Blood on the Clock Tower

Blood on the Clocktower is a social deduction game designed by Steven Medway where players are divided into Good (Townsfolk and Outsiders) and Evil (Demons and Minions) teams. The Good team aims to identify and execute the demon, while the Evil team tries to eliminate the townsfolk and create confusion.

Key features include:

  • Storyteller Role: A moderator who manages the game and ensures balance.
  • Unique Roles: Each player has a distinct role with special abilities, adding strategic depth.
  • No Player Elimination: Players who are "killed" become ghosts and can still participate.
  • Bluffing and Deception: Players use social skills to achieve their team's goals.
  • Dynamic Gameplay: The Storyteller can adjust the game to keep it engaging.

The game is known for its strategic complexity and social interaction, making it ideal for larger groups.

There is a free version of the game if you don't want to pay $150, here are some useful links to get setup

Summary: Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity

Kim Scott shows how “radical candor” can be used in the workplace to give better feedback and meaningful praise and criticism.

You’ll Learn:

  1. How to care personally while challenging directly
  2. Three important conversations that you should be having at work
  3. An approach to giving better feedback to your boss

About Kim

Kim Scott is the author of Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity, a NYT and WSJ bestseller, published by St Martin’s Press. Kim is also the co-founder and CEO of Candor, Inc., which builds tools to make it easier to follow the advice she offers in the book. She is also the author of three novels and co-host of the Radical Candor podcast.

Linux Rename files with Prefix

To rename all .jpg to prefix*.jpg in the current directory:

In a shell script

for filename in *.jpg; do mv "$filename" "prefix_$filename"; done;
 

You can use rename utility to rename multiple files by a pattern. For example following command will prepend string MyVacation2011_ to all the files with jpg extension.

rename 's/^/MyVacation2011_/g' *.jpg

or

Summary - When: The scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

Author: Daniel H. Pink

When BookWhen: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink explores how timing can impact our lives and how to use it to be more efficient and productive. The book uses research from psychology, biology, and economics to help people succeed at work, school, and home. 

Pink argues that timing is a science, not an art, and that people experience a regular pattern of peak, trough, and rebound throughout the day. Some insights from the book include:

Summary - The Real George Washington (American Classic Series)

George WashingtonDescribes the country's first President through a biography and a compilation of quotes that cover such topics as John Adams, the American Revolution, liberty, taxation, and foreign relations.

The story of his life is the story of the founding of America. His was the dominant personality in three of the most critical events in that founding: the Revolutionary War, the Constitutional Convention, and the first national administration. Had he not served as America's leader in those three events, all would likely have failed -- and America, as we know it today, would not exist. Why, after two centuries, does George Washington remain one of the most beloved figures in our history? The Real George Washington answers that question by giving us a close look at this man who became the father of our country and the first American President. But rather than focus on the interpretations of historians, much of his exciting story is told in his own words.

Summary - Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Team of RivalsOne of the most influential books of the past fifty years, Team of Rivals is Pulitzer Prize–winning author and esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s modern classic about the political genius of Abraham Lincoln, his unlikely presidency, and his cabinet of former political foes.

Winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize and the inspiration for the Oscar Award winning–film Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Tony Kushner.

On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry.

Raspberry Pi Pico Play sounds using Circuitpy

I found out that there are two main ways of using Python on a Raspberry Pi Pico, MicroPython or CircuitPython.

It is much harder to play a .wav file on a Pico with MicroPython, and I could not find a solution to play MP3 files with MicroPython.  

There are how every serveral simple tutorials with libraries that exist for CircuitPython.  CircuitPython libraries have better support for sensors but you may want to use MicroPython for: Advanced APIs such as interrupts and threading, or existing MicroPython code.

As of now CircuitPython does support the Wifi on the Pico W so I really could not see any reason not to go for it.  According to CircuitPython documentation it is supposed to be simpler to get started with than MicroPython but I did not find it to be so.  For me using MicroPython with Thonny was super easy to get started with.

I tried to get Thonny to work with CircuitPython but finally gave up and started using the Mu Editor with it.

Installing CircuitPython on the Pico

Install CircuitPython by going to: https://circuitpython.org/downloads and downloading the correct version for your Pico either with our without WiFi.

Light and Motion sensor control of Relay

Python code for MicroPython v1.19.1 using Thonny

# Light and Motion sensor control of Relay

from machine import ADC, Pin
from time import sleep
import tm1637
mydisplay = tm1637.TM1637(clk=Pin(26), dio=Pin(27))
mydisplay.brightness(0)

# Microcontrollerslab.com - LED button
# peppe8o.com/how-to-use-a-photoresistor-with-raspberry-pi-pico - light sensor

mot_delay  = 100.