E14's very quiet at the moment

dougw  wrote:

 

... instead of producing a couple of blogs every week

It's amazing how much time the blogging really takes, isn't it?

I've also been having to prioritize time spent making over time spent blogging about it.

-Nico

I am busier than normal at work. My workload has almost doubled since the pandemic hit.

My hobby electronics life hasn't declined though, partly because my sports activities have been severely curtailed.

I am just working on my own projects his year instead of producing a couple of blogs every week and competing in some of the cool contests on element14.

Other than a couple of pandemic related projects, I have not blogged much at all.

Currently there are 9 project boxes stacked up beside my desk representing projects that have made it out of the conceptual stage into the collecting parts phase. Of course there are still more projects accumulating in the conceptual phase and still more on the back burner, where I have some parts but not actively spending time progressing.

My most current front burner project is about a week away from first test of the full system. This is a unique and fairly risky research project, so that should be an exciting test.

Happy early Birthday!! Which DMM did you go for?  I have been looking to buy a nice benchtop DMM, but I can't seem to decide on one.

Indeed they do!  I find that I will be sitting on the couch, busy playing my cyber games (like word with friends) when all of sudden it is 30 minutes later.

Physical days like that often lead to a sneak attack nap.  The one where you are watching TV at the end of the day - next thing you know you have suddenly fast forwarded in time with the show over. 

I‘m busy laying out a PCB for a prototype for that instrument control board Jan has linked to.  Also waiting for delivery of a new DMM and PSU (slightly early birthday present). And barbecuing like an Aussie!

I Have a fair bit of gardening to do but it’s way too hot for digging so that’s on hold. 

There was activity though. If you're an OpAmp aficionado, the week-end was a paradise:

Creating an Instrument Control Board

Experimenting with Op Amps: Input Offset Voltage

I'm still busy working too.

Thankfully I've just reached a milestone that makes my new app release-ready, taking off some of that pressure.

Most of the house and yard maintenance and upgrades are finally done now, at least the critical ones.

I'm finally working on some fun tech projects again, so I do hope to post more things soon.

In terms of covid, things are less stressful now, but now there's new things to stress about. sigh.

Hope everyone is staying safe

-Nico

Hi Fred,

I have to admit that a lot of my usual enthusiasm has been drained away by the Political, Health, and Racial problems that are swirling around. Too bad everyone can't be as considerate and welcoming as the guys on this forum are. I have noted how hard the administration has been working to try to keep our interest and involvement up, Thank you E14 team. I hope things will be better soon.

A friend of mine the other day who was lamenting how the stress and frustrations have kind of come in waves said to me, "What's next, ZOMBIES?". I don't know much about zombies but at this point I am not sure I would be surprised.

John

I noted this, also during the weekend, less participation I see. I am working from home, making a new video (job) and coming crazy to a new Super Smart Home blog post that I don't reveal nothing until I am not sure that the system I have set will work for sure.

Enrico