Weeknotes 192

Birds are tweeting. I’m not waking up in the dark. It must be spring.

In order to remove Twitter references from my blog (because of obvious reasons) I needed to install Ruby 2.7 (I know, I know, it’s very old) so I could build the site using Middleman. I was expecting this to be an unpleasant experience, but it installed very quickly and easily. Sometimes software does work.

Some lovely new gradient wallpapers from the Basic Apple Guy.

The unreliable smart lock problem might be solved. I won’t know for real for a few weeks, but it’s looking very promising. I only made a single configuration change in the end. The WiFi channel was set to “auto” and I changed it to always be 11 (11 was as far away from the crowded channels as possible).

In the UniFi app, for each device, there is an indicator that shows what the “WiFi Experience” is, expressed as a stacked bar chart. This bar used to be multi-coloured, each colour representing a disconnect or DNS issue, or other WiFi issue of which their are many. The bar is now solid green indicating a WIN.

The messages being logged every minute or so are also gone and have been replaced with a single disconnect and reconnect message once a day which to me looks like normal behaviour for this device.

Whilst in the UniFi app I took the opportunity to update the firmware on all network devices, so that should be all the fiddling I do for now.

The more I learn about soldering the clearer it becomes that to remove components you often need to add before taking away. You might add flux, and then add more solder, and then more flux to heat and remove. This feels like the opposite of what you should do but it really works.

The new screen arrived and after some brief procrastination I tried it out, this time on three separate Game Boy Colors. It doesn’t work 😩

When AliExpress seller sent the new screen they did not send a whole kit (which comprises screen, ribbon cable, and controller board). Given that the neither screen works on three different Game Boy Colors I’m suspicious that the screen part is to blame, and it seems more likely that the controller board is actually the cause of my woes. I checked the ribbon cable for continuity across its pins and visually inspected it, but it appears fine, so I don’t think it’s that.

The seller agreed to send these parts if I paid postage (£3), which I thought was fair enough at this point. I imagine they get a fair amount of people trying it on because electrical components are fairly easy to break.

So now we wait. Again. If it doesn’t work after this I might just throw everything in the bin.

After a long hiatus I’ve been using eBay a lot. Whilst I like what the platform affords, buying niche products from the comfort of my home, the actual website is pants. A prime example of what happens when there is no competition. Basic things like pages taking an age to load, and clicking on buttons and links where nothing happens. And it’s not better than 20 years ago, and dare I say worse than then.

More Game Boys were delivered – this time of the DS Lite variety. I have plans. Don’t judge me; I can do what I want.

Micro Journal: Distraction-Free Writing Device: WriterDeck

I aimed to create a specialized writing device, focusing on the tactile experience of mechanical keyboards. This device would be portable, with a compact form factor, designed to enhance the writing process in a focused environment. The goal was to provide a distraction-free writing experience, allowing users to immerse themselves fully in their creative work.

Unique Property Reference Number

This website allows you to look up all the publicly available data for any UPRN in Great Britain. Simply put the UPRN into the search box to see all the information we have for that UPRN. Alternatively, search for a postcode to see all the UPRNs in the immediate vicinity.

(You will really need your Ad Blocker for this website).

A friend told me about the Nintendo Game Boy Player which allows you to play Game Boy games on the GameCube. The GameCube completely passed me by so I hadn’t heard of this before. Naturally, I now need one.

At the weekend we visited to the West Country to see various friends (my eyes are in good shape, thanks) hence the lateness of this post. The journey was remarkably stress-free, for which we can partly thank the glorious weather we had from Thursday onwards.

It’s always a bit odd visiting various groups of people. For me this is a trip away, for them it’s a few hours in between their normal daily activities, so I can be tricky to schedule and know if you’re outstaying your welcome. Still, it was nice to see everyone.

We treated ourselves to a meal at our favourite restaurant whilst near Bristol. The food scene in Bristol is still king imo, and I often miss it.