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I have purchased many ebooks and created others manually in the .mobi format. This is very easy to load onto my Kindle device to read. Unfortunately, the current Kindle app on the Touchpad does not allow loading ebooks other than downloading from Amazon. This is unfortunate and makes the Touchpad a poor replacement for my Kindle.

I did not know if the Kindle App on the Touchpad could even handle .mobi format files, if I could get them there. Amazon purchased MobiPocket and their original ebook format was only slightly modified .mobi file. I assumed that the reader plugin would understand the .mobi format and I was right.
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I have just spent the last 30 minutes trying to get our complex 64 character WPA key into my HP Touchpad so I can start the setup procedure. The password field for the WiFi key is frustrating. The last character is only shown for a second or two, then it too fades into the dots of obscurity. This is fine in normal use with passwords you are used to typing, but a WiFi key is complex and entered only once per new device. When you add to this a finiky WiFi network acceptance, you have time after time frustration. The key is entered and network selected (even with a check mark!), but for some reason the Touchpad won't accept anything but Cancel. Guess who gets to type the key in again?

I finally figured out how to view a key as I enter it and validate the key, so I can be sure the passcode part of the network acceptance is valid. Here is how I did it.
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This used to be offered as a free book for the Kindle and was one of many I added to my account after receiving my Kindle. (If its free, its for me, right?)

When reading the author's name, Don Brown, I was mistaking it for a more famous Dan Brown (Da Vinci Code). As I read the military themes unfold, my mind then played further tricks on me as I made a connection with Dale Brown's military styled novels as the author. None of this is important in discussing the merits and faults of this novel, which shares more with John Grisham than either of the other two authors mentioned.
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At first blush, it looked like the box.net offering of free (for life) 50 Gb storage for Touchpad users was going to be annoying on the PC side. There didn't seem to be any easy way to populate that content from the PC. I have quite a collection of reference works (programming, electronics and magazines) that are perfect for the Touchpad screen. Box.net only allows you to upload multiple files in one folder via the web interface. There is no way to drag a folder with sub folders. So you manually create each one. Are there any better options?
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July 1st is the day that many WebOS users have been waiting for.  The day that HP releases their first WebOS tablet, the Touchpad.  I preordered through Amazon and was delivered my own spanking new HP Touchpad tablet this evening.
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I received my boards from the DorkbotPDX group order. While the purple solder mask is umm, "interesting". The board quality is beautiful. This was the first SMD soldering I've ever done. I started with tinning the pads with my normal iron and normal solder. I wanted to try that and see how it compares with solder paste I'll use later. Then I put some tack flux on top of the solder with a syringe. Before I used the flux, I was able to blow the tiny LED I'm using off the board with my hot air iron. The LED stays on the board and remains when the flux melts, due to surface tension.
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I got a kick out of the Le Dominoux project for the 555 contest. I thought about making a few to mess around with. This would be a good project to practice some manual SMD soldering skills. I haven't worked with SMD at all. (Yes, I know that the Le Dominoux was through hole constructed, but I planned on mine being SMD.)
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The AVR ISP II is a device to program an AVR microcontroller using a 6 pin header in a circuit. It does not contain any capability to power the circuit being programmed. This could be very handy.

Dave Jones at the EEVBlog has a video about adding power to the ISP cable, using an LM317 to provide both 5V and 3.3V. The issue with this, as he stated, was that the 5V source was very close to the required dropout voltage of the regulator to get the 3.3V. In addition, resistors are needed to set the voltage. This is my version of hacking on the AVR ISP II.
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My father fought cancer for decades. He was the strongest man I have ever known. It was hard to see him wither with a body not able to do what his will desired. His suffering finally ended during the early morning of April 20th. Despite knowing that the cancer was terminal and preparing for it. Death is never easy. It tears a hole through you.

The storm was heavy. No matter what I did, I couldn't keep the ship from going down. Long weekends driving down to be with Dad and doing anything I could to make him more comfortable, but the storm just grew. The ship was groaning, in so much pain. Then, faster than I could imagine, the ship is in splinters and I'm awash in the sea.
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I often read about GTD methodology. Getting Things Done. This was developed by David Allen and I believe still trademarked by him. The idea is ridiculously simple: record all your tasks. You are stressed when your mind keeps going through all the things that must be done. There is no way to keep everything in mind, all at once. You will forget some and then remember. When the memory comes back you will then stress about forgetting again. It can be a vicious circle that just adds to stress, but doesn't actually get anything done.

I've been asked by many people how I track tasks and I thought I would write it up on my site so I could just give them a link.
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