My high school had an open campus, which meant that if you had a free period you were likely outside with your friends or driving home to get something you forgot. When the cold wet weather hit (which way back in 2005 was from mid-October to early April), freshman and sophomores were stuck inside during their “frees” because they couldn’t drive yet. And so, they went to the school library to socialize and get shushed repeatedly by the school librarians. In retrospect, however, those librarians were pretty cool. Each day they made hundreds of photocopies of the NYT Crossword and left them in piles around the library. We would work together to try to finish before the bell rang, which was really hard in a pre-smartphone world. Since then I’ve had a fondness for crosswords.
t’s a folding wall calendar where each month is a crossword to solve, the grid taking the shape of the month’s calendar grid, with one letter to write in each day’s square. The grid squares are numbered like a regular calendar, with each clue enumerated by the day of the month its answer starts on.
The road from half-waking idea to physical object was a winding one, especially considering this was the first time I’d ever tried to create a real product that people can buy. Here’s how it went down (and across).
And if you’re interested in creating your own crossword puzzles, check out this guide by John Park in our learn system.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Select Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: PyCon AU 2024 Talks, New Raspberry Pi Gear Available and More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey