Short, informative, and entertaining. The trifecta of youtube watchery!
HatTip to SayUncle
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
dexter
Raise your hand if you were surprised by the twist on the season finale of Dexter last night.
ET raises his hand and looks around the classroom expectantly
I don't usually try to figure out the twists before they come, I prefer to enjoy sitting back and letting the show take me for the ride; but this twist had me genuinely surprised. (I feel inclined to point out that I WAS a little drinkded, and not entirely on the ball at the time)
ET raises his hand and looks around the classroom expectantly
I don't usually try to figure out the twists before they come, I prefer to enjoy sitting back and letting the show take me for the ride; but this twist had me genuinely surprised. (I feel inclined to point out that I WAS a little drinkded, and not entirely on the ball at the time)
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Preaching to the choir?
David reminds us of the true meaning of a phrase we've all used (likely misused) at one point.
I know I'll think twice before I use it in the future.
I know I'll think twice before I use it in the future.
Additions and removals
I've added a few blogs and removed a few blogs from my "Blogs I frequent" non blogroll on the right hand side of the page.
Unlike a blogroll; this is a list of blogs that I actually read on a regular basis...
New additions are Prepair to be Boarded and A Keyboard and a .45.
Both have become blogs I read regularly for different reasons. Give them a click!
Unlike a blogroll; this is a list of blogs that I actually read on a regular basis...
New additions are Prepair to be Boarded and A Keyboard and a .45.
Both have become blogs I read regularly for different reasons. Give them a click!
Backhanded victim blaming.
Updated Please read comments.
An acquaintance of mine was the victim of a mugging and a savage beating. The story was related to me via a post on the blog of a friend close to him.
An apparently well meaning and rightfully angered commenter argued the following;
(emphasis added)
While I took mild issue with a few of his points I took offense to his flippant statement. (Honestly, had he not used the word "simply" I probably would have ignored it) I added the following to my comment after expressing my condolences;
To which he replied;
Misquoting IS a cheap trick; though, were it my intention I probably wouldn't have done it 1/8 of a page away from the original quote. I didn't use the full quote because I found it even more offensive in its entirety. I thought that including the word "simply" would make the intent of his statement clear. Clearly this was ignored.
A voice of reason requested that we not argue on such a tragic post, and I didn't post my reply there.
My reply to this fellow is below. I expect he will find it, as the only way he could attack me personally is if he knew me personally (he doesn't) or read my blog.
(I overlook one possibility; that he was just personally attacking me without knowing anything about me. In which case I could care less if he read this.)
----------------
"If you’re lucky enough to have the choice, simply never wander through the dark, quiet streets of a lower-class neighborhood at night."
This is backhanded victim blaming. You're having it both ways, and it's bullshit. You begin talking about choice; one always has a choice. "Hey man; that was a bad time to head home; why didn't you just sleep there? Rent a hotel room? Take a cab? Cower in an alley under some loose newspapers?" What, then, is the definition of NOT having a choice? I could argue that no place is safe; light or dark, quiet or noise, lower-class or upper. Crime can strike anywhere at any time. Does that make ANY victim of ANY crime at fault for "bringing it upon themselves"? Or are YOU the all-knowing, all-seeing final word in what's safe or not? And if so, why won't you impart your wisdom?
I took particular offense to the use of the word "simply". There is no street light indicator which lets people know when the streets turn from "safe stroll home" to "dangerous straits". Situations are constantly changing, and a walk home that was safe the other 261 times can suddenly becomes a life-threatening trek at any moment. Anyone who argues that there's anything "simple" about assessing potentially dangerous situations has clearly never been in one. No one walked up to the victim and said; "Hey buddy, tonight's walk home is going to be a life threatening one. Press 'A' to call a cab; press 'B' to walk home anyways." This wasn't someone who was "asking for it" or "tempting fate". This was someone who was just living his life.
More to the core of the issue, what if you DO have the choice and you choose to walk home at what some may argue was a dangerous time; or through what some may argue was a dangerous neighborhood? Two guys decide to break the law and your spirit by mugging you and beating you savagely. Would your argument be that this fellow got what he deserved? So, there's no blame on the bastards who attacked the victim? Or would you be so callous as to imply that there is shared blame? There's no gray area here. One party is innocent. One party is guilty.
Either way; it's bullshit. You ARE blaming the victim, and if you were not yet aware of that fact; you need to sit down and think seriously about how you view life's challenges, and the compassion you feel (or don't feel) for the others who face them as well.
An acquaintance of mine was the victim of a mugging and a savage beating. The story was related to me via a post on the blog of a friend close to him.
An apparently well meaning and rightfully angered commenter argued the following;
This is a class thing, not a race thing. The most desperate use the most desperate measures as these two pieces of shit proved. Their intentions will never justify their actions, especially when they hurt someone. But, on Average, I’d say such people, if rich, wouldn’t resort to such actions at all.
If you’re lucky enough to have the choice, simply never wander through the dark, quiet streets of a lower-class neighborhood at night. You’ll get mugged by the black man, raped by the hispanic, your car pimped out by the asian and murdered by the white serial killer.
(emphasis added)
While I took mild issue with a few of his points I took offense to his flippant statement. (Honestly, had he not used the word "simply" I probably would have ignored it) I added the following to my comment after expressing my condolences;
“simply never wander through the dark, quiet streets of a lower-class neighborhood at night”
Blaming the victim is quite the spectator sport it seems...
To which he replied;
Existingthing, you, my friend, are a classic idiot. I like how you took out the first words of that sentence, “If one is fortunate enough to have a choice…”
Being a true bitch seems to be quite the blind-spectator sport.
Ah but say what you want. I’ll just consider the source.
Oh darn, was that a personal attack? Even so, I didn’t manage to reciprocate the shit you threw my way. Now lick your palms and pray to Jesus for forgiveness.
Misquoting IS a cheap trick; though, were it my intention I probably wouldn't have done it 1/8 of a page away from the original quote. I didn't use the full quote because I found it even more offensive in its entirety. I thought that including the word "simply" would make the intent of his statement clear. Clearly this was ignored.
A voice of reason requested that we not argue on such a tragic post, and I didn't post my reply there.
My reply to this fellow is below. I expect he will find it, as the only way he could attack me personally is if he knew me personally (he doesn't) or read my blog.
(I overlook one possibility; that he was just personally attacking me without knowing anything about me. In which case I could care less if he read this.)
----------------
"If you’re lucky enough to have the choice, simply never wander through the dark, quiet streets of a lower-class neighborhood at night."
This is backhanded victim blaming. You're having it both ways, and it's bullshit. You begin talking about choice; one always has a choice. "Hey man; that was a bad time to head home; why didn't you just sleep there? Rent a hotel room? Take a cab? Cower in an alley under some loose newspapers?" What, then, is the definition of NOT having a choice? I could argue that no place is safe; light or dark, quiet or noise, lower-class or upper. Crime can strike anywhere at any time. Does that make ANY victim of ANY crime at fault for "bringing it upon themselves"? Or are YOU the all-knowing, all-seeing final word in what's safe or not? And if so, why won't you impart your wisdom?
I took particular offense to the use of the word "simply". There is no street light indicator which lets people know when the streets turn from "safe stroll home" to "dangerous straits". Situations are constantly changing, and a walk home that was safe the other 261 times can suddenly becomes a life-threatening trek at any moment. Anyone who argues that there's anything "simple" about assessing potentially dangerous situations has clearly never been in one. No one walked up to the victim and said; "Hey buddy, tonight's walk home is going to be a life threatening one. Press 'A' to call a cab; press 'B' to walk home anyways." This wasn't someone who was "asking for it" or "tempting fate". This was someone who was just living his life.
More to the core of the issue, what if you DO have the choice and you choose to walk home at what some may argue was a dangerous time; or through what some may argue was a dangerous neighborhood? Two guys decide to break the law and your spirit by mugging you and beating you savagely. Would your argument be that this fellow got what he deserved? So, there's no blame on the bastards who attacked the victim? Or would you be so callous as to imply that there is shared blame? There's no gray area here. One party is innocent. One party is guilty.
Either way; it's bullshit. You ARE blaming the victim, and if you were not yet aware of that fact; you need to sit down and think seriously about how you view life's challenges, and the compassion you feel (or don't feel) for the others who face them as well.
The meaning behind Gutei's Finger
Someone came to this page from a google search for "meaning behind gutei's finger". The truth is that I cannot claim to know the true meaning behind this, but I know that the feeling it got when I first read it was something like enlightenment. It was a short burst of greater understanding and (at the risk of sounding like Moonbeam McStarchild) cosmic oneness. I know I would have extreme difficulty explaining it. But I'm not sure that it really can be explained. Just understood.
I've only experienced the feeling once before; the first time I read a poster of Albert Einstein that my parents got me when I was very young. It read, "Imagination is more important than knowledge". For a fleeting moment; everything made sense. I didn't know what the feeling was at the time, and tried to get the feeling back for literally years after that. Every few months I'd sit in front of the poster and concentrate on the quote and its meaning. I'd just wind up frustrated, and give up for a few months until I could try again.
I guess what it really means is only what you think it means.
I've only experienced the feeling once before; the first time I read a poster of Albert Einstein that my parents got me when I was very young. It read, "Imagination is more important than knowledge". For a fleeting moment; everything made sense. I didn't know what the feeling was at the time, and tried to get the feeling back for literally years after that. Every few months I'd sit in front of the poster and concentrate on the quote and its meaning. I'd just wind up frustrated, and give up for a few months until I could try again.
I guess what it really means is only what you think it means.
bloody gun
Every few weeks I find a particular google image searches that links to my site. These recurring searches are for the query; "Bloody Gun" and link to one of my gun pr0n pictures (which is odd because I can think of at least one reason why that search query shouldn't find my gun :). The kicker is that all of these searches (over 15) originated from Canada (I think different parts; but don't remember specifically. I think I'd remember if it was the same place though) and took place rather randomly.
It's usual to see swells of odd searches that bring traffic to your site. For example; about a month ago for, some reason, people from france started searching for pictures of Mount St. Helens. I still have no idea why people are suddenly so interested in pictures of cockatrices or my nethack character. But this search wasn't a swell; this was consistent and sporadic. This was a persistent search.
I like to see what rank my pages and images bear for particular searches. I didn't want my guns to the first results for "bloody gun", so I ran the search myself and started clicking through pages and pages of the search results. I've tried it three times (weeks apart), and I think the farthest I've gotten was page 51 without seeing my gun. This means to be that these people were searching through over 51 pages of image results looking for a "bloody gun" to suit their use.
I sure do wonder why some folks from Canada would require pictures of bloody guns? Why not search for dirty gun? Or tasty gun? (Mmmmm...) Or (dun dun DUN!) safe guns? I suspect I know the answer...
I guess you'll always find what you're looking for.
It's usual to see swells of odd searches that bring traffic to your site. For example; about a month ago for, some reason, people from france started searching for pictures of Mount St. Helens. I still have no idea why people are suddenly so interested in pictures of cockatrices or my nethack character. But this search wasn't a swell; this was consistent and sporadic. This was a persistent search.
I like to see what rank my pages and images bear for particular searches. I didn't want my guns to the first results for "bloody gun", so I ran the search myself and started clicking through pages and pages of the search results. I've tried it three times (weeks apart), and I think the farthest I've gotten was page 51 without seeing my gun. This means to be that these people were searching through over 51 pages of image results looking for a "bloody gun" to suit their use.
I sure do wonder why some folks from Canada would require pictures of bloody guns? Why not search for dirty gun? Or tasty gun? (Mmmmm...) Or (dun dun DUN!) safe guns? I suspect I know the answer...
I guess you'll always find what you're looking for.
"Hey! We did our job too!"
Feds Raid 6 Swift and Company Meatpacking Plants in Apparent Illegal Immigration Search
Imagine if they did their jobs for more than 1 day a year... All that needs to be said was said earlier.
Imagine if they did their jobs for more than 1 day a year... All that needs to be said was said earlier.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Uh-ohs...
When you publish a post on blogger.com it puts your blog at the head of a queue that seems to be used in a number of locations. One of which seems to be the "Next Blog" button in the top right corner of every blogger.com blog.
After I published my previous post, I hit the sitemeter to see if people were sick of me not posting enough to stop showing up (not quite yet, I'll have to try harder!). I saw that the most recent view was referred from the following URL: http://onlinehelptoquitsmoking.blogspot.com/. Since there are no links to my blog on the site, the only way I could get a referrer from there would be for that person to hit the "Next Blog" button.
Sadly, this poor soul was researching how to quit smoking, and chose to view a random blog which happened to be one with a recent post on how I'm enjoying smoking cigars.
I'm doing the devil's work.
But hey; it's a free country, and it's your body. Should you wish to treat it badly you should be able to ruin it as you see fit! I'm merely a messenger.
After I published my previous post, I hit the sitemeter to see if people were sick of me not posting enough to stop showing up (not quite yet, I'll have to try harder!). I saw that the most recent view was referred from the following URL: http://onlinehelptoquitsmoking.blogspot.com/. Since there are no links to my blog on the site, the only way I could get a referrer from there would be for that person to hit the "Next Blog" button.
Sadly, this poor soul was researching how to quit smoking, and chose to view a random blog which happened to be one with a recent post on how I'm enjoying smoking cigars.
I'm doing the devil's work.
But hey; it's a free country, and it's your body. Should you wish to treat it badly you should be able to ruin it as you see fit! I'm merely a messenger.
Cigar Smokery
While in Mexico I picked up some Cuban cigars (how could I not?). I was never one for smoking, but couldn't resist partaking in what is explicitly verboten in the US.
I puffed and coughed and choked and generally had a miserable time. But I did it. When then time came to return, I can neither confirm or deny having returned with some.
Since then I've been slowly smoking them whenever I felt the compulsion, but never felt driven to do so. Only recently have I started craving the tobacco taste infrequently. Now that I've developed a taste for the cigars I find myself at the last few inches of my last one, and reluctant to finish. I'm even more reluctant to go to a cigar shop and buy more.
It's a bit of a vice, and I could easily give it up, but if I'm not doing it in excess, why should I worry?
I dunno. Lately I've been content sniffing the bit of cigar I have left, but am finding it increasingly difficult to be satisfied with just that.
I puffed and coughed and choked and generally had a miserable time. But I did it. When then time came to return, I can neither confirm or deny having returned with some.
Since then I've been slowly smoking them whenever I felt the compulsion, but never felt driven to do so. Only recently have I started craving the tobacco taste infrequently. Now that I've developed a taste for the cigars I find myself at the last few inches of my last one, and reluctant to finish. I'm even more reluctant to go to a cigar shop and buy more.
It's a bit of a vice, and I could easily give it up, but if I'm not doing it in excess, why should I worry?
I dunno. Lately I've been content sniffing the bit of cigar I have left, but am finding it increasingly difficult to be satisfied with just that.
Bugger.
I just had to use my inhaler. I was sitting in bed, catching up on the gun forums, so it's not like I was running 5 miles or anything...
I stopped using it after I got better, and haven't had to use it for months. I doubt this was an isolated incident... One more thing to worry about...
I stopped using it after I got better, and haven't had to use it for months. I doubt this was an isolated incident... One more thing to worry about...
Monday, December 11, 2006
Sorry guys...
I truly wish I could tell you this story; but must regretfully relate to you that doing so would be of significant detriment to myself.
One may feel that something one is unable to share with others is scarcely worth doing at all. However, I'm of the mind that those things can sometimes be the most rewarding.
Unfortunately the only way to test this theory is to do something that I'm not willing to do; share. So I remain blissfully ignorant to the possibilities of greener pastures, and shall be content simply to chuckle to myself idly.
Hackers don't usually get to share their guilty pleasures.
(at least; the good ones don't.)
One may feel that something one is unable to share with others is scarcely worth doing at all. However, I'm of the mind that those things can sometimes be the most rewarding.
Unfortunately the only way to test this theory is to do something that I'm not willing to do; share. So I remain blissfully ignorant to the possibilities of greener pastures, and shall be content simply to chuckle to myself idly.
Hackers don't usually get to share their guilty pleasures.
(at least; the good ones don't.)
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Defiant Infidel's hunting experience
Defiant Infidel has posted the second installment of his series in which he takes us on a hunting trip with him.
You will find that he is not simply narrating his experience, but sharing with you the details, thought, and planning that goes into a day of hunting.
A truly enjoyable read.
If you have yet to read the first installment; you may find it HERE. I highly recommend you read these posts, and check back for the completion of the series. They're truly worth your time.
You will find that he is not simply narrating his experience, but sharing with you the details, thought, and planning that goes into a day of hunting.
A truly enjoyable read.
If you have yet to read the first installment; you may find it HERE. I highly recommend you read these posts, and check back for the completion of the series. They're truly worth your time.
Kevin's back on the air!
Kevin over at Toast, it's not just for breakfast anymore, has cut his blogging hiatus short to air some grievances with the recent proposed RNC confirmation. Defiant Infidel commented, arguing that we should keep up the good fight, and things will change. Sadly, I don't share his optimism, and begrudgingly suggest a more radical solution.
The times; they are hard...
The times; they are hard...
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Bond's back, and his haircut sucks (finally).
Last weekend we saw Casino Royale with Stouty and his wifey. It was a lot of fun to watch, and was one of those movies that really made you feel what was going on. I don't usually like writing about movies but this is really more about a character, so I don't mind!
Daniel Craig is the antithesis of Pierce Brosnan.
Pierce Brosnan's Bond, (who took short breaks from boning anything with two legs, drinking martinis, wining and dining any vagina within 30 feet, and playing with his watch to save the world in under 5 minutes while holding his gun like the limp dick in a $300 haircut that he is) would get his shit ruined in 7 different ways by Daniel Craig's Bond.
Casino Royale's Bond was ruthless, cunning, dangerous, skilled, smart, tough as nails, and everything you'd think of when you thought of a top class secret agent. Seeing this take on 007 made me feel like watching the old Bonds. Casino Royale's Bond acted more like a secret agent than what Bond has become recently.
James Bond had become something of a comic book character. I compare this to the pre-"Batman Begins" Batman movies. Those Batman movies were cartoony, takes on comic books. Watching Mr. Freeze (Our Governator) call his raver, hip-hop, hockey team minions to attack Batman was directed to be something out of the comic book. The situations, characters, and plots were surreal, unbelievable, and just plain far-fetched. But there isn't much wrong with that, because this was a movie based on a comic book. Sticking to the comic's style just helped it maintain what made it popular in the first place.
007, on the other hand, is not a comic book character. Sure, the situations Bond deals with verge on surrealism. But, a giant ice castle? It's just an example of a number of unnecessary eye candy distractions to keep you from noticing the tired plot, played quips, and the same storyline that has been in every Bond film. "That entire place is made of ice! I'll bet that cost lots of money to do! I wonder if it's cold in there!" Shut up. No one cares. Go watch Mission Impossible 3. Bond became a comic book superhero who sleuthed around in plain sight in a full tuxedo with his fashion accessory Walther PPK, and used every gadget Q gave him at least once a movie, and at least twice to save his life from certain sharks-with-frikkin-laz0rs death. Lately, his car has even become a minor character; using all the gadgets Q gave him before he left to save the world, and boning female cars while we're not looking no doubt.
They took 00 agent number 7, who was a top notch, world class, kick ass spy, and turned him into James Bond; who was not. Bond became about gadgets, being suave, ordering martinis, introducing himself with his last name followed by his full name, puns, and boning anything within arms reach. Bond became an idealized version of a spy. He wasn't 007 any more, he was James Bond. 007 did spy things; and James Bond did, well, James Bond things. And even though he hit like a girl, he did have a great haircut.
Casino Royale got back to the original Bond. This Bond was a 00 agent. To me, this was the real Bond. Good to have you back James, hope you'll stay a while.
UPDATE:
It has come to my attention that Daniel Craig has expressed some very un-Bondly opinions. I should have made clear that the Bond I enjoyed was the Bond Daniel Craig was written, and directed by other folks. I'm not going to say that he added nothing to the character, because that's almost impossible, but I just want you to know there is a distinction between the actor and the character. Now dance, monkey! Dance!
Oh yeah, I just realized who this Bond reminded me of; Steve McQueen.
Daniel Craig is the antithesis of Pierce Brosnan.
Pierce Brosnan's Bond, (who took short breaks from boning anything with two legs, drinking martinis, wining and dining any vagina within 30 feet, and playing with his watch to save the world in under 5 minutes while holding his gun like the limp dick in a $300 haircut that he is) would get his shit ruined in 7 different ways by Daniel Craig's Bond.
Casino Royale's Bond was ruthless, cunning, dangerous, skilled, smart, tough as nails, and everything you'd think of when you thought of a top class secret agent. Seeing this take on 007 made me feel like watching the old Bonds. Casino Royale's Bond acted more like a secret agent than what Bond has become recently.
James Bond had become something of a comic book character. I compare this to the pre-"Batman Begins" Batman movies. Those Batman movies were cartoony, takes on comic books. Watching Mr. Freeze (Our Governator) call his raver, hip-hop, hockey team minions to attack Batman was directed to be something out of the comic book. The situations, characters, and plots were surreal, unbelievable, and just plain far-fetched. But there isn't much wrong with that, because this was a movie based on a comic book. Sticking to the comic's style just helped it maintain what made it popular in the first place.
007, on the other hand, is not a comic book character. Sure, the situations Bond deals with verge on surrealism. But, a giant ice castle? It's just an example of a number of unnecessary eye candy distractions to keep you from noticing the tired plot, played quips, and the same storyline that has been in every Bond film. "That entire place is made of ice! I'll bet that cost lots of money to do! I wonder if it's cold in there!" Shut up. No one cares. Go watch Mission Impossible 3. Bond became a comic book superhero who sleuthed around in plain sight in a full tuxedo with his fashion accessory Walther PPK, and used every gadget Q gave him at least once a movie, and at least twice to save his life from certain sharks-with-frikkin-laz0rs death. Lately, his car has even become a minor character; using all the gadgets Q gave him before he left to save the world, and boning female cars while we're not looking no doubt.
They took 00 agent number 7, who was a top notch, world class, kick ass spy, and turned him into James Bond; who was not. Bond became about gadgets, being suave, ordering martinis, introducing himself with his last name followed by his full name, puns, and boning anything within arms reach. Bond became an idealized version of a spy. He wasn't 007 any more, he was James Bond. 007 did spy things; and James Bond did, well, James Bond things. And even though he hit like a girl, he did have a great haircut.
Casino Royale got back to the original Bond. This Bond was a 00 agent. To me, this was the real Bond. Good to have you back James, hope you'll stay a while.
UPDATE:
It has come to my attention that Daniel Craig has expressed some very un-Bondly opinions. I should have made clear that the Bond I enjoyed was the Bond Daniel Craig was written, and directed by other folks. I'm not going to say that he added nothing to the character, because that's almost impossible, but I just want you to know there is a distinction between the actor and the character. Now dance, monkey! Dance!
Oh yeah, I just realized who this Bond reminded me of; Steve McQueen.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Groking Electronics
Sorry about the light posting, I've spent most of my downtime with my nose buried in webpages, books, and wires. This past week has seen most of my free time spent researching electronics in a renewed effort to understand some basic circuits.
I've been wanting to get into electronics for quite some time. I understand basic electronics (add battery to motor, make motor go; go motor, go), but didn't understand components, and circuits. I had a basic understanding of resistors, capacitors, relays, etc, but wasn't sure how to impliment them.
Last week I rediscovered my attraction to BEAM bots. Not having successfully learned electronics had always bothered me, so I resolved to get my nose back to the grindstone and not stop until I understood electronics to my satisfaction.
So, I dug up my old links, and books, and researched them for quite some time. I spent a lot of time finding out what I didn't know, so I would know what to research further. I eventually hit the wall I'd hit in the past, where I couldn't understand electronics theory. I spent a lot of time trying to find things that I could reverse engineer to understand, but only came up with more questions and confusion.
Suprisingly, the internet has a real gap of information on this topic. I picked my friend's brain who said that it took him a long time to truly grok the theory behind electronics circuits, and how components worked. This eased my frustration a little bit. I knew I could do it, and was willing to do the work.
I decided that if I couldn't research my way over this wall, I'd have to start playing with components, and learn on the way.
I picked up some components and a solderless breadboard, some basic components; a solar panel, a few motors, and a kit (for parts), and started messing around and recording my observations. (btw, a breadboard actually makes creating circuits easy and fun. It's a must have, and can be had for cheap.) After I started seeing how the components reacted with eachother and experimenting with different configurations, I began to understand.
It took a lot of time and work to get to this point, but I'm glad I'm making progress. I just wish I could have become impatient with the lack of information earlier.
I've been wanting to get into electronics for quite some time. I understand basic electronics (add battery to motor, make motor go; go motor, go), but didn't understand components, and circuits. I had a basic understanding of resistors, capacitors, relays, etc, but wasn't sure how to impliment them.
Last week I rediscovered my attraction to BEAM bots. Not having successfully learned electronics had always bothered me, so I resolved to get my nose back to the grindstone and not stop until I understood electronics to my satisfaction.
So, I dug up my old links, and books, and researched them for quite some time. I spent a lot of time finding out what I didn't know, so I would know what to research further. I eventually hit the wall I'd hit in the past, where I couldn't understand electronics theory. I spent a lot of time trying to find things that I could reverse engineer to understand, but only came up with more questions and confusion.
Suprisingly, the internet has a real gap of information on this topic. I picked my friend's brain who said that it took him a long time to truly grok the theory behind electronics circuits, and how components worked. This eased my frustration a little bit. I knew I could do it, and was willing to do the work.
I decided that if I couldn't research my way over this wall, I'd have to start playing with components, and learn on the way.
I picked up some components and a solderless breadboard, some basic components; a solar panel, a few motors, and a kit (for parts), and started messing around and recording my observations. (btw, a breadboard actually makes creating circuits easy and fun. It's a must have, and can be had for cheap.) After I started seeing how the components reacted with eachother and experimenting with different configurations, I began to understand.
It took a lot of time and work to get to this point, but I'm glad I'm making progress. I just wish I could have become impatient with the lack of information earlier.
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