Weeknotes 2020 WK33
Pushing on the the Channels update, and recording my DjangoCon EU talk, but nothing too much to report there this week.
Test runner --timing
As part of the GSoC project to support the parallel test runner on Windows, macOS with Python 3.8+, and MySQL and Oracle, Ahmad GitHub: @lothemar finished off his PR to add a new --timing flag to `django-admin test and the runtests.py we use for the Django test suite. This’ll let you see how long your tests took, including database setup and total run time. It’ll be part of Django 3.2.
The --timing flag will make assessing the main PR easier: how long exactly did it take to clone the DBs? I had been sitting there with a piece of paper and a stop watch but inevitably missing the exact moment, which is what prompted the addition.
Micro:bit
Bought a Micro:bit for the kids. It’s a programmable board, that lets you use Python (and others), has all the sensors and I/O bits you need, plus super online resources.
Our eldest G was the first to get down to it. First project was make it spell out text. He went for something like, G is Great! — the others are then desperate to have go so they can make it say G Smells! and similar.
It was €20 for a starter-kit delivered. For that, highly recommended. There’s all sorts of microcontrollers out there, but you don’t really want to be messing around with resistors, and breadboards, and C even just to get started. There are others entry options in this space but, I’m pleased with the Micro:bit.
MacBook Maintenance
For macOS, I use a Late-2013 MacBook Pro. I’m very happy with it.
It was the first model to use the Haswell chips, which offered much better battery life than the previous generation. I’d been waiting for it, holding on with a 2008 model, that despite my having pulled-out the optical drive to put in an SSD was feeling it’s age. In those days I was doing a lot of iOS, and Xcode has never been light-weight, which isn’t a criticism, so I needed an update.
I watched the keynote; it what exactly what I’d been waiting for. Ordered the maxed out version as soon as the store re-opened: the fastest processor, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD. It cost a bomb, but 7 years later it’s still going strong. All in all I can’t help thinking it’s been great value.
My hope is to keep it for another couple of years, until the move to the new Apple Silicon is complete, and them it’ll be time to upgrade I suspect. I’ve looked at new ones but could never justify the multiple-thousands price for essentially a little bit faster processor: it’s only in the last year that 32GB RAM has been available in the smaller models I favour.
Another bonus is that I seem to have skipped the whole generation of dodgy-keyboards. For me, Macs have always proved super reliable. That’s how I’m happy with the price: I’ve had other computers, but they’ve lasted a year, or two, or three, rather than five, or six, or I’m aiming for 9 with this one. I think my faith would have been sorely tested if I’d have had a failing keyboard after just a few months.
But you do need to provide a little bit of care.
My favourite site here is iFixit. They’re great. They have guides on replacing everything you’d like. You can start with a phone battery, say, and move on to more complex projects. They do a Pro Toolkit that’s worth investing in.
I’m very much a hobbyist but it’s quite satisfying when your mother-in-law’s complaining about a cracked screen and you can harvest some parts from an out-of-service phone to fix it for her. Satisfying, and a source of brownie-points.
Anyway, my MacBook... — a couple of years ago, it was nearly at the edge. I pulled out the battery and put in a new one: it was like having a new computer, literally.
Then lately its been running hot. The fan would come on full for all and nothing. So I spent an hour cleaning out the fan and the heat sink, and giving it a general clean up inside. A video on this did the rounds a month or so ago.
Now running silkily again. 💃
It’s intimidating to open up your super expensive ultrabook, and it’s not something I’d do when it’s still under warranty. But chances are that the hardware you’ve got is already good enough. If you can extend it’s life with a bit of DIY maintenance, you save a whole load of money, and whole load of resources. It’s worth thinking about.