NerdKits - educational microcontroller kits for the digital gene. Making a simple Savonius wind turbine. By Lance Turner There are many situations where you might need a small amount of electricity, for instance running gate openers, safety lights, water level indicators and other low-power devices. While solar would seem like the ideal solution, quite often this is not possible due to location and shading problems. Just such a situation arose when I decided to make our new gates automatic. There were just too many trees in the way for solar power to work, and I didn’t want to run power some 30 metres or so from the house, as it would have meant digging a trench for the cables, which is almost impossible in our rocky ground.
Why have automatic gates anyway? Well, our driveway and the one next door share a common entrance, so to open the gates we have to block their driveway. Anyway, I decided to provide power to the electric gate openers from a small wind turbine. The gate opener system itself is a home-made job, using car windscreen wiper motors driving long brass threaded shafts. The mast. Todd Danko's Main Page. Scott H Young » The Art of the Finish: How to Go From Busy to Ac. Today I have a treat for you. Cal Newport from Study Hacks is going to share some of his insights on productivity. Cal is also the author of How to Become a Straight-A Student and How to Win at College. He is currently studying for a PhD at MIT. Last August, I published an essay on my blog, Study Hacks, that was titled: Productivity is Overrated. The basic idea: productivity systems, like Getting Things Done, reduce stress and help you keep track of your obligations, they do not, however, make you accomplished.
Productivity is Overrated That is, the two don’t need to go together. What Accomplished People Do Differently From my experience, the most common trait you will consistently observe in accomplished people is an obsession with completion. It’s this constant stream of finishing that begins, over time, to unlock more and more interesting opportunities and eventually leads to their big scores. Introducing Completion-Centric Planning Completion-centric planning rectifies this problem. Evidence Based Scheduling. Evidence Based Scheduling by Joel Spolsky Friday, October 26, 2007 Software developers don’t really like to make schedules. Usually, they try to get away without one. “It’ll be done when it’s done!” They say, expecting that such a brave, funny zinger will reduce their boss to a fit of giggles, and in the ensuing joviality, the schedule will be forgotten. Most of the schedules you do see are halfhearted attempts. Hilarious! You want to be spending your time on things that get the most bang for the buck.
Why won’t developers make schedules? Over the last year or so at Fog Creek we’ve been developing a system that’s so easy even our grouchiest developers are willing to go along with it. The steeper the curve, the more confident you are that the ship date is real. Here’s how you do it. 1) Break ‘er down When I see a schedule measured in days, or even weeks, I know it’s not going to work. This forces you to actually figure out what you are going to do. 2) Track elapsed time You can’t, really.
Next: ETUBE Electronics + YouTube. DIY Life. Hack Your Work: 23 Ways to Get Ahead, Work Less and Achieve More. It’s something we’re all looking for – the perfect solution that will minimize our work life while still getting the stuff done that we need to get done. Well, that one solution doesn’t exist, but with a combination of strategies, you can get to where you want to be. Now, none of these tips will turn your life around. But they can make a big difference, and when used together, your work life might just be enjoyable, productive, low-stress and high fun.
And these tips won’t work for everyone. One goal. Modern Device Company. Toggl - online timetracker. I Make Projects.