Given everything that has happened recently, I think my best plan is to move back in with my Gran in Kent, reduce my outgoings as much as I can and 'monk' it for at least six months. It'll give me the time I need to get my head together and the opportunity to pay back every one who has supported me and my projects over the last couple of years.

Basically this means that after the LFM Christmas party, I probably won't be at meets very often. I also won't be going abroad to EF in 2010. I will still work on RBW (I actually plan to recapitalise ARF) and I'll try get out to see my friends, furry and otherwise, more often. I also want to see my folks more often; I don't see them often enough and I won't have them forever.

Most importantly, over the next year I want to concentrate on being myself.

We will remember them.

The real world is boring and depressing in comparison.






I'm glad I don't live in the real world.

I thought all of this kind of stuff went out of fashion in 2007. Seems I'm mistaken.

http://hackaday.com/2009/10/23/sparkfun-gets-a-cease-and-desist/

Considering that Sun have been trying to foster the open-source software community with projects like Java and OpenOffice, it's disappointing to see them go after a small-time company that promotes open-source hardware development.

212 people think RBW is a good thing. Are you one of them?

I've decided to stop being kind to strangers on account of most of them being rude in return.

Gods I hate SE England.

That's it. I've had enough.

Dear colleague,

I didn't mind too much that you broke the RS232 interface I leant you, but if you had told me you had broken it I wouldn't have plugged it into the project I've been busting a gut over and destroyed the line drivers in it.

Now I'm unhappy because I have to replace surface mount components and waste more time.

Don't do it again!
~B

This post has nothing to do with jelly.

Angry flashing traction control light shouldn't fill me with glee...






...it so does.

Dropped my laptop =(

I'll call Whatever Happens on Monday and see if it's worth the £8 a month I've been paying for it.

Emulating ISDN over a radio channel is just plain *weird*.

In other news, 10 hours a day is making me pretty tired. Going to go to bed shortly.

Many things irritate me. Silly things a lot of the time, however there are some big ones.

The way people drive on the Motorway is the first one. A lot of drivers seem to be dangerous, ignorant, egotistical wankers who's ineptitude is only exceeded by their complete disregard for anyone elses' safety. I've had two close calls today that could have been totally avoided if the other drivers in question weren't utter twats.

Second is the recent EU elections. To me it looks awfully like a lot of people threw away a perfectly good vote in demonstration. So, not actually to achieve anything... just to show you're upset. Talk about hanging the dirty sheets out in Brussels. You morons threw away an important opportunity to shape the future of Europe by voting for the B-N-sodding-P and UKIP. These two parties want nothing to do with the EU! The UKIP even has a long history of disrupting the European Parliament. Why bother electing them to represent you're interests? They bloody well won't. If you're lucky the UKIP MEPs might contribute something by handing out essential energy to the other MEPs in the form of novelty chocolate coins. Cretins.

Despite this boiling sea of negativeness, I've actually had a pretty good day. I managed to get something very, very expensive to do something very cheap and I have a nice control theory problem to keep my brain occupied.

*Smirth = Smutty mirth.

Robert Andrew Barnes MEng AUS MIET

www.klae.org.uk
cam-june-greensmoke.jpg (JPEG Image, 341x512 pixels)

I did something with my day today. I...

• Cut slots in bricks for the back gate using my angle grinder.
• Took the bins out.
• Took a load of garden waste to the tip.
• Tidied up a bit.
• Visited HSBC on RBW business.
• Bought the makings of dinner this evening.

It's not a huge list of achievements, but makes me feel about a million times better just to feel like I'm doing something.

Tomorrow I will go play with the golf buggy again I think. I need to figure out how to build a mast that will support the amber beacon but collapse if some idiot drives through a doorway without taking it down first. The simplest thing I can thing of is making the mast short enough that the beacon won't touch the door frame.

I've finished my exams, so the Rockbox is back! I'm just putting the finishing touches to a playlist, so you better tune in!

I'm done!

Dubbed "Intelligent Speed Adaption", these devices are supposed to reduce accidents by adding to the electronic clutter already in modern cars and taking positive control of the vehicle away from the driver.

Can anyone else see an accident waiting to happen?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8042749.stm

I also strongly doubt it will pass a Turing test.