Room temperature CO2 reduction catalyst
2019-04-05 11:18 by Ian
I've seen lots of media outlets in Normistan touting a new liquid phase catalyst as a means of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequestering it as coal. But my chemistry background tells me that this is never going to be useful for that purpose.
What follows is my rough analysis of the energy requirements of running this reaction with the given catalyst.
Professional advice for new engineers
2019-04-02 09:57 by Ian
What follows is a set of perspectives and principles that I have collected at what might be considered the midpoint of my life as a practicing engineer. They have served me well in professional life.
Coulomb Cranked Creature Candle
2017-12-01 11:36 by Ian
Thursday night
5-yo: "Daddy, can I get a night light?"
Dad: "Sure, buddy. I've got all sorts of glowing things. What do you want your night light to be like?"
"Rainbow!"
"Say no more."
How to write Java code that doesn't suck
2017-09-04 02:42 by Ian
It only takes one simple piece of knowledge to write Java code that has a runtime heap usage more inline with that of a comparable C program. I am writing this post as a public service to teach your engineers how to remove Java from their Java code.
I think I fried my first digit
2017-04-29 01:27 by Ian
This is a running log of my postmortem analysis.
Digitabulum r2 PCBs have arrived
2017-02-18 01:11 by Ian
The r2 hardware arrived Friday. Had CPLD images flashed by Saturday. I'm crazy-busy writing enough firmware for the ESP32 to test it. Until then, photos...
Digitabulum: Flex circuits, and a release choice
2017-01-05 23:46 by Ian
After 1.5 years, the digit design is complete, and is real hardware on my desk. This was easily the hardest (and most expensive) part of the project.
Digitabulum: Digit update
2016-12-14 01:48 by Ian
First articles of the flex parts arrived today. This is a panel as it arrives at the assembly house. This one was shipped to me as a representative sample that I can use for testing some EE parameters.
Securely wiping data with minimal tools
2016-11-21 23:27 by Ian
This was an email I wrote to some coworkers explaining how I securely wipe data. I am reproducing it here.
Digitabulum: Final digit layout
2016-10-19 02:13 by Ian
Fabricator is ready to roll with the flex circuits, after a looooong game of ping-pong and a few re-work cycles. Getting things right in such tight constraints was not a trivial task. And after more than a year of refinement, the digits should be landing on my bench around this time next month.