tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375548013079980652024-02-19T19:36:14.278-05:00Fifi's ramblingsPhiliphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-43916378214794848432011-08-15T09:11:00.001-04:002011-08-15T09:12:16.017-04:00Blog moreOK, so I am pretty much a failure at this blogging thing. I was just looking back through my blog for an old post, and see it used to be pretty good. I'll try and do better.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-32021418118769694722011-01-01T12:44:00.001-05:002011-01-01T12:44:37.412-05:00Blog moreYeah, I need to blog more. Sue me.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-21745868536937435392009-01-26T14:15:00.002-05:002009-01-26T14:20:29.108-05:00How UML was createdSeen on irc:<br /><br />< hokietux> ah christ<br />< hokietux> there is UML in this paper<br />< crofton|work> hahahahahah<br />< hokietux> most retarded 'language'. ever.<br />< hokietux> allow me to demonstrate how the idea for UML was created<br />< hokietux> 'HAY GUYZ I HAVE THIS AWESOME IDEA LETS STANDARDIZE FUCKING CLIP ART! FUCKING STICK FIGURES! AND MAKE ALL ENGINEERS USE THEM TO DESCRIBE IDEAS! FUCKING AWESOME WE R SO SMRT! HIGH FIVE!"<br />< hokietux> and then they had a pizza party.<br />< hokietuxz> this probably happened at UVA.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-78154629990397290292009-01-05T15:33:00.001-05:002009-01-05T15:33:08.233-05:00Sir Scrapper, 1992-2009<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/32615155@N00/345385199/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/133/345385199_5c38c9c0b8_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/32615155@N00/345385199/">Report!</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/32615155@N00/">Fifi314</a></span></div>The Chief Cat died today after battling kidney and heart disease. A fine cat, brave to the end.<br clear="all" />Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-26005004163843684692008-12-12T17:13:00.000-05:002008-12-12T17:14:24.951-05:00I suckMy new year's resolution will be to blog more.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-69376884570687491702008-05-18T04:09:00.002-04:002008-05-18T04:27:07.566-04:00IrelandI was here for the <a href="http://cisdr-workshop.org/">CISDR workshop</a>. The work shop went well, which should make Chris happy. (One of the work shop goals was to help Chris get tenure). I met a lot of new people at the workshop and we had some good discussions on future research ideas in SDR. Hopefully, some joint projects come from the workshop.<br /><br />Ireland is a nice sunny place (the locals do not think the weather has been normal this week). Yesterday, I did the <a href="http://eire.ie.eu.org/gallery/Bray">cliff walk</a> from Greystones to Bray. I had trouble finding the beginning of the walk in Greystones, so I ended up walking several kilometers on roads and finally bushwacked to a summit above the cliff walk. The view was good and I managed to re-join the cliff walk proper.<br /><br />While wandering lost I saw a lot of nice houses. Greystones seems to be a pretty upscale area.<br /><br />The food is good, however the meat centric nature of the diet is getting to me. It's been good to find things like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sausage_roll">sausage rolls</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_pasty">Cornish pasties</a> again.<br /><br />Well, time to catch the train to the bus to the airport.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-59465879015768306352008-05-07T15:47:00.002-04:002008-05-07T15:52:41.716-04:00Travel PlansI'll be in Ireland next attending the <a href="http://cisdr-workshop.org"><strong>First Collaborative International Software-defined Radio Workshop.</strong></a><br /><br />We received a small grant from the National Science Foundation to cover our travel expenses for the workshop. Internally, the group working on the proposal called this the "Ireland Pub Crawl" project. In spite of this, we have a good program and it looks like it will be well attended.<br /><br />Hopefully, I can get my <a href="http://beagleboard.org">Beagle Board</a> running with a couple of simple SDR demonstrations and attract some people interested in using this board for SDR.<br /><a href="http://cisdr-workshop.org"><strong></strong></a>Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-27836325905984464462008-05-07T15:46:00.000-04:002008-05-07T15:47:06.723-04:00ConfessionYes, I play GTA IV. It is awesome.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-22933400067382616402008-04-14T15:52:00.002-04:002008-04-14T15:56:50.180-04:00The cat is not helpingSorry about the complete break down in blogging. Not much interesting to blog about. I really should say more about the FOSDEM trip, but that is old news. If I get somewhere with the Lyrtech Small Form Factor SDR board, I'll talk a little about that.<br /><br />I like our cats more than I like most people, but at least people don't do this to me:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVcoLC5E9pJ5Ae5FGZiEVnAtKcev3ejXQlItWX3gOXlUzprdeahE6p9cQirL7BMDvVeyC9IGp7hkeLJlQam3wQo-jXHwTfwa-Kulu76uKiKb7j2LRVbz_N3P9HjIN7QbfLVqlaw21a1qo/s1600-h/dscn1119.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiVcoLC5E9pJ5Ae5FGZiEVnAtKcev3ejXQlItWX3gOXlUzprdeahE6p9cQirL7BMDvVeyC9IGp7hkeLJlQam3wQo-jXHwTfwa-Kulu76uKiKb7j2LRVbz_N3P9HjIN7QbfLVqlaw21a1qo/s320/dscn1119.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189192236706248434" border="0" /></a>Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-223461199895678252008-03-23T09:33:00.004-04:002008-03-23T09:56:32.351-04:00Gumstix mounting solutionMt friend Hasan's PHD project is the build a <a href="http://www.ece.vt.edu/swe/chamrad/">flexible RF front end for public safety radio's</a>. In the US (and I suspect many other countries) public safety radios operate on a diverse set of frequencies. This creates problem for people trying to design radios that can operate of the range of services using these frequencies.<br /><br />Hasan is working on a RF front to solve some of these problems. As part of this work he is build a demonstration unit that operates on several different frequencies. There are several parts of the radio that need configuration information via a SPI interface. He is using a <a href="http://www.gumstix.com">gumstix</a> computer to do the control and user interface.<br /><br />Here is an overall picture of the unit. Since it is based on evaluation boards, it seems kind of large for a handheld unit. I'm certain that professionals could create a compact unit based on his work.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmWgFyUxrd9NK0Ttul9LhbD6gTFHtUVnDqYiDWwvstRE_Z0VF0G7tNqUsMS5Frtf2pNREI5gW6kxgZk-B4XHB-fw9pKX4chTbpGupTYk-sSiH5FJfmgEmEgf31Tar_0aCW5cWnLcGRiYR/s1600-h/IMG_0169.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmWgFyUxrd9NK0Ttul9LhbD6gTFHtUVnDqYiDWwvstRE_Z0VF0G7tNqUsMS5Frtf2pNREI5gW6kxgZk-B4XHB-fw9pKX4chTbpGupTYk-sSiH5FJfmgEmEgf31Tar_0aCW5cWnLcGRiYR/s320/IMG_0169.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180930085399332930" border="0" /></a><br />Here is a photo of the gumstis mounted on the front plate and the LCD touchscreen panel used to change the operating frequency.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNqincbNVli3wHA-OQIo53cKHq1UqzBiEbdhRLUB2nFGDKoXcF-lMAFngC7CKELQ6b1PU62iHWxA9Jzb341v3aEGFHt30zDKgVROY9TvrRSAu5wKZ6LdIpRtZKt06zed1D6cPn62SPzed/s1600-h/IMG_0179.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNqincbNVli3wHA-OQIo53cKHq1UqzBiEbdhRLUB2nFGDKoXcF-lMAFngC7CKELQ6b1PU62iHWxA9Jzb341v3aEGFHt30zDKgVROY9TvrRSAu5wKZ6LdIpRtZKt06zed1D6cPn62SPzed/s320/IMG_0179.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180930583615539298" border="0" /></a>Finally, a side view to give you an idea of how the gumstix is attached. He used a threaded rod to stack the gumstix boards and attach them to the plexiglass.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLFV8CZ1aHrQuvSRhtB6orpF1c6C49lrAvvQhyRLIcDDAHVlCF7_JLFEJMSZfc_wAG5l56GYEq0-TJGIZqS6sqMLys5e1E04Lp3hH6akMuYT6h4FlpeYgwg_BPLC03Tll4gbYDV4Glxus/s1600-h/IMG_0170.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLFV8CZ1aHrQuvSRhtB6orpF1c6C49lrAvvQhyRLIcDDAHVlCF7_JLFEJMSZfc_wAG5l56GYEq0-TJGIZqS6sqMLys5e1E04Lp3hH6akMuYT6h4FlpeYgwg_BPLC03Tll4gbYDV4Glxus/s320/IMG_0170.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180930325917501522" border="0" /></a>Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-55633121754775822342008-02-24T06:29:00.002-05:002008-02-24T06:33:40.333-05:00Beer eventThe <a href="http://www.fosdem.org/2008/beerevent">beer event</a> was held at a much larger facility this year. It was still very crowded, but we could stand in the alley. The beer event organizers are not joking when they say " Unlike some other beers, Belgian beer is not just colourful water". There were 25 beers on tap and there is a book describing each of the beers including the alcohol content. The alcohol content is valuable information for the wise.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-84116555376683846762008-02-23T11:57:00.003-05:002008-02-23T12:14:32.482-05:00Reginald A MinesMy grandfather, on my mother's side, served in France during WW1. His brother also served and died in the war. (My aunt said he was shot by a sniper). The <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cwgc.org%2F&ei=7VDAR8DaH4ikwgH-jsH8DA&usg=AFQjCNEasksdladjdYnMQAHAk34rwTna-Q&sig2=muAWJq7a_JQJGvF_DlTdJg" class="l" onmousedown="return rwt(this,'','','res','1','AFQjCNEasksdladjdYnMQAHAk34rwTna-Q','&sig2=muAWJq7a_JQJGvF_DlTdJg')"><b>Commonwealth War Graves</b> Commission</a> lists information about all war graves. A few years back I found his <a href="http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=305099">entry</a> on the web site.<br /><br />This year I rented a car so I could drive from Brussels while de-jetlagging for FOSDEM. Beuvry is about a 2 hour drive from Brussels. Since my plane was late I made it to a larger town nearby called Bethune and stayed in a hotel near the center of town. I found a french looking restaurant on the "Grand Place" and had dinner and went to bed. The next morning I took a look around town and stopped by the tourist office for things to do. There were some interesting looking tunnels near Arras and a blockhouse used for V1 and V2 production.<br /><br />I quickly found the cemetery and the grave.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZn3EsOKYZ-9vz0Pke1Ab9pB3CpLKMH38IZwbq1-SfbvG1iqv6__nP21TTyuA2RvTOF56A7fQBhXUw18b9MsNS-HRxzoAIoJYbDlzK-GT5qnyUR47jCRp6W7HHb568KHn1-yJ8Rb_sgDnl/s1600-h/RA-Mines.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZn3EsOKYZ-9vz0Pke1Ab9pB3CpLKMH38IZwbq1-SfbvG1iqv6__nP21TTyuA2RvTOF56A7fQBhXUw18b9MsNS-HRxzoAIoJYbDlzK-GT5qnyUR47jCRp6W7HHb568KHn1-yJ8Rb_sgDnl/s320/RA-Mines.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170223601595238738" border="0" /></a><br />Then I headed toward Arras. I stopped at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_National_Vimy_Memorial">Canadian memorial </a>at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge">Vimy Ridge</a>. I poked around the area where they had some restored trenches and a small museum. Parts of the area are closed off due to un-exploded ordinance. Even after all these years you can see the outlines of the trenches and craters left from the war.<br /><br />Finally, I made it to Arras. Since it was not obvious where the tunnels were and it was late I found a sandwhich and headed back to Brussels.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-62852995675701334652008-02-23T07:44:00.003-05:002008-02-23T07:56:51.024-05:00TravelingWednesday I left for Brussels to attend <a href="http://www.fosdem.org/">FOSDEM.</a> My flight went via Frankfurt because USAir does not fly direct on Wednesday. My flight from Frankfurt to Brussels was delayed an hour due to fog. Then, while preparing the airplane, the rear emergency exit deployed. This led to the cancellation of my flight. Fortunately, they managed to get me on a 1PM flight. The Frankfurt airport is not my favorite place to spend six hours. The food selection is not great (at least on the airplane side of security). The airport is also a bit of a maze.<br /><br />There is a tunnel between the A and B terminals. This is what it looks like around 7 AM after you have been up all night.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0u-y5WBAu0KQ5mJQnAcJW1L2xdL4kxwyoBNkXKDIWbpmU0_PFG0Q_wJEnPRlv5R9GrVsTmM9MGGZKXyKhQ1buZ89Q7BueTWbSSN2_xQKY6tnsOkAmDN4ysbsgoZ1wfsNhHEANqcYGs5LT/s1600-h/dscn0965.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0u-y5WBAu0KQ5mJQnAcJW1L2xdL4kxwyoBNkXKDIWbpmU0_PFG0Q_wJEnPRlv5R9GrVsTmM9MGGZKXyKhQ1buZ89Q7BueTWbSSN2_xQKY6tnsOkAmDN4ysbsgoZ1wfsNhHEANqcYGs5LT/s320/dscn0965.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170157557883128130" border="0" /></a><br />I've been through Frankfurt twice now, and taken a different route between the international arrival area and the outgoing flight each time.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-47553188235265766402008-02-10T12:26:00.000-05:002008-02-10T12:31:27.186-05:00Mid Life CrisisNot much blogging since I need to work to pay for this.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdL48VnOcnk9wWRDAHKB_wv5YNXf9SaQnbGJyo-HdTax91Krg-Rfr17gMXJCaDdBKcdHdmi0MyzuRYOQ3lAxvmwXxtqR-x5_P3dQ9rzxJi9XUVUXCoE3ZXMAbkrQ0Pc3PZbQOH3dBKzEWZ/s1600-h/dscn0955.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdL48VnOcnk9wWRDAHKB_wv5YNXf9SaQnbGJyo-HdTax91Krg-Rfr17gMXJCaDdBKcdHdmi0MyzuRYOQ3lAxvmwXxtqR-x5_P3dQ9rzxJi9XUVUXCoE3ZXMAbkrQ0Pc3PZbQOH3dBKzEWZ/s320/dscn0955.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165405116440561970" border="0" /></a>Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-84099263180249803702008-01-27T17:44:00.000-05:002008-01-27T17:51:36.789-05:00Office construction doneToday I finished painting the closet door frame, the window, and the area around the new power outlets. Basically, these were the last construction related tasks that I had put off for the past month. Now I just need to organize my crap. And I have lots of crap.<br /><br />Here is my workspace:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTvrBel6mMIE6jzN4EwPjxSPvH9PzRniI-MAqs4mnS8KisHgnBsNc2H5niGhu1l8DUp1KO6Q6y0qcn9vntg5-oUjG5-7RLTUvhpqHBE8ucI166MhVB1KZd_NKhrM1CSE-m6MrH5bbgTIQ/s1600-h/office.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTvrBel6mMIE6jzN4EwPjxSPvH9PzRniI-MAqs4mnS8KisHgnBsNc2H5niGhu1l8DUp1KO6Q6y0qcn9vntg5-oUjG5-7RLTUvhpqHBE8ucI166MhVB1KZd_NKhrM1CSE-m6MrH5bbgTIQ/s320/office.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160292338519625474" border="0" /></a><br />To the left of my desk I have a peninsula for extra desk space.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-16573985468042939102008-01-26T10:56:00.001-05:002008-01-26T10:58:50.331-05:00Still hereI've been very busy with some consulting work.<br /><br />Check out this blog, <a href="http://kpatrol.blogspot.com/">Kitchen Patrol</a>. A friend of mine seems to be having kitchen issues.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-59808468462879697912008-01-06T18:00:00.000-05:002008-01-06T18:08:32.527-05:00ProgressThis weekend I started to get my office setup again. Next week I need to give a talk to a company in Maryland and I need to work on the presentation. Like any good grad student, I procrastinated. One of the things you learn to do in grad school is to procrastinate productively.<br /><br />So today:<br /><ul><li>I patched the kernel for the Lyrtech SFFSDR board with the Davinci NAND flash driver, setup the SFFSDR board, and tested the kernel. Lot's of progress, but I haven't quite got it working. I suspect I need to read up on setting the NAND controller registers properly.</li><li>Started finishing the wall where I added a bunch of AC outlets.</li><li>Read about some algorithms for FM demodulation</li><li>Filled out the rebate form from the PS3 purchase. (They'll send me 5 blu-ray DVD's)</li><li>Took the cardboard from the office furniture to recycling.</li><li>Started collecting information on the ML-403 evaluation board from Xilinx.</li><li>Responded to some emails that needed responses.</li><li>Looked for an Open Office template for my slides.</li><li>Started working on the presentation.</li></ul>A fine day of procrastination!Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-67461683368093695372007-12-24T07:44:00.000-05:002007-12-24T07:48:51.341-05:00Almost done paintingThe walls are finished. Only the window frames and doors need work now. This allowed me to do the flooring. Here is a picture just before I finished the floor.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tPWbThLWhfcc329GuWahTYlo3JIk0zj1W_j_t02Eeq2a3nGquQOrXtyHwxtLps5LuBFm68eYyn59pMBn1xiDRdpDpdr1j9awWW_DvAP8lhRH5qE-eguvUNsKKLJYZ63Ht-Ly15Md2-i9/s1600-h/IMG_2828.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tPWbThLWhfcc329GuWahTYlo3JIk0zj1W_j_t02Eeq2a3nGquQOrXtyHwxtLps5LuBFm68eYyn59pMBn1xiDRdpDpdr1j9awWW_DvAP8lhRH5qE-eguvUNsKKLJYZ63Ht-Ly15Md2-i9/s320/IMG_2828.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147519944380479330" border="0" /></a><br />Now I am waiting for some furniture I ordered to arrive so I can setup my office again and get back to work. I need to do some testing of the Angstrom release candidates on the OMAP starter kit. I also need to get Angstrom running on the Xilinx ml403 evaluation board in the next few weeks.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-18071646344924674562007-12-17T08:39:00.000-05:002007-12-17T08:45:47.066-05:00PaintingI hate painting.<br /><br />I'm remodeling the room in our house I use as an office. This needed doing several years ago when we moved in, but things were to chaotic at the time. The room has old wood panelling, the kind used to finish a house when you were running out of time and money in the late 50's.<br /><br />Painting over this panelling will brighten up a room dramatically, but the finish tends to bleed through latex primers badly, this explains why the project is taking so long. I am up to four coats of primer now and ready to apply the final coats.<br /><br />After painting, I am laying down fake wood floors. This should go much better than the painting work.<br /><br />I ordered a cube style desk with peninsula this should give me plenty of desk space to fiddle with small embedded systems :) Or more space to clutter.<br /><br />Hopefully, after Christmas I am back to full speed and have found some work to pay for all this.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-57654454465474041852007-12-07T17:25:00.000-05:002007-12-07T17:29:35.170-05:00Via FerrataI'm scared of heights. So is my friend Dave. See Dave climb a ladder on a via ferrata in Italy.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RKwpwGiPkK8&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RKwpwGiPkK8&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />But we like to do exposed things anyway. There are no shots showing how high we are, because I can't look down. That is how I cope in "airy" situations.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-75193987807450710142007-12-05T09:01:00.000-05:002007-12-05T09:06:20.089-05:00Defense<a href="http://www.balister.org/~balister/card.jpg">This</a> sums things up.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-46400980175077042762007-12-02T13:08:00.000-05:002007-12-02T13:11:39.114-05:00DefenseTuesday December 4 at 10 AM (EST) I have the defense for my MS degree.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-49623818309132631632007-12-02T13:03:00.000-05:002007-12-02T13:08:08.923-05:00Cart/horse issuesThis came around in an email a couple of weeks ago:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I would like to take a moment to congratulate and thank everyone for <br />all the hard work on the 0.6.2 release. During the meeting today Ben <br />had suggested that we do something to recognize this momentous <br />occasion. As head of the "attend wine and cheese" group I would like <br />to propose that we have a technical meeting tomorrow (Thursday) at <br />PKs to celebrate the release.<br /></span><br /><br />Of course, the software release the celebration was for did not actually happen. Apparently, the celebration occurred anyway. Eventually, the software release was rescheduled for Dec 8.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-78219620831989792142007-11-14T18:09:00.000-05:002007-11-14T18:16:47.703-05:00SDR Forum Technical ConferenceI spent last week at the <a href="http://www.sdrforum.org/">SDR Forum Technical Conference</a>. I spent the week talking with people I know about various SDR ideas and "networking". Highlights of the week were our Radio Challenge Team received an award for beat design, I received an Outstanding Technical paper award (I am not really sure why). Overall a very good week.<br /><br />There were several presentations on partial reconfiguration of Xilinx FPGA's. It looks like the technology is close to being usable. When I get a little more time, I need to learn FPGA programming.<br /><br />After the Conference, I went skiing at <a href="http://www.arapahoebasin.com/">Arapahoe Basin</a> with my friend <a href="http://www.bluto.org/">Mike</a>.<br /><br />And yes, I need to create more blog entries.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737554801307998065.post-67874463556895034622007-10-24T16:06:00.000-04:002007-10-24T17:26:06.703-04:00I'm still hereCurrently finishing off "the thesis". The abstract should be finished this afternoon, then another review by my advisor. Then I'll give it to my committee and schedule the defense date. Of course, one of my committee members left during my eternity here, so I need to replace him.<br /><br />I'm procrastinating by running builds for the SFF SDR board including some fixes I made in OSSIE, and a build for the gumstix verdex + netwifimicroSD so I can test this hardware setup. I need to get the configs for the SFF SDR board split from the Davinci EVM and push the Verdex+netwifimicroSD changes.<br /><br />The week of November 4-9 I will be at the <a href="http://www.sdrforum.org/pages/sdr07/forumMeeting_sdr07_main.asp">SDR Forum Technical Conference</a> in Denver. Big plans there involve looking at skis and doing some skiing after the conference. Oh yeah, probably some work related stuff also.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12272748006793947506noreply@blogger.com0