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Pothole Filling Machine

First, a disclaimer! I’ve known Jeramey from Urban Milwaukee for over 20 years. I’ve also worked with him and Dave on a project once, but it was over a decade ago. I’m a fan of Milwaukee, a fan of publishing, and I like what Urban Milwaukee does. I’m a supporter.

I’m also a fan of filling potholes, and I got probably 30 of them filled this year be reporting them to the city. The first batch were filled within a few days, which is awesome.

So many people complain about potholes but do nothing about them. Report them to the city using the MKE Mobile Action app. It works!

Urban Milwaukee published an article: See Milwaukee’s New Pothole Filling Machine but they also published a Facebook Reel (or Instagram Reel?) and it is inundated with comments from ignorant people who didn’t read the article.

A large majority of people said they could do it faster by hand. Cool. Do it. These are the same people who see a painting and say “I could paint that.” These are people who don’t seem to know or care that DPW laborer Bryan Rodriguez was struck and killed by a hit and run driver while filling potholes. These are people who say city workers are “lazy” and one person works while five others watch. Some of these people probably say “I’m a good driver but everyone else on the road is a terrible driver!” We also got some anti-union comments! Of course unions do things like protect workers, so they don’t get injured or killed on the job… Bitching about wasting taxpayer’s money, and all sorts of other things that were addressed in the article none of them seemed to read.

Sigh… I can’t even. I hate to say the old “Don’t read the comments…” thing is the solution, because we do need to be able to share our views in a public forum.

And I don’t want to blame Urban Milwaukee. I could blame Instagram for not allowing actual working links for posts (because Instagram is anti-web) but I guess I can also blame what we as a society have become… Terrible People.

So please, I’m begging you… don’t be a terrible person.

Tags milwaukee

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Game Show Buzzer System V3

Post author By Pete Prodoehl
Post date 2025-07-15
No Comments on Game Show Buzzer System V3

I built Game Show Buzzer System V2 earlier this year, and I had someone who wanted basically the same thing, so this is Game Show Buzzer System V3 with a few very minor tweaks. I’ve added LEDs into the control box so the host can see which player buzzed in.

Once again the control box plugs into a computer via USB and can send keys, keystrokes, USB MIDI data, or serial data. Each button plugs into the control box using a TRS cable. We used 6 foot but you could easily get 10 foot or longer if needed.

For this one the client will be using Resolume VJ Software & Media Server and each button is set to send a different MIDI noteOn signal to trigger a video to play. Like any game show if you hit your buzzer first you get to answer the question! In discussing functionality I explained how we usually have a “lock out” time before another button press will be recognized. The client thought a three second delay would be fine…

But! I mentioned we could always adjust that in the firmware later if needed… Also, I added a reset button directly on the control box. This would allow the “host” to press the button to end the lockout period. This is sort of a future-proofing feature.

I think if I were building a deluxe version I would add a control to set the lockout time… something like what I did for the Tradeshow Video Player Controller perhaps. But also, am I getting ahead of myself? Since I haven’t built it yet I will say “No” but then…

Also, this could be used as a standalone system without a computer. It’s less exciting, as there is no sound or video triggered when the button is pressed, but as a bare-bones quiz game system, it would work fine. If you do want sounds it would be trivial to plug into a computer via USB and use QLab or LeMIDI for those.

I started working on a four button version of this, but now I’m thinking I might want to just build the deluxe version and hope that someone might want to purchase it in the future.

I’m also considering different button options, as these are nice and big but they’re also fairly expensive. We could use The Button or any other button for triggering things. (But yeah, people certainly like hitting that big button!)

Tags arduino, button, controller, games, usb

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3D Printed Sign Handle

I designed a sign handle I could use for the protest signs I’ve been making lately.

It’s a handle and backing piece. The two pieces bolt together using 8-32″ bolts (or 4mm bolts) and clamp around the sign. If you have concerned about wind you can hot glue the backing piece to the sign to add some solid support.

I made the back piece larger & taller and glued it in place after a particular windy day! (You can see a little bead of hot glue sticking out of the top of the back piece in the photo above.

The handle part is hollow, but you can print the whole thing without support. This is one of those prints that is more functional than beautiful, and as long as it works I don’t care how nice it looks. (I mean, it still looks good of course!)

My signs are typically around 18″ x 12″ and I use cardboard of varying thicknesses. The only thing I don’t like about it is that I didn’t have the right size bolts so I had to cut some down to not stick out too far. (If the bolts stick out too far they could cause damage, and uh… well, no one wants that, right?)

You can get the STL files from Printables.com – Sign Handle and you’ll need to make your own sign! (Or find some here!)

Tags 3dprinting, sign

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The Code Struggle

I struggled with some code this week. I knew what I needed to code to do, based on the behavior of the device I was building, but getting to the point where the code did exactly what I wanted took some time. I made mistakes, I had to test things repeatedly, I had to add code to show me exactly what was happening… and in the end, it worked.

I’d say that 95% of the code I write nowadays is pretty simple (for me) and I get it right on the first try. The other 5% is maybe a bit of a challenge and some is just challenging to me.

But… I like the challenge.

I would rather struggle with the code and find a solution, and celebrate the outcome than just have some fucking AI robot write the code for me.

I know, some people would rather just get the answer, have it handed to them, skip the work, and move on. Life should be easy, not a struggle!

But it’s through the struggle that we become who we are, how we learn about ourselves, and others, and the world around us.

What great achievement has been taken place without some form or struggle? Without working towards something better?

The Billionaire Ruling Class know nothing of struggle, because everything has been handed to them. Perhaps that’s why they try to shove AI down our throats. They assume everyone wants the easy answers.

I’m thinking of lyrics from two different hardcore bands right now that are a perfect fit for this post… and maybe that’s part of why I am the way I am, because some guys in a punk band 30 years ago recognized the same thing and wrote words and music and piled in a van and drove around playing to small crowds and screaming and connecting with people who felt the same.

Life should be about always seeking answers, always gathering knowledge, it’s an exploration, it’s a journey, and there is no shortcut or magic answer key that will solve the mysteries of life for you.

Tags code, life, punk

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Feed Me Oligarchs

I’ve had a few requests to use the graphics I’ve been making lately, so I just dumped them all into a folder you can find here: http://apps.2xlnetworks.net/files/

At some point I may organize things a bit more but for now, do what you want with them. No license, no credit needed, no restrictions… just help us fight tyranny and oppression.

I did an illustration of a guillotine that I used for a relief print so I reused it here for this graphic.

Get it here: http://apps.2xlnetworks.net/files/Feed Me Oligarchs/

Tags art, sign