My conversion from DC motors to continuous drive servos is going to be a little more involved than first assumed. The idea is to keep the speaker, upgrade the drive-train, and re-purpose some buttons for power and possible function modes. Oh, and perhaps the toughest item…enclosing the IOIO itself…without nuking the bluetooth function. Here goes nothing… It became quite clear that I need to gear up before proceeding. Shipped and on the way…hoping to get a chance this weekend to get my grind (and glue) on.

So. I sell some links on my site from time to time. The people who do the actual purchasing of said links tend to be sketchy…some are just penny pinching scumbags, while others are outright nefarious. I had the opportunity to interact with the former type recently, in an email conversation / offer that turned a little sour. For purpose of reference, the SEO genius sketchball from this post works here (as a web ninja) and here (as a shirtless starfighter.) See what I’m talking about? Without further ado…the email thread:

Yoav - Operad Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 1:25 PM To: Joseph Swanson Hello, how much do you charge for a positive review on a software? And how long does it take to go live?

——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Joseph swanson Sat, Jan28, 2012 at 12:15 PM To: Yoav - Operad Hello Yoav, I typically do three review levels $25 - Links only, worked into a post on a similar topic $50 - Links and screenshots, brief post (appx 100 words) $100 - Links, screenshots, user experince…lengthy review (appx 300 words) I would prefer 48 hours to complete a review, but could do it within a day from acceptance if time is a concern. If you are looking for a more comprehensive review, we can negotiate a price. All of my posts are topical, and will blend in with my typical content. I have had good luck driving traffic on my previous work. Look forward to an opportunity…cheers Joe ——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Yoav - Operad Sun, Jan 29, 2012 at 8:24 AM To: Joseph Swanson Hi I want two posts (with 100 words and links) Can you make it around 70$ total ?

——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Joseph swanson Tue, Jan31, 2012 at 5:37 AM To: Yoav - Operad $85 and we have a deal. Send me details and I’ll have them for you in two days from time of email. swantron.com is the url…I’ll add relevant pictures to the posts as well. ——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Yoav - Operad Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 11:17 AM To: Joseph Swanson Let’s make 3 for 100$ and call it a day?

——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Joseph swanson Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 11:06 PM To: Yoav - Operad I’ll do three posts in the 100 word range for $100. Positive reviews, blending in with the look and feel of my site. Payment via PayPal. Send details if that sounds reasonable ——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Yoav - Operad Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 9:22 AM To: Joseph Swanson 100 words is uselss for SEO, it’s too little.

——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Joseph swanson Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 6:31 PM To: Yoav - Operad Now you are catching on. Allow me to remind you of the rates I run: »> $25 - Links only, worked into a post on a similar topic »> »> $50 - Links and screenshots, brief post (appx 100 words) »> »> $100 - Links, screenshots, user experince…lengthy review (appx 300 words) I am not going to slide you three hundred dollars worth of my services for one hundred dollars, Yoav. Nice try. ——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Yoav - Operad Sun, Feb 5, 2012 at 5:55 AM To: Joseph Swanson I’m not trying to get you to “slide” me anything, But I’m sure that your’e aware that 50$ for a short paragraph is too much. If you can compromise on a lesser price or more words let me know and I’ll order 2-3 posts. Thanks.

——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Joseph swanson Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 8:38 AM To: Yoav - Operad Truth be told, I’m not sure I can rattle out one hundred words about any of your “products.” Your website is full of empty drivel, and the SEO game is a dead horse. Best of luck and happy kicking… ——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Yoav - Operad Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 12:11 AM To: Joseph Swanson Now you got my curious. I still haven’t given you any of my websites or products, How did you gather the information to write me this rude message?

——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Joseph swanson Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 9:08 AM To: Yoav - Operad …my starting point was the gif attached as your email signature. It doesn’t take a web ninja to do the rest. I was working under the assumption that you were looking for a review for something that either operand or sorezki is peddling. If there is another degree of separation, I am even less interested in writing a review. The thought of a software producer actually purchasing services of this nature makes me want to puke. ——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Yoav - Operad Sat, Feb 11, 2012 at 11:42 PM To: Joseph swanson Well if you knew half a thing about SEO you would know that SEO agencies don’t pay for articles about THEMSELVES but about their clients that has to do with dozens of relevant subjects to the websites. This conversation will now end because I’m having a hard time keeping myself from laughing at people such as yourself, Have a great week amigo! Bye.

——————————————————– ——————————————————– > From: Joseph swanson [mailto:joe@swantron.com] Joseph swanson Sun, Feb 12, 2012 at 12:55 PM To: Yoav - Operad Yoav, Thank you for the lesson ins SEO. As payment for said lesson, I have prepared for you an image to be used as your email signature. I feel it is more befitting of a Web Ninja than what you currently use. Kind regards, Joe web_ninja.jpg 11K

——————————————————– ——————————————————– > Yoav - Operad Sun, Feb 12, 2012 at 2:07 PM To: Joseph swanson thanks brother! Sincerely, Yoav, Operad OffPage SEO

——————————————————– ——————————————————– I guess we all learned a lesson today. I’m just not sure what that is. I thought I was going to get some money, but instead got a way better post. Yoav thought he was going to get some work done, but instead got a sweet new email signature. I was getting sort of fed up with this guy, but once I found his bio thing…

…it turned into a whole different thing. Maybe I should start selling signatures instead of links…that looks pretty killer.

Here is a little fun-fact. As of a few months ago, there were more cellphones than people in the United States. Millions more, in fact. The trend is the same for all Western countries, but let’s take a look at the US numbers specifically…roughly 311,000,000 people and 328,000,000 cell phones (per wikipedia…take that for what it is.) Guess what they all have in common? The ability to tell time. Sorry watchmakers…you are fighting a battle of epic proportions. Fortunately for the watch guys, they have style on their side…like this good-looking piece: Seiko watches provide a great example, or counterpoint per se, of why watches are still as relevant as ever. A watch of this quality both works great and looks awesome. Win / Win. Another great thing for the watchmakers’ collective arsenal is the fact that the consumer now has purchasing power on their sides. Online watch shops like BlueDial beat the brick and mortar shops on price… embarrassingly so for the most part. Case in point: Free shipping to boot…free two day shipping in fact. Unless you decide to go with a very fancy cell phone holster…thinking something colored with some bedazzled beads…you are likely to get better style points by going with the watch route. You’ll thank me later.

A while back, I put together a project that added remote control via an Android. I broke out the leads to the DC motors that were existent, and left the structure largely intact…resulting in a monster of a build. I would like to clean the build up a bit, but to do so will need to go with a different approach. I am looking into gutting the existing components entirely, and implementing continuous drive servos as my powertrain. This will likely get messy. Servo motors will add big gains in the power consumption realm, and provide added control. I am not looking for speed, so I think this option might work out well. Stay tuned…

New hobby: applied chemistry Alright Mr. Beer…it is you and I. Game on.

PDF files have all sorts of great implementations. When security is a concern, it is pretty much a standard in the software industry to go with PDF…as much as I love a plain text file, sometimes they just don’t cut it. External facing documentations? Think PDF. The downside of the standard comes in the conversion factor. Doing business on different levels undoubtedly will end up with different departments using different file types. Standardizing via pdf will end up involving pulling a full gambit of extensions into the desired form. It can get messy. I recently stumbled across a solution that I am glad to see exists…namely, a pdf to word converter. No joke…it took me by surprise to see that it is easily handled. Quick-PDF (as the name implies) provides a solution that can do PDF to Word Converter easily. I have struggled in the past to find a way to drop PDFs into .doc files, .rtf files, etc. on Windows machines. Not anymore. They have even worked in a command line mode…which, needless to say, really pleases a *nix guy like me. High quality to boot. I’m a big fan. I’m glad to report that I will no longer be maintaining my docs in multiple formats. +1 efficient.

1) Reduced overhead expenses 2) Environmentally friendly 3) Ample pretzel storage

Now with more baby…

Mr. Beer. That name again is Mr. Beer I bit on the Mr. Beer home-brewing kit last woot-off. Much to my dismay, the kit arrived in a giant brown cardboard box, with a sizable puncture would in the side. Opening it verified the damage: The brewing container was smashed inward, and the plastic was too thick to pop back into shape. I tried contacting FedEx, as the damage was definitely done in shipping. As it turns out, after creating an account with FedEx | submitting a claim ticket | waiting | waiting, FedEx has you contact the sender when the item is shipped via “Smartpost.” Whatever that entails. Not very helpful…just a reply email sending me back at woot. I was sort of pissy, and ended up forwarding the email from Fedex to the primary woot returns email. Details are as follow:

I’m very sorry about that. We’ll get a replacement sent to you and have our crack team of commandos that make the Expendables look like babies go after them. No need to return the damaged one to us. Riley ——————- Original Message ——————- From: SWANIACHI Sent: 02/01/2012 To: RMA; RMA Woot; RMA@woot.com Subject: damaged shipment from woot (MRS), case # W-1030992-R925 Passing the buck… ———- Forwarded message ———- From: SPCustomerSupport Date: Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 7:45 AM Subject: Re: damaged shipment from woot (MRS) To: Joseph Swanson Good Morning, Thank you for your recent inquiry. We have received your request, however when packages are lost or damaged, only the party directly paying the shipping charges to FedEx SmartPost may file a claim. Please contact the Shipper with your information so they may file a claim. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you, FedEx SmartPost Customer Support —– Original Message —– From: Joseph Swanson Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 9:02 pm Subject: damaged shipment from woot To: SPCustomerSupport@fedex.com > In regards to Smartpost tracking #02927009713120839115… > > I received a package from woot.com today (1/31) that was damaged by > something en route to my front stairs, likely a forklift tine. > > I recognize that mistakes are made, accidents happen, etc., but it so > happens that the damaged item is a Mr. Beer home-brew kit. The (assumed > forklift) did quite a number on the brewing vessel in particular, and > the > plastic used is not well-suited for popping back into shape. The reduced > volume caused by the damage render the vat unable to accommodate a full > batch of beer, which is the end goal. It turns out that our baby daughter > is angrier that first assumed…half batches may not cut it. > > Kind regards, > > J. Swanson > Awesome support, Woot. FedEx should take note. FedEx should also teach their forklift drivers how to drive forklifts, but that is another topic entirely. You will continue to receive my business…well done. I owe you a (Mr.) beer.

Consider the following set: S = [ outsourcing, crowdsourcing, trialsourcing ] You probably have heard of the first two elements of set S. Each of the first has merit, and each has its drawbacks. Whereas one gives you a desired quality at the cost of time, the other gives you a desired timeline, at the cost of quality control. The third item, trialsourcing, bridges the gap. I stumbled across a company called vWorker that has come up with a truly novel idea. Their solution is On the job trial: crowdsourcing, trialsourcing. The principle idea at the heart of the approach a project by letting potential employees provide actual code, for both small (crowdsourcing) efforts and larger (trialsourceing) implementations. It effectively takes the guessing game out of the equations, allowing the person issuing the contract to have confidence in the quality of the contractor’s work. Hit one of the links to take a look. It is very novel.