Jekyll2023-11-03T11:47:02+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/feed.xmlMax GlenisterThis is my Jekyll-powered blog.Max GlenisterThe end of Dingoonity2023-02-20T00:00:00+00:002023-02-20T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/saying-goodbye-to-dingoonityMax GlenisterIf you were familiar with Dingoonity, you might have noticed by now that I’ve made the decision to shut down the website.The Movies I Watched in 20222023-01-31T00:00:00+00:002023-01-31T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/the-movies-i-watched-in-2022Max GlenisterThrough 2022 I kept track of most the movies I watched. In this post I’ll talk about how I took that data and, combined with the OMDb API, used the data with Jekyll.Using a Raspberry Pi to Host a local Visual Studio Code Server2022-05-26T00:00:00+00:002022-05-26T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/raspberry-pi-local-dev-vscode-remoteMax GlenisterI tend to work on this blog from multiple machines in my home. These include a desktop PC running Windows, a MacBook Pro running macOS, and a Chromebook with the Linux environment enabled. Across all of these machines I primarily use Visual Studio Code.A Bit of a Bodge To Make MASSIVE Emoji2022-05-05T00:00:00+00:002022-05-05T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/a-bit-of-a-bodge-to-make-massive-emojiMax GlenisterI’ve been fiddling with an instance of Known over on social.omgmog.net. As part of my fiddling I’ve been trying out some of the plugins for Known. I came across the “Render Emoji Unicode” plugin but it was using an old library, and referencing an old version of Twemoji, so I updated it to use the latest Twemoji library.Installing Chrome OS on a Late 2009 MacBook2022-04-22T00:00:00+00:002022-04-22T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/installing-chrome-os-on-a-late-2009-macbookMax GlenisterI’ve got an old 2009 MacBook 6,1 (A1342) kicking about in my office that I’ve been playing with on and off lately.Adding support for Webmentions2022-04-08T00:00:00+00:002022-04-08T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/adding-support-for-webmentionsMax GlenisterI’ve added Webmention support to the posts on this blog. Webmentions are a method for websites to know that they’ve been linked to (or mentioned) from elsewhere on the web.DevTerm Stuff2022-03-28T00:00:00+00:002022-03-28T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/devterm-stuffMax GlenisterI helped crowdfund the DevTerm from ClockworkPi back in November 2020 and it arrived in January 2022. It’s a nice device, but it’s not perfect. Here’s some of the mods I’ve made to improve my DevTerm.The Inevitable Oculus Quest Post2022-03-08T00:00:00+00:002022-03-08T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/the-inevitable-oculus-quest-postMax GlenisterI sold my HTC Vive back in 2020 and bought an Oculus Quest. Was it an impulsive lockdown treat? Perhaps; but it was time for an upgrade. I went for the 128GB model, and had to order from the German Amazon store as nowhere in the UK had stock at the time. I was impressed with Amazon Prime in this case, and then in awe of their logistics network. I ordered at around midday, and then received the Oculus Quest 24 hours later from Germany at no extra cost.Adding an internal speaker to the Pocket CHIP2021-11-10T00:00:00+00:002021-11-10T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/pocketchip-internal-speakerMax GlenisterThe Pocket CHIP doesn’t come with internal speakers. It has the GPIO pins for audio, but nothing is hooked up. On the CHIP itself there is a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting headphones, and you can pair a Bluetooth speaker. On the old NTC blog there was a post back in 2016 about adding an internal speaker using a fairly inexpensive PAM8403 amplifier and a speaker. You can find a mirror of the old post from the NTC blog on archive.orgAdding Global Volume Control to the Pocket CHIP2021-09-29T00:00:00+00:002021-09-29T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/pocket-chip-global-volume-controlMax GlenisterI’ve been gradually adding internal speakers to each of my Pocket CHIPs lately and found it cumbersome to have to either open alsamixer or use the volume control page in the Pocket CHIP launcher to control volume.GameShell Stuff2021-07-27T00:00:00+00:002021-07-27T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/gameshell-stuffMax GlenisterI bought a ClockworkPi GameShell back in October 2019. I’ve been playing with it a bit lately (in anticipation of the ClockworkPi DevTerm shipping!) and I realised I haven’t yet posted anything about it on here. Here’s some of the hardware mods I’ve made to my GameShell.The Raspberry Pi Pico and the Pimoroni Pico RGB Keypad2021-02-19T00:00:00+00:002021-02-19T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/the-raspberry-pi-pico-and-pimoroni-rgp-keypadMax GlenisterIn January the Raspberry Pi Pico was announced. The Pico is a RP2040 microcontroller featuring a dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ processor with 264KB internal RAM and support for up to 16MB of off-chip Flash. It’s comparable to certain Arduino or ESP32 boards and at less than £4 per board it’s a well-priced alternative.CHIP Stuff2021-02-03T00:00:00+00:002021-02-03T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/chip-stuffMax GlenisterThis page is a changing document. I’ll probably add more notes to it in the future. These are just some notes that I’ve put together in the past about flashing and upgrading the CHIP (and Pocket CHIP) computer.Using ORCA with FluidSynth on the Pocket CHIP2021-01-26T00:00:00+00:002021-01-26T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/using-orca-with-fluidsynth-on-pocket-chipMax GlenisterThis post is about using the ORCA livecoding playground on the Pocket CHIP From the ORCA wiki: Orca is a two-dimensional esoteric programming language in which every letter of the alphabet is an operator, where lowercase letters operate on bang, uppercase letters operate each frame. This livecoding language is designed to procedurally generate MIDI, UDP or OSC messages.Pico-8 on the Raspberry Pi with Game HAT2019-02-10T00:00:00+00:002019-02-10T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/pico8-on-the-raspberrypi-with-gamehatMax GlenisterI’ve been playing with Pico-8 a lot lately. I’ve got a small Pico-8 project site to launch soon, but in the mean time I’m more occupied with getting Pico-8 running on things.The Deepoon DPVR E3 Virtual Reality Headset2017-08-22T00:00:00+00:002017-08-22T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/deepoon-dpvr-e3-virtual-reality-headsetMax GlenisterToday I’m reviewing the DPVR E3. This is a Virtual Reality headset with a high resolution display, comfortable straps and an experience that’s similar to the Oculus Rift.The Virtoba S1 Daydream VR Bluetooth Controller2017-08-16T00:00:00+00:002017-08-16T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/mini-review-virtoba-s1-daydream-vr-controllerMax GlenisterThe Virtoba S1 is a Daydream compatible controller from China that costs around £15 ($20). Let me just start with saying I’ve got a lot of cheap Bluetooth controllers – and for the most part they’re crap. I hit the “Buy now” button for the Virtoba S1 half expecting this to be the case, but I was quite happily wrong.My workflow for discovering new VR content2017-08-02T00:00:00+00:002017-08-02T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/workflow-for-discovering-new-vr-contentMax GlenisterSince launching the UX of VR website last year I’ve been looking for ways to keep on top of new VR content. For most of the last year I relied solely on a mixture of Google Alerts, manually using the search functionality on websites and browsing VR blogs daily. Here’s how I improved on that process.The GPD Pocket Ultra-mobile PC UMPC Laptop2017-04-24T00:00:00+00:002017-04-24T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/a-laptop-that-fits-in-your-pocket-the-gpd-pocketMax GlenisterThe GPD Pocket is a 7” Ultra-mobile PC that at first glance resembles a shrunken Apple Laptop, but it’s metal unibody exterior is where the similarities end.The inevitable HTC Vive post2017-04-02T00:00:00+00:002017-04-02T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/the-inevitable-htc-vive-postMax GlenisterI bought an HTC Vive last November (a week before the Black Friday sales, doh!) and have spent the time since trying to get the most out of it. So here are some highlights, thoughts and other musings about the HTC Vive.Well that has been a crazy couple of months… Onward!2017-03-03T00:00:00+00:002017-03-03T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/well-that-has-been-a-crazy-couple-of-monthsMax GlenisterIn October 2016 I spent every day of the month creating something for Google Cardboard using JavaScript — Cardboctober. Since then I’ve been preoccupied with a couple of other mostly VR-related things…Summer of Hacks: Game Dev Day2016-07-24T00:00:00+00:002016-07-24T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/summer-of-hacks-game-dev-dayMax GlenisterAs part of the JS Oxford-organised Summer of Hacks, I co-organised the “Game Dev Day” hack day in Oxford. This is the second time I’ve held an event during the Summer of Hacks (the previous event being SusHack #3 last year!).20 Minutes into the Future with Google Cardboard and JavaScript2015-11-18T00:00:00+00:002015-11-18T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/talk-jsoxford-20-minutes-into-the-futureMax GlenisterI gave this talk at JS Oxford in November 2015. The talk is about using JavaScript and various web APIs to create Google Cardboard experiences.UX in Virtual Reality2015-10-30T00:00:00+00:002015-10-30T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/ux-in-virtual-realityMax GlenisterI’ve been trying to find resources on the subject of User Experience and User Interface design in Virtual Reality a lot lately, as I’m thinking about Google Cardboard, and preparing demos for a talk about using JavaScript to build Google Cardboard experiences.Creating an icon font2015-07-30T00:00:00+00:002015-07-30T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/creating-an-icon-fontMax GlenisterI’ve recently been doing a lot of working designing an icon font that works well at small sizes for my day job. Here’s an overview of the process I’m using to go from a doodle on paper, to a functional icon font that can be used in most web browsers.Launching Sketch Toolbox from inside Sketch2015-07-30T00:00:00+00:002015-07-30T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/launching-sketch-toolbox-from-inside-sketchMax GlenisterI’ve been making use of Sketch a lot lately. One of the coolest features of Sketch is it’s plugin support. I’m using a tool called Sketch Toolbox to manage plugins in Sketch – this functions a lot like Package Control for Sublime Text, but it’s a stand-alone application.My face and words in print2015-06-11T00:00:00+00:002015-06-11T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/my-face-and-words-in-printMax GlenisterRecently I was contacted to provide a short quote about why CSS preprocessors are awesome. This wasn’t a hard task as I spend a lot of time evangelising the use of preprocessors, specifically Sass.The Revo K101 Plus Portable Games Console2015-06-03T00:00:00+00:002015-06-03T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/review-the-revo-k101-plusMax GlenisterToday I’m refreshed to be reviewing a console that doesn’t try to cram too much in to the form factor, but instead tried to focus on doing one thing well.So you want to organise a hack day?2014-11-28T00:00:00+00:002014-11-28T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/so-you-want-to-organise-a-hack-dayMax GlenisterThese are based on my experience of organising SusHack in 2013 and 2014. For more information about SusHack, check out https://sushack.github.ioSusHack #22014-07-03T00:00:00+00:002014-07-03T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/sushack-2Max GlenisterThis past weekend was the second SusHack. Following on from the success of the first SusHack there was some demand for a second one, so a little later than planned (I had promised an April SusHack!), on the 28th of June SusHack #2 happened.Compressing PDF files from your Mac or Linux terminal with Ghostscript2014-03-28T00:00:00+00:002014-03-28T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/compressing-pdf-from-your-mac-or-linux-terminal-with-ghostscriptMax GlenisterI arrived at this solution recently when looking to compress a massive print-quality PDF for the web. If you search for “compressing pdf files on mac” you’ll get lots of bad results. There are lots of paid applications out there that claim to be able to do this, but they’re (obviously) not free.Getting started with using Sass in your existing website2014-01-19T00:00:00+00:002014-01-19T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/getting-started-with-using-sass-in-your-existing-websiteMax GlenisterSass is a CSS-compatible preprocessor for CSS. It allows you to reduce the amount of duplication and complexity in your CSS by using variables, mixins (functions), nesting, and other cool things that should have existed in the CSS spec from the beginning.On the subject of “Pixel-perfect PSD to HTML/CSS”2014-01-16T00:00:00+00:002014-01-16T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/on-the-subject-of-pixel-perfect-psd-to-html-cssMax GlenisterI read an article on the subject of implementing a PSD design of a website perfectly in HTML/CSS, and without wanting to spend my time writing a lengthy response in the comment form of a blog for it to disappear in to the depths of a blog that I don’t visit very regularly, I figured I’d write my thoughts up as a blog post.SusHack #1: Building the foundations of the Oxford Flood Network Stack2013-11-05T00:00:00+00:002013-11-05T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/sushack-1-building-the-foundations-of-the-oxford-flood-network-stackMax GlenisterThis past weekend I held my first hack day. This is a recollection of why/how SusHack came to be, and how the day went.Converting SVG to PNG online and in your terminal2013-08-14T00:00:00+00:002013-08-14T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/converting-svg-to-png-online-and-in-your-terminalMax GlenisterThis post is mostly for my own benefit on the rare occasion that I have to convert SVG files to PNG. I always spend a large amount of time looking for an online SVG to PNG converter or a terminal one-liner to do this.On scrolling2012-04-12T00:00:00+00:002012-04-12T00:00:00+00:00https://blog.omgmog.net/post/on-scrollingMax GlenisterScrolling on the web is something that we take for granted when thinking about how users will interact with our website. There are two schools of thought on the subject: one that’s ingrained in how we interact with what we’re seeing on our screen, and the other ingrained in how we interact with the real world.