Another week of socially-distanced, furloughed fun: here are some of the highlights…
“Playing” with tech: Azure Sphere
I took a break from exam study this week, partly because I had some internal meetings that made a big hole in the calendar and diverted my attention. Instead, I finally got my Azure Sphere Starter Kit IoT device working, with both Microsoft samples and with some more practical advice from Brian Willess at Element 14.
I’m blogging my progress (slightly behind the actual learning) but over the course of a few days, supported by Brian’s blog posts, I managed to get the sensor readings from my device working locally, with Azure IoT Hub and Time Series Insights, and then finally in Azure IoT Central.
It’s amazing how much fun turning some LEDs on/off from #Azure IoT Central can be #AzureSphere! pic.twitter.com/3YCETiOTZm
— Mark Wilson ???? (@markwilsonit) April 23, 2020
The next stop is to try and write some code of my own rather than using other people’s – it’s been a while since I wrote any C/C++!
Blogging
I also wrote some blog posts:
- One about my experiences getting up and running with Azure Sphere (part 2 will follow soon).
- The other after hearing a few too many people being just a little too evangelical about using Agile methods – there is no one-size-fits-all solution!
Other geek stuff
I finished watching “Devs“. No spoilers here, but the ending did leave me a little flat…
I didn’t spot any SpaceX Starlink satellites, despite a few attempts and some very clear evenings. This website seemed particularly helpful, although the developer (@modeless) had to remove the Google Street View content when the site got popular.
Being “too British”
Thursday meant my usual trip to the local market, followed by the supermarket, buying provisions for my family and others. Because product availability is a bit “hit and miss”, in the supermarket (and because I prioritise supporting local businesses over the big retailers, where I can), I bought some peppers (capsicums) from the market greengrocer. There was no price displayed but, as he bagged them, he said they were expensive… and he was not wrong: £3/lb, I think! But I was too embarrassed to say “no thanks at that price” so bought them anyway. Lesson learned…
Today’s life lesson: if the market trader doesn’t put a price next to the product, it‘s because it is overpriced! Telling me they are expensive at the moment as you bag them is a bit late #TooEmbarrassedToSayNoThanks #LostCustomer pic.twitter.com/2hDy0MXe3f
— Mark Wilson ???? (@markwilsonit) April 23, 2020
To add insult to injury, when I got to Sainsbury’s they had plenty, at a much more reasonable price…
“On holiday”, in the garden
The week wrapped up with sunshine, low wind and reasonably high temperatures (19°C is not bad for April in England!). After a decent bike ride with my son (permissible under the current social distancing advice), I made the time to just relax a bit…
“On holiday”, in the garden… pic.twitter.com/OlcsLmlZFd
— Mark Wilson ???? (@markwilsonit) April 26, 2020
What a great way to end the week!