to make a different one for each client you want with a static IP.
Also, if you want generic clients that all get dynamic IPs for use on your laptop, phone, etc. to protect you from public WiFi (like a normal VPN), create only a single extra one:
Also, if you want generic clients that all get dynamic IPs for use on your
laptop, phone, etc. to protect you from public WiFi, create only a single extra one:
```
$ ./easyrsa build-client-full client nopass # optional
```
Leave off `nopass` if you want to password protect the config file keys when you set up a new client.
Leave off `nopass` if you want to password protect the config file keys when you
set up a new client.
Create the server config file `/etc/openvpn/server.conf`:
<span class="aside">(Can't use port 443 here since it'll be forwarded)</span>
<span class="aside">Can't use port 443 here since it'll be forwarded</span>
```
port 1194
@@ -126,7 +137,7 @@ $ sudo touch ccd/mediaserver
Replace `mediaserver` with whatever client name you used above. Edit it like so:
<span class="aside">(Your home server will be `10.8.0.100`)</span>
<span class="aside">Your home server will be `10.8.0.100`</span>
```
ifconfig-push 10.8.0.100 255.255.255.0
@@ -170,7 +181,8 @@ $ ip addr
### Port Forwarding
I use `ufw` to handle the iptables rules because I use it anyway as a firewall when I harden my servers.
I use `ufw` to handle the iptables rules because I use it anyway as a firewall
when I harden my servers.
Enable routing:
@@ -205,11 +217,14 @@ Add this to the top of `/etc/ufw/before.rules`:
COMMIT
```
Replace `123.123.123.123` with your VPN server's external IP address and `eth0` with the external interface.
Replace `123.123.123.123` with your VPN server's external IP address and `eth0`
with the external interface.
This will forward TCP traffic on port 2222 to your home server. If you want to use port 22, then you need to set the VPN SSH server to something else.
This will forward TCP traffic on port 2222 to your home server. If you want to use
port 22, then you need to set the VPN SSH server to something else.
A full example of `/etc/ufw/before.rules` with other ports included can be found here:
A full example of `/etc/ufw/before.rules` with other ports included can be found
here:
[https://txt.t0.vc/URUG](https://txt.t0.vc/URUG)
@@ -262,7 +277,8 @@ key-direction 1
</tls-auth>
```
Replace the `[server ...]` lines with the contents of that file on the __VPN server__, for example:
Replace the `[server ...]` lines with the contents of that file on the __VPN
server__, for example:
```
$ sudo cat /etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/pki/ca.crt
@@ -273,7 +289,7 @@ Also replace `vpn.example.com` with the subdomain you assigned earlier.
For device clients (like your laptop and phone), create the config file `client.ovpn`:
<span class="aside">(`redirect-gateway def1` forces traffic over the VPN)</span>
<span class="aside">`redirect-gateway def1` forces traffic over the VPN</span>
```
client
@@ -348,17 +364,22 @@ $ sudo service openvpn restart
### Client Apps
On Android I use "OpenVPN for Android" and on Linux I use the `network-manager-openvpn-gnome` Debian package.
On Android I use "OpenVPN for Android" and on Linux I use the
`network-manager-openvpn-gnome` Debian package.
To add your VPN on Gnome, open VPN settings, import file, and select `client.ovpn`. If the private key is missing, select it from `~/.cert/nm-openvpn/`.
To add your VPN on Gnome, open VPN settings, import file, and select
`client.ovpn`. If the private key is missing, select it from
`~/.cert/nm-openvpn/`.
## Closing Thoughts
You should now be fine to access your home server from over the internet.
To forward additional ports, just edit the `/etc/ufw/before.rules` file like above and apply the changes to `ufw`.
To forward additional ports, just edit the `/etc/ufw/before.rules` file like
above.
You can now point a domain to your virtual server's IP and use that to connect to your home server. Use a CNAME to make it easy to change later:
You can now point a domain to your virtual server's IP and use that to connect
to your home server. Use a CNAME to make it easy to change later:
```
NAME TYPE VALUE
@@ -367,4 +388,5 @@ vpn.example.com. A 123.123.123.123
myserver.example.com. CNAME vpn.example.com.
```
Finally, make sure any server programs are listening / bound to `10.8.0.100` or `0.0.0.0` so that they can get traffic from that interface.
Finally, make sure any server programs are listening / bound to `10.8.0.100` or
`0.0.0.0` so that they can get traffic from that interface.

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Title: Hand of Ozymandias
Date: 2012-03-23
Category: Projects
Summary: A withered hand I welded out of scrap metal.
I was visiting my cousins in Radium, BC and decided to learn stick welding at
their shop. I wanted to create a sculpture, so with pieces of scrap metal I
welded together this hand. The beads are far from perfect. Working with small
pieces of rusted metal made it difficult.
![a rusted hand welded together out of scrap square stock metal tubing]({static}/images/hand-of-ozymandias/hand1.jpg)
## The Name
One of my favourite poems is [Ozymandias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias)
by Percy Bysshe Shelley. It's about the inevitable complete decline of all
rulers and the empires they build, however mighty in their time. This is the
hand of Ozymandias sticking out from the sand, grasping for life after he has
been reduced to dust.
## Construction
I eyeballed the joint angles and my cousin cut them to spec with an angle
grinder. It was made in a machine shop with no real planning done ahead of time.
In between welds, I used my own hand as a reference. Below is a picture of me
adding a bead to it.
![me welding the hand causing a very bright white light that washes out the photo]({static}/images/hand-of-ozymandias/hand2.jpg)

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Title: LED Dress
Date: 2016-03-18
Category: Projects
Summary: A dress made out of LEDs that twinkle like stars.
A friend of mine was attending a stars and constellations themed ball. She
wanted to wear a dress that was lit up with LEDs acting as twinkling stars.
Seven of the 28 stars are aligned to resemble the Big Dipper constellation and
twinkle differently than the rest, which twinkle in a random pattern.
![a girl wearing a blue dress with a number of LEDs shining through the fabric]({static}/images/dress/dress1.jpg)
## Construction
The LEDs came from that strip that was cut up and soldered together with very
small wires. Each of the LEDs can be controlled individually.
![the controller circuit board, and the string of soldered together LEDs]({static}/images/dress/dress2.jpg)
21 of the stars are light magenta in color and twinkle by fading randomly. The
seven LEDs that form the Big Dipper continually scroll through a gradient of
three colors. Instead of calculating the values of each color in the gradient as
the program runs, a lookup table is used.
<video autoplay muted loop style="display:block; margin: 0 auto;">
<source src="{static}/videos/dress/dress3.mp4" type="video/mp4">
Your browser does not support the video tag.
</video>

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Title: Remote Control Light Switch
Date: 2014-10-09
Category: Projects
Summary: A device to toggle my lights remotely.
I wanted the ability to toggle my bedroom light remotely for convenience. I
designed a circuit that allows me to control my light with any
device that can load a webpage.
I still wanted to be able to control the light manually, so I bought a metallic
face-plate and turned it into a capacitive touch sensor. The slightest touch
anywhere on the plate is enough to toggle the light. I had to electrically
isolate the metal screws from it because they screw into a grounded switch box.
![my custom light switch, a Raspberry Pi computer, and an old iPhone]({static}/images/light-switch/light1.jpg)
## Function
I have a Raspberry Pi ($35 computer) on my home network that runs a web server.
When you connect to it in your web browser, a page loads with buttons to turn
the light on or off. When you press a button, the server executes a command that
sends a message over Bluetooth to the light switch. The Bluetooth module in the
wall receives this message and forwards it to the microcontroller, which
processes it and toggles the relay. The whole circuit is also powered from mains
by an AC-DC converter.
This entire process happens quicker than half a second, so it feels instant.
![the front side which has several electrical components]({static}/images/light-switch/light2.jpg)
<span class="aside">Black stuff's liquid electrical tape</span>
![the back side which has wires soldered to connect all the components]({static}/images/light-switch/light3.jpg)

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Title: Choosing a Linux Flavour
Date: 2020-10-31
Category: Writing
Summary: A recommendation on which flavour of Linux to run.
Wide: true
[TOC]
People often ask me which flavour of Linux they should install. In summary,
choose Ubuntu if it's your first time. Once you are comfortable, install Debian
the next time you need to install Linux.
I run Debian on my computers and servers.
## Linux Distributions
When people refer to the "flavour of Linux" they are talking about a Linux
<span class="aside">Interjection: it's technically called GNU/Linux</span>
distribution (distro). It mostly describes what software is distributed in its
software repository.
"A typical Linux distribution comprises a Linux kernel, GNU tools and
libraries, additional software, documentation, a window system, a window
manager, and a desktop environment." [Wikipedia]
The major Linux distros are practically all the same. If you master one it's
easy to pick up the others. The main differences you'll run into are which
tools you use to install new software, and the desktop environment, which is
what all the windows and buttons look like.
I recommend two Linux distros, Debian and Ubuntu. Ubuntu is based off of
Debian, so they are very similar.
## Pros of Debian
Debian is one of the oldest distros and many other distros are based off it.
You can see a timeline visualization of all its derivatives here:
<https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg>
This image is what originally convinced me to use Debian. Scroll down until you
see it and zoom out so you grasp how many derivatives it has.
Debian is also non-commercial and requires that all software in its main
repository is free and open source. This is important because that grants you
the right to study, change, and distribute the software and source code to
anyone and for any purpose. They also follow a strong social contract you can
see here:
<https://www.debian.org/social_contract>
It's also a very stable Linux distro since they freeze all software features on
each release. This makes it great for servers because nothing will break when
it updates.
The main Raspberry Pi distro is nearly identical to Debian, so you'll also gain
familiarity with it.
## Cons of Debian
Since Debian requires all its software to be free and open source, proprietary
hardware drivers aren't included in its main repo. This can make installing
Debian difficult if your hardware requires non-free drivers. You'll need to use
a non-free installation image found here:
<https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/>
The fact that Debian freezes software features can also mean that your software
gets old until the next Debian release. If you want versions that are bleeding
edge, you'll need to use Debian Unstable as described here:
<https://wiki.debian.org/DebianUnstable#Installation>
Don't be fooled by the name "unstable". I use it for my personal computers and
it runs fine.
## Pros of Ubuntu
Ubuntu is incredibly easy to install. You can also try it out before deciding
to install it. The distro pretty much just works on what ever hardware you
have.
It's very beginner friendly because it's so popular. Any problem you search for
will reveal dozens of threads with people solving the same problem.
## Cons of Ubuntu
Unfortunately Ubuntu is developed by a commercial company, Canonical. The
company's interests come first, before the users' and they have a track record
of betraying their users' trust and privacy.
Years ago Ubuntu had a feature enabled by default that would send your desktop
searches to Amazon so they could suggest products for you to buy:
<https://www.pcworld.com/article/2840401/ubuntus-unity-8-desktop-removes-the-amazon-search-spyware.html>
Currently whenever you remote login to your Ubuntu machine, it phones home to
Canonical and they collect info about your system:
<https://ubuntu.com/legal/motd>
While these reasons are fairly minor, they are quite frowned upon in the Linux
community and are reason enough to switch to Debian once you are comfortable
with using Linux.
[Wikipedia]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution

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Title: Man’s Reach Exceeds His Grasp
Date: 2012-04-11
Category: Projects
Summary: My first attempt at painting with acrylic.
The painting is called “Man’s Reach Exceeds His Grasp”. I've always wanted to
try painting and thought I had a good idea, so after a couple of drawings I
attempted to paint it. I eventually got it framed at Michaels. Many thanks to my
friend Laura for the opportunity to do this, I couldn't have done it without her
help.
![a painting of water pouring out of a vase and into a hand, then turning to sand]({static}/images/painting/painting1.jpg)
## The Meaning
It’s hard to see in the photo, but the moment the water touches his hand it
turns into sand and is taken by the slight breeze. The title is a quote from
Andrea del Sarto, a poem by Robert Browning. It is also said by Nikola Tesla’s
character in my favourite movie, [The Prestige](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/).
“I, painting from myself and to myself,
Know what I do, am unmoved by men’s blame
Or their praise either. Somebody remarks
Morello's outline there is wrongly traced,
His hue mistaken; what of that? or else,
Rightly traced and well ordered; what of that?
Speak as they please, what does the mountain care?
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what’s a heaven for?”
– Robert Browning from *Andrea del Sarto*
## Creation
I started with the background, trying to make it blurry and out of focus, then
slowly progressed to the foreground. The hands were drawn in pencil and painted
in. It was quite difficult to get the blending and shadows perfect, but I had
Laura to tell me when things didn't look right. Below I am trying to figure out
what a hand looks like in a mirror.
![me looking at my own hand in the mirror as a guide]({static}/images/painting/painting2.jpg)

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Title: Automatic Plant Waterer
Date: 2014-06-05
Category: Projects
Summary: A device that automatically waters plants.
One day I decided watering my one plant was too much work, so I automated it.
It's also great for when I'm on vacation. The plant is a year old now and
doesn't look as good as it used to (kinda like you). So this machine is like its
life support.
<span class="aside">Update: this plant died long ago</span>
![the device and pump on a 2L pop bottle with a tube running to a flowerpot]({static}/images/plant-waterer/waterer1.jpg)
## First Attempt
The design was very simple and soldered together on perf board. A
microcontroller turns the pump on for 20 seconds, then waits 24 hours and
restarts. The pump ran way too fast so it was slowed down to 10% power.
This design suffered from a fatal problem. After running, there was a chance
that the tube would stay full of fluid. If the water level in the pop bottle was
too high, it could siphon out. I woke up with a flower pot overflowing with
water a couple of times.
![a new version feeding into a different plant]({static}/images/plant-waterer/waterer2.jpg)
## Second Attempt
I liked the idea so much that I made a second iteration. This one used a custom
printed circuit board with a lot more features. The pumping duration could be
adjusted with a screwdriver. This was useful as the plant (now a
[Ming aralia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyscias_fruticosa)) grew.
Another feature was the ability to run the pump backwards. This completely
eliminated the siphoning problem from before. After pumping for a set duration,
it would run backwards until the tube was cleared of water.
<span class="aside">Also dead :(</span>
![the new version beside a big Ming aralia plant with bushy drooping leaves and skinny stems]({static}/images/plant-waterer/waterer3.jpg)

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Title: Solar Car
Date: 2013-04-27
Category: Projects
Summary: About my time volunteering with the University of Calgary Solar Car Team, where I designed a maximum power point tracker.
I joined the University of Calgary Solar Car Team in my first semester for a
chance to learn things, gain practical experience, and meet people that share my
interests. The car was the top Canadian team in a 3000 km race from Darwin to
Adelaide, Australia in 2011. We met up at a shop on campus every Saturday
morning to work on the new Generation IV of the solar car.
![the MPPT device, a printed circuit board with bulky round electrical components held in my hand]({static}/images/solar-car/solar1.jpg)
## The Helianthus MPPT
I was in charge of designing and assembling the MPPTs (maximum power point
trackers) for the new generation solar car. An MPPT extracts as much power out
of the solar cells as possible. The solar array operates less efficiently
without them. The Generation IV car, Schulich Delta (pictured below) uses seven
of them: one per section of solar cells with similar lighting conditions. Andrei
and I designed the MPPT above.
![the solar car from an angle with a driver inside]({static}/images/solar-car/solar2.jpg)

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Title: t-zero Services
Date: 2022-05-27
Category: Writing
Summary: A list of minimal microservices on my t0.vc domain.
Wide: true
Short: 6
The t-zero Services are a collection of minimalist microservices that I host on my t0.vc domain. The letter "t" meaning me, and "0" meaning small. They're all meant to do exactly one thing reliably and stay online for as long as I can host them.
## t0.vc
The smallest t-zero is the main domain itself at [t0.vc](https://t0.vc) and it serves as a lite version of my personal website, which you are reading this on. It fits under 1000 bytes in size without being boring to read because it sacrifices everything else for pure content. Including closing HTML tags.
The rest of the t-zero services are hosted on its subdomains.
## t0txt
The second t-zero I wrote was [[t0txt]], a pastebin that is compatible with the command line and `curl`. This allows me to very easily pipe text data into it and immediately get a URL that I can share. I copied the idea from [sprunge.us](http://sprunge.us/) which kept going down because he'd forget to pay his Google Cloud bill.
## t0pic
I figured that since I have a pastebin, I might as well make an image host since Imgur now sucks. It supports web and command line upload and pasting directly into the web page. I don't advertise it because public image hosts usually end up abused. However, you can easily find it if you follow the naming pattern.
## t0url
Next I created a URL shortener called t0url because I wanted to transfer links between devices quickly. Other shorteners use longer IDs but since this is my own, I can get away with only four capital letters which makes them easy to type and remember. I also don't advertise it because URL shorteners end up abused by scammers.
## t0reg
I then built a key-value store called [t0reg](https://reg.t0.vc). With "reg" meaning registers, it acts exactly like the t0txt pastebin but you can specify the destination ID where the data is stored. This is the most esoteric service, but the most used one because I have bots and scripts that periodically push and pull data to it. I also have bash curl aliases set up to help move data between servers with `foo | push` and `pull > foo.txt`.
## t0sig
My site's [guestbook](https://t0.vc/g/) is powered by t0sig. When a guestbook entry is submitted, it's held in memory and assigned an ID. A bot then sends me the message over Telegram and I can choose to approve it by clicking a command. After approval, the message is simply appended to the end of the guestbook page. You can read the source code [here](https://git.tannercollin.com/tanner/t0sig/src/branch/master/t0sig.py).
## t0dns
I wrote the Telegram bot [t0dns](https://t.me/t0dns_bot) to quickly manage DNS records for `dns.t0.vc`. I got tired of logging into my domain registrar every time I wanted to add a subdomain for whatever random project I was working on. Now I only have to send a command to the bot like `/add_cname sensors ms.tannercollin.com.` and it will add the `sensors.dns.t0.vc` record to a zone file that it resolves. Anyone can use it, but I routinely prune the records so don't rely on it.

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Title: t0txt
Date: 2022-05-15
Category: Projects
Summary: Minimal command line pastebin. Allows you to upload text notes from a bash pipe or web browser.
Short: t
[t0txt](https://txt.t0.vc) is a minimalist pastebin. You can upload text notes from the command line by using a bash alias or by submitting text through the web form.
You can find the [source code](https://github.com/tannercollin/t0txt) on Github.
The pastes you upload take the form of [txt.t0.vc/IMLV](https://txt.t0.vc/IMLV), where they are identified by four unique capital letters. This makes it easy to memorize the URL while moving it between devices.
I wrote t0txt in July 2019 and plan to continue hosting it indefinitely. I use it quite often for sysadmin and automation work, so I'm committed to keeping it alive. Here's an example use case:
```
$ echo "hello world!" | txt
https://txt.t0.vc/IMLV
$ curl https://txt.t0.vc/IMLV
hello world!
```
## Spam Issue
After running t0txt for a while, I noticed there were a large number of pastes only containing random links. The service was being hit by backlink spam bots who try to submit any web form they find hoping they can spread links around. They do this to try and improve the search ranking of their client's websites. I added a simple CAPTCHA with the question "Who owns this site?" that checks for a substring of "tanner". This seems to have eliminated most spam.
I found a lot of txt.t0.vc links around the internet with pastes containing all sorts of spam. Cheap pharmaceuticals, blogs, online casinos, porn, and surprisingly lots of essay writing services. I wanted to clean these up because I didn't want the URL to be tarnished. I wrote a simple [script](https://github.com/tannercollin/t0txt/blob/master/misc/clean.py) that deletes pastes based on spam-words. It deleted 22,500 pastes out of the total 33,000 in the database.
The spam cleaning script iterates over all pastes. If the paste contains a word from the whitelist, it continues because it's probably related to one of my projects. If it contains a banned word from a list, it's marked for deletion. If it contains at least two words commonly associated with spam, it's also marked for deletion. A large percentage of the spam was in different languages I can't read, so I randomly chose words hoping to not get many false positives. Finally it counts the number of occurrences of "http" and compares it to the number of lines. If the count and ratio is above a threshold, it's marked for deletion.
## Don't Advertise your Pastebin
Pastebins are one of those projects not worth advertising. You should keep it within your circle of friends and grow by word-of-mouth and people seeing the links to your pastes. Additional users don't really get you anything except a larger database you have to back up. Advertising it will just bring spam which tarnishes the reputation of your domain and any subdomains on it.
I regret advertising t0txt, but the cat is already out of the bag so it doesn't really matter going forward. It would be interesting to make a pastebin where the paste's domain is different than the submission domain if you want to keep it somewhat hidden.

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aka pollution, dust
Study linking air pollution to mental disorders:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/study-supports-link-between-traffic-related-air-pollution-and-mental-disorders
Calgary air quality:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-air-quality-map-ranking-1.4547149
Woodgears (Matthias Wandel) page on dust:
https://woodgears.ca/dust/dylos.html
https://woodgears.ca/dust_collector/index.html
Study of low-cost sensor accuracy:
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/js/2018/5096540/
Experiments on DIY air purifier:
https://news.t0.vc/QZKP
https://dyno-might.github.io/2020/12/15/some-real-data-on-a-DIY-box-fan-air-purifier/
Sensors
=======
Fancy serial one with inlet:
- SDS011
- $17 USD
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32606349048.html
One Farzad gave me:
- DSM501A
- $4 USD
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001710572424.html
Fancy commercial one:
- DC1100 PRO
- $289 USD
Professional fluke:
- Fluke 985
- $7000 CAD
Good digikey one:
- https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/honeywell-sensing-and-productivity-solutions/HPMA115S0-XXX/7202204
- connector? https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/molex/0151340803/6198165 --- NO
- cable per sensor:
- 4 x 900-2149211112-ND (pre-crimped lead)
- 1 x WM1726-ND (connector housing)

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