Thanks for all the emails and comments on the RFiDJ project. The experience has been a lot of fun. After the project hit the net I reached my Worked All States (WAS) goal in no time! Next stop: Worked All Continents.
How are we going to get someone from Antarctica to check out our site? :)
Head on over to the project pages to see the complete build of RFiDJ. The source has been posted and I hope someone finds it useful.
Calling the state of Wyoming. One more state before I can claimed I have "contacted" all the states in the nation. The Worked All States (WAS) is an old amateur radio tradition that I am bringing to Roteno Labs. So if you know any geeks in Wyoming pass along a recommendation to check out Roteno Labs. Thanks!
For this project I wanted to solve a small, yet annoying, problem with my cable box. Unfortunately, my media center is oriented in such a way that the face of the electronics do not face the couch. This makes it difficult to change the channels on my cable box. Luckily I found that my cable box (QIP 7100) has a connector on the back labeled IR Remote Input. I assumed that all I needed was an IR receiver module and an old speaker cable with the 3.5 mm jack on it to correct the problem. A quick run to radio shack and about 30 minutes on the bench and I was able to create an external IR receiver cable for the cable box. The pictures below show the build. Enjoy!
(Click the link for more pictures!)
In the business world a fight between dinosaurs is a spectacle for sure! Some organizations are wealthy with tens to hundreds of professionals dedicated to a variety of disciplines in engineering, law, marketing, public relations, among others. It is no wonder that when a battle begins, most professionals pay attention. Unfortunately, every once in awhile a dinosaur finds itself too weak to combat. Occasionally, in a total disregard of fair play, they look for a weak opponent. The sad story I am forced to tell is of a company labeled "Sparc" that is insistent that another organization "SparkFun" has infringed on their trademark. Having followed this company (re: SparkFun) since its beginning I am lost at how Sparc could ever make such a claim!
(Hit the link to read more of my rant! :)
Today I was in a pinch and found myself needing more cash that I had in my wallet. I walked over to the nearest ATM knowing and expecting the surcharge to be ridiculous. My mouth dropped when I read that the ATM from a major bank was asking for $3 per transaction! As my response I am proposing a new business I'm calling "$1 Cheaper". I would love to put as many of my ATMs next to all the currently available ATMs. Maybe over time, these prices will come down and I'll make some coin in the process.
This weekend I had the pleasure of participating in an test of the GoodRobot telerobotics project. Using the Internet and a simple browser I was able to control a robot from 342.58 miles (551.329km) away! Follow Alan on Twitter to keep up on the progress at GoodRobot. They have some awesome plans for the future! You'll have to follow to find out more.
In the past I created yearly summer playlists of music at summers end to enjoy during the winter. The playlist helped me endure the winter months while waiting for warmer weather to return. It has been a couple years since I created a summer playlist so with the help of Last.fm I can share it with you. What makes last.fm unusual is that I am able to link directly to the song and users are able to play the song from their browser! If you like any of these songs, make sure to support the artist if you can!
1) Chambao - Duende Del Sur
2) Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
3) Macao - Moving
4) Billie the Vision & The Dancers - Summercat
5) Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life
