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Is the Toilet Free?

madebymany.com

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Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#81

Post by benaiah »

Mister_Snuggles wrote: post #76
benaiah wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can we stop with the nitpicking meta bullshit on every freaking article, please? I don't care about the things you dislike about a random webpage. It wasn't submitted because of a header. In order to read the article that we're actually discussing, you have to scroll down to where you can't see it anymore. It's a 10-second-at-most mild irritation. I would understand if it was an epilepsy warning o something, but it's…

This kind of "nitpicking meta bullshit" is valuable feedback to someone, like a startup, who might be marketing a product and hoping to not turn away customers. Sure, this particular thing isn't selling a product, but how many people would be turned away if it was?

Like you said: "this particular thing" isn't selling a product. "This particular thing" didn't ask for this feedback, doesn't need it, and may very well never see it. The fact that there are a few rare exceptions where this kind of discussion is helpful doesn't change the fact that, 90% of the time, it's a low-quality, useless waste of time.

Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#82

Post by overgard »

nlh wrote: post #26

These kind of projects are awesome. They may seem "pointless" or "a waste of time" to some PHB-types but they're a wonderful showcase of a great, true-hacker culture and I bet they do a ton for morale. I hope that any future startup I'm involved with has this sort of culture - it's a goal I'll aim for. Well done guys.

I do always find it funny when some companies say they value "innovation" but look at things like this and think its a "waste". I mean, you can't really be innovative without also encouraging a culture where you can experiment.

Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#83

Post by jsingleton »

Love it!

I made something very similar with a Spark Core (https://www.spark.io/), lots of wire, some paper clips, post-it notes and gaffer tape. I should really get round to writing that up. Same single purpose site design (albeit only on our Intranet) but it has mobile apps and desktop notifications. Time for a pull request.

I was inspired by http://www.frisnit.com/telemetry/. Seems like this is a pretty common problem. :)

Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#84

Post by RRRA »

robryk wrote: post #12

Random Hall (a dorm at MIT) has/had a `bathroom server' that did exactly that and also a `laundry server' that tells you whether the laundry machines are busy. The bathroom server used to be at http://bathroom.mit.edu (seemingly offline now) and the laundry server is at http://laundry.mit.edu

It was even more practical before the web server when you could just do:

finger @bathroom.mit.edu

(it was still active a few months ago, what's going on! :)

Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#85

Post by mafuyu »

janj wrote: post #20

I have no experience with hardware. Can someone give some suggestions on where to start if I wanted to do a simple side project like this to gain some experience? Thanks

As others have said, Hack-a-Day is great for inspiration, and MAKE is great for beginners (although falls short once you gain more experience). MAKE has a bunch of great intro books to Arduino, etc. in both paper and eBook form I'd recommend checking out.

I'd recommend buying an Arduino and some basic parts and a breadboard to toy around with. The Arduino.cc Playground (Wiki) has some great resources for interesting projects. You could also buy a MAKE book and an accompanying kit, although the kits tend to be a bit overpriced.

If you're interested in a bit more thorough understanding of electronics, I would recommend checking out the Students Guide to the Art of Electronics. You can find a pdf floating around online and buy the book to support the author (who is an amazing teacher)! It runs through all the basics of analog and digital electronics while keeping it interesting and the math to a bare minimum.

Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#86

Post by robryk »

colanderman wrote: post #59
coldpie wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> activating the door switch could be considered prohibited work Unless the operators meant it as a joke, this is absolutely ludicrous.

IANJ, but electronic switch = spark = fire = work, as I understand it. This is pretty common (along with removing light bulbs from refrigerators, which to me makes no sense unless you also disable the temperature sensor).

Does it also apply to solid state switches actuated by a capacitative touch sensor? I wonder why this or something of a similar nature isn't a solution to most of these issues.

Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#87

Post by mikeleeorg »

"For now we’ll keep collecting data to see what other worthless knowledge we can assimilate."

I see what you did there.

I love these kinds of projects though. "Pointless" is only in the eye of the beholder, and if I worked there, I would probably find this pretty useful.

Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#88

Post by jsingleton »

nlh wrote: post #26

These kind of projects are awesome. They may seem "pointless" or "a waste of time" to some PHB-types but they're a wonderful showcase of a great, true-hacker culture and I bet they do a ton for morale. I hope that any future startup I'm involved with has this sort of culture - it's a goal I'll aim for. Well done guys.

Nothing is pointless. :)

I wired one of these tasteless gnomes (http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/meerkat-solar-light) up to our build server with a Raspberry Pi (which also plays sound effects). It has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever claimed expenses for!

Seemed silly at the time but now everyone loves it. No one has to be the guy that tells you that you broke the build. The anger is all directed at the meerkat and you can't ignore it like you ignore emails.

Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#89

Post by [deleted] »

aortega wrote: post #72
zo1 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're basically saying that you're only a "hacker" if you do stuff with hardware. That is completely upside down, if not borderline elitist. Building stuff and "hacking" has no requirement for hardware. It hasn't been that way for a long while. Now excuse me while I gladly take our Raspberry Pis, Arduinos and "software" thingimaggigs off your precious lawn.

Chill dude, call yourself a hacker if you wish, has no strict definition anyway. I believe "fun" and "easy" projects have no merits, them being hardware/software/whatever (unless you are in high-school) It's nice to make one once in a while, but if you only do fun and easy projects then you are wasting your life. You should try to push yourself to make things that are not easy. Get outside your comfort zone. Doing st…

[deleted]

Re: Is the Toilet Free?

#90

Post by stkni »

Great! But you need a status update that's more mobile I think. Because the status is quite likely to change when you (and all your colleagues) see the green light and head for the door ...
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