Japan shared video of P-1 supposedly lit up by South Korean warship's fire control radar

Regarding the incident of an ROK naval vessel directing its fire-control radar at an MSDF patrol aircraft

Something new... I believe this is Japan's first use of social media to try and influence international opinion to be on its side.

BTW, 971 might not have replied on 121.5 MHz because she might not have been guarding on that frequency as she was not operating aircraft. And while the P-1 was well clear of 971... flying so near a warship is still poor manners. Observing minimum safety distances doesn't necessarily mean it is diplomatically sound.

And when the next Chinese aircraft flies this close to a JMSDF ship next time... very hard for Japan to complain with this video plain out in the open for everyone to see.

Fast PCB prototyping

I am currently working on a 3D printer control board based on the ESP32.

Github: MRR_ESP_3DP

So I sent v0.6 of the board to JLCPCB, a PCB manufacturer in China, to take advantage of their special offer: USD2.00 for 10 pieces of PCB, as long as the PCB measures 100mm by 100mm or less. Really cheap, considering that most other Chinese manufacturers would charge at least USD5.00 for something similar.

I placed the order on 19 December, and received the product on 26 December! Wow! One week! And I choose the cheapest delivery option (S.F. Express).

The board was  designed using EasyEDA, which allows you to choose parts from LCSC (a Chinese components seller). And LCSC allows you to combine shipping with JLCPCB, which means that when I order those components from LCSC, they were also delivered together with the PCBs.

Now, the only thing left is to wait... because while most of the components are here, I am still waiting for my MOSFETs, bought on Aliexpress, to arrive. And those are taking the slow route here.

Anyway, for those who are interested, you can leave me your comments about the board here or in the comments section for this post.

65% in Japan against new immigration bill?

65% against Diet passage of foreign workers’ bill: Kyodo News poll

Japan has a shrinking population. It has an aging population. It is a no-brainer that it needs more young people to work and support the old and give them care. So trying to give reasons, whatever they may be, to stave off immigration is really detrimental to Japan's future.

The existing visa for foreign trainees does not really facilitate technology transfer to foreign countries. It is just being exploited as a workaround for companies to hire cheap foreign labour. Having a more comprehensive immigration bill is actually in the interest of these foreign workers, not against them. It is not morally right to bring in cheap labour, then turn them away after 5 years. If they have contributed to Japanese society, and can continue to contribute, there is no reason to send them home. The Japanese people may want Japan to stay Japanese, but maybe it is time to rethink what "Japanese" means. Is it about blood, ethnicity, and race? Is it about geographical boundaries? Or is it about an ideal held by a group of people?

Countries and people worry about immigration usually because they have a lack of identity. If they have a strong and well-defined identity, then immigration does not erode it; instead, it brings in diverse strengths to make it stronger.

Development of basic 3D printer control board based on the ESP32 microcontroller

This is a very basic 3D printer control board based on the ESP32.
MRR ESP 3DP

The main design considerations:
- Use only the ESP32, without any GPIO expansions.
- Fit within 100mm by 100mm of PCB space, so that cheap PCB fabrication services can be used for prototyping.
- Allow the use of TMC2130 and TMC2208 stepper motor drivers.
- Allow a heat bed current of up to 20A (theoretically, since I don't think it is really safe to be pushing so much current through a board).
- Allow 24V electronics (which means capacitors and mosfets must be rated for at least 24V).
- Have an AUX1 connector for MKS TFT32 or similar host, since the ESP32 does not have enough pins to support the Reprap LCD controllers (LCD2004 or LCD12864).

Well, if there are any comments, opinions, etc., please feel free to leave a comment here, or in the issues page for this.

Note: Pre-launch version now available here. Some information on this has been updated here.

赏歌习字感慨万分

为何总在脑海里，
无法忘去，
无法放弃？
人生几何，
独自忧愁又有何意思？
明知走出去，
大好世界在等待，
却为何无法迈出那一步？
人生如梦，
全是一场空。
只怕梦醒后，
仍然一切空。

The on-going Nissan-Ghosn struggle

Ghosn’s legal woes highlight governance failings in Japan

"How do you do this without other people being complicit?"

Good question. The thing is, as with all corporate reports issued by major corporations, the report itself is a collective work, taking months to put together, and being approved by the Board of Directors before it is released. You would think that those on the Board would have noticed if there was anything unusual. Given the high salary they were paying Ghosn, you would think they would have noticed if that was under reported. And it is not just one report; it has been on-going for a while. Unless the entire board is a rubber stamp that approves anything put before it, it just doesn't make sense that no one pointed this out before, until now, when Ghosn is starting to work on a merger between Renault and Nissan.

"Japanese prosecutors say Ghosn and another Nissan executive, Greg Kelly, an American suspected of collaborating with him, were arrested because they are considered flight risks."

Bravo. And how is a foreigner as famous as Ghosn going to ever leave Japan without anyone noticing? Also, Kelly isn't really your Japanese ojisan who can easily mix into the crowd and leave the country. This just sounds more like Tokyo investigators trying to gain some media attention by arresting a prominent person. Well, this could backfire since it will draw unnecessary comparison to similar cases in the past, where most (Japanese) bosses were not thrown into detention. And those people can easily disappear; they are your Japanese ojisan.

Nissan reporting this major malpractice only now undermines Nissan as a company. If they can't even sort out their own house, how can we be sure they are doing the necessary to ensure that the cars they produce meet the safety standards required by law? Financial governance and safety governance are the same thing; it is a reflection of the management's commitment to adhering to the laws and regulations in place. The Board should be fired if they cannot uphold governance and maintain proper oversight over all activities within the company.

Ghosn's treatment, being thrown into detention, highlights the discrimination of the legal system in Japan, which treats foreigners harsher compare to Japanese counterparts. It undermines Japan's right to criticise other countries on human rights if they can't even sort that one out within Japan itself. North Korea detains foreigners. China detain foreigners. Japan can criticise them all Japan wants, but now Japan is going to earn itself a place close to North Korea and China for detaining foreigners without trial.

It looks good on TV, looks cool to have men in black suits carrying boxes of documents out of one's house or office, as if investigators are doing their jobs. But if you don't treat them equally, that cool image will always be tainted with one of bias.

Seminar at Australian Embassy in Tokyo

I attended a seminar at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo yesterday titled "Australia and Japan: Partners in a Time of Regional Turbulence." Guest speakers and panelists were Professor Michael Wesley, Professor Veronica Taylor, Professor John Blaxland, and Dr. Imelda Deinia from Australian National University; VADM (ret.) Hideaki Kaneda from the Okazaki Institute; and COL (ret.) Grant Newsham. They spoke and discussed about collaboration between Australia and Japan in various aspects ranging from economic to military amidst the changes of the times, with a more assertive China and the United States' current lack of a grand strategy in dealing with China.

Overall, the seminar was informative and, more importantly, thought-provoking. It made me think a lot more about the underlying issues, and what are the questions we really should be looking at. Dealing with China's actions in this day and age is one thing, but that means we will always be one step behind; we are reactive. The important thing is to have an overall grand strategy which guides the formation of plans as well as responses to China's actions.

And therein lies the next bigger question: what are we trying to achieve (the objective), and why do we want to achieve it (the purpose)?

Until we can answer ourselves on what the purpose is, what our objectives are, and what is our grand strategy for achieving this purpose and objectives, we will always be one step behind. And the most worrying part is: China is not as lost as us. China knows what it wants, and how to get there. China has shared a portion of its goals and plans with the rest of the world, but we would be stupid to believe that is everything, or that it is even entirely true. In trying to formulate our own purpose and objectives, we will need to discern China's through its actions and our understanding of the Chinese mindset, culture, political system, society, etc.

We have a late start in this race, but being late is better than not being there at all.

I will share more of my thoughts related to this in subsequent posts. Quite a bit to sort out.

Ivanka using private email: Some thoughts on separating work from private life

Ivanka Trump used a personal email account to send hundreds of emails about government business last year

"She said she was not familiar with some details of the rules"

You would think someone whose father's rallies were filled with chants of "Lock her up!" would know. I mean, no one ever told me that I should never burn down someone else's house, but that doesn't mean the police isn't going to arrest me if I do.

But it also brings one to another issue, that of employing your own family members in public appointments. While it is still a borderline issue on whether this particular administration's actions are nepotism or not, the issue is here is that when you do, the line between work and private life becomes very, very vague. It is hard enough for normal people to separate work from private life. It is extremely difficult for people in public office or those with lots of public attention (like celebrities) to do so. And when you hire your own family for such work, it then becomes almost impossible.

And now, the question is, will Trump be still enjoying chants of "Lock her up!" since he wouldn't know if "her" refers to Hillary or Ivanka?

Don't become isolated

As US retreats, China touts its trade deal wares to Asia

When you target one country, it can become isolated.

When you target many countries, you may end up becoming isolated.

In war, we are taught to try and line up our engagements sequentially, so that we can bring our forces to bear on one target at a time, hoping to overwhelm it. And also avoid putting ourselves in a situation where we are surrounded by multiple enemies, putting ourselves within their striking distances.

It is a simple rule, but it works. And it applies not just to warfare, but to all manners of conflicts. So instead of trying to solve all conflicts at once, it is probably better and wiser to work on them one at a time, so that you can influence the outcome of each to your advantage.

Countries turning away from the U.S. toward China

With US absent, world's exporters turn attention to China

And so it happens.

When the U.S. shuts its doors, people will turn to other doors. It might have taken a lot more years before China could fully overtake the U.S. in terms of economic strength, but this shift away from the U.S. (due to U.S. policies) toward China has shown that instead of hurting China, the trade war between the two may turn out to be beneficial to China in the long run at the detriment of the U.S.

But by then, Trump would be gone, and claiming it is not his fault.

Trump's remarks to the press after the mid-term elections

Transcript: Remarks by President Trump in Press Conference After Midterm Elections

An 86 minute video of the press conference that President Trump gave after the mid-term elections. Quite a long one to sit through, but it is highly educational, in the insight you can gain into Trump's way of thinking and doing things, and what he stands for. Also entertaining in a sarcastic way.

Key takeaways:

• He hates McCain. He still cannot get over it, even though the man is no longer in this world. He still has to bring up McCain opposing his "repeal without replace" bill.
• He doesn't really like reporters. He doesn't like women. He doesn't like people who are not white. If you are an African American female reporter, you are better off asking questions to a wall. At least the wall won't interrupt you or demean you.
• The art of the deal, to him, is about threats. It is my way or the high way. If you don't do what he wants, he will do bad things. He is like a combination of school bully and spoiled brat. Basically, "Give me that or I will punch you" with "Buy me that toy or I will pee on the floor." But it also means that the Democrats, world leaders, and companies who need to deal with him have a way to do so. Just deal with him like how you would handle a school bully who also happens to be a spoiled brat.
• He is not about making America great. Because to him, it is more important to stop the Democrats from investigating him, to the extent he is willing for things to come to a standstill (which is definitely bad for the U.S.). So people can be without healthcare, the military can be without a budget, as long as the Democrats can be kept from investigating him.
• He doesn't like to lose, and even if he lost, he doesn't like to admit it, and he doesn't appreciate it when people point it out. So for those who need him to get things done, find a way to save him face.
• He doesn't like facts. Numbers do not matter to him. Perception does. So the press can call him out with the facts and figures, but it won't matter to him. They mean nothing to him. He will just spin his own story, no matter what the facts and figures are. So a tip to the media: when you play a clip of him spinning tales, put up the respective figures beside that clip so that people can hear him talk and see the actual figures at the same time. Side by side. Don't show the clip, then call him out. Side by side.
• He talked about the Democrats wanting to impeach him, and then they won't stop, they will go after Pence. Personally, I think if anything, the Republicans should just backstab Trump by striking a deal with the Democrats to impeach Trump and make Pence, who is a strong conservative, the President. And unlike Trump, which probably has many skeletons in the closet, it is going to be much harder to find reasons to impeach Pence.
• When things go wrong, it is never his fault. He will always find someone else to blame. So for those who work with him, or for him, always be ready for him to put the blame on you. Better yet, have a contingency plan on how to rectify the record when he does do so.

The day after... where is my pill?

Let's take a look at what may happen, now that Democrats have control of the House while Republicans gained seats in the Senate.

Trump fires Sessions, vows to fight Democrats if they launch probes

First, Trump fired Sessions, his Attorney General. Something he has always want to do, and now he has done it. Was it a wise move? Some would say no, since Sessions has been helping Trump drive the conservative agenda all this while, going after immigration and minority rights. But while the Democrats have the House, the Senate is still Republican, and now, filled with even more pro-Trump Senators. This means it is unlikely the Senate will vote to support Trump's impeachment. And likely that any political appointment Trump puts out will be confirmed.

Which means Mattis is likely to go soon... and Kelly has been sidelined already anyway, so it doesn't matter whether he gets replaced or not.

BTW, when the AG gets fired, the next in line for succession is the deputy AG. By law. So I am not very sure how Sessions' chief-of-staff can be acting AG. Probably illegal. Someone should challenge that.

Oh, and vowing to fight back should the Democrats subpoena his tax returns... that is not what an innocent man says. It's like a fifteen year old boy telling his mother, "Don't you dare look under my bed!" If a person has nothing to hide, he would hate that intrusion, but he will comply and say, "Look all you want, you ain't going to find anything in there." Threatening people only makes everyone wonder, "Hmm... what is he hiding in there?"

So now that he has hijacked the Senate, what can the Democrats do?

One thing Pelosi can do is offer Mitch a deal: the Republicans already have a firm majority in the Senate. Impeach Trump, Pence becomes President, and the Republicans will still control the Senate. Meanwhile, the Democrats will play nice and the House will agree to certain laws that the Republicans want to pass. Basically, "impeach Trump and we will have compromise and bipartisanship for the next two years; keep Trump, and politics will come to a standstill for two years." Of course, it is only two years; Mitch may just decide to rough it out, hang in there for two years, and bet on winning back the House in two years' time. Still, it is an option to get things done while Mitch is in office.

And attacking Republicans, after they have lost, saying that they lost because they never embraced you... that's just narcissistic. Unless elections in the U.S. has degraded into popularity contests. This ain't a vote for prom king and queen. Democracy is not about voting for a person; it is about voting for a person who best represents your own ideals and desires. People don't vote for Trump because they like Trump; they vote for what he represents. But I guess it is too difficult for him to understand the concept of democracy. 

Empires may be made by conquerors, but dynasties last because of rulers

If the House is blue and the Senate is red, there will be a political standstill since, in the age of Trump, people have become politically extreme, and it is unlikely there will be any middle ground.

If the House and Senate are both red, there will be social unrest, since the majority is actually blue (as shown by Clinton's majority vote in 2016) and the policies will be contrary to what the majority agrees with.

Whatever the case, there is going to be quite some problems unless the U.S. can find some way to steer back from the current politically extreme path, away from dividing people toward uniting them. And with Trump in the seat, that is unlikely to happen, since his method is to divide and conquer. But conquer doesn't mean anything unless he can rule. Empires may be made by conquerors, but dynasties last because of rulers.

U.S. mid-term elections

So today is the day.

The day when we know if the U.S. is actually a country which stands for equal rights and the rule of law, or if it has all along been a racist and misogynist country hiding behind politically correct words.

Personally, I don't think the polls matter, or reflect the real situation. Look at what the polls said for 2016.

Polls are based on people who are willing to respond to them. But elections are based on people who are willing to vote. They may sound similar, but are fundamentally different. The former is about communicating a choice. The latter is about making a choice. Polls have a sample size, and may be biased depending on how the samples are selected. Election results do not have a sample size; the "sample" is the fact, there is no error in it.

In a way, today is the day the U.S. shows the world its true colors. Will it be the stars and stripes? Or the Confederate flag? Or the Nazi one?

Show us who you are, America, so that we can know whether to love or hate you.

But whatever the case, there will continue to be confusion in the U.S. for the years to come. And China will be laughing.

Compiling Marlin 2.0 for STM32F4

Edit/update: This post was written in October 2018. Since then, Marlin firmware has made quite some progress in supporting STM32 boards. Please check the Marlin firmware documentation, GitHub page, Facebook groups, etc. for the latest info, since I am quite sure what I have written here is outdated.

A note for myself. And for those who want to know how to compile Marlin 2.0 for the STM32F4 series. I was trying to compile for the black STM32F407VET6 development board available on eBay and Aliexpress from Chinese vendors.

First, it seems the only Arduino STM32 core that can be used with Marlin 2.0 for this board is from STMicroelectronics. Even then, the version available via Arduino IDE's package manager is old, and the latest git version must be used for STM32F407VET6 support. To install the git version, see:
https://github.com/stm32duino/wiki/wiki/Using-git-repository

BTW, I was using Arduino IDE 1.8.5, there could be issues with newer IDE versions having to do with preprocessors. Also, I had problems compiling Marlin 2.0 for STM32F407VET6 on PlatformIO. It seems uncertain if the official STMicroelectronics core is available on it or not, which may explain my errors with:
'IWDG_HandleTypeDef' does not name a type
'TIM_HandleTypeDef' does not name a type
'stm32f4_timer_t {aka struct tTimerConfig}' has no member named 'handle'
etc. when I try to compile it for
board         = genericSTM32F407VET6
in platformio.ini

Anyway, I digress. Install from git repository should allow Marlin 2.0 to be compiled with the following changes to the git version of Marlin 2.0:
#define SERIAL_PORT 1
#define MOTHERBOARD BOARD_STM32F4

However, if you try to add LCD support, you may encounter issues. I worked around it by editing
Marlin/src/lcd/dogm/ultralcd_st7920_u8glib_rrd_AVR.cpp
to add
#elif MB(STM32F4)
to this part of the code:
#if F_CPU >= 20000000
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_1 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_2 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_3 DELAY_NS(50)
#elif MB(3DRAG) || MB(K8200) || MB(K8400) || MB(SILVER_GATE)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_1 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_2 DELAY_NS(188)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_3 DELAY_NS(0)
#elif MB(MINIRAMBO) || MB(EINSY_RAMBO) || MB(EINSY_RETRO)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_1 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_2 DELAY_NS(250)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_3 DELAY_NS(0)
#elif MB(RAMBO)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_1 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_2 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_3 DELAY_NS(0)
#elif MB(BQ_ZUM_MEGA_3D)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_1 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_2 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_3 DELAY_NS(189)
#elif MB(REMRAM_V1)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_1 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_2 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_3 DELAY_NS(0)
#elif MB(ARMED)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_1 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_2 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_3 DELAY_NS(0)
#elif MB(STM32F4)

#elif F_CPU == 16000000
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_1 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_2 DELAY_NS(0)
  #define CPU_ST7920_DELAY_3 DELAY_NS(63)
#else
  #error "No valid condition for delays in 'ultralcd_st7920_u8glib_rrd_AVR.h'"
#endif

Don't worry, the delays are actually defined in pins_STM32F4.h already, but somehow, the STM32F4 is not included here as a board, which results in the "No valid condition" error during compile when LCD is enabled.

Still, this is just compiling the firmware. I have yet to actually load the firmware for testing on an actual board, which is the next logical step. Stay tuned!

Don't troll

Trump’s fanciful, falsehood-filled AP interview, annotated

The 40 most outrageous lines in Donald Trump's Associated Press interview

Okay, I am not a fan of Trump, but The Washington Post and CNN seem to have taken things a bit too far. I mean, these are supposed to be legitimate news outlets. They should not be embroiled in petty stuff, right? But The Washington Post's annotations of the AP interview seems more like trolling. CNN's article is in the same league.

Annotating with facts is fine. Calling out lies with facts is fine. But throwing in opinions and other subjective comments borders on trolling, and is not something that a respectable news agency does, even if the rest of the country has gone to the dogs in terms of civility.

I just hope someone out there can go through the transcript, and prepare a proper annotation with the facts.

Read the transcript of AP’s interview with President Trump
(the original from AP)

Democracies are so fragile

Seeing the U.S. Senate trying to vote on Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is just so depressing.

Elected officials are supposed to be acting on behalf of the people who elected them, doing their best to protect those who elected them. So when decisions are based on party lines instead of the people's interests, it is just so depressing.

Because it shows that democracy is so very fragile.

However they vote, the result is the same: the highest elected officials of the land does not take accusations from women seriously. They are not willing to give women the same due process they would give to white men. They are not willing to let the professional investigators in the FBI, career people who make a living from conducting investigations, do their jobs. In short, they do not respect or trust in the FBI's professionalism.

Women being denied due process. A justice system that does not respect nor trust its own investigative agency. Can anyone feel safe under the law anymore? One cannot help but feel that the law seems to be selective in who it protects.

Democracies, when done right, can be very powerful, for it empowers the people. But democracies can also be easily hijacked.

I just hope people continue to keep their eyes and ears open. Because ultimately, in democracies, the people still have a way to take back power from those who hijack their systems. But they can only do that if they are informed and concerned.

Do not let others use our differences to divide us

Our founding fathers knew that as a nation diverse in race and religion, any difference can be exploited to drive a wedge into our society, ripping apart the fabric that holds us together as a nation. Events in other parts of the world in recent years have shown us exactly how a nation can be torn apart by politicians exploiting differences for their own gains. For Singapore to stay strong as a nation, we should be working at ways to find common ground amidst our differences, rather than sit in opposing camps with swords drawn.

Because to do otherwise would mean it is not possible to be both patriotic and religious. And if being both is not possible, the idea of Singapore, based on the ideal of "regardless of race, language, or religion," goes up in smoke.

And that is why I am wary whenever leaders of influential groups seek to put people into two camps, because I do not know if they are trying to exploit those divisions for their own gains. Because there are people who gain from chaos. There are people who seek to stir up emotions so as to cloud what people see.

Do not tell me what is right or wrong. Let me see the arguments and decide for myself. Putting pressure on people to accept your views is just blackmail.

Looking at Trump's U.N. speech

Trump didn't get a good start at the U.N., being laughed at when he tried to give a speech to an audience unlike the friendly crowds at his rallies. Whoever was the speechwriter ought to be sacked for failing to shape the speech for the audience; it was written more for a domestic crowd ready to hear more propaganda. Here are some of my thoughts as I hear his speech.

"Ultimately, it is up to the nations of the region to decide what kind of future they want for themselves and their children."

"The United States has launched a campaign of economic pressure to deny the regime the funds it needs to advance its bloody agenda. Last month, we began re-imposing hard-hitting nuclear sanctions that had been lifted under the Iran deal. Additional sanctions will resume November 5th, and more will follow. And we’re working with countries that import Iranian crude oil to cut their purchases substantially."

So on one hand, he thinks people should decide what they want for themselves, free from external intervention. Yet just minutes later, he talks about taking steps to influence things in another country (Iran). Dude, which is it?

While the United States and many other nations play by the rules, these countries use government-run industrial planning and state-owned enterprises to rig the system in their favor. They engage in relentless product dumping, forced technology transfer, and the theft of intellectual property.

Can't blame someone for being better at playing by the rules, right? When those in power set the rules, they did it to help themselves. A newcomer comes along, shows that he understands the rules well, and can even exploit them to his favor. But you can't blame him; he is just using those rules you set against you. Can only blame yourself for being stupid, for not seeing how the rules can be abused.

The United States lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs, nearly a quarter of all steel jobs, and 60,000 factories after China joined the WTO. And we have racked up $13 trillion in trade deficits over the last two decades.

It is easy to blame China for everything. But has anyone looked at the increase in service sector jobs? Because it may just be a shift in the economy away from manufacturing (which can be onerous) toward provide value-added services. Jobs could have been lost because of automation. Adam Smith told us about competitive advantage. It is better for nations to produce what they are good at producing, and trade with each other. Could it just be that the U.S. is better at producing services instead of goods? You know, the white collar jobs. Those that pay better instead of being stuck working shifts at a factory.

The United States stands ready to export our abundant, affordable supply of oil, clean coal, and natural gas.

Dude, that's your reserve... that's your insurance. The reason the U.S. has been happy to get oil and other stuff from others, instead of depleting its own resources, is that it was keeping those resources as insurance, as a backup plan should things run dry. When the rest of the world is short of oil, and you still have oil, you are going to have a big voice. But if you start using up that oil now, you are just going to run dry together with the rest of them.

Illegal immigration funds criminal networks, ruthless gangs, and the flow of deadly drugs. Illegal immigration exploits vulnerable populations, hurts hardworking citizens, and has produced a vicious cycle of crime, violence, and poverty. Only by upholding national borders, destroying criminal gangs, can we break this cycle and establish a real foundation for prosperity.

Sad to say, this doesn't solve the problem. It is just containing the problem, keeping it away. The problem is still there. The real way is to see what is causing all the poverty that makes illegal immigration profitable to criminals.

The United States is the world’s largest giver in the world, by far, of foreign aid. But few give anything to us. That is why we are taking a hard look at U.S. foreign assistance.

That's why it is called aid and assistance. If you expect something in return, it is called trade.

My biggest apprehension is this: with the U.S. moving more and more toward isolating itself from the rest of the world, someone else will move in to take its place. And when the rest of the world moves along, the U.S. may get left behind. A superpower in decline, who gets left behind, in possession of nuclear weapons, is a force to be feared.

The Imperial Japanese Army used to have a saying: between competent and incompetent leaders, between decisive and indecisive leaders, the most fearful thing is an incompetent leader who is decisive.

We fear what we do not understand

It is human nature to fear what we do not understand.

But we also need to ask ourselves: is our fear hindering our understanding? Is our fear making us reinforce our lack of understanding, to shut us off from seeking understanding so that we can allay our fear?

Are we the servants of our fear?

Or can we learn to face fear, and to master it?

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
-- "Litany Against Fear," Dune

One more year, entering a new club

One more year. And a new club. 😂

And so, the musical chair begins

Trade wars: Is Trump lining up Japan next?

A day after I posted this, this article came out in the news.

Like I said, it is a musical chair, because fundamentally, the U.S. relies on imports of goods so that it can export its services. Unless the U.S. fundamentally restructures its economy away from emphasizing services and toward primary and secondary production, it will just need to import. Tariffs will not stop imports unless there are domestic alternatives. If there are no such alternatives, tariffs only serve to increase the costs of businesses, which then gets passed down and eventually increasing the cost of living for consumers.

The question, then, is whether the rest of the world can survive with an economically isolated U.S.? Are there alternatives to things coming from the U.S.? Because if there are, great! We can all just continue to trade with each other, minus the U.S., and carry on with life. There probably will be some restructuring to do, but it won't be a drastic change. And if China is able to do this slight restructuring faster than most, which it may given that the central government has a lot of say in things there, then this may just help to propel China to become the top dog instead. And kill off U.S. hegemony since closed systems don't grow.

If China survives this trade war, it will only come out all the more stronger. If the U.S. survives this trade war, it will just be prolonging its decline if it continues to take an isolationist approach.

Asian firms shifting production out of China, but does it really change things?

Asian firms shuffle production around the region as China tariffs hit

With tariffs being placed by the U.S. on imports from China, companies are shifting production out of China so that their products don't get taxed.

But to me, it is just a musical chair, a matter of time.

While plants usually have existing capabilities for slight increases in production, to sustain this in the long run, they will need to make capital investments for expansion. Which needs money. Which will eventually be reflected in the cost of products. Of course, companies can choose to keep the same price, which means returns on investments will take a longer time.

But as imports from other countries start to increase, their trade balance with the U.S. will change. If it changes enough, the U.S. may go into a trade deficit again, and we all know what the guy in the White House thinks, and may do in such a case. Tariffs.

The fundamental problem is that the U.S. is an importing nation. It imports raw materials and semi-finished products to add value to them, then resell them to consumers both within and outside the U.S. Some of those imports are used by various sectors to provide services, which compared to the imported products, are way bigger earners. Tariffs actually make it less profitable to provide those services, since they increase costs for such companies.

Anyway, until the U.S. fundamentally reshapes its economy toward manufacturing, moving away from services, the trade balance in terms of goods will not really change much.

The case about Section 377A is not about discrimination, but about the rule of law

Singapore society has to decide which direction it wants to take on laws against gay sex: Shanmugam
Decision on Section 377A ‘a matter for Parliament’: Shanmugam
Court challenge filed on 377A arguing that gay sex law ‘violates human dignity’

The current debate in Singapore is about repealing (or keeping) Section 377A of the Penal Code, which basically makes gay sex a crime.

377A.  Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years.

To me, the debate about discrimination, equal rights, etc. is valid, but weak.

The key debate, and most alarming point that should be noted, is that the government has made it a stance that while Section 377A is part of the Penal Code, they will not actively enforce it.

Decision to retain Section 377A ‘carefully considered, balanced’

For a country governed by the rule of law, this is an alarming statement. It is saying that while the laws, as set by the legislative (Parliament), reflect the decision of the people, since they choose the Parliament via voting, the government can ultimately choose which laws it will enforce. Which goes totally against the idea of democracy, in which the elected government is supposed to be carrying out the will of the people (as reflected by laws).

Are we a democracy, or not?

Are we going to allow the government to choose which laws to enforce, and which to ignore?

Are we going to allow the government to selectively apply the law?

Are we governed by the rule of law? Or are our laws merely decorations on the wall?

The case is not about the constitutionality of Section 377A. It is about the constitutionality of the government in its decision to not proactively enforce Section 377A. All of them have sworn to discharge their duties according to law. No where in the constitution does it say that the executive branch has the right of selective application of the laws.

Once it has been shown that the government must enforce all laws, then the question of discrimination comes in. Because the constitution states that:

12.—(1)  All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

Discrimination based on sexual orientation targeting only men contravenes this.

So if it was up to me, I would focus on this two-step approach. Long-winded, maybe, but it forces us to address two issues: the executive branch's right to selectively enforce laws, and the discrimination against people based on sex and sexual orientation.

What was the purpose of 9/11?

Al Qaeda Won: Seventeen years after the 9/11 attacks, the terrorists have definitively won the battle for the American mind.

This article made me ponder more about the real purpose behind 9/11.

It was a symbolic attack, we all knew that; even if the attack on the White House had been successful, it would not have paralyzed the U.S. into inaction. So the symbolic attack brought Al Qaeda and its aim into the news. But was that all they were hoping for?

Maybe it was really more diabolic. Maybe they had studied the U.S. long enough, as the article suggests, and knew that the fabric holding American society together is a very thin piece of cloth that can easily be ruptured. Maybe the aim was to create a small tear in that fabric, so that eventually, the cloth rips apart.

If so, they have succeeded. They have brought racial and religious suspicions, something which took decades to suppress, back to the surface of American society. In a land which proclaims that all men are equal, they have sowed the seeds for resentment along racial and religious lines. And each day, that seed grows as the U.S. continued its fight against terrorism in the Middle East, and could not afford to look inward to address this issue. Support the troops, support America, for to do otherwise is unpatriotic. Meanwhile, people become accustomed to the bad guys being Muslims and Arabs. The seed for racial and religious discrimination continues to grow.

Obama tried to win the real war. He tried to bring the U.S. back to a society without racial and religious hatred. But eight years is a short time compared to the decades required to close Pandora's box. If someone who recognized the problem had continued Obama's work, and a string of successors continued to hold on to this stance for the coming decades, Pandora's box may just be closed. But enter Trump with his rhetorics, and his exploitation of those seeds. He did what he needed to win. But at what cost?

Will American society ever recover from the seeds planted by Al Qaeda?

Another year... remember the night 17 years ago

17 years ago, at night, I went for a meeting in preparation for my oncoming duty. After the meeting, I dropped by the duty room, and saw on TV images of an airliner flying into the World Trade Center in New York. This was followed by images of smoke from the Pentagon.

I called my mentor, basically got him out of bed (it was already quite late in Japan), and told him he needed to watch TV. Any channel would do, since it was on all channels.

17 years has gone by. 17 years since the world changed.

Beyond layered networks for deep learning

Machine Learning’s ‘Amazing’ Ability to Predict Chaos

I happened to come across this article as I was searching for "chaos complexity deep learning" due to an impulse while reading about chaos and complexity theory: can chaos and complexity be applied to artificial intelligence in a way similar to deep learning?

While the article is still very much about existing machine learning techniques, I think deep learning using layered networks (the current method) will eventually hit a wall: the number of layers is inherently built into the design. Inside of organizing neurons into layers, and having them more or less hardwired to each other, what if the neurons are represented as agents in a local environment forming and breaking bonds/connections with each other? The depth of links are then no longer limited by the fixed number of layers.

If this idea is to be further explored, there must be a way to define how inputs are fed into the system, and how outputs are represented. These may still be in terms of a layer of neurons currently used in deep learning. There must then be a rule for the forming of connections: how does the neuron choose which neuron in its neighborhood (the size of neighborhood, aka the neuron's reach, must also be defined) to connect to, and which existing connections to break. Back propagation is probably still need to provide neurons on which links to keep.

Such a neural network formed by neural agents may even help us learn more about how our brains actually work. After all, our brains are made of neurons, but they are not organized into fixed layers.

Of course, I can only imagine the amount of computing power this will need...

NY Times publishes anonymous op-ed from senior Trump official

I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration

If you haven't read it yet, take a look at the link above.

Personally, I think it was written by Kelly. But then, only the editors at the NY Times would know for sure.

But why now?

Because the mid-terms are coming up, and they need to assure the Republicans that while Trump may be unpredictable, there are "adults in the room" making sure the Republican agenda is actually carried out. So Trump is the rubber stamp. Put a piece of paper in front of him and he will sign it. And that's what they need, someone who will sign without asking questions. His lack of knowledge makes it all the more easier, as long as they can slip that piece of paper in.

Also, Mueller's report is probably coming out soon.

The message is: Keep him in office, we will make sure he works for the Republican agenda. See, we have already delivered tax cuts and created jobs. If you keep him in office, we keep our jobs, and we can continue to help push through that agenda. If you remove him, there will be someone with a brain in that position, and it won't be as easy to manipulate anymore.

So it looks like a damning op-ed, but it is probably more sinister than that.

Remembering McCain

McCain tributes echo with criticism of Trump
Trump wasn't invited to McCain's funeral, but his presence loomed large as political heavyweights praised McCain for rising above the 'politics of fear'

A funeral service for Senator John Sidney McCain III was held on Sep 1, 2018 at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.

Eulogies were delivered by his daughter, Meghan, as well as Henry Kissinger, former President George W. Bush, and former President Barack Obama.

While it may be easy to brand some of the eulogies as political jabs at Trump, I think we miss the point.

Meghan's eulogy was emotional, a fitting one from a daughter of a great man. The contrast between this great man and the one currently in the Oval Office only makes it all the more emotional.

Personally, I think Bush's eulogy was quite simple. I guess it stems from them only being rivals for a short while.

Obama's eulogy was the most powerful. Their differences, touched on by Obama himself, served to make their rivalry all the more intense, and therefore made their understanding of each other all the more deep. I don't think Obama was intentionally getting at Trump with what he said; all he did was highlight what made McCain a great man. The fact that it contrasted so much with Trump only made people hear all that Trump criticism, without realizing that Obama was only praising McCain.

When a person stands on flimsy ground, everything must seem like an attack.
When a person stands on firm ground, nothing can topple him.

In a dark room, a burning torch only seems all that much brighter.

Forecasting aftershocks using deep learning

Forecasting earthquake aftershock locations with AI-assisted science

This seems like interesting research, especially since I live in Japan now, where earthquakes are really common.

But a look at the database used for the earthquake data seemed to suggest inadequate data. The database contains information on 178 earthquakes as of Aug 14, 2018. Most of the data comes from 1960s and later. It also contains earthquakes with varying magnitudes from 4+ to 9+, but given that earthquake magnitudes are logarithmic, we should expect a lot more 4+ earthquakes compared to 5+, and so on up the scale. Specifically, being in Japan, I know we have a lot of 4+ and 5+ earthquakes in recent years, but they are not reflected in the database. It therefore seems the database may have some inherent data bias, which is obviously not good since any bias in the data will be reflected in the model learnt from it.

So while I applaud the idea, I think there can be improvement to the actual research method (specifically, the data selected). Maybe they should work closer with the Japan Meteorological Agency to obtain a more comprehensive set of earthquake data around Japan, for a geographically limited model first. This can then be expanded to cover other regions in the world where the local authorities have good systems in place to capture and record such data.

Annealing PLA+ with hot water

I saw a video on Youtube about using hot water to anneal PLA. So I tried it on my Sunlu PLA+ and here are the results.

Original cube measurements:
X: 19.9mm
Y: 20.0mm
Z: 19.7mm

Post annealing:
X: 19.5mm (2% shrink)
Y: 19.6mm (2% shrink)
Z: 20.1mm (2% increase)

It seems that annealing has made the cube grown in height (Z) like in this video.
Theoretically, it also means that I can compensate for these shrink/increase by scaling the object up/down in the respective axes before printing. Theoretically. I may try it out some day.

My method:
Boil water in a pot.
Put cube in a ziploc bag.
Put ziploc bag into pot of boiling water.
Wait for 2 minutes.
Pour boiling water away, fill pot with tap water.
Wait for 1 minute.
Take ziploc bag out of pot, take cube out of ziploc bag.

For those who may be interested.

A framework for a generic learning AI?

There has been a lot of progress made in AI on developing neural networks which can be applied in a more generic sense.
Measuring abstract reasoning in neural networks
Capture the Flag: the emergence of complex cooperative agents
OpenAI Five Benchmark: Results

A common feature of AI using neural networks for deep learning is the training that must be done. The problem is that most AI can only learn to do one thing. Play a certain game, for example. The AI trained to play DOTA won't be able to play Quake.

It got me thinking: how can we training an AI to be able to do different things?

Maybe it is as simple as having three distinct portions of the learning algorithm.

An input/output (I/O) layer which is tailored for the task being learned. This takes in raw data from the "environment" and outputs actions back into the "environment."

An I/O conversion layer that acts as a translator between the actual AI, and the I/O layer. Nothing really fancy here, although this is probably where we need to sort out features from labels (rewards?). This conversion layer changes data into concepts for use by the actual AI.

And the actual AI layer(s) which does the learning and prediction. Since it works with concepts and not raw representations, it should be better able to adapt to different circumstances, and reused learnt concepts in new environments.

It also means researchers can split their work into various focus groups. The concept-learning AI itself, which is the holy grail for machine learning. Or the conceptualizing conversion layer, which is an enabling research, and does affect the subsequent AI since the quality of conceptualizing will affect the concepts available for learning.

Whatever the case, I am looking forward to seeing how AI research progresses in the future.

Upgrading Linux Mint 18.3 to Linux Mint 19

Note to self:
Do not upgrade via mintupgrade on a highly customized installation. It will FAILED and you will not be able to recover...

Okay, so I did the stupid thing. I tried to upgrade to Linux Mint 19 using mintupgrade (following all the steps here). Everything went well, no error messages even with mintupgrade check and mintupgrade download.

All hell broke loose when I ran mintupgrade upgrade.

Error messages one after another. Tried to fix using dpkg and apt remove, and eventually managed to finish running mintupgrade upgrade.

But it won't boot.

So now I am waiting for a new SSD to arrive so that I can install a fresh copy of Linux Mint 19 on it, while porting over my previous home directory.

When will I ever learn...😭

Separate note, the same steps for upgrading worked on another PC, which runs Windows 10 as the main OS, with Linux Mint installed as a dual boot which I occasionally use. But the installation is not as customized since it isn't used as often, so I guess that helped to smooth the upgrade.

Senator John McCain dies at 81

Rest in peace, sir. Thank you for your service to your nation, and through that, to the world.

Will Ivanka flip?

I think Ivanka is going to flip. She knows the prize is her father, and she is going to give prosecutors that prize in exchange for her freedom. But she also wants her inheritance. And power. So she is probably going to convince her father that flipping is for his sake. She will pardon him when she becomes the first female President. And she will then use it as a selling point. "My loyalty is to the United States and her people. I even flipped on my father."

When she does get elected, she can always find ways and means to either delay the pardon, or give one (whatever suits her at that time). And if she doesn't get elected, she can always tell Daddy, "Look, I tried!" And she can keep trying.

So Ivanka flipping on her father is a win-win for her. She just needs to play her cards right. The question then, is whether Weisselberg and Pecker has enough dirt on her. If she thinks they have, she is going to flip to save herself. 

Happy 53rd birthday Singapore!

Always great to be around to celebrate the nation's birthday!

Happy birthday Singapore!

73 years on

73 years have passed.

Let's not tread the same steps. Let's not forget.

Visiting Maker Faire Tokyo 2018

It was a hot summer day, but I dragged myself down to make the one-hour trip to Tokyo Big Sight to visit Maker Faire Tokyo 2018.

This was my first time at a maker fair, so it was really a new experience and an eye-opener for me.

Just outside the exhibition space, there was an area for kids to work on projects.

 

The guys from Ultimaker, Prusa Research, and RepRap Japan were here too!

 

 

Prusa Research was showing off their new Multi-Material Upgrade 2.0, which is able to use up to five different materials at the same time. Cool!



M5Stack was here too, with their CEO Jimmy Lai. I was a bit shy, so I didn't talk to him. But he brought the M5Stack family (series) with him, plus all those stuff he was using the M5Stack for, like the piano.

There was also a booth where you ca have shoes made to fit your feet just by taking photos of your feet. It reminded me of a conversation I had with an ex-colleague on exactly the same thing! But that conversation was like two years ago. Still, it is interesting to see an idea take shape.

 

Lego was there too, right at the entrance, where the Kids & Education area was.

And even Star Wars was represented at the exhibition, with DIY droids and lightsabers.

Someone made a UUV from PVC pipes.

There were homemade rockets too!

Some of them even looked like missiles (see the one in the background).

Someone was even trying to make a full-size tank!

And there was a group which makes satellites. These satellites would take pictures of the Earth and send them back. When the satellite's life expires, it literally drops out of the sky, becoming a falling star.

These satellites are filled with pieces of paper with wishes written on them, burning up these wishes as the satellite falls through the atmosphere as a falling star. Sure way to make a wish upon a falling star.


And many many many years ago, when I was a student, I used to take part in micromouse competitions. So seeing them brings back memories. Though during my time, the mice were much bigger.

All in, I spent slightly more than 2 hours at the maker fair, just walking and glancing, not really looking in detail or asking questions. If I did... I would be there till closing! It was a great experience seeing what others are doing, and what can be done. I am inspired by them and hopefully, I will be one of them next year!

Editing STL files in FreeCAD

I have been learning about 3D printing, and one of the things which stumped me has been how to edit STL files posted on the Internet (at sites such as Thingiverse).

Then I found FreeCAD, an open source CAD software. And Google brought me to an article on how to convert STL files into solid shapes that can be edited in FreeCAD. Except that it missed an important step.

My original workflow (missing important steps):
1. Import STL file.
2. In Parts workbench, select imported mesh and select "Create shape from mesh" in the Parts menu.
3. Select the newly created shape, and select "Convert to solid" in the Parts menu.
The result is a solid that can be edited. But very messy, with surfaces being made of triangles.

Then I decided to do the right thing: read the documentation. And came upon this page titled "Import from STL or OBJ" in the wiki. And realized the important steps I had been missing.

The documentation's workflow, in summary:
1. Import STL file.
2. In Mesh Design workbench, select the imported mesh, and Mesh->Analyze->Evaluate & repair mesh. Analyze and repair as necessary.
3. In Parts workbench, select imported mesh and select "Create shape from mesh" in the Parts menu.
4. Select the newly created shape, then "Refine shape" in the Parts menu.
5. Select the refined shape, and select "Convert to solid" in the Parts menu.

This gives a much cleaner solid, with proper flat surfaces made of rectangles (and curves are stringed rectangular surfaces). Which is definitely better on the eyes, and easier to edit.

(This is basically a note to myself, just in case I forget the process.)

Moral conflicts, guerilla campaigns, and how to fight back

Looking at the political situation in the United States, it reminded me of what I read in Colonel John Boyd's Patterns of Conflict.

It is about moral conflict. In his slides, Boyd talked about the essence of moral conflict, of guerilla campaigns, which is basically what is happening now, with Trump fighting a "guerilla war" against the establishment.

But Boyd did not stop at that. He also talked about how to fight against a guerilla force, summarized in a nice slide titled "Counter-guerilla campaign." Which offers insight and hints on how the U.S. media (being constantly bombarded as "fake news") and those wronged by Trump to fight back.

(I shan't try to introduce nor summarize Boyd's concepts. His slides are best read and digested as they are. But I do welcome discussions via the comments section of this blog article.)

It is not surprising that Trump's methods and strategy follow Boyd's concepts. Boyd's concepts have a very deep root in the U.S. military, and we know that Bannon has been (and probably still is) advising Trump. And now that we are clear about the strategy, people can work on a counter-strategy. Which I will leave to those in better positions.

Good luck! And good hunting!

Adding mDNS to ESP32 camera demo

I was trying to add mDNS to this demo of using a camera (in my case, an OV2640) with the ESP32 to stream video over WiFi to a web browser.

After some trial and error, and looking at examples and such, it boiled down to:

1. Add a function to start mDNS.
static void start_mdns_service()
{
    //initialize mDNS service
    esp_err_t err = mdns_init();
    if (err) {
        printf("MDNS Init failed: %d\n", err);
        return;
    }

    //set hostname
    ESP_ERROR_CHECK( mdns_hostname_set(MY_HOSTNAME) );
    //set default instance
    ESP_ERROR_CHECK( mdns_instance_name_set(MY_INSTANCE) );
}

Remember to declare the function! And define MY_HOSTNAME and MY_INSTANCE using #define statements, such as:
#define MY_HOSTNAME "esp32cam"
#define MY_INSTANCE "ESP32 Camera Demo"

2. Add a line to handle mDNS in the event_handler() function. This statement goes right after the switch() block, and before the final return statement.
mdns_handle_system_event(ctx, event);

3. Call the start_mdns_service() function before you initialize WiFi. For example:
start_mdns_service();
s_wifi_event_group = xEventGroupCreate();
.... followed by rest of statements to start WiFi...

You can then access the ESP32 module through the name esp32cam.local, for example. To stream video from the camera to a web browser, open
http://esp32cam.local/jpg_stream
in the browser.

Good luck tinkering!

Think too much

My 3D printer had problems with its X-axis motor. The motor would stall sometimes. So I thought, could it be the VREF? Checked the VREF, it seemed acceptable. Adjusted it a bit, but still had stalls.

Could it be the stepper motor driver? Replaced it with a spare. Nope, still had stalls.

Could it be the motor itself? So I went on to replace the motor. And noticed that the cable connecting the motor to the board had a problem. One of the wires had broken off at the connector. That was the cause of the problem.

A broken wire.

Not VREF, not driver, not motor. Just a simple broken wire.

Note to self: don't think too much. Start troubleshooting from the basics. 😅

More World Heritage sites for Japan? Why?

Jomon Era sites picked for possible World Heritage designation

A Japanese tactic.

When World Heritage sites are sprinkled all over Japan, Japan cannot be attacked, because destroying World Heritage sites is a war crime.

And when you cannot be attacked, you usually become a bit bolder in the way you do things.

The human race has a long heritage, spread all over the world. Don't let World Heritage sites be unevenly distributed just because of a nation's proactiveness in seeking such recognition. It could be seeking recognition for other purposes than to preserve heritage.

Help with NK, or help NK?

Russia, China urge delay as US seeks to cut off oil to North Korea

I thought Trump said Putin is going to help with North Korea... not help North Korea.

So all that "being nice to Putin" play by Trump is still not delivering the results that he wants. I want to say, "Wake up America" but in this age of post-truth, I fear America is wide awake, and actually choose to continue along this path, to stick with the failure they have chosen because doing otherwise would be admitting their own failure.

The consistent inconsistency of Trump

Trump tries to calm political storm over Putin summit, says he misspoke

Of course he misspoke. He can never criticize a person when that person is in the room. He can only do it when they are not around.

The only thing consistent about Trump is that he wants people to like him. So he will say whatever it takes to get people to like him. He will criticize people to get his base to like him. Then, he will sing a different tune in front of those people he criticized so that they will like him. Such inconsistency based on his consistent need to be liked is his consistency.

Improving based on customer feedback

As someone who got a 3D printer kit a few months ago, thinking to see what I can pick up about making and prototyping and such, it has been a learning experience. A steep learning curve, to build a 3D printer from scratch, knowing nothing about 3d printing, and having to try and learn details about both hardware and software aspects.

But it was worth the learning. It was time-consuming. But that's learning. You can't learn without using up time.

But I also cannot help but notice that as time goes by, products get better. I got a FLSun Cube at the start of the year. By mid of the year, FLSun was still selling the Cube, but the Cube has adopted a different design, using CoreXY as the driving mechanism, and switching to roller V-wheels instead of linear bearings.

Super. Great.

But I guess that is what this is all about. Things improve. I mean, if they don't, we would be extinct. Still, some form of versioning (Cube 1.0, Cube 2.0) would help when it comes to branding or corporate communication.

I digress. I actually wanted to share this video.

I was looking to get the Creality Ender-3 too, as a backup printer. And it seems that they have continued to improve it. Which is not a bad thing. But I was basing my decisions on reviews, which means that older reviews differed from newer ones as Creality made changes to the Ender-3... using paying customers as beta testers. Well, if you see it from "we listen to feedback from our customers", it may seem positive. But it may also sound a bit bordering on corporate ethics to use paying customers to help you improve a product without making it explicit that this is still a beta product.

On one hand, I think companies should do due diligence in R&D before selling a product. On the other, it is also important for companies to improve their products to better serve customers. A proper balance and method will help companies build up good reputations that serve them in the long run.

The exposure of the U.S.

My two-cents worth of thoughts...

I think with Trump being elected, and the on-going investigation on Trump's campaign, and the Republicans, being in power, doing what they are doing to "investigate the investigators," the facade that is the U.S. is being exposed for the world to see.

The U.S. used to stand for the rule of law. It used to be the champion for human rights, for democracy. It used to be the leader for free trade.

But all that is now the past.

Look at the "hearing" of Peter Strzok. It is not a hearing. It is a shouting match. It is personal attacks on a person instead of trying to uncover the truth. It is a humiliation to everything that the U.S. used to stand for. Decency has flown out of the window just so as to remain grasping onto power.

It shows that the U.S. of the past, the U.S. that we used to know, is no longer there.

It shows that the U.S. we had known in the past was but a show. People did not believe in what they were doing, but they were doing it because it was politically correct for what the U.S. is supposed to stand for. But with Trump, people are showing their true colors. Because he has shown that it is okay to show one's true colors and still be in power. Because there are many people out there in the U.S. who actually share those sentiments of racism, white supremacy, nationalism, unilateralism, of "might makes right." People can be themselves, and they are showing the world that the people of the U.S. are not the champions of democracy, rule of law, free trade, and human rights that we used to know them as. They were doing it, or bearing with it, because it seemed "right." And now, the wolves have thrown off their wool coats, because the shepherd has been replaced with a sheep killer.

It is an embarrassment. It is too indecent to watch. It is painful to see where the U.S. has fallen to.

It is the start of the decline.

When a great power declines (read The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon), there are certain patterns. We were lucky that the British Empire handed over its dominance to the United States in a more pacified manner. But will the United States follow that same pacifist approach in its decline? Or will it go down lashing out, thrashing out, at all those around it? If the hearing of Peter Strzok is any example, it shows that the U.S. is likely to do everything it can, even if those things are below human decency, below dignity, to remain in power.

"Upgrading" may not be a good idea

I have a FLSun Cube 3D printer (2017 model) which was working... well, sort of fine. I mean, it prints okay, though it could be better. So I thought, why not use MGN12 rails for the X and Y axes, like someone else had? It should improve things, right?

Well, not for me. It turned out to give me more problems than I started with. I ended up with layer shift on Y-axis due to somehow the Y-motors stalling, even after increasing the VREF on the stepper drivers to account for the dual Y motors. In the end, I even burnt out two of my A4988 drivers... It was fortunate that the Cube came with 5 stepper drivers already installed (but only used 4: X, Y, Z, and E) and I had another which came with the dual extruder upgrade kit. Still, it prompted me to get some spares from Amazon. Who knows when the next driver will fail.

So after days of trying to fix my mechanical problems with the MGN12 rail "upgrade", I gave up. Took the upgrades apart, and started to fix back the original rods. Only problem... some of the rods are best put back in the correct order, as shown in the assembly manual. Removing them was easy; trying to put them back at the same position was not.

It was a big hassle with several hours spent trying to put everything back. And then, the next nightmare: bed leveling. Because the rods were a bit out, I had to tweak the bed leveling and rod positions endless times just to get something that resembles a printable surface. Which resulted in more hours lost.

After close to 20 hours spent just on putting everything back... I finally have a 3D printer that can print again. Phew.

But I also learnt some things along the way.

My Z lead screws, or one of them, was damaged. There is a long scar about 5cm long at one end (originally the top end) which prevented the bed from moving above a certain height. I didn't know why then; now I know. So I turned the rod around. Now the scar is sitting above the Z motor, and should not affect movements unless I am trying to do high prints (above 300mm).

There is a feature in Marlin known as manual mesh bed leveling. It is a mesh bed leveling method that is done manually instead of with a Z probe. This is something that I should try out since my Z probe triggers uneven over different parts of the bed.

I guess it wasn't a total waste of time if I learnt something, right? Or so I try to convince myself... 😄