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> There’s an old Chinese saying:

> To know the time, you must first connect to the internet.

> – Sun Inc.

amazing




Thanks! I wasn't sure if it would be obvious enough, I don't think many people got it.


I enjoyed it, so there's at least two of us.

You've turned microhumor [1] into something akin to a spoken accent that pervades the entire blog post. I'm unsure how to handle this.

However, I was particularly amused by your closing sentence that mentioned how a LiPo could keep it running for "hours". That sounds about right for a 20 mA OLED and an 80 mA ESP8266, but it's remarkably shorter than an old-fashioned LCD alarm clock in which an alkaline battery could last for months.

By the way, I'd recommend an 18650 LiIon instead. If you want, the charge circuit can be as simple as putting the LiIon and a silicon rectifier in parallel with your 3.3V regulator output (assuming the linear regulator has an internal PNP body diode and doesn't backfeed) and then just charge the cell outside the alarm clock in an off-the-shelf battery charger. You don't need the current density of a LiPo, you want low current but high capacity, and cheap LiPo pouches have an annoying tendency to puff up and go bad. Going bad may result in burning down your nightstand, which is never a good way to wake up.

[1]: https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/02/20/writing-advice/


> I'm unsure how to handle this.

I also. I'm fairly sure it's a compliment, though, so thanks!

> it's remarkably shorter than an old-fashioned LCD alarm clock in which an alkaline battery could last for months.

It certainly is, but an LCD alarm clock is much less fabulous, since it has to be pressed or otherwise activated to produce light, and that's my main need here (a clock that I can read in the dark without moving).

> it's remarkably shorter than an old-fashioned LCD alarm clock in which an alkaline battery could last for months

That's a good suggestion, but it loses some of the "set it and forget it" factor, and I will very definitely forget it (especially when there's no low voltage warning). I have some ESP32 boards with a built-in charger, so that's more hands-off. Also, the length of the clock is shorter than a 18650, so I'd have to make the clock larger and the screen would look even smaller in comparison. I appreciate the suggestions, design is fun and getting feedback from others makes it even better!

> cheap LiPo pouches have an annoying tendency to puff up and go bad

Oh, don't worry about that, they're all already puffed up.


Sun Inc. also said "The network is the computer." To which DEC Inc. replied "The network is the network and the computer is the computer. Sorry for all the confusion."


I didn't get the reference, if there is one here. :( Can you or someone else explain?


I was going for a "Chinese wisdom" thing, but it was hard to evoke "Sun Tzu" with "Sun Inc".

I really hope that's what the other posters got, or I'll be embarrassed :P


Thanks! It did make me think of Sun Tzu-styled wisdom, but I thought it may be some well-know phrase that was parodied here that I was not familiar with. In any case, the joke was great even without me getting this part!


For those (few) of us familiar with both Suns, it's brilliant.


Fantastic, I'm very glad!




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