April 29, 2009
NYC plastic recycling cutback?

NYC will only recycle plastic bottles now, no other containers of #1 (PET) and #2 (HDPE).

NYCWasteLe$$: Frequently Asked Questions - CAN I RECYCLE ANY OTHER PLASTICS BESIDES BOTTLES & JUGS?

Inhabitat » GREEN RANT: Why Won't NYC Recycle Plastic?

And what do we do about it?

HDPE
YF-DIY-75A MINI RECYCLING PLANT

What about PET?

recycle pet machines Manufacturers & Suppliers

And #5 containers, like yogurt tubs? Look for a Whole Foods dropoff location here:

Preserve Gimme 5

Posted by Dave at 06:20 PM
DIY Plastic Recycling

No real answers here, but some ideas.

Homemade plastic recycling? [Archive] - CNCzone.com-The Ultimate Machinist Community

Posted by Dave at 04:37 PM
April 27, 2009
Thermoelectric scavenger

A commercial version.

Perpetua - Self-powered Wireless Sensors

Posted by Dave at 02:55 PM
April 26, 2009
Paper 2.0

I played with QR-codes in the workshop with Massimo a couple of weeks ago, but haven't cmbined them with AR or used them as fiducials. If all of this is mystifying, look at this for ideas of where it's leading.

paper 2.0 :: hyperexperience

Posted by Dave at 10:08 PM
DMG Canvas

Though mostly cosmetic, this app to customize DMG files could be useful - as in the DMG I put out this week.

DMG Canvas 1.0.8 Review | Utilities | Mac Gems | Macworld

Posted by Dave at 06:05 PM
Convert Alternator to Generator

For bike power, Micro Hydro, etc.

WindBlue Power - The best wind generator parts and PMA Permanent Magnet Alternators on the web

Posted by Dave at 01:04 PM
Makerbot and Contour Crafting

At two ends of the scale but the same idea - 3D printing of real, useful objects.

MakerBot Industries: CupCake CNC

Contour Crafting - USC

Posted by Dave at 11:34 AM
April 25, 2009
Using Xbees to control Relays

Using Xbees to control relays « adafruit industries blog

Posted by Dave at 12:32 PM
April 24, 2009
Opensim on Mac OS X install kit

I've created a kit of elements to allow easy install of an Opensim server on Intel Macs. I'll keep the links here, and I'll update with any notes or improvements.

OpensimOSX kit version 1 (175mb DMG)

OpensimOSXkit Tutorial Document only

I've disabled comments here, but leave comments on the Maxping site where this is posted, and I'll check there.

Maxping - How-to install Opensim on Mac OSX -

Posted by Dave at 10:59 AM
New Sketchup books

Time to dig in.

Official Google SketchUp Blog: Catch up on your SketchUp 7 reading

Posted by Dave at 01:17 AM
April 23, 2009
Making shell scripts clickable

You can teach an old dog new tricks. It just takes a while.

Two ways to turn shell scripts (series of commands in Terminal) into clickable apps:

Use Platypus to give it a Mac application wrapper.

Sveinbjorn Thordarson's Website - Platypus

Or just make the script itself double-clickable.

[HOWTO] open (Terminal) shell scripts by double-click - macosx.com

Posted by Dave at 01:52 PM
April 22, 2009
Toxiclabs Processing tools

Via Dan Shiffman, processing classes for audio and graphics.

Downloads - toxiclibs - Google Code

Posted by Dave at 08:58 AM
April 21, 2009
In Stockholm, Every Block an ISP

100mb/s for $11 a month.

Slashdot | Why Is Connectivity So Cheap In Stockholm?

Posted by Dave at 06:00 PM
Photos of Earth from Space

NASA Earth Observatory: Home

Posted by Dave at 12:48 PM
Sustainable Interaction, design

Work by ITP researchers and others in sustainable use of technology.

Sustainable Interaction | Main / Papers

Sustainable interaction design | Sustainable Minds

Design For the Other 90% | Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

Posted by Dave at 03:11 AM
April 20, 2009
Signtificlab

Have to check this out. High-level futuristic mindgames. With scientists.

Welcome | The Signtific Lab | Massively Multiplayer Thought Experiments

Posted by Dave at 07:42 PM
Standard plug for Electric cars

Car Companies Standardize Plug for Electric Vehicles : Gas 2.0

Posted by Dave at 10:04 AM
April 18, 2009
Sensor Network Earth Week links

Just finished a presentation in SL for Earth Week. Here are links from that.

SLIDES on GOOGLE DOCS:
Earth Week SL Presentation, April 18th, 2009 - Google Docs

Chat Transcript (most was done in voice, not in this transcript)
http://www.gomaya.com/glyph/docs/EarthWeek Transcript.rtf

Tish's blog post regarding Pachube, sensor networks: http://www.ugotrade.com/2009/01/28/pachube-patching-the-planet-interview-with-usman-haque/

Dave's blog covering Maya archaeology, jungle ecology, and technology http://www.gomaya.com/glyph

Maya Frontier, Usumacinta River videos
http://www.gomaya.com/glyph/archives/001914.html

Collapse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_(book)

Arduino - microcontrollers http://arduino.cc/

Pachube - tutorials http://community.pachube.com/tutorials

Pachube Apps - http://apps.pachube.com/

Arduino-SL-Pachube data site http://www.pachube.com/feeds/1284

SL to Pachube site http://www.pachube.com/feeds/1505

Dave's Danger Shield - Pachube tutorial http://www.zachhoeken.com/connecting-to-the-world

TweetaWatt site (LadyAda) http://www.ladyada.net/make/tweetawatt/

Dave's post on TweetaWatt to Opensim/SL - http://www.gomaya.com/glyph/archives/002505.html

Peter Quirk's post on Importing Sketchup into RealXtend
http://peterquirk.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/tutorial-using-the-streamlined-tool-chain-for-importing-sketchup-models-into-realxtend-04/

Opensim http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page

RealXtend http://www.realxtend.org/

Posted by Dave at 01:54 PM
April 17, 2009
Open Source Scripting and OS X

On the verge of comprehension.

Introduction to Open Source Scripting on Mac OS X

Posted by Dave at 11:02 PM
Lucid Viewer

Web viewer for Ladybug 3 cameras.

Lucid Viewer

Posted by Dave at 04:16 PM
Obama, Mexico, Firearms

Good that he's meeting with Calderon, depressing the apparent political impossibility of fighting the gun lobby.

In Mexico, Obama Seeks Curbs on Arms Sales - NYTimes.com

Posted by Dave at 10:53 AM
April 16, 2009
April 14, 2009
April 13, 2009
MySQL on Mac OS X

Necessary to run recent Opensim builds on Mac. The things I get myself into.

MySQL :: MySQL 5.1 Reference Manual :: 2.5 Installing MySQL on Mac OS X

Posted by Dave at 05:49 PM
Eolus

And how much will it cost me to have IBM and Implenia do this for me?

Eolus - The path to sustainable Real Estate: IBM and Implenia

Posted by Dave at 02:21 PM
Processing + 3D

Collecting some links:

Environment (IDE) \ Processing 1.0

saitoobjloader - Google Code

superCAD

Posted by Dave at 01:41 PM
Servos and continuous rotation

Cheap servos, I learn, are designed only to swing a certain range of rotation, not to turn continuously like wheels. I'd heard of hacks to override this limit, but here's a good how-to from Tod Kurt, of Todbot.

todbot blog » Blog Archive » Tiny Servos as Continuous Rotation Gearmotors

Posted by Dave at 12:36 PM
April 11, 2009
LilyPad Arduino Bike Patch

This is a great simple LilyPad project. Looks like a winner for the first LilyPad project in the Girl-E class (Make Break and Burn).

Make: Online : CRAFT Video: LilyPad Arduino Bike Patch

Posted by Dave at 04:15 PM
Tweenbots

Cute project from ITP.

tweenbots | kacie kinzer

Posted by Dave at 01:46 PM
Webpages in OpenSim

Chis Hart posted instructions on this for Windows clients. Here is how to do it on the Mac:

Right-Click or control-click on the Hippo client app in the finder, choose "Show Package Contents" and look in Contents/Resources/app_settings/ and you will find settings.xml. Open that in a text editor (I use SubEthaEdit), search (command-f) for AutoMimeDiscovery and change the 0 to 1 as shown in Chris Hart's blog.

Posted by Dave at 07:25 AM
April 10, 2009
Mail Migrate bug - 10.4 to 10.5

Just ran into this as many others have. Some new computers in the office. Migration of files from old Emac to nice new iMac went fine except for Mail, due to this bug.

Apple - Support - Discussions - [SOLUTION] Mail does not quit or show old messages

Posted by Dave at 10:44 PM
Tweet-a-Watt to Pachube

I finally assembled a Tweet-a-Watt hack of the Kill-a-Watt power meter, which adds an Xbee chip transmitter, sending to a receiver on a laptop. In LadyAda's original tutorial, the data is sent to Google App Engine to provide web access and graphing. But I wanted to send it to Pachube.

Love the lazy web. Brian Naughton had already adapted the Python script to report to Pachube, and shared it with me. Now he has posted it.

Naughtorious! - Tweet-a-Watt

UPDATE: I added back the Twitter code that Brian removed. So now there is a PachTweet-a-Watt version, that does both. It can be found here.

Posted by Dave at 10:33 PM
Smart Grid, Broadband, and Cybersecurity

Ties it all together with effective stimulus plan.

Wonk Room » The Smart Grid And Cybersecurity

Posted by Dave at 05:32 PM
Big Brother on the Mac

But...but...what about that 1984 Mac commercial? That was 25 years ago?

Big Brother! ActyMac DutyWatch spies on your employees

Posted by Dave at 02:30 PM
April 08, 2009
QR-Code Generator

Part of the Arduino workshop - Massimo Banzi has created an OSC network in Processing that has as an input a QR-code reader on the iSight camera. It sends an OSC message of the text in the printed QR-Code. That processing code to come in an update

QR-Code Generator

Posted by Dave at 04:05 PM
April 07, 2009
OS X app from Python

OK, I am at my geek limit running a python script from Terminal for the TweetaWatt hack of the KillaWatt power meter. But if I decide to go all the way, I can turn that Terminal business into an OS X app and just double click it. I already struggled through the MacPorts install to get where I am.

Aral Balkan - How to make standalone OS X application bundles from PyQt apps using py2app

Posted by Dave at 11:36 PM
DroboPro

Keeping an eye on this - could be our first network storage.

DroboPro: Drobo bigger, better, rack-mounted and faster

Posted by Dave at 09:30 AM
April 06, 2009
Split XDCAM video files

Had to look for this how-to again. With 2 SXS cards in the Sony EX1, it is inevitable that you will get shots spanning the two cards. This shows how to deal with, and combine, those two incomplete files.

Transferring Video Files Spanning 2 cards in FCP! - The Digital Video Information Network

Posted by Dave at 10:34 PM
NYPA Fuel Cells

Somehow we were talked out of this but I am returning to it at least as an educational project for the new building.

New York Power Authority - New Technology Programs - Fuel Cells

Posted by Dave at 10:52 AM
April 05, 2009
Chris Shaw in Dordogne, NY Times

Chris Shaw's spectacular canoe trip on the Dordogne - his story in the Times today.

In the Dordogne, Canoeing Into Prehistory - NYTimes.com

Posted by Dave at 10:37 AM
April 04, 2009
Update - ATT - Never Mind!

"The language added on March 30 to AT&T's wireless data service Terms and Conditions was done in error. It was brought to our attention and we have since removed it. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

TUAW -- The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Posted by Dave at 01:15 AM
April 03, 2009
ATT targets Sling - and data acquisition

TOS changes to restrict use of its network. This means iPhone apps for accessing sensor nets.

As if things aren't bad enough... AT&T terms change targets Sling

Posted by Dave at 06:33 PM
April 02, 2009
Arduino Mega + Tom Igoe

Make: Online : Arduino MEGA video featuring Tom Igoe

Posted by Dave at 12:05 AM