From 2a5e6788ae683e0c6d1385d71c5fa9adcb9aa4c2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Kayce Basques Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2024 19:03:47 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] add pcrowdoodle post --- blog/index.rst | 1 + blog/pcrowdoodle.rst | 126 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 127 insertions(+) create mode 100644 blog/pcrowdoodle.rst diff --git a/blog/index.rst b/blog/index.rst index 87b3d76..1d5cd42 100644 --- a/blog/index.rst +++ b/blog/index.rst @@ -16,3 +16,4 @@ Blog systemantics STTTGTS archetypes + pcrowdoodle diff --git a/blog/pcrowdoodle.rst b/blog/pcrowdoodle.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bf8a06f --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/pcrowdoodle.rst @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@ +.. _pcrowdoodle: + +=========================================================== +Not the laptop I need but the one I deserve (and also need) +=========================================================== + +*2024 Apr 26* + +.. _god of electronics: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dendengu + +Next week Gabi and I head off to Japan for a 3-week vacation. The +`god of electronics`_ has blessed me with the motivation to tinker +during my flights. I'm in a bit of a pickle, though... what laptop +should I bring? + +* I don't want to bring my work laptop. It's too big and I want to practice + some "healthy detachment" from work. And by "healthy detachment" I mean + "I need to put this computer into a barrel of sand because I somehow + programmed "Hello, world!" in Haskell so incorrectly that the battery + is about to explode." +* I don't have a lightweight personal laptop that's enjoyable to goof around + on. + +The solution for me, naturally, was to spend too much money on a highly +questionable Raspberry Pi "laptop". + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi4.jpg + +.. _CrowPi-L: https://web.archive.org/web/20240426205124/https://www.elecrow.com/crowpi-l-real-raspberry-pi-laptop-for-learning-programming-and-hardware.html + +.. _pCrowDoodle my beloved: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/gif/pcrowdoodle.gif + +-------- +"laptop" +-------- +The official name of this product is `CrowPi-L`_ but mine only answers to the +moniker of `pCrowDoodle my beloved`_. + +.. _Armadillo\: Opossum Heavy Armor: https://web.archive.org/web/20240426210415/https://timandraka.bigcartel.com/product/heavy-armor + +pCrowDoodle is best thought of as the computational equivalent of +`Armadillo: Opossum Heavy Armor`_: + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/armadillo.jpg + +You just lift the magnetically attached (??) back cover... + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi7.jpg + +...and cram your RPi into the corner... + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi10.jpg + +...and your basically ready to fire pCrowDoodle up and realize that the boot +firmware is surely impossible to update and probably backdoor'd: + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi5.jpg + +--------------------- +Form factor: wedgebot +--------------------- +Cramming the RPi into the back results in a slope steep enough to downhill +race on: + +.. raw:: html + + + +.. _Wheely Big Cheese: https://robotwars.fandom.com/wiki/Wheely_Big_Cheese + +`Wheely Big Cheese`_ is dead, long live Wheely Big Cheese! + +----------------------------------- +Dual boot: quite pleasant, actually +----------------------------------- +pCrowDoodle came with a little SD expansion thingy that lets you switch +between an "A" SD card and a "B" SD card quickly: + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi8.jpg + +I'm tempted to flip it while my RPi is running just to learn how much or little +damage that does... + +RPi OS booted up pretty much without a hitch: + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi6.jpg + +And I even got OpenBSD working on the other SD! + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi9.jpg + +Pretty excited about that. I'm going to leave it as a purely console-based +experience. + +----------------------------------------- +Unusable trackpad: a blessing in disguise +----------------------------------------- +The trackpad is comically small and has already started to freeze up on me: + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi3.jpg + +But I knew this going into the purchase and didn't care. I've been meaning +to get really good at keyboard-based navigation so I'm kinda excited to +have something that takes away my crutch. + +`Lobsters `_ on ``lynx`` somehow looks better than the +actual website?? + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi11.jpg + +------------------ +40-pin GPIO header +------------------ +You need a connector (which was annoyingly not included with my purchase) +but it's still possible to access all the pins: + +.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kaycebasques/media/main/jpg/crowpi2.jpg + +-------------------- +The laptop I deserve +-------------------- +As an irrational simpleton I am oddly excited for my future struggles +that arise from this decision. I will report back after the trip.