Paul Sutton

Paul Sutton – personal blog

In the night sky : Orion Completed

I have finally, after months of going back and forth to this, partly due to other study and things to do. Completed the 24 hour OU / OpenLearn Course. I was just doing this casually anyway.

Note: This is a Level 1 Open University course.

After studying this course, you should be able to:

* Understand facts, concepts, principles, theories, classifications and language used in astronomy * Understand the range of sizes, distances and motions of objects in the night sky * Understand the structure, evolution and the main processes operating in stars * Understand the properties of planets in our Solar System and exoplanetary systems * Understand the history of the universe.

Really interesting course, lots to think about and learn just from doing some of the research for the questions posed during the course.

Astronomy uses the greek alphabet for star names for example so this post may help.

#course #openlearn #openuniversity #science #space #astronomy #cosmology #physics #astrophysics #chemistry #biology #OU #greek

Updates 20th June 2020

So a few updates. I have been working to add more topic content to the Discourse STEM forum linked to the Qoto Mastodon instance I am on.

This has gone well, I have also started to tidy a few of the topics up, so adding nicer headers, titles etc.

More work on the OU / Open Learn course I am working through, In the Night Sky : Orion. This is going well now about ½ way through week 3. Just completed the Galaxy Zoo activity.

If you join the Qoto Instance, then you can also ask about the STEM forum on discourse.

Finally found an updated Standard Model table, I found this via a DDG search. As it turns out it's on Wikipedia but hidden, as the Standard Model page still shows a shorter version of the table, which, to be fair fits nicely.

Also wrote a drake equation calculator, partly for my own use, to experiment with different values. Again see the Discourse forum for more information. I did ask for some help on Science Forums with this, which was mostly to double check I had the right idea for multiplying the values together.

Added some more to the Chemistry Molymod section to include links to a few basic hydrocarbons that can be built.

So lots going on and quite a few posts to Mastodon linking to recent science discoveries, so some of the content is cutting edge and will hopefully spark some good discussions.

In the meantime, I found an interesting youtube video on Wormholes.

I can be contacted on Mastodon here.

cc-by logo

Licenced under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Get a free Repl.it online IDE account here Get an Overleaf account here, Online collaborative LaTeX Editor

E-learning forum 18th June 2020

The previously mentioned e-learning forum is really starting to take shape now. Lots of content, from basic science right up to links to cutting edge research.

I have also added links to all the Code Club modules which complements the posts here and the Paignton Library Code Club.

You can join the forum via this link as this is using Discourse you can earn badges for participating in discussions.

If we combine this with Science Forum then the opportunity to discuss and learn more about cutting edge science is huge.

We also have interesting discussions on the Mastodon instance too, so this also really engaging.

Both the above are open to ALL ages and we respect diversity of all kinds. Lets build a safe and inclusive internet together.

FCC Pentesting course

With Some school closures looking to continue up to September. This presents an opportunity to learn different skills.

Free Code Camp also offer a Security and Pen Testing course

Worth checking out, if you install Kali Linux on a Raspberry Pi Then you will have a very powerful tool. Especially with the Release of the Raspberry Pi 4 – With 8 GB RAM.

There is also a Kali Linux Cheat Sheet which is really comprehensive set of links to all the various tools etc within Kali.

I can be contacted on Mastodon here.

cc-by logo

Licenced under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Get a free Repl.it online IDE account here Get an Overleaf account here, Online collaborative LaTeX Editor

E-Learning forum

As mentioned on the 11th June I have quit a few forums, namely Computing at School and I have also now deleted my e-learning forum from Torbay Together.

Since then I have been on Mastodon. The instance I am on qoto.org has a strong STEM focus.

So will therefore concentrate efforts there.

Topic areas on the forum so far are:

  • Biology
  • Software Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Miscellaneous
  • Astronomy

The forum links to learning opportunities, which can either be fun / recreation or for academic qualifications.

The level of discussion will reflect the people who are there. Right now there are a few links to cutting edge Science, Cosmology and information on writing science / academic reports and papers. As well as links to where these academic / science / research papers are published.

Life long learning is encouraged.

If you're interested in a topic then there is no reason not to pursue it further, it is just nice to have others to share your experiences with, or just debate topics with like minded STEM enthusiasts.

In the first instance please join the social Mastodon instance, which has a free, simple sign up process at

You can ask about joining the Discourse forum.

Note : I have NO intention on running things on Facebook so please DO NOT waste your time or my time asking.

Free Code Camp : SQLite

Free Code Camp offer a Learn How to Use SQLite Databases With Python. This looks really good.

As always, this open to ALL age groups, which is great, This shows the right way to think in 2020.

Related Links

#freecodecamp,#course,#SQLite

I can be contacted on Mastodon here.

cc-by logo

Licenced under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Free Code Camp : Android App Development

Free Code Camp offer a free 15 hour course to teach Android App Development. This looks really good.

As always, this open to ALL age groups, which is great, This shows the right way to think in 2020.

Related Links

I can be contacted on Mastodon here.

#freecodecamp,#course,#android,#app,#development

cc-by logo

Licenced under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Alternatives to mainstream social media.

So yesterday I provided links to some information that explains what the Fediverse is.

Today I will link to some alternatives to common mainstream social media networks.

Note I am not trying to promote one website over another with this list. I am promoting the services. There are many instances, for each service. You need to choose an instance that best serves your needs.

However:

  • You have control of your data
  • You can move to another instance
    • In some cases you can migrate your data
  • You can delete your account and data (e.g posts) stored within

Service: Instagram Alternative: Pixelfed Video: PixelFed Video Link: https://pixelfed.org/

Service: Twitter Alternative: Mastodon Video: What is Mastodon Main Link: https://joinmastodon.org/ Link UK: https://mastodon.org.uk/about

Service: Facebook Alternative: Friendica Video: Friendica video Link: https://friendi.ca/

Service: Youtube Alternative: Peertube Video: Peertube video Link: JoinPeertube

Service: Alternative: Video: Link:

I can be contacted on Mastodon here.

I am quitting a few forums.

Computing at School

Back in 2014, I joined computing at school. At the time it was hoped that I could not only contribute but also gain contacts that may lead to work and or other opportunities.

It seems, that there is little interest in or opportunity Torbay, Devon. Despite efforts to get a CAS group going in Torbay, this is from both myself and a CAS South West coordinator, This has failed to get going. I tried to promote CAS at a Lego we do event too. So it is not like I have not tired.

Here in Torbay we don't seen to be a priority.

Over the past few months, I have been posting items to the South Devon Forum, links to activities, (e.g Moon hack), tech jams and other events. Zero interest.

Frustrated by the lack of progress. On 11/6/2020, I decided to just quit the CAS forum and website. I made it clear why I had quit. It will be interesting to see if anyone bothers or cares.

Apparently, I could be an asset and useful to schools, but no one is interested. I was hoping that CAS would help me get by foot in the door. One local school like my skills, but have no budget, so for me it is just frustrating.

E-learning support forum / group on Torbay Together

About 7 months or so ago, I set up a e-learning support forum on Torbay Together.

I think 7 months is sufficient time to figure out something is not working.

The aim of this was to try to reach out to people who would like to explore online learning opportunities, provide a place for people to discuss, swap their experiences and suggestions for good courses and providers. Not everyone can attend college, not everyone can afford to. I had thought this may be really beneficial to, for example young carers.

Sadly, this has not got anywhere either. I am therefore deleting this forum too. Part the issue is, that, I have told people about it, they seem interested but then find the platform so complex they struggle to use it, trying to ask people who can help to help them, just ends up with people going round in circles.

So what will I be doing?

New e-learning forum on Mastodon

With fantastic support from the admins / staff / users on Qoto.org Mastodon Instance. The e-learning support forum is making some excellent progress. So if you are interested in discussing e-learning, there are 1000's of opportunities out there, lets get sharing.

Please sign up at the above link and mention me (@zleap) and that you're interested in the e-learning forum, we can then set you up on discourse, but we encourage people to join the general STEM conversation on Mastodon too.

By using Mastodon, I can keep the forum open to ALL ages too. Mastodon also does not collect huge amounts of information, and to be honest neither do most of the e-learning forums.

Why use Mastodon? – Privacy, and it just works. Why use Discourse? – It just works.

Paignton Code Club

Supporting Paignton Library Code Club, This is currently virtual, for some reason despite our best efforts to promote there is little interest.

Nevertheless I will carry on supporting this as I am committed to this and the physical code club.

In the mean time, please, check out this blog on Monday, for the Code Club Raspberry Pi activities. If you Follow @PaigntonLibrary they will be re-tweeting. You can also follow me on @zleap2018

You can subscribe to this blog from the Fediverse with @[email protected]">@[email protected]

You can find me on the fediverse by searching for @[email protected]">@[email protected]

Some of the reasoning for this action is that I keep reading about taking control and deleting things that are no longer relevant.

What is the Fediverse?

You may have noticed that I have started to include links to Mastodon in my blog footers. I have probably neglected, however, to explain what this is.

Rather than re-invent the wheel by creating yet another page of text to explain this. I am going to provide some links below to video resources that can offer a much better explanation.

Firstly

As this is part of the Fediverse then an explanation of this is also useful.

Finally an explanation of the protocol that helps all these platforms communicate.

Final notes

In my blog footer, I am linking to the instance that I am using, However readers in the United Kingdom may be interested in the local UK hosted instances.

If anyone knows of any instances that are hosted in Ireland then I can update this post accordingly.

Self Hosting

Of course you could simply host your own instance. MastoHost offer managed hosting.


I can be contacted on Mastodon here.

cc-by logo

Licenced under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Get a free Repl.it online IDE account here Get an Overleaf account here, Online collaborative LaTeX Editor