17
Dec 09

Tetra

Or, as I first said on watching this, “Holy *****….”

I mean, myself and Ian Dowse built a micromouse robot once, way back in the mists of prehistoric time, but, well…

It wasn’t exactly going to finish in 4.766 seconds, you know?

And it certainly didn’t look as slick as Tetra did:

Makes you wish there was money and facilities for doing robotics hardware in an Irish college, doesn’t it? I mean, look at it, the sheer elegant efficiency of the design, the purpose to it – the PCB extends out in front to put the weight on the front drive wheels so that it’s fast when turning, and the rear wheels come into play when it’s accelerating forward – it’s very elegant minimalist design, mechanically. We just never had the money, facilities, tools or other necessary things to do that sort of work 🙁


03
Dec 09

Ever wanted to ask Neal Asher something?

For those who enjoy Neal Asher’s science fiction books and have any questions they’d like to ask him, he’s taking questions right now over on his blog


15
Nov 09

Broadband…

Just as a small note, I’m off in Kuortane in Finland at the moment. Middle of nowhere, frozen bog and tundra all around, closing in on the artic circle and nothing as far as you can see outside the sports center here but wind and snow and wolves.

And I have a 256Mbit broadband connection to the apartment in the sports centre, and so do all the other 53 rooms in the facility, and there’s a free wifi hotspot downstairs.

So tell me Eircom, if the finns can get 256Mbit out to the middle of nowhere and then another hundred miles over to Kuortane, past -7C weather when it’s mild and -30C when it’s not, past moose and wolves and ice and snow; what the bloody hell is so damn difficult about getting 24Mbit broadband to the middle of Dublin City?

Gah!