Laurens Valk / is on Nostr

Engineer, author, teacher. Always learning.

Last Notes

2025-04-10 09:45:35

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@nprofile…3c4l yeah, cuts the boot time from 3 *minutes* to 2 *seconds*. Much more classroom-ready this way.
Still some way to go though :)

2025-04-09 06:48:29

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@nprofile…3c4l nice!
Here's a new port for the TI AM1808 in progress. 😎

2025-02-19 17:06:47

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@nprofile…wuyc question from a European who doesn't know that much about Canadian politics: What are the likely positions on this issue of the main leading parties / leaders if there is a national election this year? Thanks!

2024-12-21 13:22:05

LEGO MINDSTORMS was discontinued. End of story, right? Well, not so fast. We can fix this together. And you can help!
https://pybricks.com/project/saving-lego-mindstorms/
Instead of chasing the latest gadgets and trends, let's see what we can do with the hundreds of thousands of excellent robots that are already out there. Saving the planet, one programmable brick at a time.
#LEGO #MINDSTORMS #ewaste #micropython
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2024-08-27 11:41:19

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@npub1fh6…zu76 Do these regional variations generally repeat every year, or do they differ from year to year?

2024-08-27 11:41:19

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@npub1fh6…zu76 Do these regional variations generally repeat every year, or do they differ from year to year?

2024-07-22 12:46:19

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@npub1fh6…zu76 for those more familiar with the data, I'm curious about the apparent flatlining of the methane levels around 2000?

2023-06-09 14:37:20

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@npub12vf…97j8 @npub17ge…hgsu

2023-06-03 08:13:12

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@npub17ge…hgsu I'm generalizing the sensor interface across all hubs and platforms, essentially reducing technical debt built up over the years. Should reduce headaches down the line, and maybe we can even support the older NXT and EV3... Saving millions of good robotics kits from becoming e-waste. Want to help? Got to find all the schools/parents that have them gathering dust on some shelf. 😊

2023-06-02 11:54:00

I always go for small, stand-alone commits. But sometimes you have to break everything at once. #LEGO #MicroPython
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2023-05-26 06:19:12

Maybe it's fun to share some day to day developments... Today I'm working on making our #Pybricks sensor API async-compatible at minimal cost.
Every byte counts, so I've arrived at something that costs just 4 extra bytes for each async method! Still learning new #MicroPython development tricks every day.
For those in the know... I'm basically modifying the commonly used MP_DEFINE_CONST_FUN... macros/types to "decorate" a C function to behave asynchronously.
@npub1hhf…qm3g @npub1f3m…w4gd
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2023-05-17 09:08:51

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@npub17ge…hgsu This one is pretty amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGQu90EPVAM
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/110/383/236/041/582/948/original/15aa66f707659648.png

2023-05-15 13:33:52

Now with a video! Add some #Pybricks, @npub1h0l…l8l3 and a bit of @npub1v4y…j7w0 #Linux (there's still a kernel driver for the RCX!) and you can sort all your #LEGO bricks. #retrocomputing.
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/110/372/954/083/464/711/original/68b74962b8749ad8.mp4

2023-05-12 20:26:22

Time for some #retrocomputing to celebrate 25 years of #LEGO #MINDSTORMS! Anyone remember the RCX from 1998?
Coded with #Pybricks #MicroPython!
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/110/357/583/245/099/865/original/aab886397f064c67.jpeg

2023-04-25 13:54:19

A brand new #[0] #[1] beta release is out now!
Highlights:
- Support for reading the robot heading with the gyro.
- New GyroDriveBase class! It's the DriveBase you love, but it uses the gyro for straights and turns.
- Under the hood improvements as we prepare for wireless communication between hubs!
Try it out at: https://beta.pybricks.com/
Feedback:
https://github.com/pybricks/support
Sponsor Pybricks:
https://github.com/sponsors/pybricks
#[2] #[3] #[4] #[5] #[6]
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