Earl Display Control

Manage Earl's TV dashboard (VisuoSpatial Sketchpad) — wake the display, restart the local server, launch the kiosk browser, and update Earl's mind (mood, house stuff, hot takes, sketchpad doodles, weather). Use when asked to "wake Earl", "update the TV", "post house stuff", "add a hot take", "refresh the dashboard", "update Earl's mood", or when the display shows "Earl is sleeping" / "Could not sync".

Skill for managing the VisuoSpatial Sketchpad — Earl's living-room TV dashboard. This covers starting the HTTP server, launching the kiosk browser, and updating earl_mind.json via the Python API.

All file paths below use {baseDir} to mean this skill's root directory (the repo root containing VisuoSpatialSketchpad/).

Quick Response Checklist

1. Wake requests ("Earl wake up", "Could not sync", "Earl is sleeping")
   • Start the local server (see Server Management)
   • Launch the kiosk browser (see Launching the Kiosk)
   • Confirm health: watch for GET /earl_mind.json ... 200 in the server log
2. Content updates (mood, house stuff, hot takes, doodles, weather)
   • Use the EarlMind API from {baseDir}/VisuoSpatialSketchpad/earl_api.py
   • Relaunch the kiosk after changes if the display looks stale

Server Management

Start the HTTP server from the VisuoSpatialSketchpad directory:

bash

cd {baseDir}/VisuoSpatialSketchpad && python3 -m http.server 8000

Background the process so the shell prompt returns.

Killing a stuck server

macOS / Linux:

bash

lsof -ti:8000 | xargs kill -9

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell

Get-Process -Id (Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 8000).OwningProcess | Stop-Process -Force

Launching the Kiosk

macOS:

bash

open -a "Google Chrome" --args --kiosk http://localhost:8000/sketchpad.html

If Chrome is unavailable, Safari works too:

bash

open -a Safari http://localhost:8000/sketchpad.html

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell

Start-Process msedge.exe '--kiosk http://localhost:8000/sketchpad.html --edge-kiosk-type=fullscreen'

Linux:

bash

xdg-open http://localhost:8000/sketchpad.html

Or for a true kiosk with Chromium:

bash

chromium-browser --kiosk http://localhost:8000/sketchpad.html

Always relaunch after a wake cycle — the browser may cache the old page.

EarlMind API Reference

All methods live in {baseDir}/VisuoSpatialSketchpad/earl_api.py. Run from the VisuoSpatialSketchpad directory:

python

from earl_api import EarlMind
mind = EarlMind()

Each mutating method auto-saves and bumps meta.last_updated / meta.update_count.

Method Reference

Method	Purpose	Key Parameters
set_mood(mood, energy, vibe, expression)	Set Earl's mood and inner monologue	mood: str, energy: 0-1 float, vibe: str, expression: str
set_photo(url, caption)	Set Earl's header photo	url: str (URL or local path), caption: str
post_house_stuff(title, detail, priority, category, icon)	Add a household reminder	priority: "high"/"medium"/"low", icon: emoji str
resolve_house_stuff(item_id)	Remove a resolved item by ID	item_id: str (e.g. "hs_a1b2c3")
clear_house_stuff()	Clear all house stuff items	—
update_room(room_id, status, notes, attention)	Update a room's state	attention: 0-1 float
add_room(room_id, name, x, y, icon, status, notes, attention)	Add a new room	x, y: 0-1 normalized position
sweep()	Log a full house sweep	—
hot_take(topic, take, heat, emoji)	Add or update a hot take	heat: 0-1 float, updates if topic exists
drop_take(topic)	Remove a hot take by topic	—
doodle(label, x, y, size, color, note)	Place an emoji doodle on the sketchpad	x, y: 0-1, size: px, color: hex
sketch_note(text, x, y, size, color)	Place a text note on the sketchpad	Same as doodle
clear_sketchpad()	Wipe the sketchpad clean	—
learn_pattern(pattern, confidence, observations)	Record a long-term pattern	confidence: 0-1, observations: int
summary()	Get a human-readable state summary	Returns str
snapshot()	Get the raw mind dict	Returns dict

Common Examples

python

# Set mood
mind.set_mood("happy", energy=0.9, vibe="Sun's out, vibes are immaculate.")

# Post a house reminder
mind.post_house_stuff("Bins go out tonight", detail="Wednesday again.", priority="high", category="chores", icon="🗑️")

# Drop a hot take
mind.hot_take("Pineapple on pizza", "Controversial but I respect the audacity.", heat=0.6, emoji="🍕")

# Doodle on the sketchpad
mind.doodle("🌧️", x=0.3, y=0.2, size=30, note="Rain starting")

# Log a pattern
mind.learn_pattern("The cat sits by the window at 3pm", confidence=0.7, observations=5)

Weather Update

Run the weather helper to fetch live Open-Meteo data, update mood/energy, and drop a weather doodle:

bash

cd {baseDir}/VisuoSpatialSketchpad && python3 update_weather_ping.py

earl_mind.json Schema

The dashboard reads {baseDir}/VisuoSpatialSketchpad/earl_mind.json. Top-level structure:

text

{
  "identity":          { name, role, mood, energy (0-1), current_vibe, avatar_expression, photo, photo_caption }
  "spatial_awareness": { house_name, location: { latitude, longitude, timezone, temperature_unit, wind_speed_unit }, last_sweep, rooms: [...] }
  "house_stuff":       { items: [{ id, title, detail, priority, category, icon }] }
  "earl_unplugged":    [{ id, topic, take, heat (0-1), emoji, date }]
  "sketchpad":         { canvas: [{ id, type ("doodle"|"note"), label, x, y, size, color, note }] }
  "long_term_patterns": [{ pattern, confidence (0-1), observations }]
  "meta":              { schema_version, last_updated (ISO 8601), update_count }
}

If you edit JSON directly, always bump meta.last_updated and meta.update_count, and write with ensure_ascii=False, indent=2.

Troubleshooting

• Server keeps dying — Check for duplicate python processes. On macOS/Linux: lsof -i:8000. On Windows: Get-Process python.
• Browser won't go fullscreen — Kill stray browser processes first. macOS: pkill -f "Google Chrome". Windows: taskkill /IM msedge.exe /F.
• Content not updating — Relaunch the kiosk to bust any cache. Verify the JSON saved correctly.
• Weather not working — Check that spatial_awareness.location.latitude and longitude are set (not 0.0) in earl_mind.json.
• Import error — Make sure you run Python from the VisuoSpatialSketchpad directory, or add it to sys.path.

Tight Loop

Restart server -> launch kiosk -> apply content changes -> relaunch kiosk if needed. Follow this every time the house texts "wake up".