Above all else - Persevere

Sorry if I've told this story before..I just felt compelled.

I was never a stellar student. I wasn't horrible, but I did what I had to do to make it through. I got my first C in the 4th grade. I think it was in handwriting...mighta been math, but that's not important - I had never gotten anything lower than an A to that point. I did well enough through junior high to place into Renaissance High School - [arguably] the best public school in Detroit.

Favorite under-the-radar iOS 6 and iPhone 5 features

I just wanted to post a few thoughts of my first week with iPhone 5 (2 weeks with iOS 6). Overall, I like them both. The features they advertise are always nice, but I always appreciate the silent updates - the things that generally go unnoticed, but add to (or detract from) the user experience.

AppleScript to create Address Book Entries

For work, I created a test for MAP-enabled devices. Being that iPhone now supports MAP, I figured a good test would be to create a huge contacts list on the iPhone, then pair the device to the unit under test and see how it responds. I (obviously) did not want to have to manually create hundreds or thousands of contacts, so I looked into using Automator or AppleScript.

iOS6 - Limit Ad Tracking

I hate ads. I hate them online. I hate them on my windshield when I get back to my car after parking downtown. And I especially hate them on my mobile devices - an environment I used to feel safe. 

After updating to iOS6, I found a new "Advertising" category buried in my Settings > General > About menu. The next screen presents a switch that allows you toggle a feature called Limit Ad Tracking. 

Keep the pinout handy

A small lesson I learned [the hard way] today lol. When creating a cable or connector with multiple connections, it's always a good idea to keep the pinout nearby. Today I was making a couple DB9 to banana jack cables for connecting my CANCaseXL to a test bench. I only use 3 connections used on the DB9, and I broke each one out to a different color banana jack:

Linux From Scratch - Build Environment

Recently, the homie Mike put me up on the Linux From Scratch project. I have always wanted to compile Linux, and eventually want to create my own Android-based device. Even if it's just for my desk at home, it's a goal of mine to one day build a multimedia computer where I design EVERYTHING - hardware and software.

Linux From Scratch

I have had an interest in Linux for quite some time. Now that I have a bit more understanding of device architecture (core, OS, and application layers), I'd like to try my shot at building Linux from source code, with the end goal learning how to port my own distribution to custom hardware.