Category Archives: Uncategorized

Introduction to ESPHome

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Trick

I’ve long been a tinkerer of home automation: Since moving to the US in 2019 and buying my first home, my old X10 modules came out of storage. I quickly realized that a whole world of development has happened in … Continue reading →

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IO91 -> EN51…NW6 1UE -> 60137…51N -> 41N…2001:8b0:da4::/48 -> 2601:249:902:50a1::/64 (completing the circuit)

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Trick

“There and Back Again, a hobbit’s tale by Bilbo Baggins and The Lord of the Rings by Frodo Baggins. You finally finished it.” – Sam “Not quite. There’s room for a little more.” – Frodo Completing the circuit We just moved back … Continue reading →

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HAB flight 3: two payloads, some success, and more failure

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Trick

This post is a bit late given the launch was two months ago, but hey, I’ve been busy. We had a baby last year, and I’m moving to the US this month. Launch day, site, people We launched on Sunday … Continue reading →

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HAB flight 2 “EAGLE”

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Trick

Why the name Eagle?  Good question.  I’ll explain in a bit. You know it’s good luck when the day before the launch, you get this comic sent to you by your mom: What’s new with this flight? This flight is … Continue reading →

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First high-altitude balloon flight: lots learned

Posted on February 18, 2018 by Trick

What is High Altitude Ballooning (HAB)? Build a computer with a GPS receiver and a radio transmitter, attach it to a big balloon full of helium, and let go.  It rises up into the atmosphere, and as the air gets … Continue reading →

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My first radio contact from a high altitude balloon

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Trick

I’ve been watching – with awe – the number of high altitude balloon (HAB) launches there are here in the UK, and thinking about building my own and sending it up.  Last month I went up to Cambridge for the … Continue reading →

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Iceland – Aurora Borealis

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Trick

These photos are best viewed while listening to Island Songs (Ólafur Arnalds). Last night we saw a spectacular show of the aurora borealis.  There aren’t any words to quite describe it.  We saw the first glimpses around 9 PM (Iceland … Continue reading →

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Iceland – Day 1

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Trick

We’re staying in Iceland for the next week – in a somewhat rural area north of Selfoss, right about here: https://goo.gl/maps/S14d9aPQX6S2 We couldn’t appreciate the landscape’s beauty last night having arrived at midnight.  However the stars were incredible.  Fans of Heavens … Continue reading →

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Four years in Shanghai – without a doubt the coolest thing I’ve ever done. 再见上海！

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Trick

I still have the one-way ticket from Chicago when I came here: June 2nd, 2011.  The week leading up to my move here was madness, and arriving here was comical.  The airline had lost my biggest suitcase, the one with … Continue reading →

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Net Neutrality

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Trick

I’m an Internet nerd. I’ve been using the Internet since early days, on a dialup modem TUI to our local BBS, and later on MichNet which was made availably by our K-12 school in Adrian. I’ve grown up a bit … Continue reading →

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