tw's blog

Ithaca Journal covers my SHIP site

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:13:40 -0500

The Ithaca Journal published an article about my SHIP site and the new maps I’ve been working on. Thanks, Krisy!

Here’s a direct link to the newest map, which is mainly cool because you can click on it to see details. I’ll be integrating that into the other maps soon.

Manos found guilty

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:07:29 -0500

“Manos found guilty
Jury convicts Ithaca woman of murder, abuse of niece, 2”

Life recovers.
But not completely.
Wounds heal into scars, sometimes beautiful scars.
But not always.

Mancala picked up on Make Magazine

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:07:22 -0500

Philip Torrone posted a link to my Mancala game on Make Magazine’s blog. Thanks, Phil!

PICkit 2 automator

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:49:38 -0400

Since I made my first mod to the PICkit 2 applet source, Microchip completely rewrote the applet. They use .NET, which I consider to be pretty much a virus, but I was considering getting all the MS development tools installed and getting up to speed with C# to work with it.

But then I realized that it would be simple to just automate the existing applet with an external program, and that would mean I wouldn’t have any changes to integrate into the Microchip source (as well as not having the dreaded MS tools installed).

Mancala

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:57:07 -0400

I’ve been working for a while on a simple handheld game machine. It made its official debut at The Farm this summer, so I thought I’d post it here and on the gallery.

Mint Box Theremin

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:13:01 -0400

My buddy Bob Stuart makes Noise in Montreal. I thought he should have a theremin. Took a weekend. Works.

Dragon Day video up!

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:47:34 -0400

Everyone must check out my friend Bob Stuart’s docu-music-video on Dragon Day 2006, commissioned by the Cornell Architecture School and finally showing on their site as “The Dragon Has Its Day.” Beautiful camera work and brilliant editing. I had a small part during post in creating the subtle time shift effect around 5:10 when the ballsy loud music kicks in. Bob rocks. Go Bob!

First circuit blocks created

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:02:09 -0400

Clara has always enjoyed playing with electronic components and breadboards. But putting them together to make an actual circuit is still a bit tough for her at 3, even with lots of coaching - getting the leads into exactly the right hole takes a bit more fine motor coordination than she’s got. So, I was inspired by an article in MAKE magazine* to make her some chunky blocks with screw-eye terminals that she can wire together using alligator clip leads. We’ll see how it goes!

Solstice 2007

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:26:30 -0400

For the Summer Solstice this year, I refined last year’s PrayBot project by making it more efficient and robust, and again had it running in our city center at noon. The weather cooperated, and so did the gadget, and the people were great. Success!

PIC-based solar engine (PICSE) 2007

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:47:33 -0400

My PrayBot project last year needed a “solar engine,” and the quickest thing I could come up with was based on a PIC instead of the more usual BEAM-style solutions. This year I wanted something more efficient. But it still ended up with a PIC, and it’s much more efficient than any of the BEAM designs I’ve tried.

Troubleshooting Rule #2: Is it turned on?

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:34:41 -0400

Another embarrassing discovery is that the thing in question isn’t working because you didn’t turn it on. This rule could come first, as in some sense it’s more basic than Rule #1, but for the simple AC-powered appliance, you have to plug it in before you can turn it on, so I list it second.

Again, there are lots more useful ways to think about whether you’ve turned something on. For instance:

Troubleshooting Rule #1: Is it plugged in?

Wed, 30 May 2007 09:53:49 -0400

A surprising number of day-to-day problems are solved when you realize that the thing just isn’t plugged in. Oops.

The obvious sense of “plugged in” is “plugged into the mains supply” - the AC wall outlet.

But there are many other useful senses to look for:

Weber's Troubleshooting Rules

Wed, 30 May 2007 09:51:46 -0400

Is it plugged in?
Is it turned on?
Is it working as designed?
What’s changed since it worked?
What don’t you know?

Clara's Remote

Tue, 29 May 2007 08:40:34 -0400

One day a few months ago, my three-year-old daughter Clara and I were sitting in the living room watching a movie. We needed to pause it for some reason. I was working on teaching her to use the remote, so she tried it. But there were so many buttons on our two remotes, she always had a hard time finding the right one. And when she did find it, there were some books on the table in the way, so the infrared signal didn’t get through. After I explained that, she picked it up and pointed it at the TV, from inches away. But the DVD player is near the floor, and the TV’s higher up, so the receiver still couldn’t see. On the next try, the door to the TV hutch, which we have to prop open, got closed, so the signal STILL couldn’t get through. Who knows whether she was still pressing the right button at this point.

So I said, “Hey… Would you like me to make you your own special remote control, that would have just the buttons you need, and that you wouldn’t have to point anywhere?” She said yes.

A mini-game: The Search

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:06:30 -0500

I wanted to learn a bit about RPG Maker XP, a role-playing game creation toolkit that my apprentice, Jake, is using for a project. So I made this little game with one puzzle and some combat.