[VicPiMakers SG] Meeting and Presentation this Morning

Sat Apr 18 16:56:02 EDT 2020

Hi All,

A few of us have been discussing a Vic Pi Makers group project over the last week.  This is where we have got to.  I thought it would be 
useful to bring the whole steering group into the discussion. So here it is.  Start at the bottom and  Sorry.

And, if you have ideas, please share them with the steering group.

Cheers

Deid

On 4/16/20 9:20 AM, Catherin Gregory wrote:
> Hi All ...
> I have to apologize for being absent this week. Our final move 
> adaptations were required as our landlord starts charging for storage 
> this month...  
>
> When I suggested a webserver I most definitely had in mind that it 
> would do something useful. Something, unlike our avoidance robot which 
> only avoided things.
> Here is my idea ... feel free to poke holes. George's oxygen monitor 
> was my inspiration.
> A rpi that would serve one's health data in a browser. That data would 
> be an individual's health and or other family/friends too. In other 
> words, an rpi health monitor, recorder, and data output server. A unit 
> that could record temp and oxygen and other data points suitable to a 
> rpi and points that could be entered via wi-fi or just inputted into a 
> form, ie: weight. Then output that data to some graphs and or voice 
> all accessible via browser.
>
> Just a thought. Have at it.
>
> Cody
>
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 16, 2020 at 7:40 AM Greg H <greg.horie at gmail.com 
> <mailto:greg.horie at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Thanks for inviting me to the conversation.
>
>     *Team Project*
>     Yes, I'm interested in a group project and I love the idea that
>     our hobby project can be used to benefit of others. If we're
>     looking for a raison d'etre, I think we're already looking at tech
>     that keeps us off-cloud. Building a common control panel /
>     dashboard for these technologies may be something to consider.
>
>     *Slack Alternatives*
>     For a Slack-like server, my first thought goes to IRC (which I
>     still like and use for certain open source projects), but the
>     barrier to entry is a problem. I feel like our communication
>     choices should serve all folks with ease so we can encourage as
>     much use as possible. IRC doesn't meet this requirement. Even the
>     GUI versions I've tried have some odd barriers to entry.
>
>     There is an open source project called MatterMost
>     <https://mattermost.com/> that shoots for an experience similar to
>     Slack/Discord/Teams. That would be my choice for a trial. They
>     have browser access for Chrome/Firefox/Safari, desktop apps for
>     Linux/Mac/Win, and mobile apps for Android/IOS. It looks like they
>     even have integration with some email clients. We'd need at
>     minimum 1 CPU core and 2 GB RAM which supports up to 1000 users.
>     Also some disk space for the MySQL database. For our group at
>     current chat volumes, I think we'd be okay with a couple of GBs.
>     More details here
>     <https://docs.mattermost.com/install/requirements.html>.
>
>     I did find instructions on Github to install MatterMost on an RPi
>     <https://github.com/justinegeffen/mattermost_raspberrypi_recipe>
>     which uses the ARM-compiled binary from this SmartHoneyBee
>     <https://github.com/SmartHoneybee/ubiquitous-memory/releases/>
>     project. The problem here is that this is way off the beaten track
>     from the MatterMost open source project, so how much trust do we
>     place in a project like this vs. alternatives. I'd be more
>     comfortable if the MatterMost project built their own ARM-compiled
>     binaries. We could also try to compile our own, but that's a lot
>     of work as well.
>
>     *Github*
>     If we do settle on a project, I encourage our team to use Github.
>     It is the best option for collaborating on open source software.
>     We could try a competitor like Gitlab or BitBucket, but Github has
>     the most eyeballs. That's where we'll get the most interest if we
>     ever look at expanding the scope of the project.
>
>     Cheers,
>     Greg
>
>     On Wed, 15 Apr 2020 at 15:10, Deid Reimer <deid at drsol.com
>     <mailto:deid at drsol.com>> wrote:
>
>         Hi All,
>
>         I have added Greg Horie to this email list.
>
>         And another topic for consideration.  A slack-like server to
>         keep our conversations off of Slacks servers.
>
>         Thoughts?
>
>         And thoughts on how to proceed with this.  Is there interest
>         among several people?  Should we send this out to the Steering
>         group list?  The
>         other list (which I can never remember the name of)?
>
>         Deid
>
>
>         On 4/14/20 12:54 PM, Craig Miller wrote:
>         > Deid,
>         >
>         > I have no problem with what you are proposing. It is my hope
>         that whatever we create that it have a useful life beyond the
>         act of creating
>         > it. Of course, having learning as part of the creation is a
>         key element.
>         >
>         > You list is an excellent thought starter.
>         >
>         > Another thought to add to the list, would be a 'slack-like'
>         website that would not only support IPv6, but also keep our
>         conversations off of
>         > Slack's servers. Jabber does this, and if it was web-driven
>         AND supported jabber (aka XMPP) clients, all the better.
>         >
>         > Craig...
>         >
>         > On 4/14/20 9:38 AM, Deid Reimer wrote:
>         >> Good morning all,
>         >>
>         >> I waited to reply so that others might reply first. 
>         Hearing none ...
>         >>
>         >> Craig I agree it would be good to pursue a loftier goal.  I
>         did not have that in mind.  I was thinking more about our
>         folks learning
>         >> something new and having a purpose for us communicating
>         with each other during our isolation. And, if that is towards
>         something useful
>         >> even better.
>         >>
>         >> So suggestions for a goal/purpose?  Perhaps a web server
>         that ...  Or not a web server that ...
>         >>
>         >> Things that were mentioned at Saturdays meeting:
>         >>
>         >> - Web Server
>         >> - django
>         >> - jabber
>         >> - lms moodle - for learning and teaching
>         >> - link checker
>         >> - management software
>         >> - nagios I'm thinking something that prevents the
>         vicpimakers site from going down without us knowing. 
>         (bigsister.ch <http://bigsister.ch>)
>         >>
>         >> And your suggestions of IOT and ...
>         >>
>         >> I have nothing in mind really.  I just want to keep on
>         learning and teaching.
>         >>
>         >> So far there are just the 4 of us in this discussion as I
>         didn't want to spam everyone.  Should we open up the discussion?
>         >>
>         >> Cheers
>         >>
>         >> Deid
>         >>
>         >>
>         >>
>         >> On 4/11/20 4:45 PM, Craig Miller wrote:
>         >>> Hi Deid,
>         >>>
>         >>> I think we are getting a little ahead of ourselves.
>         Although Cody's idea is
>         >>> a good one, I think a webserver should be just one
>         component of that we
>         >>> build as a project.
>         >>>
>         >>> I think we should look for a loftier goal. A Project that
>         either:
>         >>> a) helps the club (some sort of online resource)
>         >>> b) helps a non-profit (with some online resource)
>         >>>
>         >>> Then, once we identity a goal which, in my opinion, makes
>         the project more
>         >>> than just a homework exercise. We could in parallel poll
>         for people's
>         >>> skills and how that might help build the Goal Project. For
>         example, setting
>         >>> up a Database, and connecting it to a webserver may be a
>         skill. If we
>         >>> created an online resource that would benefit from a
>         database (like an
>         >>> inventory of donated items, in thinking non-profit) then
>         the person with
>         >>> that skill would be very useful.
>         >>>
>         >>> Then we could map skills/volunteers with the pieces of the
>         project.
>         >>>
>         >>> Naturally I would like to help with the networking side.
>         >>>
>         >>> The Project wouldn't have to be a single device. For
>         example, it should be
>         >>> a sensor system, with a Pi at the core, and ESP32s as
>         distributed sensors
>         >>> (think: security system, monitoring lights, motion, doors,
>         temperature).
>         >>> The Pi could be running Node Red, using LetsEncrypt for
>         TLS, perhaps a
>         >>> Database which allows authorized people to log in and
>         check things. Perhaps
>         >>> even have it send emails (over TLS) should parameters go
>         out of spec
>         >>> (lights turn on when they shouldn't, temp drops too low).
>         >>>
>         >>> If we create a project for someone else (not VicPiMakers)
>         then I think the
>         >>> code should be as generic and open source. So that anyone
>         can pick up what
>         >>> was made and improve/add to it. If we are only creating a
>         project for
>         >>> VicPiMakers, then there could be more customized code,
>         since the club
>         >>> member would be easily available to update it, as needs arise.
>         >>>
>         >>> Those are my thoughts,
>         >>>
>         >>> Craig...
>         >>>
>         >
>
Hi Craig,

Thanks for doing the presentation this morning.  Great job. The "presentation overhead" screen worked well and the passing of the envelope 
was brilliant.

There was some interest in doing a group web browser.  Thoughts on coordinating it?

The following people were in attendance, in no particular order:

David
Don
Greg
Murray
Lynne
Don
Stan
Craig
George
Mark
Cody
Michael
Pauline
Deid

Cheers

Deid