SLED v1.1 Serial RGB LED Lamp

Greetings! This is my last hail-mary #AwesomeAugust post before we roll into the decline and death of Summer here in the Northern Hemisphere.  Not that I mind, the last few weeks have been a bit hot and humid, and I don’t get my summers off to lounge around like some of you whippersnappers.  Behold!  The E-Mail Waiting Light! Yes, you’ve seen others, and there may be many like it, but this one is mine.  And it can be yours as well, if you follow the instructions posted on our Wiki.  This little gem will show everyone whether you are INBOX ZERO – or not.

Check it out here: http://wiki.nycresistor.com/wiki/E-Mail_Waiting_Light

Zach and I pledged that we’d launch the best TV series on the Internet this month and here it is. SmashersDOTbiz is live. Because some things just need be smashed. If you like it or you hate it and you want to see more, click on through and leave a comment on the site!

We have to give credit to Kellbot who allowed us to use her smasherator (hydraulic press)

Last weekend we had a party to celebrate Awesome August. I am sure some folks missed it. That really sucks for them, because it was probably the best party we’ve ever thrown. A great deal of awesome was experienced by all. Awesome beer, awesome projects, and awesome events… all with awesome people. I’ve tossed up a time lapse of the event. Sorry about the flag getting in the way near the end, that’s just bad planning on my part. I promise to do better next time, in fact next time pretty much everything will be better. So look forward to the the next event, it’s going to be epic.

Justin had a really fun project setup using the Spooky Box from last Halloween. Check out the twitter feed from the party here. Source code for this project is coming!

The Lite Bright also built by Justin, ( and a team of dedicated individuals ) was there and enjoyed by all. Here is a shot of it early in the evening before people went crazy with it.

Charles had a station set up with approximately one kilogram of Crayola Model Magic. Guests were encouraged to grab a hunk and make something of their own.

Charles also brought a Wimshurst machine he picked up at a school physics lab and repaired. In this shot we study the effects of electricity on George Washington’s head.

Also making an appearance was Ranjit’s automated piano working together with Eric Skiff’s Monome to produce a really awesome interactive piece.

Jared posted his Photos : Here

We also had a live DJ, and a few other projects I failed to mention. I know I missed a lot. Send me a note and I’ll add it.

Apparently at least more then any other american political group, it’s Opera.

Earlier this month I decided to use Amazon Mechanical Turk to test a hypothesis in which I posited that IE as a browser would bias to the political right, and other browsers (specifically firefox) would bias to the political left.  A lot of other interesting data surfaced including blockbuster performance of Firefox amongst Libertarians. Check out the whole analysis and grab the data!

PARTY TONIGHT! BE THERE OR BE AN EQUILATERAL RHOMBUS!

Here’s a flyer I whipped up for today’s party. Looks like this one is going to be awesome. Can’t wait to play with all the cool projects. There’s going to be a DJ this time too! Make sure you’ve RSVPed!

When it comes to hacking, I tend to enjoy practical projects the most.  The Arduino is like physical computing “duct tape” that gives one the ability to “duct tape” things that need constant attention or action. If you need a plant watered, or your fish tank pump monitored, or your bikini-clad friends to set off a musical instrument with just their bodies then the Arduino is just the tool you need. So what about fire?

Close-up of the UV TRON Sensor Tube

The Arduino Fire Alarm v1.0 is an attempt to solve for a reasonably probable flare up in our expensive Epilog laser cutter.  This pricey toy is a marvel of modern engineering, allowing Resistors and the community to craft remarkably precise objects from acrylic and wood, or etch complex designs onto various materials.  Smoke alarms are slow to react, but the UV TRON sensor employed in the Arduino Fire Alarm reacts instantly to the UV light emitted by flames.  The tube responds to a very narrow band of the ultraviolet spectrum, keeping false alarms very low (really nonexistent in my experience.)  The rapid response time gives laser operators the ability to react quickly to a flare up and extinguish the fire before it damages the machinery.  Future designs may even incorporate clever extinguishing responses.

You can find out more about the Arduino Fire Alarm v1.0 on our Wiki site here and download the Arduino sketch as well as a rudimentary parts list and schematic.  Build your own!  Parts will run you a bit over $100 if you don’t have a spare Arduino handy, but the device could be a lifesaver if you’re able to respond and extinguish a small flare up before it becomes a significant risk to your equipment or your facility.

This project had been sitting around on my to-do list for awhile, but with AwesomeAugust raging on, I felt it was time to give this project its due attention and usher it to completion.  W00t!

Wiki Page: Arduino Fire Alarm v1.0

What’s going on here? What does this have to do with the giant lite brite for the Interactive Party? I’ll give you three guesses.

Took a break from the lite brite to make this pornj glowy shirt using coolneon wire. One of many costumes I’ll need for burning man. I’ll probably wear it at the party next week too. Make sure you RSVP!

For Awesome August I’m trying to make something of this ebay toy piano that got smashed by UPS.

The music is Philip Glass’s "Modern Love Waltz," inspired by toy-pianist Margaret Leng Tan

Nathan King, Jared Klett and Brian O’Clair helped me get started on the eight foot lite brite project this weekend.

This will be just one of the fun things to play with at The Interactive Party on August 22nd! Check out the full set of pictures.