I Tawt I Taw a Hypocrite
Thursday, November 19. 2009
Yeah, okay, so I'm "tweeting" again, even though I roundly criticized Twitter as a waste of time earlier this year. I did leave myself the possibility of changing my mind in that blog post. So I'm back, but it's different.
When the starter's pistol fires for a long road race like a half marathon, and there are all these people surrounding you just pumping their arms and legs like mad, it's easy to get caught up in the rush and the excitement, and end up running an eight-minute mile right off the bat. That can really kill you for the long haul, making you have to slow way down for a couple of miles because you've sprinted when you should have jogged. Long races are tests of stamina, not bursts of speed. I think that was my problem with Twitter.
I spent entirely too much time on the service when I first signed up for it, just over a year ago. After a few months, the expenditure of time for me became too great, and I realized the return on investment just wasn't there. So I walked a bit, took a break, reassessed my speed. Now I'm back to a jog—using Twitter (I hope) more effectively and reasonably. I do want to stay in touch with friends and make new contacts, while staying informed about topics of interest; Twitter supports those goals. I just have to keep a reasonable pace.
Yeah, okay, so I'm "tweeting" again, even though I roundly criticized Twitter as a waste of time earlier this year. I did leave myself the possibility of changing my mind in that blog post. So I'm back, but it's different.
When the starter's pistol fires for a long road race like a half marathon, and there are all these people surrounding you just pumping their arms and legs like mad, it's easy to get caught up in the rush and the excitement, and end up running an eight-minute mile right off the bat. That can really kill you for the long haul, making you have to slow way down for a couple of miles because you've sprinted when you should have jogged. Long races are tests of stamina, not bursts of speed. I think that was my problem with Twitter.
I spent entirely too much time on the service when I first signed up for it, just over a year ago. After a few months, the expenditure of time for me became too great, and I realized the return on investment just wasn't there. So I walked a bit, took a break, reassessed my speed. Now I'm back to a jog—using Twitter (I hope) more effectively and reasonably. I do want to stay in touch with friends and make new contacts, while staying informed about topics of interest; Twitter supports those goals. I just have to keep a reasonable pace.
When the starter's pistol fires for a long road race like a half marathon, and there are all these people surrounding you just pumping their arms and legs like mad, it's easy to get caught up in the rush and the excitement, and end up running an eight-minute mile right off the bat. That can really kill you for the long haul, making you have to slow way down for a couple of miles because you've sprinted when you should have jogged. Long races are tests of stamina, not bursts of speed. I think that was my problem with Twitter.
I spent entirely too much time on the service when I first signed up for it, just over a year ago. After a few months, the expenditure of time for me became too great, and I realized the return on investment just wasn't there. So I walked a bit, took a break, reassessed my speed. Now I'm back to a jog—using Twitter (I hope) more effectively and reasonably. I do want to stay in touch with friends and make new contacts, while staying informed about topics of interest; Twitter supports those goals. I just have to keep a reasonable pace.
If You're Not Ahead...
Tuesday, November 17. 2009
This past weekend, I officially Got Behind on my writing goal for November.
There are so many things competing for my time this month! Over the weekend, I spent exactly zero hours on my novel. Saturday, I ran a 5K road race, then spent the rest of the day in the Tourist Zone. On Sunday, I ran a 10K road race, then spent the rest of the day at Ft. Wilderness, where my parents currently have their RV parked. Yesterday, I spent the day at Kennedy Space Center and watched the launch of Atlantis (the third—and, sadly, probably the last—shuttle launch I've witnessed in person). I had a great weekend...but my novel didn't.
The graph at right tells it all—I need to spend over 14 hours on my novel today to get back to parity. Sadly, there's a full-time job I have to take care of, too, so I don't think I'll be able to make that much time for writing today. What I'll have to do is work "extra hard" over the next week or so to try and catch up. Evenings and weekends must be consumed by writing, writing, writing.
This past weekend, I officially Got Behind on my writing goal for November.
There are so many things competing for my time this month! Over the weekend, I spent exactly zero hours on my novel. Saturday, I ran a 5K road race, then spent the rest of the day in the Tourist Zone. On Sunday, I ran a 10K road race, then spent the rest of the day at Ft. Wilderness, where my parents currently have their RV parked. Yesterday, I spent the day at Kennedy Space Center and watched the launch of Atlantis (the third—and, sadly, probably the last—shuttle launch I've witnessed in person). I had a great weekend...but my novel didn't.
The graph at right tells it all—I need to spend over 14 hours on my novel today to get back to parity. Sadly, there's a full-time job I have to take care of, too, so I don't think I'll be able to make that much time for writing today. What I'll have to do is work "extra hard" over the next week or so to try and catch up. Evenings and weekends must be consumed by writing, writing, writing.
There are so many things competing for my time this month! Over the weekend, I spent exactly zero hours on my novel. Saturday, I ran a 5K road race, then spent the rest of the day in the Tourist Zone. On Sunday, I ran a 10K road race, then spent the rest of the day at Ft. Wilderness, where my parents currently have their RV parked. Yesterday, I spent the day at Kennedy Space Center and watched the launch of Atlantis (the third—and, sadly, probably the last—shuttle launch I've witnessed in person). I had a great weekend...but my novel didn't.
The graph at right tells it all—I need to spend over 14 hours on my novel today to get back to parity. Sadly, there's a full-time job I have to take care of, too, so I don't think I'll be able to make that much time for writing today. What I'll have to do is work "extra hard" over the next week or so to try and catch up. Evenings and weekends must be consumed by writing, writing, writing.
In the Mood
Wednesday, October 14. 2009
Creating a masterpiece of modern literature consists of two completely different steps: writing and editing.
(Note: The process of actually getting said masterpiece into the hands of the masses consists of many more additional steps, which I'll not treat here. I digress.)
These two operations—writing fiction and editing fiction—are wholly different from each other. They require different skill sets to do well, and they require / evoke different moods in me, the author.
(Note again: I've taken to calling myself an "author," as distinct from a "writer." That's because I'm a "writer / editor," and "author" is a shorthand way of expressing that. But I digress again.)
It seems easier to edit than to write. Editing can be done in little bite-sized snippets, re-reading a scene or two and "tightening up" the prose, checking continuity, adding beats, making the text generally "sing." On the other hand, writing new text requires a commitment. I must get myself into the proper frame of mind, think about where the story should go, put on the mantles of each of the characters and consider where they want to move the action. I often spend more writing time staring into space, thinking, considering, than actually typing.
(Sorry, note a third time: I was going to say "chewing on my pencil," but I don't generally use a pencil, and "chewing on the keyboard" just sounds desperate. Right, back to the point.)
Writing is like building a bookcase, and editing is like sanding and staining it. Walk into an empty workshop, no plans in hand, and start putting together a piece of furniture. This takes some thought, some work, some time, and a creative mood. Walk into a workshop with a constructed but unfinished bookcase standing at its center, and it's easy to pick up the sandpaper and start removing the imperfections, without very much consideration. Sanding is easy to do piecemeal; building is best when done at one go.
I find it entirely too easy to fall into the trap of editing and re-editing what I've written. It needs to be done, but not to the exclusion of adding new prose—of actually finishing a novel. To do that, I'm going to have to start setting aside specific periods in my day to write, as I did during last year's NaNoWriMo, so I can take the time I need to get myself into the writing mood. I keep telling myself this, but I haven't done it yet. Here's hoping I can start this week. It's never too late to re-ingrain a good habit.
(Note a final time [to self]: I really need to go back and edit this entry. It needs tightening up; there are too many distracting asides. Hmmm. Maybe I'll just go write some prose instead...)
Creating a masterpiece of modern literature consists of two completely different steps: writing and editing.
(Note: The process of actually getting said masterpiece into the hands of the masses consists of many more additional steps, which I'll not treat here. I digress.)
These two operations—writing fiction and editing fiction—are wholly different from each other. They require different skill sets to do well, and they require / evoke different moods in me, the author.
(Note again: I've taken to calling myself an "author," as distinct from a "writer." That's because I'm a "writer / editor," and "author" is a shorthand way of expressing that. But I digress again.)
It seems easier to edit than to write. Editing can be done in little bite-sized snippets, re-reading a scene or two and "tightening up" the prose, checking continuity, adding beats, making the text generally "sing." On the other hand, writing new text requires a commitment. I must get myself into the proper frame of mind, think about where the story should go, put on the mantles of each of the characters and consider where they want to move the action. I often spend more writing time staring into space, thinking, considering, than actually typing.
(Sorry, note a third time: I was going to say "chewing on my pencil," but I don't generally use a pencil, and "chewing on the keyboard" just sounds desperate. Right, back to the point.)
Writing is like building a bookcase, and editing is like sanding and staining it. Walk into an empty workshop, no plans in hand, and start putting together a piece of furniture. This takes some thought, some work, some time, and a creative mood. Walk into a workshop with a constructed but unfinished bookcase standing at its center, and it's easy to pick up the sandpaper and start removing the imperfections, without very much consideration. Sanding is easy to do piecemeal; building is best when done at one go.
I find it entirely too easy to fall into the trap of editing and re-editing what I've written. It needs to be done, but not to the exclusion of adding new prose—of actually finishing a novel. To do that, I'm going to have to start setting aside specific periods in my day to write, as I did during last year's NaNoWriMo, so I can take the time I need to get myself into the writing mood. I keep telling myself this, but I haven't done it yet. Here's hoping I can start this week. It's never too late to re-ingrain a good habit.
(Note a final time [to self]: I really need to go back and edit this entry. It needs tightening up; there are too many distracting asides. Hmmm. Maybe I'll just go write some prose instead...)
(Note: The process of actually getting said masterpiece into the hands of the masses consists of many more additional steps, which I'll not treat here. I digress.)
These two operations—writing fiction and editing fiction—are wholly different from each other. They require different skill sets to do well, and they require / evoke different moods in me, the author.
(Note again: I've taken to calling myself an "author," as distinct from a "writer." That's because I'm a "writer / editor," and "author" is a shorthand way of expressing that. But I digress again.)
It seems easier to edit than to write. Editing can be done in little bite-sized snippets, re-reading a scene or two and "tightening up" the prose, checking continuity, adding beats, making the text generally "sing." On the other hand, writing new text requires a commitment. I must get myself into the proper frame of mind, think about where the story should go, put on the mantles of each of the characters and consider where they want to move the action. I often spend more writing time staring into space, thinking, considering, than actually typing.
(Sorry, note a third time: I was going to say "chewing on my pencil," but I don't generally use a pencil, and "chewing on the keyboard" just sounds desperate. Right, back to the point.)
Writing is like building a bookcase, and editing is like sanding and staining it. Walk into an empty workshop, no plans in hand, and start putting together a piece of furniture. This takes some thought, some work, some time, and a creative mood. Walk into a workshop with a constructed but unfinished bookcase standing at its center, and it's easy to pick up the sandpaper and start removing the imperfections, without very much consideration. Sanding is easy to do piecemeal; building is best when done at one go.
I find it entirely too easy to fall into the trap of editing and re-editing what I've written. It needs to be done, but not to the exclusion of adding new prose—of actually finishing a novel. To do that, I'm going to have to start setting aside specific periods in my day to write, as I did during last year's NaNoWriMo, so I can take the time I need to get myself into the writing mood. I keep telling myself this, but I haven't done it yet. Here's hoping I can start this week. It's never too late to re-ingrain a good habit.
(Note a final time [to self]: I really need to go back and edit this entry. It needs tightening up; there are too many distracting asides. Hmmm. Maybe I'll just go write some prose instead...)
Wait, What Was I Supposed to Be Doing?
Thursday, October 1. 2009
The weather in Central Florida has finally turned autumn-like, the rainy season is over, and I was able to ride my motorcycle to work yesterday for the first time in weeks, if not months. On Friday, my second batch of prototype circuit boards is due to arrive, and I expect to spend most of the weekend getting some devices up and running. The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is in full swing, its constant siren call luring me over to the Tourist Zone to eat, drink, and be sick on Mission: Space. I'm up to the eight-mile mark in my weekly long runs, in preparation for the back-to-back half and full marathons I plan to run in January.
Oh, and I've actually started working on writing again this week.
I managed to earn another "Most Productive Critter" award on Critters yesterday, having done 11.5 critiques for the week. I'm almost caught up to the required 75% participation level, and I'll probably grab another MPC in the process of getting there, for a total of three outstanding. Then I guess I'll need to have some of my own prose ready to send through the queue. So I'm re-examining the status of my in-process stories, and I'm going to start getting a few of them dressed up and made presentable.
Meanwhile, I also took a look at BMtL again, for the first time in a couple of months (to my chagrin, embarrassment, and disbelief...but ext3 timestamps don't lie). I was not at all happy with the first few pages, but before I start tearing that novel apart and re-building large parts of it, I'd like to finish the story arc. So that's going to be my primary focus (again) for now—and it will consume my November, in place of National Novel Writing Month 2009.
I'll miss doing NaNoWrimo this time around, but it's best for my writing that I skip it. As I've said before, I feel that I need to finish a novel before I start any more of them.
I think I've helped convince a friend of mine to try NaNoWriMo this year. She's got the kernel of an idea, and I think she's going to have fun turning it into a bunch of text. She's concerned (as we all are) about having enough time to follow through, and I've been trying to convince her to take advantage of some of the NaNo "meet-ups" to help with motivation. I'm considering going to a meet-up or two myself, even though I'm not going to be "officially" participating this year. I'm thinking that all the writing vibes floating around at these get-togethers will help me along with my non-NaNo writing. It worked for novel starting, perhaps it will work for novel finishing.
There's nothing dishonest about that, is there? Unauthorized vibe absorption? I guess I could pretend to start a new novel, if I had to...
The weather in Central Florida has finally turned autumn-like, the rainy season is over, and I was able to ride my motorcycle to work yesterday for the first time in weeks, if not months. On Friday, my second batch of prototype circuit boards is due to arrive, and I expect to spend most of the weekend getting some devices up and running. The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is in full swing, its constant siren call luring me over to the Tourist Zone to eat, drink, and be sick on Mission: Space. I'm up to the eight-mile mark in my weekly long runs, in preparation for the back-to-back half and full marathons I plan to run in January.
Oh, and I've actually started working on writing again this week.
I managed to earn another "Most Productive Critter" award on Critters yesterday, having done 11.5 critiques for the week. I'm almost caught up to the required 75% participation level, and I'll probably grab another MPC in the process of getting there, for a total of three outstanding. Then I guess I'll need to have some of my own prose ready to send through the queue. So I'm re-examining the status of my in-process stories, and I'm going to start getting a few of them dressed up and made presentable.
Meanwhile, I also took a look at BMtL again, for the first time in a couple of months (to my chagrin, embarrassment, and disbelief...but ext3 timestamps don't lie). I was not at all happy with the first few pages, but before I start tearing that novel apart and re-building large parts of it, I'd like to finish the story arc. So that's going to be my primary focus (again) for now—and it will consume my November, in place of National Novel Writing Month 2009.
I'll miss doing NaNoWrimo this time around, but it's best for my writing that I skip it. As I've said before, I feel that I need to finish a novel before I start any more of them.
I think I've helped convince a friend of mine to try NaNoWriMo this year. She's got the kernel of an idea, and I think she's going to have fun turning it into a bunch of text. She's concerned (as we all are) about having enough time to follow through, and I've been trying to convince her to take advantage of some of the NaNo "meet-ups" to help with motivation. I'm considering going to a meet-up or two myself, even though I'm not going to be "officially" participating this year. I'm thinking that all the writing vibes floating around at these get-togethers will help me along with my non-NaNo writing. It worked for novel starting, perhaps it will work for novel finishing.
There's nothing dishonest about that, is there? Unauthorized vibe absorption? I guess I could pretend to start a new novel, if I had to...
Oh, and I've actually started working on writing again this week.
I managed to earn another "Most Productive Critter" award on Critters yesterday, having done 11.5 critiques for the week. I'm almost caught up to the required 75% participation level, and I'll probably grab another MPC in the process of getting there, for a total of three outstanding. Then I guess I'll need to have some of my own prose ready to send through the queue. So I'm re-examining the status of my in-process stories, and I'm going to start getting a few of them dressed up and made presentable.
Meanwhile, I also took a look at BMtL again, for the first time in a couple of months (to my chagrin, embarrassment, and disbelief...but ext3 timestamps don't lie). I was not at all happy with the first few pages, but before I start tearing that novel apart and re-building large parts of it, I'd like to finish the story arc. So that's going to be my primary focus (again) for now—and it will consume my November, in place of National Novel Writing Month 2009.
I'll miss doing NaNoWrimo this time around, but it's best for my writing that I skip it. As I've said before, I feel that I need to finish a novel before I start any more of them.
I think I've helped convince a friend of mine to try NaNoWriMo this year. She's got the kernel of an idea, and I think she's going to have fun turning it into a bunch of text. She's concerned (as we all are) about having enough time to follow through, and I've been trying to convince her to take advantage of some of the NaNo "meet-ups" to help with motivation. I'm considering going to a meet-up or two myself, even though I'm not going to be "officially" participating this year. I'm thinking that all the writing vibes floating around at these get-togethers will help me along with my non-NaNo writing. It worked for novel starting, perhaps it will work for novel finishing.
There's nothing dishonest about that, is there? Unauthorized vibe absorption? I guess I could pretend to start a new novel, if I had to...
Fun with Fumes
Monday, September 21. 2009
Remember when I mentioned a prototype for an electronics project I was working on? Well, after I had breadboarded it up, I used Eagle to put together a schematic and to lay out a circuit board. Then I ordered three prototype boards from Sunstone Circuits for $61, including shipping. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I got the boards. They came in on Friday, and they looked great! They even threw in an extra board—must've had extra space on the panel.
I needed this board to be very small—eventually, I'll reveal why—so I planned to use surface-mount parts throughout. I'd never worked with SMT before, other than to hand-solder a few tiny passives onto a practice board. One of my components (this one) only comes in what's called an LGA package—basically, there are no leads to solder, only pads on the bottom of the chip! Thus, there's no way to hand-solder it. So, I had to turn to a technique I'd only read about on the web: toaster-oven reflow soldering.
I had already bought solder paste and [almost] all the components I'd need from Digi-Key and Newark, so late Friday afternoon I gathered an old toaster oven, tweezers, a magnifying glass (with compass, of course), an infrared thermometer, a timer, and all the non-through-hole parts for my prototype. Some people have designed high-tech digital controllers for their toaster ovens to keep them on the manufacturer-recommended temperature profiles, but many people have just cranked the oven up and let it do its thing for a specified "safe" amount of time. I opted for the latter approach.
First I applied the solder paste, hoping I was getting the right amount on each pad. Too much would lead to little solder balls or bridging between nearby pads, while too little would fail to bond the part to the board. Next came the long game of "Operation!"—sans buzzer, thankfully—wherein I used the tweezers to place/drop/nudge each little part onto its appointed spot. I only lost two passives, one resistor and one capacitor. This is why we order 5% extra.
Then, into the oven. I was worried at the five-minute mark when nothing seemed to be happening except the production of some (probably toxic) fumes. Suddenly, as I watched, the solder paste became silvery and flowed, like magic. As the web had counseled me, I let the board sit in the oven for another 20 seconds or so, then turned off the heat and opened the door. I only had four bridges between adjacent fine-pitch IC pins, which were fairly easy to clean up with some desoldering wick. I hand-soldered the few through-hole parts, and voila! A finished SMT prototype board!
Well, less one part. I somehow forgot to order the EEPROM. Luckily, the prototype will work fine without that chip, it's just unable to leave its tether to the PC (unless it never loses power). I ordered the missing part on Saturday and should have it in hand this week.
I was more than a little surprised that this whole process had worked. I was a little less surprised when I hooked the board up to the programming interface and the microcontroller couldn't be found. A little green-wiring fixed that problem (visible in the image).
Everything tested out great except the EEPROM (missing) and the ADXL345. For the latter, I had accidentally connected one of those hidden pads to ground instead of positive voltage. (It was a result of some confusing labeling on the datasheet and...well...never mind.) This, sadly, is not a problem that could be fixed on the board. So I went back to Eagle, revised the schematic and the board layout, made a few other little adjustments, triple-checked everything three times, and sent the files off to Sunstone for version two of the prototype board. I should get the new boards in a couple of weeks. Then, we'll start the process again, only this time, I expect everything to work...
Remember when I mentioned a prototype for an electronics project I was working on? Well, after I had breadboarded it up, I used Eagle to put together a schematic and to lay out a circuit board. Then I ordered three prototype boards from Sunstone Circuits for $61, including shipping. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I got the boards. They came in on Friday, and they looked great! They even threw in an extra board—must've had extra space on the panel.
I needed this board to be very small—eventually, I'll reveal why—so I planned to use surface-mount parts throughout. I'd never worked with SMT before, other than to hand-solder a few tiny passives onto a practice board. One of my components (this one) only comes in what's called an LGA package—basically, there are no leads to solder, only pads on the bottom of the chip! Thus, there's no way to hand-solder it. So, I had to turn to a technique I'd only read about on the web: toaster-oven reflow soldering.
I had already bought solder paste and [almost] all the components I'd need from Digi-Key and Newark, so late Friday afternoon I gathered an old toaster oven, tweezers, a magnifying glass (with compass, of course), an infrared thermometer, a timer, and all the non-through-hole parts for my prototype. Some people have designed high-tech digital controllers for their toaster ovens to keep them on the manufacturer-recommended temperature profiles, but many people have just cranked the oven up and let it do its thing for a specified "safe" amount of time. I opted for the latter approach.
First I applied the solder paste, hoping I was getting the right amount on each pad. Too much would lead to little solder balls or bridging between nearby pads, while too little would fail to bond the part to the board. Next came the long game of "Operation!"—sans buzzer, thankfully—wherein I used the tweezers to place/drop/nudge each little part onto its appointed spot. I only lost two passives, one resistor and one capacitor. This is why we order 5% extra.
Then, into the oven. I was worried at the five-minute mark when nothing seemed to be happening except the production of some (probably toxic) fumes. Suddenly, as I watched, the solder paste became silvery and flowed, like magic. As the web had counseled me, I let the board sit in the oven for another 20 seconds or so, then turned off the heat and opened the door. I only had four bridges between adjacent fine-pitch IC pins, which were fairly easy to clean up with some desoldering wick. I hand-soldered the few through-hole parts, and voila! A finished SMT prototype board!
Well, less one part. I somehow forgot to order the EEPROM. Luckily, the prototype will work fine without that chip, it's just unable to leave its tether to the PC (unless it never loses power). I ordered the missing part on Saturday and should have it in hand this week.
I was more than a little surprised that this whole process had worked. I was a little less surprised when I hooked the board up to the programming interface and the microcontroller couldn't be found. A little green-wiring fixed that problem (visible in the image).
Everything tested out great except the EEPROM (missing) and the ADXL345. For the latter, I had accidentally connected one of those hidden pads to ground instead of positive voltage. (It was a result of some confusing labeling on the datasheet and...well...never mind.) This, sadly, is not a problem that could be fixed on the board. So I went back to Eagle, revised the schematic and the board layout, made a few other little adjustments, triple-checked everything three times, and sent the files off to Sunstone for version two of the prototype board. I should get the new boards in a couple of weeks. Then, we'll start the process again, only this time, I expect everything to work...
I needed this board to be very small—eventually, I'll reveal why—so I planned to use surface-mount parts throughout. I'd never worked with SMT before, other than to hand-solder a few tiny passives onto a practice board. One of my components (this one) only comes in what's called an LGA package—basically, there are no leads to solder, only pads on the bottom of the chip! Thus, there's no way to hand-solder it. So, I had to turn to a technique I'd only read about on the web: toaster-oven reflow soldering.
I had already bought solder paste and [almost] all the components I'd need from Digi-Key and Newark, so late Friday afternoon I gathered an old toaster oven, tweezers, a magnifying glass (with compass, of course), an infrared thermometer, a timer, and all the non-through-hole parts for my prototype. Some people have designed high-tech digital controllers for their toaster ovens to keep them on the manufacturer-recommended temperature profiles, but many people have just cranked the oven up and let it do its thing for a specified "safe" amount of time. I opted for the latter approach.
First I applied the solder paste, hoping I was getting the right amount on each pad. Too much would lead to little solder balls or bridging between nearby pads, while too little would fail to bond the part to the board. Next came the long game of "Operation!"—sans buzzer, thankfully—wherein I used the tweezers to place/drop/nudge each little part onto its appointed spot. I only lost two passives, one resistor and one capacitor. This is why we order 5% extra.
Then, into the oven. I was worried at the five-minute mark when nothing seemed to be happening except the production of some (probably toxic) fumes. Suddenly, as I watched, the solder paste became silvery and flowed, like magic. As the web had counseled me, I let the board sit in the oven for another 20 seconds or so, then turned off the heat and opened the door. I only had four bridges between adjacent fine-pitch IC pins, which were fairly easy to clean up with some desoldering wick. I hand-soldered the few through-hole parts, and voila! A finished SMT prototype board!
Well, less one part. I somehow forgot to order the EEPROM. Luckily, the prototype will work fine without that chip, it's just unable to leave its tether to the PC (unless it never loses power). I ordered the missing part on Saturday and should have it in hand this week.
I was more than a little surprised that this whole process had worked. I was a little less surprised when I hooked the board up to the programming interface and the microcontroller couldn't be found. A little green-wiring fixed that problem (visible in the image).
Everything tested out great except the EEPROM (missing) and the ADXL345. For the latter, I had accidentally connected one of those hidden pads to ground instead of positive voltage. (It was a result of some confusing labeling on the datasheet and...well...never mind.) This, sadly, is not a problem that could be fixed on the board. So I went back to Eagle, revised the schematic and the board layout, made a few other little adjustments, triple-checked everything three times, and sent the files off to Sunstone for version two of the prototype board. I should get the new boards in a couple of weeks. Then, we'll start the process again, only this time, I expect everything to work...
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