Using claude code remote control now from my iPad to my Mac. It is very convenient for continuing to work on a project.

In the software world equivalent, this might be considered spaghetti code. Still roughing in the electronics. So far eyes, LEDs, human presence sensor, motor drivers, and switches are working.

No better combination than omnifixo, hakko, and kotto for my esp32 zombie project

In my usage of Claude Code with my esp32 projects, I sometimes get the feeling that I am the long pole in the tent just because I'm the one with fingers and eyes. If claude had them I might just be called Captain Dunsel.

I just did a fascinating test of claude code. I have a parts inventory project that it created which imported a list of all of my orders from amazon over the last few years. Many of those orders were for small electronics items such as boards, sensors, controllers, etc.

Vibenapping

Using the claude code insights command is surprisingly reminiscent of getting a performance review at work.

Here’s a tip if you use the Wegmans app for recipes. You can edit the recipe to make any clarifications or changes and save it back. Then when you view it in your saved recipes you will see the changed version or you can view the original. I just discovered this and it is a great way to do it.

Funny story. Way back in the day, my old hardware friends were always dragging out their big Tektronix oscilloscope on wheels to do their magical hardware stuff with electricity.

This is what happens when you let people buy your furniture instead of using AI which would have done a much better job in finding furniture that accommodates your needs.

In my continued exploration of Claude Code, I discovered yesterday that it can use docker for additional capabilities. In my case, I use finch and it had no trouble at all using containers locally.

Another impressive experience with Claude Code, this time with a Raspberry Pi 3b and a Pi camera. The project is to detect vehicles, recognize a USPS mail truck, and send a message to an mqtt topic. More testing tomorrow but Claude wrote all of the code and provided a great interactive session.

Interesting experience with Claude. It helped diagnose and fix an issue with my birdnet-pi cpu temperature monitoring service exactly as if I had been talking to tech support. It, which seems rude, gave me several potential causes, how to determine which was the root problem, and then what to do.

Interesting experience today. I wanted to add cpu temperature monitoring to my birdnet-pi and have it graphed in my homeassistant. i used claude to do all of it. I gave it a description and it created all of the code, the dashboard yaml, and a readme with a description and installation instructions.

I am stupid, I am happy with my sixfab case on my birdnet-pi raspberry pi. But, I added temperature monitoring using claude code to have it send temperature reports to HomeAssistant and claude noticed that it is running hot and is throttling, probably because I have no ventilation in the box. duh

Lesson learned on Raspberry Pi power supplies. The supply that I was using was 5V - 3A. Was seeing regular undervoltage detections on my BirdNet-Pi. The canakit power supply that I am using now is 5.1V - 3.5A. So far, no undervoltage reported. It is possible that the usb mic needed more power.

If you are interested in bird watching or listening you might like the BirdNet-Pi software. I installed it on a Raspberry Pi 4b with a usb mic. Then got a sixfab enclosure and put it outside. It has all been working perfectly. No issues at all. Sixfab is excellent. www.birdweather.com/birdnetpi

Since my Waterrower is offline until I get a tank seal repair kit I’m jumping on Zwift more often to make up for it

Rats, I’ve been very happy with my WaterRower for 13 years until 3 days ago. I was in a hard sprint and all of a sudden the seal between the 2 halves of the tank split and water went sploosh. Fixing the seal requires an expensive repair kit and replacing the tank is very expensive. More to come.

By far and away, the most distracting thing that can be done during a podcast or instructional video is saying "you know". When I hear that, I start counting the number of times that I hear it. The one that I am listening to right now said it 4 times in the last 5 sentences.

Recent helicopter accident in AZ where it clipped a slack line across a canyon. It looks like the only way for a pilot to know about the line was a NOTAM for location E81 at notams.aim.faa.gov/notamSearch/...

Experimenting more with #NotebookLM. Uploaded some material about the high school band that I was in way back when and asked it to produce a video of the history of the band. It created a six-minute video that is excellent. It is going to profoundly change journalism, education, and more.

I do not always notice the sky while on a #zwift ride but, for whatever reason, today I did and was treated to a collection of bright red, intense purple, and bright sunlight. All were excellent views particularly when it is a cold and windy day outside.

Just saw the phrase "embodied intelligence" used to describe the upcoming robots that will be used in manufacturing and home services. That seems both accurate and thought-provoking.

Spent some time using NotebookLM today for the first time and was impressed. I’m a regular ChatGPT user but definitely see the use case for it. I was having it analyze grocery store receipt PDFs and it worked perfectly. Text recognition was great, analysis worked well, infographics were great.

I have been doing more and more with various esp32 boards and really like them. Recently saw a video on using the pins that support touch. Even though I have seen the pin-outs a ton of times I never noticed the touch support pins. Take a look at the youtube channel for "ResinChem Tech" for more.

Tried a Rapberry Pi 4b running #birdnet-pi and am extremely impressed. I had no trouble installing and using it. If you are interested in bird watching/listening and identification or just the technology, it is absolutely worth trying. www.birdweather.com/birdnetpi

When it cold and rainy outside you can always have pleasant weather during a #zwift ride

Pleasant day for some Zwifting

I do esp32 projects for temperature sensor/wiper motor control. I use homeassistant to manage them and one issue I have is the ip changing if I leave the esp32 off for a few days. This can mess up HA and I end up deleting and recreating the device. Reserving and assigning ips in the router is useful

I am hopeful that, eventually, the one true faith will also provide Pup Cups (Bot Cups?) to our automated brethren. As Dr Chandra said in 2010: The Year We Make Contact, “Whether we are based on carbon or silicon makes no fundamental difference. We should each be treated with appropriate respect.”

Back on the Sensi Touch 2 iOS app issue that I was having. I was not successful in getting it to stay connected to the thermostat while on my Google Wifi mesh network. It does stay connected to a non-mesh wifi that I also have.

McAlister's Deli might find it entertaining that a tiktok from SpudLad in the UK near Manchester prompted me to order a baked potato from them. Also, this is what your dog looks like when you ask "Do you want to go ride to McAlister's?".

Tip on the Sensi iOS app for their thermostats. If you are trying to create your account using the app and get a “Network error” every time you try the create, turn off the iPhone WiFi to complete the account create, turn WiFi back on, and then use the app to configure WiFi on the thermostat.

esp32 work on a breadboard can be a pain because of not being able to get to the pins on one side or the other. I finally broke down and joined 2 breadboards and it does make access to all pins easier.

It’s aggravating when you ask ChatGPT what someone of your age and fitness level should be running a 5k in and it says “You suck”

In my ceaseless quest to feel like hell after exercise, today I decided to replace the k in my usual run with an m. The weather was way better than previously which helped a lot.

What you look like before you start your kettlebell, dumbbell, and Zwift workouts and what you look like afterwards.

The fun for today, after that hateful kettlebell and then HIIT workout, was some Zwift on the Champs-Élysées. I could not make the time that I recently saw a much fitter person than me make but I was a bit better than my previous time.

I had another good experience with ChatGPT on improving my HomeAssistant running on a Raspberry Pi. It involved suggestions from it and an excellent example of the value of AI and it's awareness of prior conversations. I posted about it at dougtoppin.medium.com/another-impr...

Zwift fun for today. Well, I’m not sure it was actually “fun” but I did finish it.

Here is something that I am doing a bad job on. I have micro sd cards with the Raspberry Pi OS and the homeassistant OS in various states of configuration all over the place. The sd cards are so small you can’t attach notes to them. I’m starting to think I need little tiny bags for each with a note.

The On The Media podcast has an excellent episode on AI and music. AI is providing the opportunity to change, accelerate, and enhance music performance and composition. Anyone that wants customized music should be learning how to effectively use it. www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm...

I also decided to improve my solder station and got a Hakko along with a Kotto fume fan. I definitely felt like the Hakko was a better experience during my practice session.

For soldering practice today, I successfully strongly soldered my desoldering braid to the board. I made a mess removing it. I also learned the importance of planning which parts to start with. Otherwise, you end up with parts being in the way if you do them in the wrong order.

Another 5k done at 84 degrees. It was freaking hot. Once again, aggravated at the “Moderate” for Effort.

Today was solder practice. It will hopefully help me get better at my Raspberry Pi and esp32 projects. I successfully burned myself (twice), got practice with desoldering braid, twisted my arms and hands to weird positions to get the iron to the board, and maybe got a couple right. Getting there.

Today I got to ride 20 miles in the French countryside, well virtually anyway. As usual. Zwift was excellent.

As always, The Economist podcast Drum Tower has a particularly good episode "Battle-tested: China is closing the gap in high-tech weaponry". It includes numerous details on aviation and how a chain of technical resources are essential, not just the missile or aircraft. Definite recommend on this.

I am processing my Zwift fit files using GitHub copilot with vscode in a jupyter notebook. I could not find the ride/course name in the file. I am graphing some data and wanted to include the course name in the header. Does anyone know if the ride name is in the file?