Celestia + 03.31.08 : Finally, some progress!
Well, I'm 2+ years into this project and I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. It ain't finished yet, but the mechanics all work. Now I just need to finish writing the software and figure out how to build a display case for the thing.
"What is it?," you ask? Its a network-enabled, computer controlled, acid-etched and laser-cut Brass Celestial Clock.
A friend referred to it as "Steampunky". So, I guess that makes it a network-enabled, computer-controlled, acid-etched, laser-cut Steampunky Brass Celestial Clock.
Its For Real + 11.19.07 : Ok... well, after two years of planning and work and bazillions of dollars and lots of stupid mistakes, screw-ups and re-works, the clock now has a physical form.
Below is a link to a picture of the work-in-progress on my kitchen table.
I'm hoping the major work is done. Now I only need to: install the stepper motors, wire up the computer, write the control software, laser-cut the aluminum components, assemble the motor-mount facades, assemble the date/time indicator, build the case, install the clock and find an unused electrical outlet.
World Clock + 07.01.06 :
My latest project is a mechanical Planisphere - a Celestial Clock. When completed, it will show the position of the stars in the sky for any time of day on any day of the year ( as viewed from San Francisco's lattitude: 37°46' N ).
That is... if I can figure out how to build it. Since the silver disk rotates once per year and the brass disk rotates once per day, I haven't been able to find a clock movement to power it. The current design involves a digital microcontroller, modified hobby servos and some custom gears. Maybe I can pick up some pointers from these folks.
My War on Christmas + 12.25.05 : Two years ago, I sent out home-made Christmas Holiday cards. It was a nightmare. "Never Again", I said to myself. And here I am, giving myself another ulcer, making my own Holiday Solstice cards again.
Martha Stewart, I am not.
Still, I had this idea forming in the back of my mind for a while. War is hell. But so is Santaland with a screaming, wet 2-year-old. And to answer the logically consequent question: No, I don't have kids (adopted or otherwise) but many of my friends and family do. They thought this was really funny:
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| CONCEPT | REALITY |
World' Greatest Spam Email Address + 08.11.05 :
crestfallenbanana@advancedsalesconsultants.com
Version Two + 05.23.05 : Ok, now THIS is more what I had in mind. This is version two of the clock, mounted in a rockin' mahogany pine case.
I got the case from Pottery Barn just before they discontinued it... so I'm not sure how I'm going to build another. Oh well.
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Tick Tock... + 03.31.05 : Once upon a time, I got this idea into my head that I wanted to design a clock.
Specifically, a brass skeleton clock.
Now, I have absolutely no formal training in metalwork, mechanical engineering or "clockery" so this idea stayed in the back of my head for about a year.
At some point, however, the mind-numbing insipidity of my day job got the better of me and I knew I was going to have to jump into another creative project or risk permanently damaging the right side of my brain.
So, after months of research, false-starts and a significant dent in my VISA card I've got it about 89% complete. On the left is the conceptual illustration I did in Adobe Photoshop. On the right is the actual clock.
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| CONCEPT | REALITY |
America takes the Blue Pill + 11.03.04 :
Dang. I guess the 20 somethings really don't give a damn. How disappointing.
Happiness is a Nerf Orange + 09.28.04 :
I received this at one of Kaiser's "Up With People" events. Its nice that Kaiser takes the time to put on these little corporate events but the souveniers they give away are always slightly odd.
A Nerf Orange? If I eat it, will I get Nerf Poisining?
New Version Of News Spotter + 03.12.04 : Well, its only sorta-new. I redesigned the graphics and updated the default channel subscription list. I think the new look is cleaner - a bit more corporate, perhaps. I also added a "sports" splash screen graphic. No major bug fixes in this release, which is 0.82B. Fans of BackWeb software, such as they are, will feel right at home. Download it here.
I guess I'm a Geek... + 03.09.04 : I spent a few minutes today to look over the list of RSS feeds I monitor with my Newsspotter application. The list is getting a little out of hand. The idea behind Newsspotter was to put the few feeds I care about in my face. But I keep adding new feeds and now I'm over 30 "things" which are constantly demanding my attention.
Here's the current list:
CBS News, CNN News, BBC News Online, Slashdot, Boing Boing, Christian Science Monitor, Cryptome, Alternet, Greplaw, The Agonist, Lessig News, Larry Lessig's Blog, Copyfight: The Politics of IP, Linux Journal, A Copyfighter's Musings, Instapundit, Sean Bonner, Yahoo News Top StoriesYahoo News Technology, Stanford Center for Internet and Society, Scott Rosenberg's Links & Comment, Groklaw, WiFi Networking News, Whiskey Bar, kuro5hin.org, Abusable Technologies, Cool Tools, Dilbert, John Perry Barlow, Daily Kos, New Urban Legends, IT Conversations, Gizmodo, Columbia Jounalism Review, The Feature : Mobile Internet, Craigslist: Jobs in San Francisco, The Importance of...
If I run my Automated-Pschological-Analyzer over the subscription list, it comes back with "straight-gay-leftwing-rightwing-linux-law-geek".
Hmmmm...
Gay Marriage + 02.29.04 :
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More Stupid Security Tricks + 12.04.03 : UPDATE: I went back to the dentist yesterday. Same security guard. Same meaningless ( to me ) security procedure. At least they're consistent.
Stupid Security Tricks + 11.18.03 : I've read so many of these reports in the Geek press and other places that I've almost become immune to them: tales of stupid security procedures have provided grist for satirists and civil-libertarians alike.
Since I'd just finished Bruce Schneier's Beyond Fear, some rules of thumb for identifying bad or ineffective security procedures were fresh in my mind when I encountered one first hand.
In the lobby of my Dentist's bulding, I was asked by a security guard to sign in before proceeding upstairs. He made sure that I filled in my name, my dentist's name, the time, the reason for my visit ( duh, a dental appointment?? ) and then he asked me for my id. He looked at my id. He looked at me. He did not verify whether the name I wrote down matched the name on my driver's license. He did not check a list of authorized visitors.
Think about it.
He was not checking whether I was allowed to be there (authorization), because he had no authorization list. He was not checking whether I was who I said I was (authentication) because he didn't compare the name on my ID with the name I had written down. All he had succeeded in doing was validate that I was carrying a photo-id card that matched my face.
This struck me as a silly exercise, so I asked him, "I'm curious. Do you mind if I ask, what is the purpose of checking my id?"
He replied in a tired voice, "I don't know. They just tell me to look at the ID, so I look at the ID."
"I think I understand.", I replied.
And I do understand. Some ding-dong at the building management company decided that they'd better look like they take security seriously. And that's what they did. They put in procedures designed to look like they were doing something: not so intrusive that visitors complain, not so extensive that they inconvienence their tennants. Not so effective, either.
Life on BART + 10.19.03 : BART ( Bay Area Rapid Transit ) is one of those things I love to hate. I can always find something to whine about on BART. There is always something slightly disgusting, broken, dangerous or freaky on BART. Nevertheless, BART trains are almost always on time. In 2 years of daily commuting, I've never experienced a breakdown. And, so far, the Trans Bay tube hasn't sprung a leak. But sometimes, a confluence of unfortunate happenstances conspire to create a story:
So, I'm boarding the train and taking my seat. Its a pretty old, disgusting car. Puce colored seats, yellow flourescent lighting, tattered seat cushins, dirt ground into the carpet - the Acme of 1970's design. No sooner had I sat down then I started looking around for the source of the smell of Urine which had enveloped me. After a few moments, I realized it was the seat I was sitting in.
Yuck.
A quick scan of the car revealed an empty seat by the door. I made a shot for it. After a minute or two, I noticed a different, but no less disgusting, odor. Across the isle, in a seat by himself, was the filthiest person I had seen in a very long time. Obviously homeless. Obviously friendless. Obviously hadn't washed in many months. Imagine Grizzly Adams slathered in muck.
Yuck.
Worried that my breakfast was going to perform an encore all over the seat in front of me, I headed out the back door of the train into the adjoining car. It was strangely empty. There were only a few people scattered throughout the car. I took one of the lateral seats next to the center doors. Across the isle, facing me, was the reason the car was empty. An otherwise normal-looking woman was having a serious argument with the person next to her. The two were hurtling every explitive imaginable at one another. Loudly. Nastily. Spit was flying out of her mouth as she yelled. Of course, the person she was yelling at was ... invisible. Which explained why no one in the car had told her to shut the hell up. People with invisible enemies tend not to oblige when asked to shut the hell up.
Thank you for riding BART.
Copyright © 2008 by Sean Gallagher
Newer Toy:
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Finished at last:
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