Comments for Neolefty

Comment on 1994: Robot Sheepdog by Billy

Billy — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:29:17 +0000

Thanks Aubrey! The assignment was open-ended, although we were supposed to incorporate the elements we had practiced during the course. We built up to it by spending the first two-thirds of the semester on four other projects that were simpler more fully specified.

For example, one of them was a traffic light controller with a "traffic sensor" (really, just a toggle switch) that sent it into a 30-second cycle to allow traffic in from a rarely-used side road.

I don't remember the details of the other four projects, but some of the things the earlier projects taught were:

Debugging and measurement using an oscilloscope and logic analyzer
Sequential circuits that would progress from one state to the next based on timing or external inputs
Storing data in memory and reading it back
Logic controllers (think a really primitive CPU -- simpler than a calculator's brain)

Those sound really primitive, and they were! What the course taught was how to implement them physically, at the level of wires and chips. It had a reputation for being pretty tough -- its nickname was "digital death lab" among the undergrads ^_^

Comment on 1994: Robot Sheepdog by Aubrey G

Aubrey G — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 01:56:01 +0000

What a creative project! What were the objectives of the assignment?

Comment on Baker Family Animated Special by Billy

Billy — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:00:51 +0000

Thanks, Amy! It was fun to do at first, and then a lot of work, and our tools were difficult to use, and we gave up, and Bahiyyih said, “Are you going to finish this?” and I said it was too hard, and she jumped in and worked on it — mostly editing audio — and we finished it. Whew!

Comment on Baker Family Animated Special by Billy

Billy — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:59:20 +0000

Oh, Malta, right — that’s right after China; we have it all planned out? Or maybe it’s the name of Zivar’s educational outreach organic farm?

Comment on Baker Family Animated Special by Amy Felty

Amy Felty — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 06:07:51 +0000

I just saw the video on Bahiyyih’s site. What a great job! Very talented people in that moving-to-China family, and we will surely miss you-all.

Malta? Who’s going to Malta? When?

Love, Grandma

Comment on Baker Family Animated Special by Amy Eades

Amy Eades — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:25:38 +0000

This is great! I enjoyed the story and the artwork is wonderful.

Comment on Two Scoops by Baker Family Animated Special | Neolefty

Baker Family Animated Special | Neolefty — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:32:02 +0000

[...] Neolefty Less Political than it Sounds Skip to content HomeAbout ← Two Scoops [...]

Comment on Smart Pill to help children get through Puberty? by Sherri

Sherri — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:06:39 +0000

Oh yes, camels would be very good. Much more persnickety than horses, and to get along with them, one has to learn a new kind of diplomacy that I am sure would be valuable during the teen years.

BTW, it would be interesting if there was a gender difference regarding the age of change in learning ability. I didn’t experience anything like that until 16-17, and there was so much other stuff going on then, I am not sure if it correlates. My 13-15 years were a high point in learning science and math. But then I was a late bloomer in many ways.

Comment on Two Scoops by Amy Felty

Amy Felty — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 03:46:58 +0000

Isn’t it amazing what kids inspire?

Comment on Return Fluids to User by Amy Felty

Amy Felty — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 03:46:21 +0000

How curious! “Curiouser and curiouser,” said Alice.
“Yes,” replied the white rabbit, his ears twitching with wonder. “Can you imagine red blood cells taking a detour on the way through your body?”
“Only in wonderland,” remarked Alice.

Is this stop wonderland, then?
Mom