Category: Uncategorized
A new version of `devmem2` with kernel super-powers
Have you ever been sitting at your Linux shell prompt and just wanted to store a simple value at a simple address, but every force in the universe was lined up to prevent you from doing so?
I present devememkm
, a tiny Loadable Kernel Module that will let you poke any value into any address you want instantly, reliability, and without ceremony.
Breaking News! Google AdWords Exploit Seen in the Wild! Yikes!
Today, my aunt Sue did a google search for “ebay” and got this…
See the ad for ebay at the top of the results? Not particularly interesting, right?…
How to ride your bike to LaGuardia Airport

Biking to LGA is not only possible, it is sometimes the fastest (and always the most predicable) way to get there. Here’s how to do it…
Read moreQuick observations on looking for an NYC rental apartment
The NYC rental market is a deeply broken market. Things like rent control, high switching costs, and crazy tenant protection laws (that horribly hurt good tenants) cause mind bending distortions and completely disrupt the normal supply/demand balance.
If you are new to this market, get ready to learn some new rules.
Continue readingIdea Dump 2018
As each year passes and my to-do lists get longer, I have to accept that I will die long before I will get to make and do everything I want to.
Here are some things that I probably will never get to, but maybe you will? Don’t let the crackpot-stream-of-consciousness-style throw you, I believe most of these ideas could actually be successful and profitable… with some work.
Let me know if you are truly interested and I will try to share any effort I’ve already invested to give you a head start….

Fingerlings Fart Monkey Autopsy
Fingerlings are Cabbage Patch Kids multiplied by Bitcoin. Let’s sacrifice one for science and see the tech that makes them so irresistible!
Read on to the end for a shocking video showing how we may reanimate a disemboweled fart money when animal electricity is duly applied…
A different kind of Initial Coin Offering
I have 2,500 in shinny new $1 coins that I need to get rid of. I want to give them to you… if you can come up with some way to creatively use them.
You have until midnight December 31st to tell me your idea. The winner will be announced on New Year’s Day. If you win, you will have 30 days to come pick up the cash in NYC.
Some facts about the coins:
- 100 rolls of $25 each
- Weigh almost 50 pounds
- Stacked like flapjacks would make a tower more than 16 feet tall
- Laid edge-to-edge would stretch father than a city block
I am looking for a project that:
- uses the coins as coins rather than money
- can be completed quickly and decisively
- is a concrete plan of action rather than an abstract concept
- will make people say “That is amazing”.
I’ve intentionally avoided adding rules to encourage wild and unexpected creativity. I’m looking forward to see what you come up with!
Tweet your entry to @ico_irl
Website is at https://ico-irl.com.
Pass this on to anyone you know who might have been waiting for an opportunity like this to do something amazing!
-josh
Adventures in Autorouting
Why are we humans still wasting our time doing a crappy job at manually routing printed circuit board traces? If a computer can beat the best Go player on earth, surely it can route a mess of traces better than idiot me!
Let’s try out a few of the latest and greatest auto-routing programs to see how useful they are routing my new board! Continue reading
Getting to cheap – Tearing-down a $3 Fidget Spinner with LED POV display
Fidget spinners are everywhere, but surprisingly few have POV LED displays. I found one that costs only $3.29 including shipping from China – let’s see how it works!
Challenge: Can you figure out how this single part boost converter works?
If you think this is easy, then I think you are missing something. This is hard. You need to know your hardware intimately to figure this one out.
Free Less Is More Hacker tee-shirt to the first correct answer in the comments. More details and demo video below…