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Looks like coin purchasing options on Binance and Coinbase are limited. Neither site sells SHIB, SIA, THETA, TRON, XRP, etc… – Does Bittrex?

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This Article discusses a number of interesting things about trees. A few are: How trees talk to each other, and how they share nutrients with each other and mycorrhizal fungi

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/04/993430007/trees-talk-to-each-other-mother-tree-ecologist-hears-lessons-for-people-too

(This is cross posted in the general discussion)

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<div>This Article discusses a number of interesting things about trees. A few are: How trees talk to each other, and how they share nutrients with each other and mycorrhizal fungi </div><div>
</div><div>
</div>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/04/993430007/trees-talk-to-each-other-mother-tree-ecologist-hears-lessons-for-people-too<div>
</div><div>@katejackson @Andrew_Brousseau </div>

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Rasptank from Manufacturer: https://www.adeept.com/rasptank_p0121.html

– I always recommend purchasing from the manufacturer if you can. Mostly because the amount of customer support that you would receive as opposed to purchasing from a 3rd party vendor usually pays dividends in saving you time and frustration (in my experience).

Some background on the rasptank: I purchased this because I had a couple of raspberry pi’s laying around that I wasn’t using. I also thought it would be a good build because if you get sick of the tank or want to start another project you can always pull the raspberry pi out of the tank and use it for something else. or, you can just mount the rasptank on a stand, run a hdmi cable, a wireless keyboard, mouse, and a micro usb cable to it and use it as a desktop computer. So many options….. – sometimes I do this to make quick changes using a screen and a keyboard…

– First off I would not say this is a simple build. The assembly is definitely the easiest part. It does require installing operating systems, installing software, some networking (ssh, etc.), which are great skills to learn. I think the instructions are actually pretty good considering the complexity and capability of the robot.

I havn’t explored too many of the robots more advanced functions (line following, tracking objects, etc.)

I’ve tested the wifi (or bluetooth – can’t remember which it uses) controls and they seem to be working pretty well.

Issues I’m currently facing: My robot starts up and performs all of the functions I ask it to. The one issue is that it turns right when I want it to turn left, backwards when I want it to move forward and vice versa. because it is a tank, the way it moves forward and turns is by controlling the direction the track motors move (clockwise or counter clockwise). The python program that controls the way the tracks move is stored in a file on the raspberry pi. The instructions indicate that you can change the parameters in the code to change the way the motors respond to the control inputs. I have played with the code a little bit, but havn’t achieved the desired result. Yet. I’ll share a snippet of the manual and what the file looks like so you can see what I’m talking about.

Here is the manual that outlines how to build the robot. It’s free and kind of cool if you want to get an idea of what you are getting yourself into before you purchase:

https://www.adeept.com/video/static1/itemsfile/Tutorial_12-11.pdf

– Excerpt from page 88 of the above tutorial pdf outlining how to adjust code to address motor movement:

” (when) ●Motor movement direction is incorrect
Due to the different batches of motors, when the same signal is given, the direction of rotation of the motor may
be different.

We have set an interface to adjust the direction of rotation of the motor in the program. You need to open
move.py.

In the program part, you can see To the following variable definitions:

Dir_forward = 0

Dir_backward = 1

left_forward = 0

left_backward = 1

right_forward = 0

right_backward = 0

If all your motor actions are reversed, just change:

Dir_forward = 0 to Dir_forward = 1,

Just change Dir_backward
= 1 to Dir_backward = 0.

If you only have one motor reversed, you only need to change the corresponding set of variables. “

– I’m also having an issue where the Rasptank doesn’t automatically execute the Robot program when I turn it on, which I think is a fairly simple fix outlined in this manual. I just havn’t had time to address it yet?

Any Questions? – Let me know

One last thing. This entire robot chassis was made out of sheets of polycarbonate (or similar plastic sheeting) that was cut with a CNC. This means that if you had the original file for the CNC, and a desktop CNC – you could create this from a couple flat sheets of plastic. (minus raspberry pi, motors, tracks treads, servos, and a few other small parts).

I added a few images for context:

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what would people be most interested in seeing:

– raspberry pi robot that follows lines or people (already built, need to adjust code for track control)

– arduino robot – needs to be built

– openbot – cellphone based robot (pretty powerful)

– OpenMV robot – DIY roboracer that we can enter into races locally

Let me know…

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Hey @amirshachar and @katejackson – I needed a reminder to circle back to this.

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Here is JPL’s response:

Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Insight Lander Martian Dust Removal
To: Evan Tutill <tutill35@gmail.com>, karen.c.fox@nasa.gov <karen.c.fox@nasa.gov>, alana.r.johnson@nasa.go <alana.r.johnson@nasa.go>

Hi Evan – not much to report at this time. We hope to provide more information in the near future.

We did share the lander’s latest activity on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/<wbr>NASAInSight/status/<wbr>1392558641899659266

It’s successfully covered up most of the cable connecting its seismometer to the spacecraft itself, which we think will improve the quality of the quake data we’re getting. So, InSight’s still up and about.

Are you a journalist covering the Mars 2020 landing? Save this link.
Looking for a Perseverance expert? Request one here.

Andrew Good
JPL Media Relations
O: 818.393.2433
M: 626.840.4291
186-116

One scoop, two scoops, three, four, five! Using my robotic arm to drop soil over my seismometer tether to better insulate it as I listen for marsquakes. I've already detected hundreds of quakes. pic.twitter.com/CdFqZiwf1Q

— NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) May 12, 2021

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I sent these guys an email. Maybe they can provide an update or a more current information source for Insight mission related information:

News Media Contacts
Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.go

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@Andrew_Brousseau – This is the last update that I’m aware of (April 1) , which indicates the lander will be put into hibernation until it approaches the sun again: “Despite the winds that have been shaking the seismometer, InSight’s solar panels remain covered with dust, and power is running lower as Mars moves away from the Sun. Energy levels are expected to improve after July, when the planet begins to approach the Sun again. Until then, the mission will successively turn off the lander’s instruments so that InSight can hibernate, waking periodically to check its health and communicate with Earth. The team hopes to keep the seismometer on for another month or two before it has to be temporarily turned off.” –
https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8904/nasas-insight-detects-two-sizable-quakes-on-mars/?site=insight

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@Andrew_Brousseau – this is the link for info on insight: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/

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Are they any common materials that someone new to composting should avoid that they might think would be good for composting?

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Just set up my Binance account! Time to roll some dice!

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I might be off in my assessment of the situation, but, it might be a lot easier to plant another crop that would fix the moisture until the preferred growing season and then plow it under to amend the soil.

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I had to brush up on my classifications. For anyone wondering what a kingdom is, or how the definition has changed over time this link is a nice quick reference outlining what landed an organism into a specific kingdom of life:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_(biology)

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In general fungi are amazing. There are readily available products now that you can use to amend your soils with fungi that harness the mycelial mats ability to extend the nutrient gathering capabilities of plants