What the smell is that thing?
13 February 2009
Warehouse Robots at Work
Groovy little robots. I wonder when they'll pop up as big news...or if they did and I missed it already :)
08 December 2008
The Matterhorn - Worlds Largest Subwoofer
Good lord, it's over 9000!!!!! This is one beast of a subwoofer. They talk about shaking the earth enough to cause landslides as opposed to dynamite (which they do in the Alps. Interesting way to control when and how those things happen).
29 October 2008
Photo time!
16 October 2008
A strange decision
At about 2:00pm today I got out of class after drawing some lines and tracing over them on a second sheet, and headed over to HR because I found some paperwork that I was supposed to turn back in to them some time ago. It took me about 15 minutes to take care of all of that, leaving me just enough time to see my bus cruise by before I could haul booty up to the stop. I checked the time charts and saw that it was going to be a very long time for the next bus to show up, something on the order of 50 minutes or so. I didn't care to sit down that long, so I walked up the street a good ways to where they have an electronic board that updates you on how long it will be before the buses that service that site get there. So I stop, read the clunky L.E.D. display (which could be better designed for readability in sunlight), and find that the next bus won't be for another 30 minutes. So, what did I do?
Heh, I decided to walk home.
All the way down MLK. I think it took me about 40 minutes to accomplish. After some time of letting my neck roast in the sun I decided to pop my collar. What can I say, I'm late to fashion trends. A while later I got tired of walking on the sunny side of the road, so I crossed over and enjoyed shade for the majority of my remaining trek. I got bored after about 25 minutes, so I started taking some pictures. I don't know if I care to share them here on the interpipes, but we'll see. They're not anything Ansel would be impressed with, but they kept me interested.
I drank a good bit of water when I got back, showered, and drank some more water. Here I sit, pleased as punch at having accomplished it. I don't believe I ever enjoyed a runners' high...maybe a walkers' chemical equivalent is more of a middle.
Heh, I decided to walk home.
All the way down MLK. I think it took me about 40 minutes to accomplish. After some time of letting my neck roast in the sun I decided to pop my collar. What can I say, I'm late to fashion trends. A while later I got tired of walking on the sunny side of the road, so I crossed over and enjoyed shade for the majority of my remaining trek. I got bored after about 25 minutes, so I started taking some pictures. I don't know if I care to share them here on the interpipes, but we'll see. They're not anything Ansel would be impressed with, but they kept me interested.
I drank a good bit of water when I got back, showered, and drank some more water. Here I sit, pleased as punch at having accomplished it. I don't believe I ever enjoyed a runners' high...maybe a walkers' chemical equivalent is more of a middle.
15 October 2008
Pictures reviewed !!!
So, two out of five ended up not getting booed, with one being very well liked and one mostly liked. Ironically, I had incorporated some of the suggestions for the conditional photo, but then removed them because I didn't like how they shifted the focus. All in all better then expected, especially after the first picture :). (as I recall the words were "I ****ing hate it")
Good stuff really. I prefer a little gruffness, shows he actually likes what he likes rather than just mouthing the words.
Have a great day folks!
Good stuff really. I prefer a little gruffness, shows he actually likes what he likes rather than just mouthing the words.
Have a great day folks!
14 October 2008
Early birds get the worms
We all need some direction sometimes, tips and comments about our endeavours. It seems as though I reached that point and maybe found a mentor. Wait and see...
Looks like I need to gather together my best photos.
Looks like I need to gather together my best photos.
12 October 2008
Are yoou there hypertext? It's me, Matt.
Testing a new program on the tablet, sorry to dissappoint...
09 October 2008
Peep this peeps
So, I made a purchase recently. I posted a while ago about how I had bought an N800 tablet. I still like it quite a bit, it allows me to make quick lists for when I go shopping, work on little personal writing projects, and make use of those unexpected short blocks of time for checking email or other quick online business. If I had a data plan on my phone, perhaps I would use it more often. As it is I have to be at a spot that has free wi-fi access or wi-fi that I have access to.
So what did I buy? I bought an asus 701 surf eee pc. It's basically a very small laptop. The screen is a lot larger than the one on the tablet, which although it has the exact same resolution, is a lot easier on the eyes. It has a keyboard built in. So it's easier to type in some written work than on the tablet. Of course, I do have a bluetooth keyboard for the tablet. It adds to the overall bulk of the setup, but it's not anymore difficult to carry around than the eee. And with the keyboard not being attached to the tablet, I can make it that much more portable when I need to.
So, originally I had intended to evaluate which one I liked better and sell the not so good one. So far it's kind of a toss up. The battery life is better on the tablet I believe. But the eee is more useful for every day tasks.
Hmm....
*Edit* Who knew you could start EVERY paragraph of a post with the word 'so'?
So what did I buy? I bought an asus 701 surf eee pc. It's basically a very small laptop. The screen is a lot larger than the one on the tablet, which although it has the exact same resolution, is a lot easier on the eyes. It has a keyboard built in. So it's easier to type in some written work than on the tablet. Of course, I do have a bluetooth keyboard for the tablet. It adds to the overall bulk of the setup, but it's not anymore difficult to carry around than the eee. And with the keyboard not being attached to the tablet, I can make it that much more portable when I need to.
So, originally I had intended to evaluate which one I liked better and sell the not so good one. So far it's kind of a toss up. The battery life is better on the tablet I believe. But the eee is more useful for every day tasks.
Hmm....
*Edit* Who knew you could start EVERY paragraph of a post with the word 'so'?
01 October 2008
07 July 2008
New music makers, transportations, gadgets...
Well, I've come across quite a few new things. I thought that I would post them all together so I waited to get all the links gathered and I realized the list was getting long, so I felt it better to go ahead and share what I have. Let's start with the music gizmos.
Music:
First thing that I found is a device called the Monome (homepage). There are several models which provide increasing number of buttons. Basically, it's a programmable midi controller with a grid of LED illuminated buttons. There isn't one set way for a person to play/use the monome, it all depends on what software you are running. You can use it as a drum machine, a beat mixer, a simple scrolling LED display, etc. There are several examples of this slick device on youtube, let me share a few with you here that I like in particular:
David Phipps of Sound Tribe Sector 9 shows his DIY monome
A monome 256 running the mlr patch (very pretty)
A track called Voices
That last video shows off another device that I recently discovered, a single Percusssa AudioCubes cube. They work by touch, as shown in the Voices video above, and if you have multiple cubes you can use them to interact with each other. Each side of the cubes can be programmed to play a specific loop, or perhaps to alter the pitch of a loop. You can create your music by changing which sides of several cubes you face together, as well as how close together they are. Check out this video for an idea of how this can work. It looks like a really neat tactile and somewhat visual way to interact with your music production.
Transportation:
Perhaps you've heard of folding bikes before; I myself have only seen them mentioned briefly in a Dwell magazine. However there are many out there, ranging in compactness, comfortablility, style and price. I'm sure that listing them all here would be silly so I'll just give you a few links to point to a few interesting ones. First off, a few review sites that list several makes and models:
RideThisBike
The Folding Cyclist
And here are a few links to videos of a few that I thought were neat looking and not outside the possiblity of owning in the future:
Mobiky Genius
Kent Ultralite
Schwin Hide-A-Way
Strida 5.0 (the music in this one is a blast)
I tried to find some interesting car videos and I wasn't able to come up with much. Smart makes some neat vehicles that I really like. The car they use in the Wii commercial is a Smart. I came across this video that Edmund's produced and was a little shocked at the results (Smart was NOT on top!!). It's a comparison of the Toyota Prius, the Smart fourtwo, Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel, and the Ford Focus SES coupe. They list various test results of fuel economy in city and highway driving, carbon footprint, etc. Worth a watch if you have the time.
I also came across this car that a man in Camden, Maine built. I confess, it was his location that really caught my eye when browsing through my results. I've been to Camden several times and enjoyed seeing it as the setting for this little car. However, the car itself is kind of neat looking and and of itself. Enjoy :)
Gadgets:
I found a new site that showcases a LOT of really cool, nerdy inventions, products, news etc. Nerd Beach covers a really wide range of topics, so I encourage you to just hop on over there and check it out for yourself!
Lastly (phew!), there is this little gem, the Ogo. It seems to be like the Sony Mylo 2, but perhaps a slightly more appealing package. Well, at least it appeals more to me anyway.
That's all for now!
Music:
First thing that I found is a device called the Monome (homepage). There are several models which provide increasing number of buttons. Basically, it's a programmable midi controller with a grid of LED illuminated buttons. There isn't one set way for a person to play/use the monome, it all depends on what software you are running. You can use it as a drum machine, a beat mixer, a simple scrolling LED display, etc. There are several examples of this slick device on youtube, let me share a few with you here that I like in particular:
David Phipps of Sound Tribe Sector 9 shows his DIY monome
A monome 256 running the mlr patch (very pretty)
A track called Voices
That last video shows off another device that I recently discovered, a single Percusssa AudioCubes cube. They work by touch, as shown in the Voices video above, and if you have multiple cubes you can use them to interact with each other. Each side of the cubes can be programmed to play a specific loop, or perhaps to alter the pitch of a loop. You can create your music by changing which sides of several cubes you face together, as well as how close together they are. Check out this video for an idea of how this can work. It looks like a really neat tactile and somewhat visual way to interact with your music production.
Transportation:
Perhaps you've heard of folding bikes before; I myself have only seen them mentioned briefly in a Dwell magazine. However there are many out there, ranging in compactness, comfortablility, style and price. I'm sure that listing them all here would be silly so I'll just give you a few links to point to a few interesting ones. First off, a few review sites that list several makes and models:
RideThisBike
The Folding Cyclist
And here are a few links to videos of a few that I thought were neat looking and not outside the possiblity of owning in the future:
Mobiky Genius
Kent Ultralite
Schwin Hide-A-Way
Strida 5.0 (the music in this one is a blast)
I tried to find some interesting car videos and I wasn't able to come up with much. Smart makes some neat vehicles that I really like. The car they use in the Wii commercial is a Smart. I came across this video that Edmund's produced and was a little shocked at the results (Smart was NOT on top!!). It's a comparison of the Toyota Prius, the Smart fourtwo, Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel, and the Ford Focus SES coupe. They list various test results of fuel economy in city and highway driving, carbon footprint, etc. Worth a watch if you have the time.
I also came across this car that a man in Camden, Maine built. I confess, it was his location that really caught my eye when browsing through my results. I've been to Camden several times and enjoyed seeing it as the setting for this little car. However, the car itself is kind of neat looking and and of itself. Enjoy :)
Gadgets:
I found a new site that showcases a LOT of really cool, nerdy inventions, products, news etc. Nerd Beach covers a really wide range of topics, so I encourage you to just hop on over there and check it out for yourself!
Lastly (phew!), there is this little gem, the Ogo. It seems to be like the Sony Mylo 2, but perhaps a slightly more appealing package. Well, at least it appeals more to me anyway.
That's all for now!
30 June 2008
Helping out The Man
So it's kind of silly, but I happen to like their coffee. Also it's free, and so if you like coffee perhaps you will enjoy FREE coffee
Unfortunately The Man isn't paying me to promote his coffee. To ease that pain I look to Scarlet and take solace in the fact that "tomorrow is another day."
...yeah, I went there. I said that.
Unfortunately The Man isn't paying me to promote his coffee. To ease that pain I look to Scarlet and take solace in the fact that "tomorrow is another day."
...yeah, I went there. I said that.
28 June 2008
Cameras, not phones!
Quick list of cameras being considered atm:
Nikon D60
Canon Rebel XSi
Pentax K20D
Pentax K200D
And the new frontrunner:
the Olympus E-510!!
Of course there's going to be a successor to this model in August but I'm hearing it will cost more. And why shouldn't it, it will be brand new. I'm told that the kit lenses sold with Canons and Nikons are actually not all that great. If the K20D was cheaper I might have leaned more towards buying that as I still have a few K-mount lenses and they would work on the body (right?).
Apparently also worth noting is the number of lenses available to each brand. Canon and Nikon have the most to offer in this category in both current and legacy lenses. Pentax, I believe, has a decent number as well. The Olympus has about 30 lenses I'm hearing; honestly, that sounds like more than enough. My thinking is that there is still a lot of flux in the DSLR world and that the E510 looks like an excellent camera to carry me past that tide.
To close this post out I think I'll mention a website I ran across while researching all these various cameras. It is one that I have come across before for other electronics information and I always find the articles there to be informative and pleasurable to read. This is due in great part because they have an index of each article which allows you to jump to the various sections which might most interest you without having to sift through the rest. I give you:
AnandTech.com
Nikon D60
Canon Rebel XSi
Pentax K20D
Pentax K200D
And the new frontrunner:
the Olympus E-510!!
Of course there's going to be a successor to this model in August but I'm hearing it will cost more. And why shouldn't it, it will be brand new. I'm told that the kit lenses sold with Canons and Nikons are actually not all that great. If the K20D was cheaper I might have leaned more towards buying that as I still have a few K-mount lenses and they would work on the body (right?).
Apparently also worth noting is the number of lenses available to each brand. Canon and Nikon have the most to offer in this category in both current and legacy lenses. Pentax, I believe, has a decent number as well. The Olympus has about 30 lenses I'm hearing; honestly, that sounds like more than enough. My thinking is that there is still a lot of flux in the DSLR world and that the E510 looks like an excellent camera to carry me past that tide.
To close this post out I think I'll mention a website I ran across while researching all these various cameras. It is one that I have come across before for other electronics information and I always find the articles there to be informative and pleasurable to read. This is due in great part because they have an index of each article which allows you to jump to the various sections which might most interest you without having to sift through the rest. I give you:
AnandTech.com
20 June 2008
EL OH EL
So, you remember that phone I JUST told you about that I fixed? Yeah, um...
...it broke again.
True story. Perhaps a sign? Who can say. I don't really want to buy another place holder phone, but if this thing just keeps on breaking....*sigh*.
Anyone know where I can buy an inexpensive N82? Because that's kind of what I want now.
...it broke again.
True story. Perhaps a sign? Who can say. I don't really want to buy another place holder phone, but if this thing just keeps on breaking....*sigh*.
Anyone know where I can buy an inexpensive N82? Because that's kind of what I want now.
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