Saturday was a beautiful day in Austin for having the Skillshare weekend event.   We arrived at the Space 12 community facility on the east side of Austin.  Colorfully painted and more people arriving.  We crossed the threshold into this very spacious facility.  At the entrance we were greeted by Charity as we signed in and looked around.  On the left just behind the greeting table I saw a group learning “Sewing with a pattern” and moved around clockwise I saw the following “Public speaking”, “Computer Navigation”, “What do Doulas do?”,  and “Puppet making”.  Each location had about a handful or more of people enjoying the discussion or actively participating. 

After corresponding with Cory of Skillshare via email, I finally to meet her in person.  Cory and the Skillshare volunteer has done an excellent job making this event happen.  Bravo!!! 

Charity showed us where we were going to do the workshop.  We got our materials for the Digital TV Coat hanger antenna and set it up in the dining area of Space 12.  It was ideal for us since it has four good size tables to make these antennas.    After a while of checking out the other workshops, it was time for us to set up and get our workshop started.   Here is Ron's post on preparation:  Skillshare Austin: DTV Antenna: The Prep

We had a good size group of participants curious and excited to learn to make their own antennas.   Ron and I made our introduction then Ron began the workshop while I passed all the materials, instruction sheets, templates, and checklist of steps taken to the each participants. 

Ron instructed and demonstrated them each steps while I went around helping them and sharing tips.  Each person understood quickly how to assemble the antenna.  There was some excellent question asked regarding the change from analog to digital.  Some of the participants do not own a television set.   But after this experience they are open to potentially owning a set one day.  At the end of the workshop I took photos of each participant showing off their work.  I totally enjoyed seeing the excitement on their faces of a job well done and the anticipation of putting their Digital TV Coat Hanger antenna to use when they get home or surprise either family or friend with a new home made antenna.   After our workshop ended everyone helped to clear up the area and have it ready for the next workshop.

We stayed a little longer to see the Capoiera but we were tired and decided to leave with the hopes of returning the next day.  

I want to see the video that Matt took when he teaches his workshop on Sunday titled “Video editing”.   There are several good workshops lined up for Sunday to satisfy our preferences. 

Special Thanks you to the following organization and people who helped to make the Digital TV Coat Hanger Antenna Workshop possible:

Donations of Coat Hangers:
Top Drawer Thrift Shop
Assistance League of Austin
Second Time Around
St. Michaels Academy Thrift Shop
Junior League: JLA Resale Shop
Aida Prazak

and finally very special thank you to

Ron Nelson for supplying the rest of the materials needed.


Furthermore, those are interested our local newspaper the Statesman
published this:

Austin workshops about sharing skills
Group holds two-day event encouraging self-reliance. 
By Laura Heinauer  
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

 

Well, I’ve been busy lately. I made my own Digital T.V. Coat Hanger Antenna and later this month I’ll be teaching a workshop on it with the Skill Share Austin group.  Ron did a nice entry on it here: The Best Digital TV Antenna    After making it, at first I was quite skeptical of whether or not it would work but once connected and the T.V. power on, I was quite please to see it working beautifully. Thanks John Park and Make Magazine for a wonderful afternoon project.

Now for the purpose of this entry is to talk about my latest project the “Northern Lights.”  Ron and I were looking for a way to repurpose our broken Dell laptop screen (no thanks to the airlines after we shortly arrived Puerto Rico).

Ron took apart the laptop screen to see how it was made. Very cool the things you learn when you’re taking them apart.  Aside from the screen itself being damaged the rest was okay. My task was to come up with a way to simulate the Northern Lights using the remaining part of the laptop.  We measured out the space were we thought would be ideal for the LEDs to be flush with the edge of the backlight material. Luckily there was some space there to work with. 

Ron made me a sample strip to see how the LEDs would look and I took that strip and began to prototype.   I connected each LED on the strip to the 16-bit Serial Input Constant Current LED Driver which was then connected to the Arduino.  This took me some time to figure out but at last I was able to get the two chips communicating and then I began to write the code to create some interesting LED effects.  

       inside the Dell Laptop screen              wired 16-bit LED driver

Somehow the look and feel didn’t seem right and one evening we both approached the screen and said at the same time, aha, it’s missing a silhouette. So, I used the Chicago skyline as my silhouette. The silhouette took some time to do and when I
brought it all together then did the Northern Lights come to life.

                         Front  view                                                 Back view
                                                                           (notice the RS232 connection)

______________

                                                                    Side view
                                                                 ( neat stand )
 
The modem next to the base above will be repurposed to become a control box where the Arduino will reside.   I'll post video soon.
 

I want to share the waterfalls we visited.  This time we explored the
northeastern side near Cosby, TN.   We parked at the Cosby Picnic Area
and hiked about 2 miles toward our first waterfall called Hen Wallow Falls. 
As we walked the trail we enjoyed the sights of the mountains.   They
are beautiful.  I could actually see the earth and where the pine trees
were located compared to the summer where it’s harder to see amongst
the entire green canopy that covers them.  After two rests stop we arrived
at the base of Hen Wallow Falls.  We sat on top of a big boulder for awhile
and watched two families taking photos there.  After some time, I worked
my way down further at the base and took this nice video of it.

 

Hen Wallow Falls was nice but more impressive was the Mingo Falls
located on the Cherokee Indian Reservation.  Mingo Falls stand 120 feet
tall compared to Hen Wallow Falls at 90 feet and it’s a much shorter hike
about half a mile except for the claim up to was more strenuous.  Once we
were there, it was quite a sight.  Let the video speak for itself:

Ops, I kept saying “Mango” instead of Mingo.

Lastly, on our return we went to Soco Falls located between Maggie Valley
and Cherokee on Hwy 19.  This fall is well worth seeing since it’s composed
to two waterfalls coming together and it’s just off of Hwy 19 and it has a
viewing deck.

You’ll need to be a little careful getting from the side road to the viewing
deck but once there the view is spectacular. 

All of these waterfalls were nice to see and enjoy and if you find yourself
in the Great Smoky Mountains do try and see them.  It’s well worth it.

Prior to our trip to the SmokyMountains, all around Austin there
were signs of life.   Trees, flowers and bushes started to grow and
rain announced its arrival.  The air felt different and the day grew
longer.  It’s nice to be able to have fresh air in the house.

I leave the window fan running all night and I’m awoken by the sun
rising and the scent of freshness over comes me.  I took a few photos
prior to our travel to compare how much has changed when we returned.
Yesterday I had a chance to take a few photos. I was curious to see what
happens in a month.  Here’s what happened:

Then I saw the flowers are really taking off after a few days of rain.  There are
roses in the backyard while there are clovers in the front and side of the house.  
Their colors are so rich, deep and bright. 

I started an herbal garden.  Right now I’ve been able to germinate about
7 out of 8 herbs.   I’ve already transplanted a few into the yogurt containers
but soon I will have to transplant them into bigger containers.  Ron and I
have plans for a vertical garden setup for the herbal plants in the backyard. 
For now, I’m waiting for the herbs to get bigger and stronger for the final
transplant.   Pretty soon Ron will have fresh herbs to cook with.

The more rain Austin gets the more beautiful flowers will bud and the
greener Austin will look, thus making our walks much more enjoyable.
Pretty soon we’ll be hitting the hiking trails.  There is so much to see and
do in the Hill Country that I’m looking forward to taking more photos
on our adventures.

This poem was written a long time ago.  I don't know exactly what
inspired me to write this.  It might have been a movie I saw or a
dream I had.  Either way, I wrote it down and now years later I'm
sharing it with you. 
Enjoy. ~Evelyn
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX


Let me hold you tight, if only for one night.

Let me keep you near, to ease away your fears.

It would be so nice, if only for one night.

I won’t tell a soul, no one has to know.

If you want to be—totally discrete;

I’ll be at your side, if only for one night.

If only for one night, your eyes say things

I never hear from you and my knees am shaking, too.

But I’m willing, to go through—I must be crazy

Standing here this way, but I’m feeling no disgrace for asking…

Let me hold you tight if only for one night.

Composed by Evelyn Nelson

Copyright 2009 - Evelyn Nelson

Composed by Evelyn Nelson

Copyright 2009 - Evelyn Nelson

I wrote this poem a long time ago, March 23, 1994.
I just came across it this week and thought to share it with you.

So many have passed away and yet when spoken of they seem to be alive

filled with an enormous amount of love and warmth

To live life fully

To leave an impact on others

Therefore they will find their immortality by the ears, eyes, and mouth
of those who knew them

For each time that you remember them the more you love them

To dream of immortality is to be dead

To feel the earth’s coldness in the winter

To feel the earth’s warmth in the summer

To know that you’ll suffer no more is a pleasure beyond any dream

Life is full of many different experiences

When death occurs, it’s another experience but at a spiritual level
that no one can ever fully understand but can only assume

Death is beautiful in its own special way

It is the unknown that makes the Human fear death.

Composed by Evelyn Nelson

March 23, 1994

Copyright 2009 - Evelyn Nelson

Since my last entry on Peggy2, I’ve been spending some time
learning to program the Peggy2 with existing Peggy2 library examples
and tinkering with my own code via those examples from the library.

If you are wondering how am I programming the ATmega168-20PU microcontroller? I’m using a 6-pin USB TTL-232 cable that I had gotten from an earlier project to communicate from the Arduino software programming environment to the board.

Today, I got so excited that I was able to make Peggy not only do a circle but with a press of a button I could change circle size.  To my surprise when pressing the button down to select the circle size there was an effect that created a spinning spiral.  Take a look:

 

Nice effect. I wanted to understand how to use the OFF/Select button and thanks to the bounce program in the Peggy example library I did.  Now I want more buttons since the Peggy has an area on the board for controlling direction (up, down, right and left) and there is also another button for “any” use near the OFF/Select button.  

Here are some photos I took in slow motion:

Next up, I’ll be setting up the Peggy2 board onto a black wooden base since the board became a little heavy after soldering 625 LEDs.  My goal is to attach the wooden base to the black glass top table.  The challenge would be to have it firmly attached and yet have easy access to the control panel.

No wonder this country is in such a mess.  

What happened to quality, to integrity, to listening,
and caring for a job well done?    

Within the past few months, I’ve had to interact with individuals
who lacked all of the above.    Given we are living in a time of
technology were it’s said that technology will improve the quality
of life and minimize the paper work and streamline the workload.   

Obviously that is not the case since I’ve had to go in person to resolve
issues generated by the customer service.  What’s wrong with these
people and big companies?

Isn’t there enough competition to force them to do their job right in
the first place?  What’s changed over the last two decades for such
poor services?    

No wonder this country is in such a mess.

People are no longer being held accountable for their actions. 
Everything is being tailored to the lowest common denominators
as not to offend those very individuals.   

The problem here is that the quality, performance, efficiency, and
integrity of customer service have all degrade.  Simple task are now
almost impossible because customer service fails to listen, explain,
and/or just don’t care.   When I enter the workforce I was expected
work hard,  pay attention to good quality work,  be efficient and
provide a positive experience to clients and customer.

By dummying down the system, it has introduced more complications
and fails to address any issues in a timely manner.   See Ron’s rant:
“Let’s Bring Back Competence!” 

For this country to change people need to do their job right, they
need to care and take pride in a job well done.  If they fail to do that
then they shouldn’t be there.  It’s costing not only me time and money
but ultimately these very companies that have poor and inefficient
individuals time and money as well.  

Furthermore, companies need to think through how their database
are set up.  For example, why can't the customer service database
communicate with sales, tech support or accounting?  Why do I have
to every time I call repeat for the nth time my situation to each department?

Here's a tip.  If you don't want one department messing around with
the other why not have a comment / urgency flag  with detail description
of the situation so that all departs are aware that there is a problem
with a customer and each would collectively collaborate to help resolve
the customer's problem.   Instead these database are separate and in
some cases I'm talking to an outsourced customer service who have
limited access to my situation. Actually there's no excuse for older
corporate companies.  They've been around to have worked out these
sorts of technological internal communications systems.

From now on, I'm going to focus on doing business with locals and
small businesses since the larger ones don't care to deliver good
quality services in a timely manner.  

This week I've been learning and tinkering with the Peggy2. 
I'm becoming familiar with programming the Peggy2.  It’s fun. 
Today I did a little programming in the morning but the purpose
of this post is to share my two other home projects.

Let’s start with the Vertical Snack Bar.  Why such a thing?  Well, we don’t have enough cabinet space and even though we have a nice long counter top we don’t want it to be cluttered with bags of chips.  I was trying to figure how to solve this problem and mentioned it to Ron.  Ron pointed out a dead space by my workspace and the kitchen. After awhile we came up with the next best thing, hang the chips vertically like the store does.  Here are the photos:

This week was my turn to work on the Peggy2.  I finished soldering the last of the 625 LEDs yesterday that’s 1250 soldering points.  Best to section the work is smaller grids.

Two things I learned while working on the Peggy2 (posted: Peggy 2.0 Soldering Complete):

1)  Double check the soldering.  

When I turned on the Peggy2,  I noticed three LED seemed not as bright as the other LED.  So I noted their location, flipped the board, came back and touched up the soldering work and this time when I turned on the Peggy2 and all of the LEDs were working fine.

2)  Using construction adhesive to hold the LEDs in place

At first, I thought positioning the LED in a row and using tape to hold them would keep them flush but somehow that doesn’t work.  Another thought was to put them into a small grid and flip the board and place the whole thing onto the workbench surface but that too did not guarantee a snug fit.  Ron came up with the idea of using the construction adhesive.  Dab a little on the edge near the anode so that when inserting the LED on the board it would hold when you are ready to solder.  When I would complete a small grid I would wait a few minutes before flipping the board to then solder that group of LEDs.

Once I had completed each grid I would flip and turn on the Peggy2 thus I would validate the quality of my soldering.   Furthermore, the construction adhesive comes off nicely when cleaning up the LEDs. :-)

Today, I spent some time reading, recalling and using the Arduino, Processing and programming the Peggy2.   Thanks to those who have contributed to the Peggy Library I was able to get quick satisfaction.   Next up learning more programming.  I’m still new to the Arduino and Processing environments. ;-)