Electronics Fun
January 26, 2007 12:00 am [4 Comments]
I’ve been working on this new project that I’m not really ready to talk about too much, so for now just sit back and watch the Blinkenlights…
My Gift to You
January 24, 2007 12:00 am [No Comments]
America, you are welcome.
Electronics 101
January 23, 2007 12:00 am [1 Comment]
I think I’ve used this title before. Sad.
Anyway, I’ve been struggling with understanding how transistors really work for… basically my entire life. It’s just one of those things I was never able to “get”. Today, I finally get it. This page was finally able to make it clear to me.
I really wish I had gone to college for EE. It’s like programming, which I love, except sometimes things explode, which I also love!
Un-American Idol
January 18, 2007 12:00 am [1 Comment]
I was reading this article about American Idol and it made me realize how fucked up that show is.
My inability to watch others get cut down is well documented. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t watch TV. (For new readers, I have not watched TV in about 10 years or so.) I get embarrassed for the person being torn apart and it makes me really uncomfortable. Anyway, a few years ago when I was dieting and going to the gym regularly I caught parts of a few American Idol episodes while trudging along on the treadmill. I was usually able to handle about 1 minute of one audition before I ended back on infomercials.
I don’t want to come off as some weepy idealist, but why is America watching this show? I’m guessing a lot of people will say for the music or whatever, but how many of you own an American Idol winner’s CD? People watch it cause they get a kick out of seeing people getting hurt. It’s kind of fucked up. How is it different from watching someone get flogged and laughing about it when they scream, or break into tears? Aside from physical wounds not lasting nearly as long as emotional ones, I mean.
Whatever though, that’s not really what bothers me. The thing that bothers me is that the judges, instead of being useful and using the chance to maybe help someone, have become the entertainment. They are expected to tear someone down completely, instead of correcting them or helping them on their way.
“You look like one of those creatures that live in the woods with those massive eyes,” infamous judge Simon Cowell told one “Idol” hopeful.
Comon, is that really necessary? Now, I am all about not coddling people. The world is a rough place and you have to grow a few millimeters of skin to manage it but I don’t feel like that gives people a license to be cruel for entertainment’s sake.
What if the American Idol judges told the people they didn’t like what was wrong with their act and gave them some ideas on how to fix it without resorting to personal insults? Would you still watch it?
For fuck’s sake, can’t we just be a little nicer to each other?
LEDs
January 17, 2007 12:00 am [No Comments]
I bought some RGB SuperFlux LEDs off eBay the other day and today they showed up direct from Hong Kong. The manufacturer, I think, is TopBright. Anyway, I can’t find a data sheet and the only info I can find is scattered all over the eBay auction so I scratched this data sheet together and am putting it here for reference.
TopBright SuperFlux RGB LED Data Sheet