Interactive website with full audio of the original lunar landing mission

Alas, I'm not hear to NASA bash as I feel they are one of the few useful recipients of a of my tax dollars.

That brings us to the website called We Choose The Moon. This interactive site has the full audio from the original moon landing mission so you can hear exactly how complex and cutting-edge this was for everyone involved back in the day. The site shows you the various stages of progress during the mission and lots more. Be sure to check out We Choose The Moon if you enjoy spaceflight or anything like that.

Going to Disney World tomorrow

But anyway, I'm leaving for a week in Walt Disney World and also week in Bonita Springs, FL tomorrow. I jumped on the WDW "buy 4 get 3 free" special and am staying at a "deluxe resort" because the nearly half-price special is the only way I'm gonna be able to stay in a $300+/night resort! Naturally, my first choices were the Contemporary and then the Polynesian, since both are on the monorail, but both were full. So, I did the best I could and grabbed the Yacht Club since it's walking distance to Epcot.

Follow me on Twitter (micsaund naturally) if you want to see periodic updates and photos.

Lazy

The World's Shortest Escalator in Okadaya Mores shopping mall in Kawasaki, Japan.

However, most of my challenges are actually doable. For example, I might offer $2 to eat a can of seasoning at a restaurant, or perhaps drink a half glass of fat drippings from some meat. Pleasant? No. Possible? Yes.

However, take a look at this ancient relic of a sandwich that a friend found in the fridge at his all-male office. I think there's more mold than sandwich, but who can tell?

So, when this sandwich was found by one office dweller, they made a variant of the two-buck challenge, but adjusted to try to compensate for the exceptionally disgusting food involved. As you can see from this board, the stakes have been raised and several people from the office decided to chip-in and boost the reward pot so that any mold-munching freak might actually make a decent pile of coin.

Moldy sandwich challenge rewards

Did anyone take the challenge? Sadly, no. The sandwich remains, bordering between life in this world and in the next, much more moldy, decaying afterlife. Are you up for the challenge?

Just a quick post this time as my Spanish isn't anywhere near good enough to figure-out what they're saying. Perhaps Steve will chime-in.

Anyway, this pyramidal tree displays a mock version of the classic arcade game Pac Man on its four sides. The graphics are slightly animated, so you'll see a ghost bouncing around, but due to the nature of the maze, the game is not actually playable.

Check-out the video of the Pac Man Christmas Tree below.

Now what gaming geek wouldn't want a tree like that?!

I've been meaning to write about this for some time, but I always keep forgetting. Doh!

Some time ago, I saw a video interview with Bathsheba Grossman, an artist who has created an extremely unique combination of skills not normally found together which results in some really amazing looking sculptures.

To start, Bathsheba conjures-up some advanced math to create a three dimensional structure. I'm sure this is the kind of math that I'd write-off as looking too much like Egyptian hieroglyphics and is definitely not what I'd typically expect to find involved in artwork. A 3D computer model is created from the math formula allowing the her to select the most interesting permutation.

That 3D model is then used to create a control file for a CNC machine that builds the object layer by layer. The machine uses powdered metal which is fused one ultra thin layer at a time, thus "printing" objects with interior structures which can be manufactured in no other way. This object is then heated in an oven which removes the binding agent and sinters the steel particles together.

The resulting sintered structure is quite porous and not very durable, so it is immersed in a liquid bronze alloy which fills the lattice structure of the metal giving it a solid appearance and improved strength. Each object is then hand-finished by Bathsheba to polish and smooth the edges. The result is what you see in these photos.

Pretty cool, huh? It's a great combination of disparate talents that culminates in something that's beautiful to behold and sparks the imagination. The only downside is that the CNC machine used to create the sculptures is pretty expensive, so the cost to make these objects increases with their size. For the 4 inch Metarino, for example, you're looking at $475. Bathsheba produces smaller sculptures which are appropriately cheaper, but you cannot help but be tempted by the larger, more intricate designs.

Check-out Bathsheba's Geometric Art site for more photos and information. Tell her I sent you and maybe if enough people do that, I can get a freebie Quintron

People have been making very simple pong type games using Microchip PIC microcontrollers for some time. However, due to the very limited power of the PIC, you typically don't see anything involving sound, moving backgrounds, more advanced gameplay, or animation.

John Sachs Beeckler decided to take PIC-based gaming to the next level, though. His design uses three PICs to sub-divide the tasks required for making a full-featured game. There is one master processor (16F877) which controls the overall system and performs the game logic, while two additional PICs (16F84 and 16F877) handle the graphics and sound generation.

The main code was written in C but the graphics generator is hand-coded in assembly to meet the strict requirements of generating the video signal (remember programming the Atari 2600?) The sound data is pulled from an external EEPROM and converted to the analog audio signal using a resistor network. The entire codebase fits in 8K of FLASH and efficiently uses the minimal ROM and RAM available on the PIC microcontrollers.

The code and design has been open-sourced, so you can download everything and use it in your own projects or to just build your own identical game if you want. One thing I'd suggest changing about the design is how he wired everything up -- what a mess! Check-out the Alien Slaughter home built PIC game system for more details.

It's not secret that I love the Indiana Jones movies and even have owned a few pieces of the IJ merchandise (for example, the pinball machine I link to on the left). However, this goes way above and beyond anything I've ever even though to do!

Rather than blowing exorbitant amounts of cash on the questionably "best" AV equipment, this couple decided to theme the entire room to look like something right out of the Indiana Jones set. The walls are made to look like stone blocks and various props are sprinkled about to give the full Indiana Jones experience. All three movies have some sort of representation in the room and who knows what they'll add when Indy 4 is finally released (please, let's hope it IJ4 doesn't suck!)

Of course, the 18x12 foot room is filled with what most of us would consider "high end" audio and video equipment, as any "home theater" should be. There's a NEC HT1000 projector, Control4 Home Theater Controller, and presumably more audio and video equipment than I've owned in my life. There is even a special lighting control system to create that perfect viewing environment when you're done looking at the theming and finally want to watch a movie.

Check-out a couple of the photos below and head to Home Theater to see the full write-up and slideshow.

I've written about a coffee table or two on this site that were different or interesting in some way (for example, the pinball coffee table). However, none have quite the "pizzazz" that these LED lighting kits can add.

The kits include a number of large circuit boards which interconnected to create a very large, table-sized board. Each of the sub PCBs has light sensor and a bunch of white LEDs which are controlled in response to the detected motion and light changes. When you place all of the sub-boards together, you end-up with a very large, very sparkly LED starfield that you can actually interact with.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but for this project, a video is worth more. Here is a completed interactive LED coffee table in action:

Pretty cool huh? The effect is better than I was expecting when I just read the textual description. I think building some of these into the to top of a bar would be cool -- as people sit and move drinks around, the lighting would create a cool atmosphere.

You can get the LED coffee table kits in two sizes: a 6-panel set for $350 and an 8-panel set for $450. You'll have to do a ton of soldering and figure-out how to mount everything in your coffee table. If you'd prefer not to do that, you can order pre-built LED coffee tables starting at $1,720 and up, depending on your chosen options and shipping.

Since the introduction of the Segway, the concept of a self-balancing motorized transport vehicle has been on the radar of hobbyists everywhere. As much as we'd all like a Segway, they're expensive enough that it's often worth trying to create your own design -- and it can be fun and educational too.

One such project goes one better -- or is it one less? -- than a Segway. it is a single-wheeled design that is somewhat reminiscent of a skateboard. You stand with one foot on either side of the wheel and the microcontroller control system helps balance you so that neither end of the "board" is dragging on the ground when you ride it.

Here's a video showing the self-balancing Arduino-controlled skateboard in use:

You can head to the Chris Coleman's site and get the code for the Arduino along with more details on the motor controller and other stuff that he used. There are links to plenty of other similar projects as well. It looks like a fairly affordable, small, and feasible project for the home hobbyist -- just be sure to wear plenty of protective gear while you're debugging your microcontroller code!