There will be a blog post soon, but new version of PolitiCall dropped yesterday. New design that makes it even easier to find and call your reps. Peep the before/after! My favorite last-minute addition was the screen that shows an ordered ranked list of reps by age. Y’know, for…reasons.

The CircuitPython prototypes, most with Raspberry Pi Pico builds were being refined before students present the 1st week in Dec. Jukebox, Minecraft pick, glow hopscotch, squid game red light/green light, arcade games, sculptures. 12/5, 4-6pm, 245 Beacon St. Rm 301. All welcome!

More work in progress. Hope to see you on Friday 12/5 4-5pm for the student tech showcase. Boston College campus 245 Beacon St Room 301.

Low cost robot with a raspberry pi pico2w, two continuous rotation servos, and a mobile phone battery. Uses CircuitPython MQTT.

Projects dry run today in Physical Computing. Lots of hacking!

What if we spliced the genes of Jack Black and Jack White together? Would they become Jack Grey?

Good @MBTA day today. Driver waited for me as I hadn’t crossed the tracks yet. Makes such a difference in customer attitudes toward public transit. Especially important as we are again about to have a track improvement shutdown. And right at holiday shopping season.

Milestone: achieved gender parity in both programming courses I’m teaching next semester #SwiftUI and #PhysicalComputing. A regular repost with ideas on how faculty, especially those who “look like me” can promote tech diversity. open.substack.com/pub/profgall...

311 Omakase is Boston’s first Michelin Star restaurant. Bib Gourmand restaurants: Bar Volpe (South Boston) Fox & the Knife (South Boston) Jahunger (Cambridgeport) Mahaniyom (Brookline Village) Pagu (Central Square, Cambridge) Sumiao Hunan Kitchen (Kendall Square, Cambridge). 1/3

Second Exam of the semester. Build two apps in 2.5 hrs. One with SwiftData the other with API access and JSON parsing. I’ll post copies with solutions as soon as I have the voice over added to the videos. Swifters be Swiftin’!

Ideas on why the Boston MBTA reader might not be reading my iPhone for tap to pay? The settings for wallet says it’s set up for transit pay but I’ve tried both with the phone locked (which used to work) and with the card up in Wallet and code entered. Both rejected. But physical cards work.

The “overreach” depiction of academe that’s being pushed, including things like “citation justice” that I’ve never heard of in nearly 3 decades as faculty, is wildly distorted & chilling when it’s delivered in the cadence of a “thoughtful critic”. www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm...

Sad to see White Mountain go. Many years ago I bought some for a girl I liked. Today she’s my wife & we have three kids, one who also graduated BC. Get some of this magic confection before it’s gone on Dec. 1. bcheights.com/225297/news/...

If you are a #College student in the #Boston area come out to the Back Bay Fens for a student #Rally held by the @edufreedomproj.bsky.social. Rally starts at 2 pm and will feature both speeches and music.

A glimpse of Physical Computing Week 12 with 3D printed robot arms in CircuitPython driven by a Raspberry Pi Pico.

AI & Banking Dirty Tricks: Bank of America Home Equity line listed a number in the letter. There was a phone tree that one couldn't escape that forced an "offer" of medic alert. The AI voice on the other end sounded human. They couldn't be interrupted. Same voice each time I called.

My students @eshapatel.bsky.social & @jennywbe.bsky.social use break beam sensors for their #CircuitPython #NeoPixel Hop Scotch. Major prototype milestone complete. So proud of your work & can’t wait to see the final product!

Love when I can respond to YouTube comments like this. I apologized for not speaking Romanian but figured it was ok to use Russian given the name :)

In her latest book, BC Law Professor Ray Madoff explores how the U.S. tax structure, which was meant to serve as a counter to inequality, today does just the opposite. https://on.bc.edu/TheSecondEstate

Tomorrow’s CircuitPython in-class build - Raspberry Pi Pico 3D printed robot arms. If it works, you can choose candy! Build lesson coming soon at YouTube.com/@BuildWithProfG

“What is new is the confluence of three trends: The sheer scale of wealth for the richest. The untethering of compensation from performance. The amount of harm these figures are willing to inflict on society. All three are rising to a dangerously high tide. open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Every Halloween I hope that my family will acquiesce to my dearest wish that we dress up as the Avengers and go eat at the local shawarma shop. And every year I am disappointed. Dad dreams deferred.

PixelBlaze audio meter (left) and concentric circle mapping (right). New fun stuff in Fulton 460.

The CircuitPython Show: Sam Blenny blog.adafruit.com/2025/10/30/t...

GitHub repo for CircuitPython rubber band launcher. Cheap nylon servos jitter lots, but I cut off the servo by setting .angle to None in between detected movements. If you've got other ideas on improving, LMK. Still lots of jitter on tilt that holds heavier platform: github.com/gallaugher/j...

Watched the first two episodes of Pluribus on Apple TV last night. It was great & thought provoking. One of those shows that’ll be great chats with a partner after watching.

#Caturday Contraption. Testing build for the RaspberryPi Pico CircuitPython rubber band launcher before I create a tutorial. Unclear if Admiral Grace is enjoying this or just humoring me. #CircuitPython #RaspberryPi #Pico

Cat Babushka. Admiral Grace experimenting with my knitting. #Caturday

All our cats have been rescues, but if YouTubers who train their cat to use the toilet could replicate this, they could sell those guys for at least 5 grand a pop. My current cats drag their business out of the “self-cleaning” cat box with the disdain of a cheese monger handed a jar of Velveeta.

I love that the Boston cop slide never got fixed and now people just willingly go down it in tribute. It’s basically a national landmark at this point

Educators & Students - Apple's first announcement on the 2026 Swift Student Challenge went out today. The awards are numerous & generous for high-quality work. There are wonderful blog posts / videos online from past challenge winners that provide advice. Hack on! developer.apple.com/swift-studen...

PixelBlaze sensor boards with sound recognition plotting on the spectrum analyzer

Week 11 of Boston College Physical Computing. Students built joystick controlled rubber band launchers. 3 servos, a joystick, button, a 3D printed model & laser cut base. We learned about recognizing ways to improve user experience & code for improved control & positioning.

Wow. The @mbta outbound on the d-line is colossally bad. Stood outside driver door on the second carriage. Door didn’t open. Driver stopped and began to pull out. T YOU HAVE TO STOP the nonsense where drivers think no one is here so they don’t open doors & lately don’t even look. AWFUL EXPERIENCE!

This is new - anti-rat advertisement on the MBTA.

I was barking so loud because the door was closed, I swear!! #AGoodPlace Source: www.reddit.com/r/MadeMeSmil...

And of course got kicked off the D-line again as @mbta green line scheduling is only about 50% outbound reliable to get me home in a single ride.

Bad @mbta d-line service. All doors closed as I’m running for the T. Make it to first door with Carmen. He shrugs then pulls away.

I’m meeting a colleague for dinner (tech prof I co-taught with in Sydney). He’ll be at MIT. Give me your recs for dinner.

Apartment with an LED floor: #AGoodPlace Source: www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsi...

My 3rd time in the USSR was working in ‘91. Woman I rented a room from proudly showed me men’s shoes and said “Look! Now I can get the door fixed!” Everything ran on barter. And I also stood in random lines to see what showed up. Cuban bananas were a huge score. www.buzzfeed.com/scarymouse/w...

Mischief night as well in suburban Philly

I the Poughkeepsie, NY area we called it Mischief Night.

Alright, homies, time for some regionalisms. What did you call the Night Before Halloween where you grew up? In my area or Northern NJ it was “Goosey Night”.

Windy day near Chatham Light House. I love the off season.

Black Whaling Captains. Little known history offered at the Atwood Museum on Cape Cod.

Newton, MA Ghost! bcheights.com/224582/metro...

Matthew 25:35-36👇🏾

Where’s my neck brace? I’ve face-palmed with too much force again.

Students interested in tech entrepreneurship, I’ve had several of my students as True Ventures Fellows and all loved the experience. Deadline approaching www.trueventuresfellowship.com