Casual - Justin Foell

Thinking outside the box

Jim Collins, author of Beyond Entrepreneurship (recommended by Cory Miller of iThemes at Pressnomics), suggests that budding entrepreneurs can innovate by studying something that may seem completely unrelated to your craft – “thinking outside the box.”

Lately I’ve been interested in cycling. When I’m riding, rather than putting my mind on auto-pilot (like many drivers do), I find that my mind is more alert. It’s partly due to the fact that I’m trying to avoid getting killed by drivers on auto-pilot. But it is also because I’m going slower, exposed to the air and the elements. I can hear a deer in the passing woods or smell fresh bread from the bakery. It turns out that “slowing down” is an excellent approach to problem solving. In my case, “thinking outside the (computer) box” had just become “thinking while outside.”
Continue reading →

My friend poked fun at my bike saying it looks like a “cop bike.” I took stock and realized he had a point. From the cop bikes I’ve seen, I’d say mine fits most of these criteria, which is to say cop bikes are really just city-going mountain bikes:

Flat handlebars
Rack/trunk bag
Knobby tires sometimes replaced with semi-slick tires
Useful lights front and rear

Continue reading →

Previously my bike also had a Greenfield rear-mount kickstand which are ubiquitous on cop bikes, but I had to forgo it because my trailer attaches in the same spot 🙁

Light Options

Let’s address the last part: useful lights. I’m going to just talk about the front since any old red LED will do for the back (I got mine at Ax-Man Surplus). There are two types of lights you can put on the front of your bike: to “see” or to “be seen.” If I’m riding at night, I want to see what I could potentially run over. Also, it doesn’t hurt if everyone else on the road can see me coming a mile away. To achieve this I could have gone one of two ways: I could get a NiteRider lithium rechargeable light for about $100 that’s bike-specific, or I could get creative with a “normal” flashlight, get similar light output and recharge-ability – and still have it be useful off the bike. Plus, a flashlight goes right along with the “cop” theme. Enter: the Maglite.

I will say that out of the box, the stock (incandescent) Maglites aren’t that great: light output is abysmal. However their construction is pretty darn good and you can get them just about anywhere. AND (can you believe it?) they’re actually one of the few products you can still buy that’s made in the USA. I bought a 2 C-cell Maglite ($20) at Beisswenger’s Do-it-Best hardware store.

To affix it to the bike, DKG makes a mount called the C-mount ($25). Sounds dirty, but it looks good and works well. Yes, the mount is more than the light at this point, but we’re about to replace all the guts of this flashlight anyway.

Maglite Upgrades

To really bump things up in the light department, I bought a Cree XP-G LED for my C-cell Maglite ($40). The product page carries this message:

WARNING: This light is capable of causing eye damage at close range. Please use the light responsibly!!!

You had me at eye damage. 260 measured lumens to be precise. And, you can still use the Maglite’s reflector to focus (or scatter) the light however you’d like.

malkoff_maglite_dkg — Malkoff Maglite close-up

Anyway, some of you may have noticed that I purchased the wrong size(!) LED: 3 cell, but my flashlight is a 2 cell. Not to worry, this was intentional, because I equip the flashlight with two 25500 lithium-ion batteries rated at 3.7v each. Times two they equal 7.4-8.4v (depending on charge) – about that of 3 or 4 regular 1.5v alkaline batteries. The combination provides good light with recharge-ability in a smaller package.

A 25500 battery is approximately the size of a C battery. The first “25” in the model number represents its diameter in mm: 25mm; and the next “50” is the length in mm: 50mm. A normal C size battery is 26.2x50mm.

Strange batteries like this are easy to find through electronic cigarette (vape/vapor) online shops such as Kalamazoo Vapor Shop. The cells run about $10-15 each – kind of expensive, but keep in mind they have a protective circuit board contained within.

Protected vs. Unprotected Cells

I used to have two normal (unprotected) cells. The unprotected cells posed two problems:

First, my charging rig was pretty ridiculous. It was a programmable radio controlled car charger equipped with a temperature sensor using a C battery holder from Radio Shack.

Second, unlike cell phones and computers, my flashlight doesn’t have a safety device to automagically turn off the light when the batteries are perilously low – the idiot behind the handlebars decides when they turn on/off. Long story short – I think I left the light on all night by accident one time and one of my unprotected cells dropped to 0.1 volts and can no longer be (safely) charged back up. Use protection! Isn’t that what they teach kids in school? Protected cells’ internal circuit boards prevent them from running too low. I also recommend getting an extra pair of batteries so you can swap out easily when the other needs a charge.

To charge these bad boys, the same vape shops that sell batteries will sell chargers for these odd-balls for around $10.

So yeah, for a full set up it’s about $130, but it may be the last flashlight you ever buy. Unless (like me) you’re obsessed with flashlights…

← Summary Only

From touring Miller & Budweiser breweries, I noticed both sites have caves – which have steady year-round temperatures. I assume the caves were used to lager, which means “storage” in German. Lager yeasts, unlike ale yeast which ferment at room temperature, do their primary fermentation in the mid-50 degree range. During secondary fermentation the temperature is dropped steadily to slowly deactivate the yeasts. Back in the day, the barrels could be moved deeper into the cave day-by-day to slowly lower the temperature from the mid-50s down to almost freezing (35°F).

Yogurt Maker?

I had an idea to automate this process using an Arduino, especially after reading Chris Reilly’s Arduino yogurt maker from Make Magazine volume 25. Everything I’ve done here was based on that, so I’ll assume you’ve read it.

Lagering is essentially the same process except instead of using a heat source (crock-pot), we use a cooler (refrigerator). Getting the refrigerator to maintain temps above 40°F can be tricky, so normally an external temperature regulator is used. But this requires me going out to the fridge every day to lower the temperature by one degree. So why not automate it? Laziness FTW!
Continue reading →

The parts list for this project are almost exactly the same as the yogurt maker, so I won’t reprint them, but here are some changes/additions:

The cited relay board was discontinued by SparkFun and is now called the Beefcake Relay Control Kit
1x 10kΩ resistor & 1x 330Ω resistor (optional – for reference voltage calculation)

While the parts list is essentially the same, the schematic is a little different as I used the button & speaker a little differently and added a voltage divider to do some base voltage calculation.

The schematic & code can be found in my GitHub Lager Maker project.

The Hardware

A friend of mine once said:

You software guys wouldn’t know a piece of hardware if it bit you in the ass.

I’m a software guy, so this is mostly true. Programming for Arduino is probably the closest thing I’ll ever get to real-time programming, and yes hardware and its real-world properties did present some issues. For my project, I tried to use both a cheap thermistor and a TMP36 temperature sensor. They each presented different problems:

TMP36

While this initially seemed to be the most accurate, there were problems. First there is apparently an issue when the Arduino making readings on analog pins without waiting long enough in-between, some residual voltage may remain – and skew the next reading (see graph here). Even if that’s fixed by moving to a better 3.3v reference voltage (or by simply waiting long enough between reads), there was still another issue…

As soon as any other circuits were added to the Arduino (like the relay controller) the readings of the TMP36 would be skewed – see Gunther’s comment. I don’t know enough about electronics to know if I should fix this with some pull up (down?) resistors or what. If someone knows better, I’m interested in not only the fix, but how/why the fix works.

NTC Thermistor

The only issue I have with thermistors is… MATH! To calculate temperature using one of these you can do a couple of things:

Generalize the temperature based on the table given in the datasheet
Calculate the temperature using the Steinhart-Hart equation
Calculate the temperature using the Beta-parameter equation

The datasheet for my thermistor gave a Beta value, but not the A, B, & C constants needed to do the Steinhart-Hart calculations – but those can determined by plugging in 3 known temperature/resistance values from the datasheet here: http://www.capgo.com/Resources/Temperature/Thermistor/ThermistorCalc.html.

Since the datasheet indicates the Beta constant, I went that route, except to determine temperature, you need to solve this equation:

$T={B\over { {\ln{(R / r_\infty)}}}}$

I have the Beta (B) parameter, and I’ll know the resistance (R) at the time of measurement, but WTF is $r_\infty$ ? A math teacher friend pointed out to me that I don’t need to know or care about what $r_\infty$ represents, and instead just solve for it using a known temperature/resistance:

$r_\infty={R\over{e^{(B/T)}}}$

In pseudocode solving looks like:

r_sub_inf = resistance / (pow(e,(b / temperature)))

I solved this for a few temperatures & resistances from the datasheet and took an average. Or you can experiment with various $r_\infty$ values you get to see what gets you closest to an accurate temperature reading.

Also, there’s heat created when voltage is sent through the thermistor, and the datasheet gives a “Thermal Dissipation Constant.” To account for this I subtracted a few degrees from the measurement based on this constant.

Even after all this was said and done, my temperature readings were low compared to a trusted reference thermometer. So I simply created an offset constant to bring things more in line. I can’t (and won’t) guarantee this offset will be the same over the entire range of the thermistor, but it works for me 🙁 Again if anyone can provide insight on a better way to remedy this, I’m all ears.

Software

I made a datatype called a stage which contains a start temperature, end temperature and duration. You can add as many stages as you’d like. For lagering there’s typically two (or three) stages:

Primary Fermentation (~two weeks)
Secondary Fermentation (~2-3 weeks)
Conditioning (~3-4 weeks)

Times indicated above were for the most recent kit I brewed: American Lager from Northern Brewer.

I set my stages up like this:

const int stageNum = 5;
stage stages[stageNum] = {
  //primary fermentation
  { 56, 56, 2 * week1 },
  //split secondary fermentation into 3 stages
  { 56, 49, week1 },
  { 49, 42, week1 },
  { 42, 35, week1 },
  //conditioning (ready to drink)
  { 35, 35, 3 * week1 }
};

The reason I split secondary fermentation into 3 is so I can have “checkpoints.” Just incase the power goes out or something, I can re-start closest to where I left off.

The button & speaker act to switch stages and report the current stage & temperature. If you press the button quickly, the speaker will beep n-times in a mid-tone to indicate the stage number, then in a low tone: x long tones for the first digit of the current temperature, and y short tones for the second digit of the current temperature. Then in a high tone the same process will repeat for the current target temperature.

Holding the button down for more than 3 seconds will cause the Arduino to advance to the next stage. It will then report the new stage number, current temperature and target temperature as described above.

Otherwise the Arduino will just run through all of the stages as indicated until it reaches the end. At which time the device (refrigerator) will shut off, so it might be good to leave an extra long conditioning stage just in case you forget 🙂

← Summary Only

Ahh, the Internet. It’s primary usage has changed over the years, from file sharing, to pornography, to movie streaming. But one thing has always been at the fore-front: social interaction. But before the advent of Facebook, there were bulletin boards, newsgroups, and forums (some of which are still in use)… and all of these discussion outlets, once they hone in on a particular subject or subculture, become cesspools of riotous mobs, ready and willing to press THE CAPSLOCK KEY, and add copious amounts of exclamation marks at will!!!!!!!111one

A friend of mine said:

There’s something about the niche nature of [insert forum topic here] that attracts supercilious and argumentative people.

Continue reading →

That’s right, they also attract and breed elitism. It’s found in every forum, whether it’s about 4x4s or Drum Corps, the average tone of the discussion is:

Even if you’re just expressing an opinion, I’m right and you’re wrong and I’m going to flame you into submission!

average DCP user — Average niche forum user (replace DCP with forum of choice)

WTF does all this have to do with Beer?

Sadly, this is also prevalent in the homebrewing scene…

I don’t do much homebrewing myself, but I like to help my friend who’s an avid homebrewer – particularly if I’m “loaning” my fridge for lagering purposes. When we were looking to make a lager in 2009, I asked my friend about clone recipes and was warned to tread lightly. Homebrew forums were quick to lend a hand with your “Pete’s Wicked Ale” clone, but if you asked about a clone for Miller (heaven forbid), you would surely be met with criticism.

Sure, I understand trying to make Budweiser at home is cost prohibitive, but it’s not about beating the price – it’s about beating the system, and taking a known quantity into a new direction. A clone recipe is merely a starting point to serve as a control experiment. I had the opportunity to talk to Dave of Dave’s Brew Farm about craft & homebrewers poo-poo-ing lagers in favor of ales, and I noticed he is brewing a lager called Dave’s Brew Farm Select. To him it wasn’t “Why make a lager?” It was “Why not?” There’s a market for those going up against Miller/Coors & Budweiser – to offer the masses something that seems familiar, but may also be something new. Other Minnesota brewers understand as well (See Summit Pilsener & Surly Hell).

This is not to take anything away from any ale. My favorite all-time beer is probably Summit Extra Pale Ale – which I first tried in college. It was a flavor oasis compared to the Busch Light that my college roommates would typically consume every Friday.

So I say to homebrewers that have never lagered… if you have a spare fridge or freezer, you should try it. Not coincidentally, I’m working on a programmable (and automated) Arduino temperature controller which can probably be made for less than a typical temperature regulator.

Also, it seems light lagers are gaining some ground in the homebrew arena. Maybe the perceived stigma behind homebrew lagering is being erased?

← Summary Only

In the aftermath of what the Bike Snob calls “Shitstorm 2012” (the doping scandal primarily revolving around Lance Armstrong), professional bike racing is being reevaluated. Long-time team sponsor Rabobank has decided to stop sponsoring the sport entirely.

Several pundits are now chiming in, posturing as to what the future of professional road cycling will look like. One of the most thought provoking articles I read actually suggests that doping should be allowed, or at least not prosecuted, by implementing a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Continue reading →

One of the arguments is that by entirely eliminating doping, the lack of super-human efforts will drive fanatical fans away from the sport:

Hardcore fans hooked on heroic, drug-fuelled performances may not care about the extent of doping, but may leave the sport when those heroic performances become fewer and further between.

I watched the 2012 Tour de France, and you know what I thought was heroic? On stage 10, there was an uphill finish where five breakaway riders partook in what commentator Paul Sherwen called

The slowest sprint I have seen in the Tour de France.

Co-commentator Phil Liggett said he has “never seen a sprint quite as slow as this” and used the anecdote of The Tortoise and the Hare to describe how the slowly the riders were attacking each other as individuals ran out of steam:

The only thing that would have made that finish better was if there were some sound bytes of the loquacious (and outspoken doping opponent) Jens Voigt telling his legs to shut up.

Splitting the Field

The Conversation article suggests having two categories of racers in the same race: one with zero-tolerance for drugs, and one where they simply don’t test.

Apparently in the Australian bodybuilding scene, they’ve already adapted to the widespread drug use in their sport by creating a separate “natural” competition for drug-free athletes.

The Conversation op-ed, coins the other half – the potentially drug-enhanced group “excellence,” which I feel gives the athletes more credit than they deserve. Emphasis on potentially because it assumes that clean riders might like to compete in this class as well – but I think after finishing mid-pack (or more realistically at the end of the pack) they probably won’t find their competitive level fulfilling.

If you’re going to split the field in two, why not just split them into different leagues? You can have what’s left of the clean racers, and then start a new, garish, WWE-style, entertainment-based cycling league funded by Vince McMahon – shown Sundays on NBC (and Versus). <Insert XFL Joke Here>

It’s too bad Mario Cipollini was never convicted of doping, he’s just the macho-womanizer this new league could use as a spokesman to jump-start the ratings:

← Summary Only

Justin Foell

Technology, Bicycling, Hobbies, Kids, Life.

Category Archives: Casual

Software Design and Urban Design

Thinking outside the box

A different perspective

More to come

DIY LED Maglite Bike Light

Light Options

Maglite Upgrades

Protected vs. Unprotected Cells

Arduino Kegerator

Yogurt Maker?

The Hardware

TMP36

NTC Thermistor

Software

Lager Beer – Redheaded Stepchild of Homebrewing?

WTF does all this have to do with Beer?

Cycling: Doping and Heroics

Splitting the Field