From the monthly archives:

April 2008

Django Tip: Outputting list of items separated by commas, but only if it has more than one item

April 24, 2008

How many times do you need to do this? You have a list of things to output. The list can be empty, has one element, or more. You want to separate each items with a separator for readability. What do you do?
1. The simple but not reader friendly way:
toppings = [ 'cheese','tomatos','pineapple' ]
or toppings = [...]

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IKEA Tool Box Hack

April 23, 2008

I need a toolbox to store my supplies and tools for building electronic circuitries. Something that looks good in a normal office setting. Why not another IKEA hack? I always wanted to try one of the FIRA mini chests. They are functional, but too plain looking. Since this tool box is for electronics, metal handles [...]

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Subscription Model, the Make Magazine Way

April 21, 2008

I am getting back into electronics. To access all the back issues of Make Magazine, I decided to start a print+digital subscription. I was wondering, as a subscriber, if I have access to all the digital back issues. The answer is:
Yes if I become a “premium member“, meaning that I enable automatic credit card renewal. [...]

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Review Extech Digital Multimeter EX330

April 20, 2008

My DMM arrived today from Amazon. First surprise — I came in a blister pack. The good nice is that it is an easy open blister pack. Remove the lone staple at the top and pull open the pack top to bottom. The bilingual (English/Spanish) user manual is tugged inside the backing paper sheet.

The meter [...]

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Electronics DIY basics — Tools

April 15, 2008

After many years, I have decided to start doing DIY electronics again. Things have changed a great deal. Let me share my research here to save you some time if you are thinking about starting electronics DIY. What tools do you need, and what are some of the fun things you can do. But first, [...]

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Be careful with that Send button

April 15, 2008

Every so often I get one of these emails in my inbox. Today’s example:
Hello!
I have decided to join the ranks of half the people I know, and switch to
Gmail.
Therefore, effective immediately, please start emailing me at *xxxxxxx@gmail.com*.
I’ll keep receiving verizon.net emails for another month.
I hope you’re all well and that you have a lovely day!
Nothing [...]

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The Beautiful Candle

April 4, 2008

Michael Faraday’s lectures at the Royal Institution in London – “The Chemical History of the Candle” :
A candle is beautiful. “Beauty means not the best-looking things, but the best-acting thing.” A candle is beautiful because its functioning elegantly and efficiently rests upon a wide range of universal laws. The heat of the flame melts the [...]

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