Geir Andersen - Rough edges » Resources

End of another week

Geir Andersen — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:13:42 +0000

This has been a curious week. I was anxiously waiting for the next episode of The big bang theory, but that was before I had checked to see the next airing No new episode this week, had to wait. As I couldn’t watch that, I remembered Legend of the seeker. I watched that show like a hawk during season one, but somehow lost track. Got caught up again now and the show delivers even more than the first season.

It didn’t take all week to catch up in episodes, but I’ve been watching a whole lot of make: magazine’s makers videos. Those videos and the site is such a great inspiration. My head is full of ideas after a few days of watching. I need to get a few of them down on paper!

One of the great things I came across (an idea I always wanted), was the Arduino. I’ve been a tinkerer (won’t presume to call myself a maker) for as long as I can remember. Micro controllers have fascinated me since the start, but I’ve always used and thought about the PIC micro. My first experiment with one was using the PIC16f84. Using the PIC was easy enough, but programming could be teadious.. I used a home-made programming board and it was OK. Now with the Arduino it’s easily connected to the computer and can inout/output just about anything you can think of. I have ordered one (along with a ProtoShield) but it’s shipped from Hong Kong so I have to wait about a week or two.

I’ll post some “sketches” and/or ideas for what I have in mind, as soon as I can get it to paper. For now I’ll send you in the direction of a few sites I visit very regularly:

Making and modifying, made fun!

Geir Andersen — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:19:13 +0000

I came across the YouTube user makemagazine a while back, but forgot about it until I found it again yesterday. There is also a website MakeZine where the videos and content is available.

If you, like me, enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together (might not be in the original shape/way/form), this site is a must-read for ideas.

Someof the ideas and videos are superb. It’ll take you into a whole new mindset and should inspire you to start making and/or modifying your own stuff. One of the neatest ideas I came across, is this retrofitted oldstyle handset to include bluetooth!

Now, you should have a basic understanding of electronics and disassembling before you try some of the stuff. Even still, there are some great projects to fit even the greenest of “hackers”.

Had it not been for my workroom being a mess (I mean REAL mess), I might have dug out some of my old stuff and started a project or two this weekend. Being a bit under the weather, I just couldn’t get myself to start the cleaning process but I’ll have to start that real soon. I got the inspiration to do some tinkering again, reading the site and watching a bunch of the videos.

Be sure to bookmark makezine.com for future visits. The site is updated regularly.

Homemade “studio”

Geir Andersen — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:39:34 +0000

Not much time lately to update and write, but I had to make time to write about this. I, as a hobbyist, always look for great ideas and things to make it easier and cheaper to have photography as a hobby. One thing I’ve realized is VERY important is lighting. No light, no shot. I have no budget for professional lighting, so for now I’m using a builders lamp and this has given good results this far.

Catching up on lost time online today, I of course stopped by PhotoCritic.org. Found a link to this article, and that’s really a big help for me. Not that I have much to photograph, but it’ll make my learning process simpler.

Basically it shows how you can build a light-tent using:

Duct tape
Cardboard box
White copier paper
Paper towels
Scissors/razor
Lamp

If you’re into macro photography and/or similar photography, I strongly suggest taking a look at this article.