September 2008
52 posts
Space X makes it to space! →
Congratulations to the team at Space X! At 16:26 Pacific time today (Sunday, September 28, 2008), their Falcon 1 rocket achieved orbit around the Earth, the first time a privately funded company has done such a feat with a liquid fuel rocket.
Mini lighthouse LED circuit →
The idea is to use this as a simple “lighthouse” that when powered up will rotate the beam around the 12 LEDs…
Walk 2901 - Castle Drogo & Sharp Tor from Fingle... →
A detailed description of a walk along the River Tiegn.
How-To: Web server on a business card →
This mini web server is slightly smaller than a business card. there are a lot of tiny one-board servers out there, but this is probably the smallest you can etch and solder at home. unlike many embedded web servers, files are stored on a pc-readable sd card, not in a difficult-to-write eeprom.
Somali pirates land Russian tanks in surprise haul →
“They really hit the jackpot this time,” said a regional arms expert. “There is not much they can do with the tanks, but the RPGs and the Zu-23 anti-aircraft guns will soon find their way into Somalia’s arms markets.”
Hungry Scientist Handbook out today →
The Hungry Scientist Handbook out today…
PhoneGap →
PhoneGap is a free open source development tool and framework that allows web developers to take advantage of the powerful features in the iPhone SDK from HTML and JavaScript.
Portal to the Universe →
Early bird registration of resouces of the IYA 009 Portal to the Universe site.
Human-size hamster-wheel vehicle →
Alan writes,
I’m part of a fantastic crew of makers out of West Oakland who are building a 10’x 10’ human powered “hamster wheel” styled rail-car for the Handcar Regatta. The Regatta it this Sunday and you’re readers should hear about it.
EU confirms SMS and data roaming price caps →
The EU will cap charges for roaming texts at a maximum of £0.09 and force operators to bill cross-border voice calls by the second, telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding has said. Texts from other EU countries currently typically cost about £0.23. The battling Luxembourger has also confirmed plans to slap a £0.79 per megabyte limit on data charges within the EU. The existing per minute voice calls...
Anyone got a decent recommendation for a Python book?
Just got a video removed from Facebook due to a ToS violation. Oops!
Editing CSS templates when I should be writing grant applications…
Introduction to I2C →
Introduction to the I2C protocol, with explanations of how I2C works, links to information related to I2C, and example Arduino code for a robot project where multiple Arduino boards are used for…
Fitbit - Automatically Track Your Fitness and... →
Demo’d at TechCrunch50, the Fitbit. Did I get enough exercise today? How many calories did I burn? Am I getting good quality sleep? How many steps and miles did I walk today? The Fitbit Tracker helps you answer these questions…
The Pop Vs Soda Map →
When on a hot summer’s day you buy a carbonated beverage to quench your thirst, how do you order it? Do you ask for a soda, a pop or something else? That question lay at the basis of an article in the Journal of English Linguistics (Soda or Pop?, #24, 1996) and of a map, showing the regional variation in American English of the names given to that type of drink.
Tinker it! RFID kit →
The Tinker.it crowd are now selling the RFID DIY kit in their store.
Creature Survives Naked in Space →
A tiny, six-legged critter that can suspend all biological activity in extreme environments survived a journey to space that would have instantly killed any human and most other life forms. In the first test of its kind, researchers exposed the hardy segmented creatures, called “water bears,” to the open and harsh vacuum of space, with all its deadly radiation, on a spacecraft in...
ASTI’s Solar Power “Plant” →
At first glance this energy producing “plant” may look pretty commonplace, but looks can be deceiving. AIST, Mitsubishi and Tokki has enveloped each solar leaf in an ultra thin film to repel oxygen and water which will make it more durable and friendlier to the harsh outdoor environment. If this prototype performs up to par, they are looking at applying this technology from walls and windows to...
Writing SQL to push and pull BLOB. Talking about reinventing the wheel.
Film crew wandering around the building. Nobody tells us anything. Wonderful.
Stormpulse →
Stormpulse shows active hurricanes and tropical storms in the Atlantic.
Trying to decide whether I should wait for Vodafone and see what they’re offering, or order a couple of Dell mini 9’s straight away…
New blog post, the 3 HSDPA USB Dongle Review. http://tinyurl.com/5kjbbs
Telecon number one is done and dusted, next telecon in 7 minutes. Can you tell the west coast is waking up?
Dialing into the IVOA TCG telecon…
It’s official. But if I buy now, can I pick up an HSDPA WWAN card for my mini 9 later? http://tinyurl.com/6z9q3x
Not entirely sure that having 26 people in a telecon makes sense.
New Dell Inspiron mini 9 to ship with Vodafone HSDPA in the UK? http://tinyurl.com/6z9q3x
Eagle Creek →
Bags, luggage and travel accessories.
New blog post, the Dell Inspiron mini 9, http://tinyurl.com/5ocqm5
OFF=ON Trend and Ubiquitous Computing →
More and more, the offline world is adjusting to and mirroring the increasingly dominant online world…
So does anyone want to tell me why the UK version of Dell’s mini 9 is “black only” and only comes with Windows?
The University has just doubled staff car parking costs, a green initiative. Nothing to do with them builing on the car parks then?
Broke my toe last night while burping the baby. Who knew they were so dangerous?
Small Parts, Inc. →
The hardware store for researchers and developers.
New blog post, this is not the Earth you are looking for… http://tinyurl.com/57zwyv
iPod LCD hacking →
This hack shows you how to reuse an old 2.5-inch QVGA iPod LCD screen for other projects. Good information about the pinout connectors of the display…
HousePrices.co.uk →
Search the UK Land Registry database of houses sold in England and Wales since 2000.
House Price Calculator →
Estimate current value of house based on a previous sale price or valuation and regional trends in house prices since the sale or valuation was done.
My @plusnet download speed has gone from 55Kbps to 738Kbps. After a couple of weeks at dial-up like speeds, it feels blisteringly fast…
IFA 2008 Missing The Point Award →
In the Home Appliances section of IFA 2008 are dozens of brands of coffee makers, most doling out freshly brewed joe to bleary-eyed conventioneers. The video above demonstrates one of the larger of such displays. A small pad on the bottom of the coffee cup contains an icon, which a camera under the table identifies and tracks as it slides around the surface. When it comes to a full stop for a...
Thinking going to the Google Geo Meetup, http://tinyurl.com/6owpng, before GDD. But do I want to be the weird guy playing with Google Sky?
iPhone Configuration Utility 1.0 for Mac OS X →
iPhone Configuration Utility lets you easily create, maintain, and sign configuration profiles, track and install provisioning profiles and authorized applications, and capture device information…
