Chicago Node.js

The Chicago Node.js user group invited me to present Node.js Under Water, an overview of the OpenROV underwater robot, this evening. Slides appear below.

Every version of this talk is tailored to the audience. This version focuses on OpenROV hardware components since this group certainly knows Node.js. Information has been added on hardware gotchas and tether management.

Thank you Chicago Node.js organizers and members for having me.

No Windows. Stronger Planes.

It is always good to start the new year with something inspirational. Technicon Design created a 3-minute video to demonstrate their IXION Windowless Jet Concept. Worth watching full screen.

How can a plane with no windows offer better views for passengers?

Looking Inside the Pygments Plugin

This blog uses pygments.rb for syntax highlighting. Recently pygments.rb stopped working, so I had to dig inside to determine the problem and apply a solution.

Full disclosure: Pygments didn’t simply stop working. I applied updates related to Octopress and lunr.js, and then it stopped working. So the root cause is me! Rather than back-out the updates, I decided to push forward because lunr.js will improve the search experience for visitors. Search options will be discussed in a future post.

OWC Thinks Ahead

Every computer user has to deal with this at some point. Your machine runs out of storage space: hard drive, SSD, or whatever mass storage you happen to use. In my case, the 512GB SSD in my early 2013 MacBook Pro was over 90% full. Time for an upgrade.

Fortunately (and contrary to what the Apple literature says) it is possible to upgrade the SSD in a MacBook Pro. RAM is different because the MBP’s RAM is soldered to the logic board. But the SSD plugs into a socket. The SSD upgrade path is well-documented on YouTube and elsewhere.

Too Soon for Alpha Centauri

Bad news: I have decided to cancel RubyCaribe for 2015. Ticket sales are insufficient to cover the cost of the event. Every person who bought a ticket will receive a full refund. All tickets sales have been refunded.

Barbados is a beautiful island nation with welcoming people, a university that leads in multiple technical areas, and a thriving economy. The RubyCaribe (pronounced ka-REEB) organizers will make the event happen in some form at some point in the future. Just not now.