Test Web Server

Using a Raspberry Pi with Minibian Jessie Install:

mysql-client mysql-server postgresql apache2 php5 libapache2-mod-php5 php5-mysqlnd php5-curl php5-gd php5-intl php-pear php5-imagick php5-imap php5-mcrypt php5-memcache php5-pspell php5-recode php5-snmp php5-sqlite php5-tidy php5-xmlrpc php5-xsl php5-pgsql php5-apcu phpmyadmin phppgadmin

Bike-cam Videos

 Reposted from the Pedal to Peace blog

I took some experimental videos using the Nexus 7 strapped to my bike.
 A sort of "Go-DIY", you might call it. The foam bumper case was an ideal shock-absorbing mount.

At first I wanted to take time-lapse pictures, but I discovered that the stop-motion app on the tablet didn't have a timer setting. Rather, you have to press the preview each time you want to capture an image. I rode around testing that for a few seconds before abandoning the idea as too dangerous!

I have two videos below. For the first, the tablet was mounted more centrally, and the front brake cable spoils the view. It does, however, stop the auto-focus from going crazy, like it does in the second video.

The first video is on the way down from the first night's camp site, in Yamaguchi prefecture, and the second is coming down from the mountains at the start of the day we entered Nagasaki. 


Its hard to describe the satisfaction one experiences coasting down a hill which took great effort to pedal up. Its like a reward for all the hard work expended!

 

Lessons Learned on a Bicycle

 Reposted from the Pedal to Peace blog

I recently completed the cycle to Nagasaki, or more accurately half of it, since we teachers split cycling and driving each day. That's half of 450km in 5 days, which is not too bad at my age. Anyway, I trained seriously for the trip, and wrote this blog post about the experience.

Rapid Pi Case 2

This is version 2 of the Rapid Pi Case. This one is more elegant and even more rapid than the first. It also has some ventilation, and easy access to ports on the Pi using a craft knife. In this case, you can see the HDMI plugged in.

On the Inadequacy of Mobile

These days all we hear about is the convergence of desktop and mobile, and we are made to suffer those ugly and cumbersome interfaces like Unity and Metro (or most of you are; I stick to a traditional desktop), where actions you used to take for granted are no longer possible, and someone else has decided what your computing experience will be like.
So on the recent Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Ride, I decided to take only a Nexus 7 and my phone (still using my trusty Galaxy Nexus after all these years). In any case, with most nights being spent at camp sites without power points, it seemed unlikely that I would be able to make my laptop battery last the whole trip, while the tablet and phone could be charged in the support van, either directly or via external battery packs. All we needed to do was take plenty of photos, update the team Facebook page (that was one of the students' job), check e-mail, and write blog posts. My reflections on the experience follow.

Visible Thinking Certificate

Here is my Visible Thinking certificate

Looks like a grade 7 student made it in Draw, in keeping with the rest of the course!

The While-loop Game

Last week I introduced a while loop to my cryptography class, and it was used for the first attempt at encryption (a simple reverse cipher). Since this is such a crucial concept, and absolutely vital to further and unavoidably more complex algorithms to come, I wanted to reinforce it with a hands-on activity.

The While Loop Game

Game is a misnomer, but it got their attention and they didn't complain, so it worked this time!

I created some paper cards, and also an electronic version of the game. Actually only round 1 exists on paper so far. Round 2 has to be on the computer.

Everything is in this file, electronic game and paper game to print and cut up:

while_loop_game.odg

How to Play

The While Loop Game involves constructing a while loop by arranging cards, either physically or on the computer. Here is how to play:

1. The paper is the programming editor. The solid line represents the left margin. The dotted line represents a 4-space indent.
2. With your partner, arrange the cards to make a working while loop. You won't need all the cards. Partners must explain their ideas and run through the loop together to make sure they agree how it works.
3. Write the output of your program, in order, into the output box.
4. Check your answers to see if you won.

The Outcome

The game went very well, and really improved the confidence of some of the teams (they worked in pairs). Of the 12 pairs of students, three could build a working while loop without any comments from me, and the rest could do it with just a little help here and there. In the more difficult round two, only one team could get it unaided, but several followed after a few hints. Only one team was still far away from the solution when I revealed the answers.

Actually several teams pro-actively started typing their programs into codeskulptor to check them, which I hadn't expected, and was nice to see.