Unstuck your Nespresso, coding skills hiring managers want, and my fix it week
Plus, a new way to wire plugs and sockets, a backyard Stargate, and a dinosaur theory that might be very wrong.
I’m David Gewirtz. Welcome to this week’s Advanced Geekery newsletter. It’s been an exciting week. Let’s dive in.
My articles
Let’s kick it off with a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
Your dream programming job demands this language, every site agrees: Want a programming job? Learning any language is good but only one is essential in 2024.
Nespresso stuck in descaling mode? Here's the secret code you need to fix it: From YouTube hacks to rinse cycle tricks, here's how to outsmart the machine to get coffee flowing again.
Fix it week in the Fab Lab
It’s been fix it week here in the Fab Lab. Four of my 3D printers decided to crap out all at once.
One needed a new hot end (the part that heats the filament). Two crashed on the same firmware update, necessitating opening the units and hard-resetting the systems.
One brand new machine apparently has a bad motherboard, so I’m waiting for the replacement. It was just released from customs, so it will probably arrive sometime this week.
Momma said there’d be weeks like this. Of course, Momma didn’t know of 3D printers, but she deeply understood weeks like this. It’s been one of those weeks.
Stay tuned. Regular project work will (hopefully) resume over the coming week.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
I don’t know about you, but I do not like crawling on the floor to wire wall sockets and switches. This guy has a very cool approach that can make it a lot easier.
Bob Clagett of I Like To Make Stuff is back with a new project. This time, he’s repurposed lift desks to hold gaming gear. You know how much I love my lift desks, right?
Do you know the difference between bit holders and nut drivers? Now you do.
Interesting reads
And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth reading.
More Mayan temples and pyramids have been discovered in Mexico.
The idea that a warming Earth led to the age of the dinosaurs may have been wrong.
Some guy built a full-sized Stargate replica in his back yard, but doesn’t want visitors.
Send in your projects
I’d like to regularly spotlight a reader project or two here. Your project doesn’t have to be a big Kickstarter launch. If you’ve built something cool, it has some pretty pictures, and you’re proud of it, I might be able to share it here.
If you have a photogenic reader project, send an email to me at david@zatz.com with the subject “READER PROJECT,” a few pictures, and a short one-paragraph description. If you have a social media link or a link to the project, include that, too.
Both my EPs are now streaming
Available on all your favorite streaming services.
More clicky
I’ve got a lot happening all over the web. Here are links to my various stuff:
House of the Head: home for my published music
ZATZ Labs: where I host my published software projects
Feel free to dig around, visit, and say hey!
Leave some comments
Substack supports comments, so feel free to leave some. I promise to read them. Just, please, let’s keep our personal politics out of any discussion.
That should do it for this week. This newsletter is really starting to pick up subscribers. Please help it out by sharing links on all your socials.
Have a great week!