Author Archives: paulwallich

Don’t Do This to Your Aeron

Posted on December 21, 2025 by paulwallich

Last year we got the teenager a computer chair that was supposed to last a long time, in place of the computer chairs he destroyed about once a year by leaning back or swiveling around or rolling back and forth … Continue reading →

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Who knew electricity and water don’t mix?

Posted on May 31, 2025 by paulwallich

It’s a rainy dont-go-out saturday, so my spouse is cleaning while I argue with software. A couple hours ago she brought the wetmop spray thingie in to me to ask whether I could figure out why it wouldn’t spray any … Continue reading →

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Does windshield wiper fluid expire?

Posted on December 22, 2024 by paulwallich

I don’t know for sure, but today’s drive (welcome, winter) suggests that it might. Went out for some late-season shopping (fancy meat, fancy chocolate, candies, a few gifts), and the roads being what they are, one of the first things … Continue reading →

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Lightning is weird

Posted on August 9, 2024 by paulwallich

Or perhaps electronic devices are really variable in their response to surges. Anyway, last week we had a thunderstorm with a lightning strike close enough that the roof rattled, and the internet went out. Power didn’t even blip, but no … Continue reading →

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Snap for the loss (again)

Posted on July 1, 2024 by paulwallich

The other day I noticed that someone is developing a web editor for Circuitpython (independent of the web-based editor intended mainly for boards that speak WiFi) and thought it would be worth a try, especially because it would mean I … Continue reading →

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How long do 3D printed parts last?

Posted on February 5, 2023 by paulwallich

One data point to add to the world: in a dishwasher that’s used every day, about three years, maybe more. Back in 2020, I fixed the bottom rack of our dishwasher by printing some pegs and new wheels out of … Continue reading →

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I’m going to hell

Posted on January 31, 2023 by paulwallich

Pretty much ever since I upgraded to Ubuntu 22.04 (yeah, long term support), the software updater has been crashing. At first I worried, then a search mentioned that it was a known problem and in line for fixing, so I … Continue reading →

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This is why there are PCB fab services

Posted on July 24, 2022 by paulwallich

So the kid decided to teach a soldering workshop at geek camp. Of course that means a custom PCB (and custom firmware, but that’s not my department). Which meant that I finally got to test all those tutorials about etching … Continue reading →

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The Pin Dance

Posted on March 6, 2022 by paulwallich

Don’t get me wrong, I love Circuit Python. Sure, I could get stuff done in the ugly stepchild language that is Arduino, but the niggling details, the mediocre IDE, none of it was my friend. And truth to tell, it’s … Continue reading →

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In praise of cattle

Posted on September 12, 2021 by paulwallich

The 16-year-old, who wants a career somewhere in IT, introduced me a while back to the distinction between pets and cattle. When something goes wrong with your pet, you nurse it back to health. When something goes wrong with one … Continue reading →

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