Morning mish-mash (miscellaneous madness/mutterings)

I've been busy with the usual and I haven't been able to get out my 'misc. mutterings'. First I'm very happy to see that the OpenRemote folks are busy. They've actually been very quiet but busy behind the scenes. There's no w new site (note to self update link on LinuxHA). I was starting to get worried with the long period of quiet. At the moment I am frustrated as I don't understand what is going on and I have ideas but I don't know how to articulate them. On the other side of the fence, the experts are telling me here's how we're doing it and I don't know if I understand. Very frustrating! Either way I'm busy reading up on Java and Groovy (very neat) and getting ideas (I'll detail my ideas in another blog entry). Juha mentioned OSGi and I'm also reading up about that (boy am I feeling stupid). I really should calm down there are things I'm good at and I can't be good at everything

In my media course we're learning everything about media (the Internet, TV, radio, news magazines books, etc.) and we're looking at the failures of newspapers (and by extension magazines). I'll just say it's complicated and leave it at that. Initially I thought the papers were buggy whips, something we no longer need. But after reading the chapter there is an argument for them and it's the local news. Something our state/local papers have failed to do. Our county papers have done a much better job and I'm hoping they can survive. Unfortunately they're owned by the state wide papers.

I was worried about the magazines I subscribe to, Circuit Cellar, Nuts and Volts and Servo Magazine. I just started subscribing to the last two but I've been a follower of Circuit Cellar since the Byte magazine days. All three are electronic subscriptions. While it's not great for bathroom reading but more convenient otherwise. I'll work on finding a touch screen for use in the bathroom. ;-) I really can't do without my Circuit Cellar, I would feel totally disconnected from the world of Computer, Electronics and Engineers without it. But, gratefully, Steve Ciarcia tells me that the Electronic version is embracing more web technology. In addition to the normal full magazine features, it also contains a special bonus section of project shorts. I'm not worried about the quality as I know what to expect because of years of previous Circuit Cellar material. Now I just can't wait for the new "Digital Plus" to arrive so I can get my hands on it. Here's a few samples of what's available: ads that include "see before you buy" video demonstrations and Circuit Cellar YouTube Channel. One of the first videos I looked at was Irrigation Control. It's a Greener Lawn Irrigation System (the link is to the contest entry). This is a sample of smart home technology done right. Something of an idea I've only been toying with for the past couple months. Now that's cool! In case your wondering, yes I actual purchase materials from the Circuit Cellar advertisers. It's on of the first places I look for material I need. Having the electronic version makes it even easier to search. Circuit Cellar looks like it'll survive nicely.