September 29, 2009
Xrez of Tikal

The xRez team was at Domefest this past weekend, showing a spectacular timelapse and gigapixel desert piece that eclipsed the computer generated 3D extravaganzas. Beautiful work. Here's their page of Tikal images, scans, and movies.

xRez_tikal

Posted by Dave at 11:25 PM
September 19, 2009
There went the neighborhood

I played at CBGB's in fall of 1974. Since 1975 I have lived within a block of Extra Place. Changed but not forgotten.

Kevin Walsh: The Evolution of Extra Place

Posted by Dave at 10:20 PM
MacHelpMate

Having seen how difficult it can be to set up the (supposedly easy) screen sharing of Macs, I wonder if this is good enough to pay $600 a year.

Zero-Config Remote Access, Screen Sharing, and Diagnostics for Mac OS X and Windows - Home

Posted by Dave at 09:22 PM
September 16, 2009
DIY Drones

Now with Arduino autopilot!

ArduPilot main page - DIY Drones

Posted by Dave at 11:32 PM
Weapons in Guatemala, Mexico

Not sure I would use the word "bonanza" but this post covers recent activity on the border, including the Usumacinta.

ISA Portal - Guatemala weapons bonanza

Posted by Dave at 10:53 AM
September 15, 2009
3DVinci

Looks like a great resource for our Girl-E class this fall.

Teaching Geometry with Google SketchUp

Posted by Dave at 12:06 PM
September 13, 2009
C4C Community Base

A Posterous website for easy posting of (mainly) iPhone photos relating to the Center for Community project. The photo albums are done with the PicPosterous iPhone app.

Community Base - Building the Center for Community

Posted by Dave at 03:24 PM
'63 Airstream Overlander restore

Extensive saga of one guy's restoration.

A 63 for me! (many good ideas for your new to you Trailer) - Airstream Forums

Posted by Dave at 03:05 PM
Unity Game engine

Considering using Unity to begin working on realtime dome displays, using Paul Bourke's technique.

UNITY: License Comparison

Posted by Dave at 01:59 PM
12 volt LED lights

For the Airstream renovation.

12 Volt LED Lights - Swego.com

Posted by Dave at 01:25 PM
Guatemala given to organized Crime

...by the previous administration, says current President Alvaro Colom.

elPeriódico de Guatemala » País » El anterior gobierno le entregó el país al crimen organizado

Posted by Dave at 12:42 PM
September 12, 2009
Mars Cross-eyed 3D

And other space images in 3D. Great fun.

Mars Cross Eyed 3D Index

Posted by Dave at 05:52 PM
iTunes LP, under the hood

Some Notes On iTunes LP · Jay Robinson

Posted by Dave at 12:01 PM
September 10, 2009
Swarm power plants

A natural gas powered VW engine in your basement makes heat and electricity and feeds the grid. Oh, wait. You have to be in Germany.

Slashdot Technology Story | Lichtblick and Volkswagen To Build 'Swarm' Power Plants

Posted by Dave at 09:50 PM
September 09, 2009
Summary, U.S. Human Space Flight report

Released yesterday, provided to the White House. Some say it looks bleak for humans in space. More work for robots.

NASA - Summary Report

Posted by Dave at 11:43 PM
Vintage Trailer Supply

Gonna need some parts, and they won't be at the local hardware store. I'll be a riveting (and de-riveting) maniac.

Vintage Trailer Supply - Vintage travel trailer parts and supplies!

Posted by Dave at 11:11 PM
Pachube2Sketchup

I thought I had blogged this already. The folks at Pachube released their pachube2sketchup plugin this summer. I promised Usman I would try it out. Will soon.

Pachube :: blog: Pachube2SketchUp: realtime sensor data in SketchUp

Posted by Dave at 10:56 PM
September 08, 2009
Space Station sightings

Realtime updates on Space Station sightings. Next two nights should be good times to see it with the naked eye, at around 7-9pm. Check the applet on the page - SkyWatch 2.0 - for your location.

Human Space Flight (HSF) - Realtime Data

Posted by Dave at 03:55 AM
September 07, 2009
Install Ubuntu on a Mac

How to set up Ubuntu Linux on a Mac -- it's easy and free

Posted by Dave at 06:38 PM
September 05, 2009
One-Way Ticket to Mars

I just finished "Red Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson. In it, prospective Mars colonists are run through tests to see if they are stable enough to go. Of course, they have to be crazy to want to go there for the rest of their lives. But they do a good job of faking it.

Op-Ed Contributor - A One-Way Ticket to Mars - NYTimes.com

Posted by Dave at 10:32 PM
Airstream Window repair

For a trailer 2 years older, but yes, I am considering doing it myself. Why do you ask?

Other good restoration tips on this site as well.

1956 Flying Cloud - Windows

Posted by Dave at 09:57 PM
September 03, 2009
Manuel Lima on Data Viz

Why don't we do it in the dome...

MxM talk: Manuel Lima on data visualization on Vimeo

Posted by Dave at 04:58 PM
Airstream Recording History

LMS and Ronnie Lane

airstream studio history

Posted by Dave at 01:53 AM
Snow Leopard for IT Admins

One of my least favorite part-time jobs. I may need this for reference.

Ten good things about Snow Leopard for IT admins | Business Center | Macworld

Posted by Dave at 12:04 AM
September 02, 2009
Another Mac Mini Robot

MacMod - Connecting Smart Mac Users - M3 - Mobile Mac Mini

Posted by Dave at 09:43 PM
iChat and Arduino

OK, so I like the Sparky robot concept (Mac mini based telepresence) but I want to use iChat, the Arduino and better motors. One piece of the puzzle is replacing the Make controller board and the code that goes between it and Skype. Here's a hunt for hints.

Arduino Forum - Arduino Applescript quick fix...

todbot blog » Blog Archive » Arduino-serial: C code to talk to Arduino

scie.nti.st » 1 Minute Post: AIM Bot in Ruby

One comment on this post:

"This is a great library. I have used it to send messages to an Arduino using ruby to listen to AIM and then send messages over a serial connection, again using ruby, to the Arduino and then display the message on an LCD and control various external devices. Much fun."

Posted by Dave at 01:12 PM
WiFi Robot base

Good solid base, but I think I'd use the Mac Mini instead of the board they use here.

WiFi Robot Platform Design Instructions - roboteq.com

Good pointers to suppliers:

Builder's Corner

Posted by Dave at 01:03 AM
September 01, 2009
Alice - CMU

Another Hilary suggestion. Tell a story in 3D and learn programming basics.

Alice.org

Posted by Dave at 11:24 PM
Scratch

Snap together programming interface for kids. Suggested by Hilary at NYC Resistor tonight.

Scratch | Home | imagine, program, share

Posted by Dave at 11:22 PM
The Long News: Space

Pointers to recent interesting space stories.

The Long Now Blog » Blog Archive » Fly me to the moon

Posted by Dave at 11:09 PM
Snow Leopard - Full review

More than you'll want to know. But that's good.

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: the Ars Technica review - Ars Technica

Posted by Dave at 02:48 PM