- I want to start…
- > writing rhymes
- > keeping time
- > playing the drums again
- > to hum again
- > the hymn to my soul’s next of kin
- > thinking outside my brain again
- > my laundry
- > drinking tea again
- > looking out for me first and you last
- > a relationship that lasts
- > stop thinking about the past in the present
- > stop looking in the mirror with resentment
- > breathing again
- > living again
- > my own band
- > gathering tinder and kindling, to burn down my dream house, that reminds me
- > dreaming up my dream house
- > singing
- > learning guitar
- > being valuable
- > taking names
- > boiling red cabbage
- > testing people if they’re basic, that’s what the cabbage is for
- > avoiding bitter people
- > not being bitter
- > walking down hither
- > running
- > learning vim
- > getting rusty at programming
- > growth planning
- > booth jamming
- > moot planting
- > a garden
- > planting seeds in your head
- > eating your brains in a mukbang
- > showing off my fangs
- > start, start, starting
- > a list of things I want to start, and post it to my website
- > signing my names on things
- > being Cobie again
- > being Yung again
- > the end of this
- > life.
Taking A Dive Into Rust
I’m getting into Rust. The Rust programming language to be more exact. I haven’t been this excited about programming since before COVID to be honest. Why am I so excited about Rust? I’m not sure, maybe it’s because of how different it is from my experience with C, C++, and Python. Rust doesn’t necessarily keep you from being able to shoot your foot off, but it tells you when you might!
How did I get here? While I was bored in my earlier years, I liked to play around with a computer. I don’t remember much, but I remember making rudimentary batch files in notepad, and trying to make Minecraft mods in Eclipse… Back in the days where you had to delete the META-INF folder to even mod the game. I pretty much used C++ for my Arduino projects, but to be honest I don’t know exactly how similar they are. I’ve used Python in my university coding, data structures, and algorithms courses. I’ve used C to program embedded devices and I took a class specifically on C, which was a blast! I also know some assembly for the 6502 microprocessor from a KIM-1 class I helped out with.
Since this pandemic struct the world, my focus shifted off of coding. Oddly, it’s not until this return to normalcy that I started to pick it back up again. I did a bit of Arduino programming in this past year for my senior project, but I’ve still been looking for that language that I want I want to build a portfolio off of. I believe Rust is that language for me!
My advisor and boss at university tipped me off to Rust while I was working on my senior project. I think he was interested in Rust himself and wanted some first hand takes. Regardless, I’ve since kept up with some of the news around Rust and I bought a book to help me learn the ins and outs of the language. I’ll give some recommendations down below…
I like this YouTube video by No Boilerplate where he makes some recommendations about how to learn Rust. I won’t spoil it, you should go watch it! One of the recommendations he made was “The Rust Programming Language” book by Steve Klabnik and Carol Nichols. I happily got this book myself and so far I’ve enjoyed 175 pages of it so far. I’ve done a few of the example too and I’m loving it! The video also mentions rustlings, which is a program I also started that is a collection of examples that follow the same order as the book.
To keep up with some of the news and takes, I enjoy watching ThePrimeagen (ThePrimeTime on YouTube), No Boilerplate, and CodeAesthetic.
I hope to add more updates as I continue my journey! -Cobie
A quick post on Getting started in PCB Design
Designing a PCB doesn’t have to be as complicated as most people think. For hobby PCBs, a successful design can be achieved by following some rules of thumb, which I may go over in the future. Before we can even design a PCB, we need the tools to do so.
First, we need some software that we can use to create designs with and generate fabrication files for us to send to a PCB fabricator. There a handful of software to choose from. I’ve personally started with KiCad, then made a PCB in Eagle, then in Altium Designer, and now I’m back to using KiCad.
I’m a KiCad fanboy to be upfront about my bias. I’ll admit it’s not as feature-rich as Altium, but in my opinion KiCad is all you need to get started on your journey designing PCBs. KiCad is also FOSS, meaning you should always be able access it.
Yes, I have experience designing PCBs, but to be honest I’m not confident enough in my skills to give much advice and teach it. On the bright-side, many great resources already exists to get you started on your journey.
I would recommend this YouTube series by Shawn Hymel to get started with KiCad.
In this series, Shawn not only teaches you how to use KiCad, but also covers the PCB fabrication process, and how to assemble your PCB one you’ve received it. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves! If you follow along with Shawn, you will create a fun LED project, which is a great way to dip your toes into this wonderful world and shows that PCBs are not only a technical component but also an artistic an aesthetic one too.
Reader, I hope this inspires you to start working on your first PCB. All you have to do is follow along with that YouTube series. Best of Luck! -Cobie
My First and Failed Attempt at Microgreens
Before discovering microgreens I’ve never thought that I would be able to grow most of my own food. Traditionally raising plants to maturity can be a long grueling process if you don’t know what you’re doing… And I don’t! So once I heard that there was a method of growing masses of food that takes less than a month, I was certainly intrigued. I still don’t know what I’m doing, but the low barrier to entry made it easier to try out. So I went to some local stores where I picked up some shoeboxes, some seeds, and some soil. It’s at this step where I feel like I’ve learned the most. First, the shoe boxes were not a great idea, the high walls of the box made harvesting difficult as I would have to reach around the sides of box to cut down all the plants. A shallow 1020 (10″ x 20″) purpose made tray would have been much better, the larger surface area means larger harvests and the shallow depth makes it easy to get at the stems for harvest. Putting a 1020 tray with holes into one without holes makes for an easy watering solution. By simply watering the bottom tray, you can trust that your microgreens soil will be evenly watered without getting your microgreens wet. Second, while the soil I got worked, it was coarse and had chunks of material in it which made it difficult to work with. In the future, I plan on using a seed starter mix, which should fit my needs better since the plants are harvested when they are young anyway. And finally, going forward it would probably be more economical to buy seed in bulk rather than in packets.
When I got home, I packed about an inch of soil in each of the shoe boxes and began to seed. The microgreens I chose to plant were basil, sunflowers, and an umami blend. The sunflowers and umami take about a couple of weeks from seeding to harvest them and the basil takes a week or two longer. I placed lids on all the shoeboxes to keep in any moisture so I wouldn’t have to water regularly as the seeds germinate. I let the boxes sit like this for about a week as I waited for the sprouts to emerge. After I noticed a significant amount of the sprouts emerged, I removed the lids and let the bins sit under a grow light for another week. During this prosses, I noticed that I didn’t seed as densely as I should have. Microgreens can get stalky and weak so it’s useful for each plant to have a ton of neighbors that will help keep it upright.
After that week passed it was time to harvest the sunflowers and the umami. This was done simply with a knife, and place the plants I harvested into a bowl, which I then stored in the fridge. As of posting this, I have a little less than a week to go before I harvest the basil.
Going Forward
It was clear to me that I should do a little more research before attempting my next batch of microgreens. Which I did, and now I need to take the steps to acquire the materials I need and plan out my next attempt. I figured out my tray issue thanks to this YouTube video by Donny Greens. Once I receive the new trays, I’m hoping to focus on a single batch of microgreens (probably sunflowers) to hone in on the process. I also want to be better at journaling/documenting the care I put into the plants so I have a better way of keeping track when to water other than seeing my microgreens wilt.
Even though this past harvest wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be, I’m excited for the next one. Happy gardening!