Intentional

 I am a hacker in the sense that I hack together systems and code to do things for me using economy of effort. ("Economy of effort" is not to be confused with laziness. They can look similar.)

I have maximized my mobile phone (Google Pixel 6a) to do lots of things. 

Ex. 

• Shake phone to turn on the flashlight 
• Long press to open music controls for all the streaming devices in the house
• Start a timer for breaks or lunches at work 
• Send texts based on time or location 
• Flash the light and say "HERE I AM!" until I tap a button being displayed 

Last Christmas Susan gifted me a bangle.js 2 watch. 

It uses Javascript to do all the smart things. 

And it can send messages to a phone. 

So I built an app (Lyrion Player) that could do things with with my music player by sending commands from the watch to a bridging app on my phone and then to an app that can do more things. 

Watch>>Gadgetbridge>>Tasker>>some other thing

Swipe up and down for volume. Swipe right for next song. Tap the middle to pause/play. Tap in the lower right to open a menu of different stations. 

I like it. It does what I want. 

It's effective but only works for me in my home. 

And, because it was hard-coded for what I wanted it to do at the time, changing it was a pain in the ass. 

I wanted more and better. 

So I hacked something together. 

The watch app looks much like the Favorites above. It's just a menu.

But..... It now has a companion web site that lets a user add commands to the watch.

And there was much rejoicing.

But... The list of commands grew long and crowded.

So I added a way to insert separators between types of commands! 

(Rejoice!) 

But.... Do I really want to see all the commands related to each other all the time? No, I do not. 

Now there are "Folders" and sub-folders. 

(rejoice again) 

But..... How can you re-arrange things. 

Added drag handles to the configuration so things can be moved around! 

And.... there was that one time I wanted to launch Lyrion Player... So I added the ability to launch native app.s.. And show a list of all the installed apps to chose from (because typing it in is hard). 

Also.... Saving and loading a configuration should be a thing too. I made it happen. 

Now, the thing to remember is that I don't write code. I hack at things. You have never seen someone copy and paste other people's code like this guy. Write, test, re-write. Recognize that I broke something and spend HOURS trying to figure out what it was. 

I did it though. 

Intentional is now in the watch "app store" 

https://espruino.github.io/BangleApps/?id=intentional

The in-app description : https://espruino.github.io/BangleApps/?id=intentional&readme

Injerless (Story slam)

 Listen: https://recorder.google.com/df87cc40-a0f2-4e3a-95d7-15d53343f30a

Postcards (Story slam)

 Listen: https://recorder.google.com/2ada28ec-59cf-49ba-a1e8-e76d6710d553

Moving again (Story slam)

Listen: https://recorder.google.com/18256523-d147-4ae5-992a-94a44a90587ce.

She's my Special Edition (Story Slam)

 Listen: https://recorder.google.com/245e5087-971d-485f-b4f6-fa81afc807a7

St. Patrick's Day (Story slam)

Audio recording: https://recorder.google.com/10d6ec9d-1516-4ddf-8ec1-9a8203d626b2

PopPop Laughing

Veterans’ Day Prayer

A Veterans Day prayer written by English teacher Chris Jensen (LTC retired) for the boys of Rockhurst Catholic High in Kansas City, Missouri: 

Veterans’ Day Prayer
Matthew 20:1-15

Today is Veteran’s Day, a federal holiday signed into law by President Eisenhower in 1954. At the time, he was making official a day already special to veterans; it was the anniversary of the cease-fire that ended World War I. The cease-fire began at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 1918.

Long before 1918, the term “eleventh hour” meant a deadline barely met. How many of us have finished something important at the 11th hour? The expression comes from Matthew’s gospel, that story about workers hired at the eleventh hour, who received the same pay as workers who had started first thing in the morning.

In November of 1918, Allied and Axis generals were at the end of three sleepless days, arguing in a railroad car over an agreement to end four years of war, 20 million killed, and another 20 million wounded. The generals reached their agreement at 5 am, November 11th; they decided on a cease-fire that would go into effect at 11 am. Their choice of 11 am suggests their feeling that time was running out.

After a war that was so wasteful and so exhausting, hopes were high that people had learned a lesson, would never again engage in warfare. Some began to call it “The War to End All Wars.” Yet 90 years later, we still send soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen to distant lands where they fight on our behalf in yet another of the long line of wars since World War One. We call it the price of freedom, but, especially today, it’s a price paid mostly by others. We express our gratitude to those who pay the price for us, even if our own sin helped send them to a war that maims or kills them. And our gratitude, what is it? A pat on the back, a “thank you,” a check to the IRS, a purchase from the DAV, a flag hung out for display?

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

Heavenly father, on this Veteran’s Day, put us to work. The hour is late, and others, our veterans, have labored all morning. Teach us to live responsibly, not selfishly, not wastefully; teach us to treat our fellows as we want them to treat us, so that fewer will be sent to buy our freedom with lives and limbs. Teach us to be truly grateful for their sacrifices: to thank them with helpful deeds. We come to you, Father, at the eleventh hour, hoping to share in the labor of your kingdom. May those veterans who have come before us rest now in your loving and eternal peace.

Amen.

The backyard creek (20100511)

So much water