1997 called…they want their dial-up back. Looks like someone pissed off the network admins at work. I would find this really funny, if I were not excited to try Ubuntu 11.04 in a VM. Cancel. I’ll try this at home later. Expect a review of Natty soon.

Having automated junk is awesome, for the most part. One drawback became glaringly evident recently, as I was enjoying some salsa in the lab. Gloom and doom. Hit the bump for a video (SPOLER: It is tagic) (more…)

I have two projects running right now…both are really grinding my gears. Colloquially speaking. You know what? That is a stupid term. Scratch that. I have two problems that I am trying to solve. Number one: figure out how to assign a dynamic IP address to my ethernet setup for the Arduino Getting old. I need to figure this out in a hurry, as it will open up a whole range of project possibilities. I have been tempted to throw in the towel on this thing and go at it through the Android, but think I need to grind through this on principle. We’ll give it another few hours. Project two involves an image recognition algorithm. I am trying to port a Windows/Matlab proof of concept over to Debial/Octave. This has been my real time-suck…having issues with libraries. I’ll likely dump several more lunch hours into this guy…could be very cool if I can get it running. Pics once I get something aside from a command line to post. Stay tuned.

Spoiler1: This is awesome. Spoiler2: I’ve never seen Minority Report. I do know that there is some sort of hands free interface, and that is what I have put together. Long story short, I have extended upon my PING))) project to include some sweet touchless home automation. I have the ultrasonic sensor interfacing with my garage door and a lamp, utilizing a servo and a PowerSwitch Tail, respectively. Hit the bump for an awesome video of this thing in action, and for my spippet. (more…)

I will fully admit that a product that includes ‘solar’ in its name already has my attention. One of my ‘hindsight being what it is’ items involves biting the bullet, being broke, and going full on physics mode after undergrad. Montana State has a great solar physics department…could have been super nerdy. Next level nerd-dom. I guess I’m sort of trapped in this level nerd-dom. Still, solar perks up my ears. This product, then, already has my focus… That watch, my friends, is a genuine Seiko SNE177 Mens Watch Black Stainless Steel Solar Quartz Link Bracelet Black Dial watch. I have been checking out Seikos for a while, and really like the look of the Seiko Solar Watches. Very cool. Bluedial has the Seiko SNE177 or a hundred and sixteen bucks (and some change) less than the retail value, which is a bonus. A bonus too would be the spec sheet to this device…good to 100m pressures and the whole works. Not too shabby. The time fight between watches and cell phones is still in full force. Watches are going strong still, due in large part to units like the Seiko Solar line. Stylish and practical…the colloquial double threat. I’ll keep you posted if I come across some geekier watch lines. Solar takes the early cake…

Introducing Open-er-o-matic 3000. OOM3K. My finest project to date. I have my Arduino poking around with a PING))) sensor, a servo, some LEDs, and best of all…my garage door opener. End result: some Star Trek-ass shit. Check this footage of the OOM3K in action. Here, I had it configured to open the door when the ultrasonic sensor echoes off of something within 8 cm… After the bump, of course (more…)

I really should have a running list of these mini-projects I have been cranking out. This one: using a PING))) sensor from Parallax Inc to drive LEDs for a set of values. Sounds boring, but it is sort of cool. Oh cool. Picture time: Follow the bump for a vid / snippet (more…)

It seems like the interwebs is full of info regarding a prozac lawsuit of some sort. If you don’t believe me, let Google auto-complete “Prozac Lawsu..” and see for yourself…sites are popping up like whack-a-mole moles. Spoiler: they pop up incessantly. Pause for Prozac-bot: So, what’s up with that? Birth defects. That is what is up with that. There has been a recall of certain antidepressants and anti-seizure drugs, of which Prozac has been included. Joking aside, some of these things, when taken by women during pregnancy may cause increased risks of serious congenital birth defects, heart defects, spina bifida, club feet, and even cleft palates. Scary stuff. If you fit the bill, hit that link at the top of this post. Good luck.

Parallax Ping))) sensor in the house. Literally. This dapper-looking little guy can accurately measure distance from a few to a few hundred cm. It is very simple by design…basically just a sonar setup. My sketch sends out a signal and listens for the signal’s signature upon return…calculates time elapsed and interpolates distance using the approximate speed of sound. Slick like Rick. I hugged the sensor on my binary-project-having breadboard, as this is going to be incorporated in some way. My fr1st thought is to turn those LEDs into range holders, and output according to range. Could be awesome. Stay tuned.

My LED work-in-progress has manifested itself as a binary counter, with 100 ms accuracy. Like so… Images only tell part of the story, so I have included a video for your perusal…after the bump (more…)