Technological Surrealism / Alec Nerds Out
I ve moved 4 times in 4 years, not always voluntarily Vancouver is experiencing a prolonged and very nasty housing crisis but I m happy to say that the latest is a good one and likely to last for a while. One of the major perks is project space. The house used to have an [ ]
This project is an embodiment of the 3-year-old spirit of road rage. Back in 2008 or so I bought a 1993 Mitsubishi Delica, a.k.a. Road Toaster, a.k.a. Damn Vanne, a.k.a. Van Diesel, a.k.a. The Thin Green Duke. It s been constant companion through tours with The Elixxxirs, surfing trips up the west coast, and even a [ ]
A year or two ago I was building the Nielsen Speaker for the Moog circuit bending contest (which I failed to win). My goal was always to build something bigger, though. Luckily a friend (thanks, Brent!) came through with a central piece of it: a keytar. Unfortunately it wasn t working, so I built a new [ ]
I was recently contacted by a local escape room with a project: replace an ailing antique pump organ (SFW) with something more playable. They wanted the keys, when pressed, to speak a numeric combination that opened a lock in another part of the room. I had recently come across Neil Thapen s Pink Trombone, and wanted to [ ]
I m calling this the Nielsen Speaker, for no particular reason. In February, a Facebook friend sent me a link to the Moog Circuit Bending competition: I ve been rolling a few ideas around my brain and this gave them a focus: Motor controllers and their matching motors make neat (often octave-ish) noises. In essence, a motor [ ]
A wise man once said: What The World Needs Now Is [Remote Control Eyebrows]. Or something to that effect. My dad s got formidable eyebrows and it only seemed logical that my first foray into applied cybernetics should be this, for his birthday: (Apologies for the video orientation.) This is a simple circuit with an ATMega328 [ ]
One last project for 2015: I m not religious and always felt a little weird about putting the star on the tree, but traditions are valuable and Luciana, now 3, is old enough to start absorbing them. This is also my first Christmas of separated parenting, so I have the freedom to follow my instincts. Immediately [ ]
This year s culture crawl was a rousing success! Thanks to everyone who came, not least the food, alcohol, and film crews. But more about that in another post to come shortly. I procrastinate terribly, which is why most of these projects exist by working on these I m usually avoiding something else. The last sprint [ ]
The Vancouver Eastside Culture Crawl is coming up one of the best and most legitimately Vancouver events of the year, and I m not just saying that because I m in it. Seriously. Walk around Strathcona, check out the insane ant-nest that is 1000 Parker, or if you re on the agoraphobic side, stick to the periphery. [ ]
My boss brought me a gift from Mexico City a couple of years ago thanks, Brian? Karen? Whoever it was? and I ve finally gotten around to doing something with it. The key ingredients the little TV chassis and an old i9000 Android phone are things I already had kicking around, and [ ]