nikofrost-blog

[nikofrost-blog]

Not a Burden.

Because of the way I look, people make assumptions.

It is assumed that because I am I, middle aged and lily white that I am racist.

Sure, I am. Just a little bit. Most people are. I don’t want to be. I know better.

Yet it is assumed.

I feel the need to send out the counter signal. Smile, nod, be friendly. Even when I’m not feeling that way. Maybe I should wear a shirt. or hat.

Oh. poor me.

But that’s not just the way it’s been for generations of people of color and women in this country, that’s the way it is today. Wear two faces because you must. For safety.

I walk outside and I am annoyed. Disappointed in my brethren. We run things and this giant effing truck commercial is the best we can do? What is wrong with you? and I shake my head.

What’s mildly distressing to me from my high place of white male privilege, is a danger to POC. Step out of line, forget who runs things, frightening people will let you know they have the violence to enforce things.

They speak up more now, these self appointed enforcers.

I hear things on the bus. The homeless guy I was having a conversation with begins spouting anti hispanic slurs. Words I’ve never heard before but the story is the same. Their fault he can’t get landscaping jobs, their fault he’s the creep in the trailer park nobody likes. Better to believe that than do any self examination.

I don’t know why, but it *hurts* me to hear him say these things. Hurts me to write about it. I get angry quickly, in that moment. I hold it in, kept silent by hoping he’ll just stop. I see a woman walk on I think I see she’s darker skinned than I, but by now I’m so angry, “seeing red” that my vision is focused. Mostly on not confronting. Not making a scene. But. I cannot. “STOP TALKING” I tell him. He says something about “see?” “I KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO SAY SOMETHING MORE. I KNOW IT’S RACIST AND I NEED YOU TO STOP TALKING NOW.” something about “can’t say who talks and doesn’t- and you’re talking” “WE’LL BOTH STOP TALKING AND I’M GOING TO STOP TALKING. RIGHT NOW.”

whew.

It… worked. he stopped.

The air is a bit heavy, I know. But the rage inducing assault on my ears has stopped. I really didn’t have much to say anyway.

I guess it’s too heavy for him in here. He hits a button to open the door and goes outside to smoke. Wise I guess. My White Male Privilege(TM) outranks his. F***. If this how I get this small victory, I guess that’s how I’ll take it.

My wife and I move a seat back. The woman introduces herself. Lydia. A former Marine. A professional. Doing the diligence of a divorce.

She… thanks me.

I am Moved.

She uses the word “hero”. I blink. She’s talking about what I did. It’s Veteran’s Day today and her… she said… The unfairness of it shames me.

It wasn’t for her. I was being selfish. I could-not-take-it-anymore. But I was doing something right. For one person. That’s… a place where I’ll take my white male privilege and stand on it.

Smile and spread joy even if you don’t feel like it.

Make things better by just being a more privileged a** than a racist.

Woke Man’s Way.

#racism #callout

[nikofrost-blog]

I'm 45 and I didn't lose my mind recently, I just know how to talk about it now.

The secret is this. We act like we know what's going on. That the agreed upon version of reality is correct. But we don't really know. We just do it because it's what we started learning as a baby. Is that what is real?

So. here's the rules. Remember these rules only exist -not- because part of the answer lies beneath them, but simply because they will help you remain unimpeded as you seek.

-Don't cause harm.

-The assistance of others may be necessary in unknowable ways, accept it.

-Don't violate social norms publicly to the extent that you lose freedom.

-Take care of your body and mind, but remember that this is not about you, it's about being open.

Otherwise, look at everything differently. There may be things hidden in ways we cannot understand. Answers are sought so that new questions can be understood. Neither the answer or the question is more important. Look for the unseen. Follow intuition. Be a bit mad. Often ostracized, we're allowed to exist at moments because society has the need for insight (outsight?) The time this insight is needed is now- and the sea of coming nows on the horizion. In world of such expanding knowledge, when we are learning to ask better questions, our ability to see possibility must g-r-o-w. That is your task, until the driven, ever approaching now-- halts.

[nikofrost-blog]

My first thought when I heard this was "hiding behind protectionism to slow down renewable energy... not surprised anymore"

Trump just dealt a direct blow to the solar panel manufacturing industry. It now costs 30% more for Solar Energy manufacturers to import parts for making solar panels, which will drive up costs for purchasing solar panels, surely. This does help American solar manufacturers from going out of business, but doesn’t help the world get “more renewable” any faster or cheaper

Literally impeach Trump as soon as possible.

100% Serious

[nikofrost-blog]

See this right here? This is why, as a middle aged person, I fucking love tumblr.

Growing up, I used to know people who'd tell you they were a really REAL vampire, all fragile ego and on a razor's edge for anyone who didn't BELIEVE them.

Here, there's a sort of unspoken "I identity as a vampire" and everyone else is "You do? That's awesome, let's see what we can do with that!" So with all love and joy and seriousness we build each other up and bring on a better consciousness.

I guess what in saying is that this seems so much healthier. For some, so desperate for identity, it's a box. For others, it becomes a launchpad. Be all of who you are now, and know that you will always grow. Be imaginative, play, see where it takes you.

vampire memes

turning into a swarm of rats mid sentence while talking to someone

debating with your friends what bloodtype a human is based on arbitrary things (ie: “see, he just picked his nose when he thought no one was looking DEFINTELY a type-O” “oh fuck off we both know thats an AB move”)

citing “conservation of mass” as the reason you can turn into one (1) wolf but several rats or bats

Counting The Ceiling Tiles Game, Extreme Version (or, for that matter, ANY counting game, Extreme Version)

holding entire conversations with someone while standing on the ceiling and vehemently avoiding acknowledging or explaining why you are on the ceiling

almost getting yourself killed because you just couldnt stand not knowing what garlic bread tasted like even a second longer

“i need an entire extra closet, just for my eccentric cloaks” “what about your eccentric coats?” “two extra closets-” “what about your eccentric shawls?” “three extra closets-” “what about-” (repeat for as long as your friend can keep coming up with swishy articles of clothing)

feel free to add more

[nikofrost-blog]

Humans purr...

If you can't sing to me lover, then hum. I'll put my head on your chest and feel your purr. Its comforting to know that I could lose my senses of sound and vision, yet I'd still know your love. . . Then you begin to snore. I'll enjoy your purr... from over here.

#purr

[nikofrost-blog]

Monday one

Lost a really long post to Tumblr that didn't make it online, don't know if my phone lost it , or if tumblr lost it, but either way kind of a disappointment.

Picked up some angle brackets for the laser harp hold the servo in place better so it doesn't vibrate seems pretty important. came home and hey I found some packets in he mail let's see what they are.

Looks like one got run over, but is okay. I'm going to use the little miniature sound card for a Raspberry Pi zero personal assistant project. The 2n7000 transistors are for a project that I'm working on with my good friend Dan. Dan's been my friend since middle school we live on different parts of the country now but I like to keep in touch when I can. The idea is to make it so that his smoke / carbon monoxide alarm will text him when it alerts. More on that later.

#nodemcu #iot #raspberry pi zero w #personal assistant

[nikofrost-blog]

Laser harp WIP No.1

[nikofrost-blog]

Current state of some projects

So let's see the last couple of days I've been working on refining the household thermostat project that I have. I realized that it's not robust that when the Wi-Fi router goes down that it doesn't reconnect automatically I need to do that. I really don't like the graphics or the webpage that it's serving up right now so I went ahead a couple days ago and made much nicer SVG graphics for the thermostat icons. The next step is figuring out how to include an SVG into an embedded web page inside an embedded microcontroller which shouldn't be too hard I mean SVG is basically just a XML format but still I haven't done seen it working yet.

Otherwise I'm still having this very frustrating problem of it not actually operating as a thermostat.

When it's sitting on my desk and it's attached to a relay that is not attached to the heating system it seems to work just fine but as soon as I attach to the heating system for some reason, even though the manual buttons work it doesn't seem to turn on and off when it senses the temperature is at a point where it needs to be switched. It is my hope that we compiling the code, going through cleaning up as much stuff as I can etcetera etcetera etcetera is going to help me if not figure out where the problem is, at least maybe just magically fix it- because it does seem to be magically broken as well. so I cleaned it up I'm going to try and upload it probably sometime today.

The other thing that I'm working on right now is the laser harp and one of my big problems is that even though I've got a crap ton of transistors and I've got one that is a near replacement for the 2N2222 resistor that I needed it's still not quite right so I'm getting something out of the laser but I'm not sure what's going on with its dimness. I need to rewrite the code for a bit more of diagnostic testing on each of these individual components before I actually try running it as a laser harp to see what is functioning and what is not because right now. I can get sound out of it, I can send midi signals, but getting the servo to rotate the way that I want it to and getting the laser fire that I want it to are two real big nopes at this point.

So yeah I guess the next step is writing test code for the laser firing which is pretty simple that'll just be a basically a blank sketch and then digging through and figuring out how to make this particular Servo in server controller work.

On another note I think I may have added two components to the fried component graveyard yesterday. one of the servo controllers was very very hot when I was feeding at 12 volts I think it was expecting 5 but it might still be alive we'll see. One of those replacement transistors I'm not clear I think I got my collector in my emitter reversed one point which I don't think is deadly but we'll find out. Fortunately if I did fry both of the components I'm out a whole dollar and .26 cents.

#laser harp #home automation #esp32 #nodemcu #arduino

[nikofrost-blog]

Tumblr! Stop losing my posts!

[nikofrost-blog]

A Return to a Form

Without looking I couldn't tell you how long it's been since I've posted on this Tumblr. I read, I lurk, but I haven't posted for probably about a year. One of the biggest things that stopped me posting was realizing that I was one of those people who was occasionally perpetuating incorrect things on the internet. If you look back at my post on Moss Graffiti and if any of you tried it you'll realize what I did and trying it it doesn't work- you get kind of a green stain on things and some times you get a few green hairs but that beautiful thick Moss like you want doesn't happen; that's created a different way.

You may also notice some odd spelling punctuation and capitalization as I'm doing these and trees these are mostly done by Voice so I'm not checking them as much as I could. That said I'm still very much into solarpunk I've been talking about it quite a bit in my life, yet now I have decided to post about more than just solarpunk, I'm going to be posting quite a bit of my projects on here. I work on a variety of projects involving microcontrollers be the Arduino node MCU or the esp32. While I am primarily developing low-power personal devices, I'm also working on some home automation and Energy Efficiency projects as well.

[nikofrost-blog]

Solarpunk in 3 sentences?

I was asked what solarpunk was today by a brilliant friend who I know has a short attention span. I work to tell her things in a way that piques her interest quickly.

First Try:

Solarpunk is a nascent movement so the style is still developing and fluid. What I find so attractive about it is that it combines many different sustainability movements and combines them with a beautiful aesthetic. I've long enjoyed the steampunk look and worked in community projects, so the combination is seductive to me. The "punk" rebellion part of it is flipped from a "destroy what oppresses us" model to one of building up our own resources in our communities and to create a flow outside of the mainstream. Infrastructure as resistance.

Dammit that was five sentences. How would you describe solarpunk to the uninitiated?

#solarpunk #sustainability #infrastructure as resistance

[nikofrost-blog]

Scavenger hunt app. Final Post?

Me: I made this app...

Manager: We probably don't need it.

Me: It'll make sure people get back from the scavenger hunt on time.

Manager: Well I have rules that I've never written down that cover that.

Me: It's neat and electronic. 4th graders love electronics.

Manager: They could get broken.

Me: We're recycling end-of-life phones, we can get them for free or almost free.

Manager: Guides would have to carry them around. and distribute. and collect them.

Me: The games would be more fun and we could score them faster.

Manager: I'd have to plug them in as part of my job.

Me: (holds tongue)

The holy hand of 20/20 hindsight, years later: SLAP

#why do i even bother

[nikofrost-blog]

It’s hard to be authentic when people’s backgrounds are far more complicated than we can really put out there. Especially now everyone has such short attention spans when it comes to paying attention to people’s stories. People become caricatures of themselves to communicate with others.

Amalia Ulman

#tumblrlife #what is authentic

[nikofrost-blog]

Stepping out on my block, my Solarpunk eyes did see...

Economic function

A tailor 

A bakery

A coffee shop

An electronics repair shop

A barber shop

Light industry

Food carts

A microbrewery

An open air flea market

Restaurants

A garden and hydroponic store

A food market

A produce stands or a farmers market

An herbalist

Cultural function

A public art park

With stage

Art nouveau bench lampposts

Speakers’ corner (20 min/day limit)

Public Bulletin Board

Buskers

A makerspace

A high tech body modification artist

Digital currency, global and community

Infrastructure

A bike repair workshop

A pubic bio diesel reactor

A one-way lane for cars and two-way bike lanes

Greenhouses, planter boxes and gardens

Free wifi via neighborhood ISP

Free bike library

A public garden

More sorted recycle bins than trash cans

A bicycle tractor

Rainwater catchment

Water purification

Solar panels

Bioluminescent algae, plants incorporated into art nouveau facades

What do the people look like?

Fashion will be fashion, and you’ll see some of it here. Also not.

Wearable devices

[nikofrost-blog]

Spread positive thought viruses! Moss as a medium!

I’m sure I’m not the first to think this. Moss graffiti. It’s a real thing and is perfect for solarpunks!  It’s graffiti! It’s green! It’s renewable! Using moss is reinforcement. The medium is the message. Eat greens, Marshall McLuhan!

Grow some rebellion!

...Doing this very soon. updates to come...

#solarpunk #graffiti #moss graffiti

[nikofrost-blog]

Complete: Scavenger Hunt App

I posted some musings a couple of weeks ago regarding the design of a quiz and timer app to help with my work as an educational tour guide. Took me two weeks to finish instead of two days, but hey I made it pretty 4th-grader-proof. School’s out so the season is over. Won’t get a chance to use it til October, most likely.

http://ai2.appinventor.mit.edu/#5008094365220864

#android programming #app inventor #tour guide #scavenger hunt #apps

[nikofrost-blog]

Does this exist yet? Making DIY jewelry Bluetooth compatible.

A slightly large jewelry clasp with Bluetooth, a battery and “Tiger tail” type wires leading to a multicolor LED. It would be fully programmable and integrated into with your phone through a free app. DIYers could use it to make bracelets, anklets, and necklaces that are both creative and functional.

*Inspired by this thing, but less expensive and with an open world of aesthetic possibilities. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/embraceplus/embrace-a-smart-piece-of-wearable-technology

#jewelerymaking #bluetooth #diy ideas