August 31, 2009
August 30, 2009
Red, Green and Blue Mars

Good overview of the novels and current NASA thinking. Warning: some spoilers.

Red, Green, and Blue Mars | h Magazine

Posted by Dave at 11:37 AM
August 27, 2009
The Ares (3D Model) from Red Mars

I am reaching the end of "Red Mars", wondering if anyone has done a map overlay for Google Earth's new Mars feature that follows the travels in the novel. Along the way I found this.

The Ares - Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson by TE Williams - Google 3D Warehouse

Posted by Dave at 11:42 AM
August 26, 2009
Domefest locations

For my benefit later.


View Larger Map

Posted by Dave at 09:55 PM
August 25, 2009
Leaf Labs Maple

Arduino compatible with ARM processor.

Maple Prototype « Leaf Development Blog

Posted by Dave at 10:41 AM
August 23, 2009
NASA Outsourcing?

NASA May Outsource Amid Budget Woes - WSJ.com

Posted by Dave at 03:48 PM
August 22, 2009
August 20, 2009
August 19, 2009
Astronaut Nicole Stott

Mission specialist Stott and her six crewmates will deliver 33,000 pounds of equipment to the Space Station, including science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, and a sleeping compartment. Stott and fellow astronaut John Olivas will conduct a spacewalk during which they will remove an empty ammonia tank from the Space Station and gather materials from various experiments for return to Earth on Discovery. As a flight engineer, she'll live and work aboard the ISS for three months, catching a ride home in November on Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Astronaut Nicole Stott to Launch on Space Shuttle Discovery for Her First Journey into Space

Astronaut Bio: Nicole Passonno Stott (03/2009)

And she is going to blog about it.

My Journey To The Stars - MORE Magazine

Posted by Dave at 11:32 PM
August 17, 2009
Missing T and E in STEM

Study says that while American students are taught science and some math, technology and engineering are being slighted.

Top News - Momentum building on STEM education

Posted by Dave at 04:54 PM
August 16, 2009
Cornell U Microcontroller projects

They've been busy for 10 years, and they are all here.

Final Projects ECE 4760

Posted by Dave at 11:56 PM
August 14, 2009
Simple Sensors

Simple hardware, takes a bit of hacking. I may return to this.

V-USB - A Firmware-Only USB Driver for Atmel(r) AVR(r) Microcontrollers

SparkFun Electronics - AVR Stick

Posted by Dave at 09:26 PM
August 13, 2009
Attempt on life of Peten Governor

Guatemala - His vehicle was shot at by masked attackers with AK-47's. Photo shows at least 20 bullet holes in the windows.

Prensa Libre - Edición electrónica - Portada - Redoblan seguridad al gobernador de Petén tras atentado de ayer

Posted by Dave at 10:50 AM
August 12, 2009
Hacking Roomba

Hey, why not?

Hacking Roomba » DIY Robotics with Roomba Holiday Buying Guide

Posted by Dave at 05:39 PM
Gartner Hype Cycle 2009

Interesting to see where my interests lie on the roller coaster.

Gartner Hype Cycle 2009: Web 2.0 Trending Up, Twitter Down

Posted by Dave at 12:08 PM
Pachube Augmented reality demo

YouTube - Pachube.com: augmented reality demo

Posted by Dave at 11:16 AM
Mac Mini Robot

This fall's project with the girls?

Meet Sparky, the DIY Mac mini telepresence robot

Sparky « GOMI Style

Posted by Dave at 10:41 AM
Web Design Q&A site

Web design Q&A - Doctype

Posted by Dave at 09:51 AM
August 11, 2009
August 09, 2009
iPhone -controlled drone

Want one.

New Use for Your iPhone: Controlling Drones | Danger Room | Wired.com

Posted by Dave at 10:47 PM
Back to Arduino - Droplet

I have to revisit my Arduino projects. This guy has a great Arduino/Xbee hack going. Think I'll follow his progress.

rapplogic: Droplet

Posted by Dave at 10:19 PM
Cacao plague in Chiapas

That is, an infestation that is affecting production, in 10 municipalities.

Plaga en cacao chiapaneco merma la producción - El Siglo de Durango

Posted by Dave at 10:56 AM
August 07, 2009
August 06, 2009
Chixoy, Xalala - Community needs support

Interesting blog post, via Karen Bassie.

Advocacy Project Blogs - Chixoy: A Mirror for Xalalá

Posted by Dave at 09:57 PM
August 05, 2009
Webcams on the iPhone

Four remote cameras at the same time.

iCam brings video from home to the iPhone

Posted by Dave at 11:45 PM
August 04, 2009
Sketchup, unfolding, paper craft

From the Google Sketchup list, an email from Steve Meier that includes links and tips for taking a Sketchup model and unfolding it, either to print the designs or to create papercraft models. His email is below (click More).

http://www.phlatforum.com/viewforum.php?f=52
View the videos by Crash, kram242 and AnyAirRc of them using SketchUp
to create 3D models of aircraft, then unfolding the model to have flat parts to print as patterns to cut out the actually flying RC model airplane.

http://www.phlatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=95
Must have Sketchup Scripts/Plugins - these are used in the above videos.
Examples: jf_unfoldtool.rb, progressbar.rb, weld.rb, repair_broken_lines.rb, Slicer3.rb

http://www.phlatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=98
skin25.zip

http://www.phlatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=987
Converting your SketchUp plan to PDF video tutorial by 3DMON on Fri Jul 24, 2009 2:16 pm

http://www.foamcasualty.com/cad.shtml
SketchUp screenshots of F6F Hellcat and FW-190 unfolded, ready to print.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920416
This thread is "Using google Sketchup for modeling... With practical examples". It explains how to import a 3-view, create the SketchUp drawing, and how to print it out to scale.

http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/
Export your SketchUp model as a Google Earth .KMZ file. Pepakura Designer v3 will open that. Then just click the Unfold button. Unregistered Pepakura Designer has "Save" disabled, but you can print the patterns using a PDF virtual printer (CutePDF, PrimoPDF, et al).

Search for "Papercraft SketchUp Unfold" and you will find many tutorials on how to unfold models. You will be able to print 1:1 scale patterns to the PDF file. You can add graphics to your bike by opening the PDF in Inkscape (free).

Posted by Dave at 10:27 AM
August 03, 2009
Panoramic tour of Palenque. Yaxchilan

INAH has created an excellent tour of two Maya sites using 360 degree panoramas (possibly QTVR?) to let you look around the sites. It also takes you into the tomb of Pakal, which visitors are not allowed to peer into any more.

Instituto Nacional de Antropología

Posted by Dave at 12:17 AM
August 02, 2009
Put your satellite in Space - $8000

Yes, that gets you the satellite kit and the launch to orbit. Wow.

Interorbital Systems - TubeSat Personal Satellite Kit | International Space Fellowship

Posted by Dave at 04:31 PM
Panel recommendations, future of Space flight

Panel Wants Deep Space, Not Landings as U.S. Goal - NYTimes.com

A flyby of the moon might be followed by more distant trips to so-called Lagrange points, first to the location where the gravity of the Moon and the Earth gravity cancel each other out, then to where the gravity of the Earth and Sun cancel out. There could also be visits to asteroids or flybys of Mars leading to landings on one or both of the low-gravity moons of Deimos and Phobos.

This approach, Dr. Crawley said, would provide "the most steady cadence of steady improvement."

Posted by Dave at 04:09 PM
August 01, 2009
Booting Up Baghdad

Booting Up Baghdad: Tech Execs Take a Tour in Iraq

Posted by Dave at 10:11 AM