I am planning on going on a three week road trip for the April 2024 Eclipse. I am planning on sleeping in my vehicle most nights. At night I won’t have access to AC power.
I use a CPAP to get proper nights sleep. The CPAP requires AC Power to operate.
I have both the Resmed AirMini (built for travel) or Resmed Airsense 11 (heated hose and humidity control). There are purpose built off the shelf batteries for these devices that last around 13 hour and costs $700 USD.
Is it cheaper to build my own battery or buy an purpose built off the shelf batteries?
Its cheaper and better in almost all ways to build your own version.
The first easy solution is to buy a Jackey Portable Power Station. It giant battery with an 12v DC to 120v AC inverter, with some extra smarts. They cost around $450. It dead simple and would just work. That half the costs off to a good start. The issue is that they are bulky and hard to fly with. I figured that I could build a DIY solution for half this price.
The next idea is to use a USB-C PD power bank. They are easy to find at any store that sells electronics (Walmart, Amazon), easy to charge (Standard USB-C), small enough to carry on a airplane (<100W) and the PD (Power Delivery) standard can output 20V at 5A (100W). All about USB-C PD standard
According to the adapter the Resmed AirMini requires 24V at 0.83A (20W), and the Resmed Airsense 11 requires 24v at 2.71A (65.04W). Actual power testing shows that Airsense 11 only needs 1.2A when the heated hose and humidifier are disabled.
To get USB-C PD devices to give me 20V I need a “20V USB PD Trigger cable”. This device negotiates with a USB supply to tell it what voltage to output and then passes that through.
I then can use a DC-DC boost converter (80% efficiency) to up the voltage to 24V that is required to power the CPAP machines. $3
Resmed CPAP devices uses a proprietary plug but you can Resmed DC output cable on Amazon for around $30 CAD.
One of the nice features of this solution is that I can use a off the shelf USB-C PD power bank as the battery. On a normal day when I am out and about I can use the USB-C PD power bank to power my laptop while in a coffee shop. A ‘nice to have’ would be Wireless Qi Charging and magsafe compatible.
Most USB-C PD power banks have a 10 Ah battery. That would last me just under 8 hours. Ideally I would want a battery with 12-15 Ah.
This solution would look something like this:
USB-C PD Power bank => 20V USB-C PD Trigger cable => DC-DC 24v boost converter => Barrel jack to Resmed proprietary plug => CPAP machine.
During the day, while I am driving, I can charge the USB-C PD power bank using the vehicles standard 12v accessory jacks.
Total: ~$150
Conclusion: Cheaper to DIY
]]>They think they are making their websites more secure but are in fact just annoying normal users.
I got angry enough with BrimFinancial to create my own TamperMonkey script specifically to bypass their copy and paste prevention.
Specifically FUCK YOU BrimFinancial
// ==UserScript==
// @name Enable copy and paste
// @namespace http://tampermonkey.net/
// @version 2024-03-10
// @description This script enables copy and paste. Has specificall functionality for Brim Financial
// @author Steven Smethurst
// @match http://*/*
// @icon https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?sz=64&domain=brimfinancial.com
// @grant none
// ==/UserScript==
function clearEventListeners() {
document.oncontextmenu = undefined;
document.oncopy = undefined;
document.oncut = undefined;
document.onpaste = undefined;
document.onselectstart = undefined;
document.onkeydown = function(){return true;};
window.onkeydown = function(){return true;};
document.body.removeAttribute("oncopy");
document.body.removeAttribute("ondrag");
document.body.removeAttribute("oncontextmenu");
document.body.removeAttribute("onselectstart");
// Needed specifically for brimfinancial
document.body.removeAttribute("onkeydown");
document.body.addEventListener("contextmenu", function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); e.stopImmediatePropagation(); });
document.body.addEventListener("contextmenu", function (e) { e.stopPropagation(); e.stopImmediatePropagation(); return false; }, true);
}
(function() {
'use strict';
// Your code here...
clearEventListeners();
})();
This public script also works Absolute Enable Right Click Copy
]]>A 100 days project is where you make something for 100 days straight. Where the goal is to make something every single day rather than trying to make something perfect. It’s not about fetishizing finished products—it’s about the process.
Every year thousands of people attempt to do a 100 day project. Make something, then post a photo of it to social media for accountability. Search #The100DayProject hashtag on any social media site to find many others and their progress.
In 2015 I did #100DayDayProjects. Where I tried to make a new laser cut, 3D print, or CNC project every single day for 100 days. For more than three months it became the sole focus of my life. Every day after work I was down at my local maker space building projects.
Throughout this project I gained a deep understanding of how to use the laser cutter, CNC, and other “maker” tools. I learned what kind of projects work and what kind of projects I can get done in a single day. How to design for speed, and interaction. I gained many followers on social media, 20-50 comments a day on each post offering advice and encouragement.
After the project I ran a meetup for others in Vancouver that had also participated in the the100dayproject. We shared stories, and our varied projects.
The project was exhausting. Afterwards I was completely burned out. I stopped making anything else for the rest of the year. This burnout might have contributed to my dissatisfaction with VHS in early 2016. I swore I would never do something like that again.
I did a talk on this 100 day project project in 2020 for Pecha Kucha Burnaby called “Creative Progression: 100 days challenge to a 1 year project”
Some of my favorite projects were
The full list can be found here (2015) The 100 Day Project
Time has a way of making you forget lessons of the past and repeat them.
Early 2023 I was looking for a project to dump time and energy into. I knew I was going to be traveling a lot for work this year, and didn’t have a new tool that I was excited about. Instead of making something physical I decided to come up with new possible project ideas every day for 100 days and solicit feedback. Then at the end of the 100 days I would choose the top few projects and implement them.
I was able to convinced 4 friends to join me in doing another #The100DayProject. Each of them had their own topic. Fiction story ideas, home improvement projects, music creation, development journal on a video game.
I remember thinking to myself that my topic of Ideation will not take a lot of effort. I was able to come up with 20 or so ideas on the first day of the project. So I expanded the scope. Each idea would include research, prior art, sketches and drawings, and some small market research. I also wanted to keep the quality higher than X with Y (Ebay but for hotel rooms) and in the realm of possibility (Ansible for cell phones aka “Philotic Parallax Instantaneous Communicator”).
With the expanded scope, and the limitations I put on myself each post took me 1-4 hours to research and write. All of these extra conditions and rules were entirely self imposed.
Over the course of the project I wrote 122,814 words or 412 pages of notes (and photos). Across the ~220 ideas. 100 of them were published and ~120 of them were scrapped because of low quality. To put that in perspective this is about 3x NaNoWriMo at 50,000 words, or twice the size of the average American novel.
Some of my favorite ideas were
The full list of ideas can be found here (2023) 100 ideas project
The social pressure and accountability from others helped keep me going even when I wanted to quit. The feedback from people helped expand and define the projects.
I lot of people have the same ideas that I had during this project. When talking to people who have the same ideas, I can point them to my blog post and they can see the research that I already have done.
I have a list of projects to work on in the next few years with the feedback from my social group on what ones I should do.
I have implemented 10 of the ideas so far.
Of the 5 of us that started only 2 of us completed the project and got to 100 posts. The others dropped out between the 20 and 50 day mark. The daily pace of it knocked most people out early.
I found it really hard to keep focused on ideation, when I just wanted to start implementing some of the ideas that I came up with.
One of the issue with this project was the timing. When I started this project I was also flying back and forth across the content, on site jobs and working ~14 hour days under high stress conditions (60+ hour weeks). I just didn’t have time for this project or the mental capacity with all the stress.
I had convinced a few friends to do this project with me. They were posting daily, and encouraging me to continue too. I saw the positive effects that this project was having on them and I wanted that to continue even at the expense of my own heath. So I kept going.
The extra effort that I put into research and expanding on each idea added a lot of unnecessary work. I put myself on a treadmill that I just couldn’t keep up with. Most of the extras I put into each project didn’t have the impact that I was hoping for. I wish I would have scrolled back the effort to something more sustainable.
TMI - I started this project and convinced other people to join me for the wrong reasons. I had just turned 40 (Mid life) and I had received a bunch of challenging news, things weren’t going my way on multiple fronts (Relationships, money, housing, family). All of these challenges were giving me a lot of anxiety. I was subconsciously looking for a way to escape (Flight) from the uncomfortable feelings (Threat response). I used this project as an excuse to keep busy and avoid dealing with the root causes of my anxiety. Once I started this project I couldn’t stop (high achiever problems) even when I knew it was causing me mental health issues. I kept telling myself that it’s almost done, and I can just suck it up (Willpower) for a few more weeks and deal with my issues afterwards. When the project was done I was entirely “burned out” on everything. I was no longer getting joy from things that used to give me pleasure. I didn’t feel anything. I did this to myself (Self-Flagellation). I was pessimistic about the future. I couldn’t bring myself to do any self care (Depression). Almost the exact same circumstance led me to do this project in 2015 with similar results (VHS exit). The Anxiety/Burnout/Depression Cycle describes this cycle well. In the later half of 2023 I got even more bad news (Friend’s death) and used it as an excuse to seek out some help. Help has been helpful.
No, Never again!
]]>A series of snapshots of the tools and equipment that I use over the years. Previous snapshots of my tools and equipment lists can be found here: 2022, 2021, 2018, 2016
My name is Steven Smethurst and live two lives. During the day I am a CTO at Chipkin Automation Systems and at night I am a maker, hacker and artist. You can find more about me and my projects on my instagram or twitter.
Since ditching Netflix, and other streaming services in 2022. I have moved to using Plex to stream media from my Synology DiskStation DS923+ to the devices in my house.
I have taken the effort to switch most of my note taking, todo lists, and journaling to Obsidian. I built a custom ChatGPT chatbot to help with daily journaling prompts (Idea #30 chatbot-journaling)
I been doing more hardware devlopment over the past few years. To help with diagnose and debug the hardware I got a Saleae Logic 8. One of the best logic analyzers that I have ever used.
I picked up a Anbernic RG35xx plus to play reto games on the bus or airplanes. Its good, but the size cramps my hands after a few hours.
One of my goals in 2022 was to become more mobile. Following the paths of the digital nomad to escape Vancouver’s winters. To help with this goal I got a Lenovo Yoga 9i (14” Intel). I been attempting to spend 2 days a week working from a coffee shop.
A phone with magsafe case and the associated mounts. The only thing that is stopping me is the price of ~$200.
]]>In February of 2023 Netflix decided to block or upcharge for password sharing of accounts. I have been a user of Netflix since the mailed DVD days but with this business choice they made piracy a better, more user friendly option. I canceled my account and switched to torrents and a local Plex server.
With Youtube increasing the amount of ads to once every ~10 mins, and pushing their paid service, and Ad blocking. I just haven’t been watching many Youtube videos either.
These two changes have significantly contributed to a reduced amount of TV I watch, and it also made it harder to track what I have seen over this year.
According to my TV I had ~237 hours of screen time 2023 or about a 30% drop over all. 21 movies, 29 tv series
I have started to update My Letter BoxD profile with the revies of all my movies.
Ranking:
Only including the series that I finished completely.
Listened to 11,385 songs in 2023 (decrease of 16% from 2023) across 2,697 artists. An average of 31 songs per day. That’s approximately 26 days, 15 hours of music. The longest streak of listening to music was 18 days in a row.
These stats come from Last.fm
This post is part of the 100 project ideas project. #The100DayProject. I am looking for feedback. Comment below or DM me via social media Instagram, Twitter.
Creating a lavender farm for essential oils as a retirement project
Buying a property on one of the gulf islands and planting a lavender farm has always been an escapist dream of mine. When work gets frustrating, or computers are making me hate all of my life choices, I would take a break and dream about what life would be like on a lavender farm. As far as possible away from digital screens.
There are many features of lavender farming that appeals to me
Imagine waking up each morning and looking out of your window across a field of purple flowers, smelling the lavender, drinking tea and reading a book. Add sunshine, clean air, rocking chairs, sounds of bees buzzing, and maybe an old dog running around, honey from your own hives for your tea.
An idealistic location would be on salt spring island. It is known for small batch artisans and producers, close to the city, there are other lavender farms already on the island. It’s close to Vancouver and an airport if you want to travel. Not too far from family and friends that they can visit on weekends.
For the land, something that is on a hill that can’t be used for traditional farming, where you can build a house at the top of the hill and look down on the fields. Hopefully the hill would make the land cheaper then the corresponding normal farm field.
The lavender plants do not need a lot of water, but it would be nice to have a well on site to draw from or be connected to the municipality water system. The water can be tested before putting on the field using Idea 079 - Gorilla water quality monitoring device
Learn from others to see what they are planning, it’s easy to create a few bushes of experiments. If an experiment works out, lavender is easy to propagate in just a few years.
A unique selling feature for individual sales could be based around Idea 63 - RootedIn. Each plant would have its own name, story, background, likes and dislikes, friends (other lavender plants), photo gallery, conversations, and a wall for people to comment on. When someone buys one of our bottles of lavender essential oils it comes with a QR code to the social media page for the plant that this oil came from. Where they can interact with the plant by leaving a comment, uploading photos, etc…
The lavender flowers buds could be used in Idea 083 - Dried flower art installation, or Idea 084 - Pressed lotus flower lamp.
Lavender is not a cash crop and does not produce a huge amount of profit. This is a retirement project. It doesn’t need to make a lot of money, it to keep you busy during the end of
]]>This post is part of the 100 project ideas project. #The100DayProject. I am looking for feedback. Comment below or DM me via social media Instagram, Twitter.
Patreon subscription for people receive one of Steven’s projects twice a year
I love making projects. Currently I make two projects a year. The projects are small because anything I make personally costs me money.
I am sending these projects to a curated list of friends and family. I would like to send them to random internet strangers who have asked for copies in the past but I can’t justify the costs.
I would make more of these style projects but I want to ensure people actually want them, and I want feedback on what direction I should take next.
Examples of the projects that I have sent out to people
The (2021) Vancouver Bird playing Cards project cost me a total of $1,632.44 CAD for 50 decks or about $13.60 CAD per deck shipped in North America.
The (2022) Monthly Habit Tracker project cost me a total of $131.28 USD for 15 boards ($8.75 per board shipped)
The Idea 8 - Reconnect a postcard project project costs about ~$300 CAD (Printing ~$85, Stamps ~$150, AI subscription ~$50, $25 shipping materials) for 100 people ($3 per person)
Create a “crate” style subscription service called funvill’s project club.
The subscribers would get the following;
If people pay a subscription it’s a good indicator that there is interest in the projects that I am making. The fees from the subscription can go directly into funding the projects so the costs do not come out of my pocket. The goal is not to make an income, the goal is to cover the materials costs and time that I spent on these projects.
I would try to keep every project around the $30-40 CAD price range. Including shipping.
The feedback loop from the weekly ideas post, and the monthly build log would help keep me directed towards what the community is looking for. I personally thrive from feedback from people, the more I get the better my projects tend to be.
I would probably use Patreon as it does all the logistics of the subscription service for me. The subscription fee would be pulled from peoples accounts after I ship the previous project. Essentially they are paying for the next project. At that point I should have numbers for the next project. Anyone who subscribes in the middle of a period will get the next one down 3-6 months later. So they might miss one shipment.
To get subscribers I would start with friends and family and see what I can get from there. If I don’t get at least 20 to start I probably wouldn’t start this project at all. If there are more than 50 subscribers then I would have to change up this project. The sweet spot is 20-50 people.
Depending on the complexity of building the project I should be able to ship a quantity of 50 of any projects. Things that are printed on demand would be easier than things that need to be hand assembled. With more than 50 subscribers, I run into a different problem where assembly takes too much effort. I would hire out to help with assembly. I would hope that the economies of scale would allow me to reduce the costs of the project and the savings would be passed on to the assembly help.
I don’t want to do youtube videos, I have tried in the past and It’s not something that I am good at or anyone would want to watch. Articles and reading are where I shine.
All the source files would be released as Open Source on Github for anyone to reproduce.
20-50 people at 120 per year = $2400 - $6000 ($30 a project shipped)
20-50 people at 160 per year = $3200 - $8000 ($40 a project shipped)
Any of the (2023) 100 ideas projects.
Small electronics PCB boards and PCB art projects would be ideal as I can get the assembly done by fabrication houses and it’s unique enough that people can’t easily make it themselves.
The whole #BadgeLife scene and everything they do.
Flat packed laser cut projects where the recipient needs to assemble them. Cheaper shipping, easy to get many copies of the same design.
Small books of collections of things on a particular topic. Most POD places will ship directly from their location to your customers. No need to come though my house.
Boldport Club - Beautiful hand crafted PCBs with a story behind each and every one of them. Their subscription club was always too expensive for me to justify. They closed down in 2019
Lots of makers on Patreon already
]]>This post is part of the 100 project ideas project. #The100DayProject. I am looking for feedback. Comment below or DM me via social media Instagram, Twitter.
GeoHashing on a pendant for exploring the world
A small pendant maybe 1-1.5 inches across with a LCD in the center. Covered in resin, should look ornate and very pretty. Maybe use one of the round LCDs
The LCD has a compass image on it with an arrow that is pointing in a direction. The device has a GPS built in to help with the direction, and get the current time/date and location.
Each morning the pendant updates with a new GPS location, and the compass points to that new GPS location. An arrow and the distance away. The user can’t see the destination coordinate, just the direction that they must go.
These devices are given out at a festival like burning man. They are pre programmed with a series of locations based on times and dates during the festival. These locations are meeting places for like minded people to meet up. At burning man they might be some amazing theme camp or event or stage when a good DJ is at.
After the festival, or when the device doesn’t have a pre programmed location. The device detects the current location and uses it as the current grid (close by, less than 3 hours). Then it hashes the current date and uses this value as a look up in a database of locations from Atlas Obscura and sets that as the destination. This allows the device to send people to interesting locations when they get home from the festival.
If there are no database locations in the users grid (close by) then it defaults to random locations similar to GeoHashing or XKCD #426. Still has a location, just not an interesting location.
Then after the festival a user can use these devices to meet up with people that also went to the same festival. Like minded people. Give people who want to explore around them an arbitrary destination.
The device could then be programmed with a yearly meetup location (May 4th). Where all devices are directed to a specific location within their local grids.
Gamification If the users reach their destination, they gain a point. The device shows a QR code that users can take a photo of to prove that they successfully reached the destination. The QR code is a URL that links them to a website with a “wall” style comments page where they can leave a comment, or upload a photo as proof they were there. Kind of like GEOCaching only better.
This post is part of the 100 project ideas project. #The100DayProject. I am looking for feedback. Comment below or DM me via social media Instagram, Twitter.
A modern decoder ring that uses strong modern cryptography encryption methods
This device is a modern version of a decoder ring or a Enigma machine. Instead of a Substitution Cipher like the original Secret decoder ring that was easily broken. These devices will use strong modern cryptography encryption.
Each device has their own private key (can be regenerated). Two devices then can be connected together to transfer public keys to each other. The device can store many public keys for many different devices.
A user then can type in a message into the device using a series of buttons. The plain text message is displayed on the device’s screen. Then the message can be encrypted using the public key of another device. The encrypted message then is displayed on the screen.
The encrypted message can be sent to another device using one of many methods
This device allows you to send offline, encrypted messages between two or more people.
Parts list
Anyone who likes cryptography, encryption, and secret messages
]]>