Introducing a useful SOPA- The Stop Online Productivity Avoidance box.

After having an extremely productive day on January 18th, I had a thought: What if every day were January 18th? Well, at the push of a button, now it can!

The button, switch, and display are wired to an Arduino.  The Arduino communicates with a python script running on the router, which controls a Squid3 proxy blacklist.  In SOPA mode, the whole of the internet is my oyster.  In NOPA mode, however, distracting websites like reddit, hacker news, and hackaday are blocked.  This isn’t very useful without a great deal of self control, however.  In weaker instances, nuclear mode must be employed.  Turn the key switch and press the button and all distracting sites are blocked for one hour.  The only recourse is to restart the router, but the router requires 15 minutes to restart, blocking the entirety of the web for the duration.  Overriding nuclear mode is not appealing.

All code is posted online at https://github.com/Zuph/SOPA-Box

A video demonstration and more pictures of construction lie below the break.

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There will be a beginner beekeeping class at LVL1 on Sunday 3/13 from 2-4.  As people get more interested in gardening and learning where their food comes from urban or neighborhood beekeeping is gaining in popularity. I will bring every type of equipment I own plus pictures of things I don’t.  You will learn what can be expected if you decide to get some bees.  Why would I want bees you ask?  They make honey.  They help your garden.  They make honey.  They help your neighbors garden.  They make honey for goodness sake! There will be no bees at the class. This is a perfect opportunity to find out if beekeeping is something you want to try.  I’ll be bringing some honey to sample.  There is no cost for this class.

Todd W.

Remember daylight savings is Saturday night!