Steve Bull

Canadian teens send Lego man off planet

2012-01-31T22:28:00.002-05:00

"Two Canadian teenagers have sent a Lego man into the outer reaches of the Earth's atmosphere using a home-stitched parachute and equipment found on Craigslist." reported by Shiv Malik, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 January 2012 11.17 EST Full article with video

Home Companion Reporter - 2012 jan 25

2012-01-25T19:02:00.003-05:00

Home Companion Reporter is a telephone service that allows caregivers to reassure family members that their aging parents are receiving quality attention. A quick and easy service, Home Companion Reporter encourages independent living and promotes positive dialogue between caregiver and family members. Messages can be reviewed at the family member's convenience and archived.

Home Companion Reporter is a work in progress and this the current iPhone logo and mission statement.

Algae Culture Techniques

2012-01-14T10:12:00.002-05:00

This lecture addresses everything you know about algae but were afraid to ask. Learn about the good the bad and the ugly algae species and find out why this critical base of the marine food chain affects shellfish from birth to death.
Date/Time: Thursday, 1/19/2012 6-8pm, and again Friday, 1/20/2012 2-4pm
Where: Cornell Marine Center, 3690 Cedar Beach Road, Southold NY

I will be there.

Floppy Drives Music: Flight of the Bumblebee

2012-01-08T20:31:00.002-05:00

Makes me :)
youtube.com/watch?v=Nrp1PALeWCI

Become An Artist

2011-12-31T17:24:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year 2012!
ox, steve

Talking Tea Kettle + Magic + Museum of Moving Image

2011-12-09T14:18:00.004-05:00

I am FCP mechanical turk in the production of this video and pal to the artist Terese Svoboda. On Saturday, December 10, 2011 Talking Tea Kettle premiers at the Museum of Moving Image in the opening of their winter show Magicians On Screen. There is a Live Magic Show by Ben Robinson at 4:30pm before Terese's video.

Thanksgiving in Greenport NY

2011-11-28T14:27:00.003-05:00

Families join to celebrate Thanksgiving in Greenport NY.
Left to right: Stuart, Terese, Jonathan, Kit, Frank, Seanna, Katy, Felix, Steve
Surnames: Bull, Hollingsworth, Hunt, Svoboda
On a leash: Dixie
Background: Mitchell Park Carousel

My donation to your re-election campaign

2011-11-21T20:48:00.004-05:00

Following today's outcome of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, I sent the following email message to ALL the committee members.

[Message begins]
I am an independent voter in New York. I do not make donations to one party over another. I support the various campaigns of elected officials across the USA by individual donations. I am so disappointed by the results of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that I am going to donate some money to the campaign of whomever runs against you in your next election. I am sending this same message to ALL the committee members. You have individually and collectively failed the citizens of the USA. You are not an effective politician. You should no longer continue to represent hard working citizens.
[Message ends]

Members
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), (co-chair) Secretary of the Democratic Conference; Chairwoman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
(D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Senate Minority Whip
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), (co-chair) Republican Conference Chairman SHAME: Does not accept email outside of 5th Congressional District of Texas.
Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee; Chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation SHAME: Does not accept email outside of his district.
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee SHAME: His weblink contact creates this alert "This Connection is Untrusted"
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), Assistant Democratic Leader SHAME: Does not accept email outside of his district.
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Democratic Caucus Vice Chair SHAME: Does not accept email outside of his district.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), House Budget Committee ranking member SHAME: Does not accept email outside of his district.

NOTE: The House of Representatives' server will not deliver my email message. Anyone in a "qualifying" HoR district is encouraged to forward this posting to them. Thank you.

Brushless Motor vs Brushed Motor

2011-11-21T10:21:00.005-05:00

A DC Brushless Motor uses a permanent magnet external rotor, three phases of driving coils, one or more Hall effect devices to sense the position of the rotor, and the associated drive electronics. The coils are activated, one phase after the other, by the drive electronics as cued by the signals from the Hall effect sensors, they act as three-phase synchronous motors containing their own variable frequency drive electronics.

PRO BLDC Motor
Electronic commutation based on Hall position sensors
Less required maintenance due to absence of brushes
Speed/Torque- flat, enables operation at all speeds with rated load
High efficiency, no voltage drop across brushes
High output power/frame size.
Reduced size due to superior thermal characteristics. Because BLDC has the windings on the stator, which is connected to the case, the heat dissipation is better
Higher speed range - no mechanical limitation imposed by brushes/commutator
Low electric noise generation

CON BLDC Motor
Higher cost of construction
Control is complex and expensive
Electric Controller is required to keep the motor running. It offers double the price of the motor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A Brushed Motor has a rotating set of wound wire coils called an armature which acts as an electromagnet with two poles. A mechanical rotary switch called a commutator reverses the direction of the electric current twice every cycle, to flow through the armature so that the poles of the electromagnet push and pull against the permanent magnets on the outside of the motor. As the poles of the armature electromagnet pass the poles of the permanent magnets, the commutator reverses the polarity of the armature electromagnet. During the instant of switching polarity, inertia keeps the classical motor going in the proper direction.

PRO Brushed Motor
Two wire control
Replaceable brushes for extended life
Low cost of construction
Simple and inexpensive control
No controller is required for fixed speeds
Operates in extreme environments due to lack of electronics

CON Brushed Motor
Periodic maintenance is required
Speed/torque is moderately flat. At higher speeds, brush friction increases, thus reducing useful torque
Poor heat dissipation due to internal rotor construction
Higher rotor inertia which limits the dynamic characteristics
Lower speed range due to mechanical limitations on the brushes
Brush Arcing will generate noise causing EMI

Click on images for their source and catalog.
Text source http://www.dynetic.com/brushless%20vs%20brushed.htm

Death Is My Caddy

2011-11-03T21:14:00.007-05:00

Death is my caddy and the others
in my party don't seem to notice.
He proposes the seven iron
as I play under par.
While I get no holes-in-one,
Death applauds my long putts.
I can feel Death's hot eyes
as I wedge out of a sand trap.
Death chuckles when I
murder the ball.
Death kindly offers advise
on how I can improve my swing.
I fish some other's lost
Titleist from the water hazard.
Lightning strikes me down
as I tee off on the 13th hole.
I will wait for my companions
at Gabriel's clubhouse bar.

Death Is My Caddy
by Steve Bull, November 2, 2011
for Bert Fraser
Death and Dying Conference
sponsored by AtlantiCare
at Stockton College

RF Sky Rings

2011-10-13T09:29:00.003-05:00

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside--no those are not uber-UFO's over the Midwest. There is a logical explanation. However, what is the explanation? The Chinese claim success with their weather controlling efforts. Does this October 12, 2011 weather radar image show some attempts by North Americans? Take a look at the YouTube link and think. Comments/reactions by locals in these areas is most appreciated. Stay well.

Soldier Tech Enjoys a Beverage

2011-10-12T09:18:00.002-05:00

Enjoy and explore this mystery. The image comes from a Russian website and I believe is an interior photo of radio station UVB-76 before its closing. However, it does not seem to be closed! Read more at http://uvb-76.net/ about the LIVE continuous rebroadcast of their signal. UVB-76 got a write up in Wired and that is when it appeared on my radar. I have posted a picture of the guard dog, The Dog, on Pet-Pals and I contemplate the integration of the signal from UVB-76 for a Cellphonia performance. The iTunes' stream presents the steady audio. Note the occasional SSB cross talk.

Marching to Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-05T20:41:00.003-05:00

October 5, 2011, NEW YORK NY. Steve Bull was discovered at 6pm EDT in a march supporting the Occupy Wall Street protest.

DOLPHIN by Hereshoff

2011-09-30T12:49:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow I am going to crew on DOLPHIN and the last time was in the 1960s. I also varnished the bright work and performed other maintenance duties with my brother Jeff. John Lockwood was skipper then. Dolphin is a Herreshoff designed Newport 29 that is currently cared by Oakcliff Sailing Center.

Croquet with lawn chairs

2011-09-16T19:00:00.003-05:00

My brother Jeff got married to Marilyn last week [09/10/11 12:13] in Westport. As an after event treat I positioned the reception plastic furniture for a game of croquet. The newly wed couple won over the other 3 brothers and their spouse partners: Steve & Terese, Jay & Cindy, Ware & Kahsia.
Photo by Ware.

Castle Brunnenburg

2011-08-15T10:30:00.009-05:00

In March 2011, I visited long time friend and author Mary de Rachewiltz at her family Castle Brunnenburg. I first met Mary years before when I was European location scout on the PBS Voices and Visions documentary of Ezra Pound.

Castle Brunnenberg, March 2011 (map)

Romantic painting of Castle Brunneburg ruins before reconstruction

Authors Mary de Rachewiltz and Terese Svoboda

Bust of Ezra Pound by Gaudier

View from the pig pen of the castle's organic farm.

Three of the Herd

2011-08-12T14:25:00.005-05:00

This will be the first year and my first time ever owning cattle. My herd will be very small, 8 to 15 animals. Individuals are bought in small numbers from nearby raisers or purchased at the end of the auctions after the bigger sized lots are sold and almost everyone else has left that event. Scott is raising them for me and the cattle are grazing on the organic buffer strip planted around my organic crops. The buffer strip is a barrier to prevent contamination by GMO crops that is the predominant new normal agriculture in western Nebraska. I favor heritage seeds and sustainable agriculture. The herd is not organic and I am participating for just a short time in the economic life cycle of this protein source.
Caveat: My = Terese Sovoboda and I (wife and husband, farming partners).

Aerial Fish Fertilizer

2011-08-10T08:28:00.005-05:00

I spoke to my organic farming partner in Grant, Nebraska last night and he said that our crop of corn looked pretty good, a little more rain would help finish the growth. He has been busy this summer that included taking the opportunity to plant millet into tilled soil that had peas and oats growing earlier in the spring which were planted into last year's sunflower stalks. In this late summer break before harvest time he will bill me for my share of the fertilizer he had applied to the corn by airplane. The fertilizer included some fish but also a number of other components, such as seaweed and micro nutrients. The photo is imagined.
Farm report: Grant NE.

View Larger Map

50 oysters in a pail

2011-08-05T10:51:00.004-05:00

50 oysters in a pail with the gear required to service these mollusks. Crocs for wading. Scrub brush for cleaning the oyster cages of squirts that block the flow of tides, and the brush makes the oysters themselves look their best. Heavy duty rubber cloves protect the hands from the razor front edges of the shells.

1500 oysters in cages that will soon return to hanging from the dock of the Harbor Knoll Bed and Breakfast in Greenport NY.

Use Gin to Clean Knot Hole

2011-07-23T11:12:00.005-05:00

Back Story: The plug fell out of the knot hole in the floor of my old house. Coincidentally, I was building a spar for the lug sail of AEOLUS and I had left over thickened epoxy. I put the epoxy around the inside of the hole and the outside of the plug and gently hammered the plug back into the hole. See above photo.

Helpful tip: Epoxy had dribbled over the edges and I had run out denatured alcohol that I usually use to cleanup the mess. I remembered I had a new bottle of New Amsterdam Gin. I poured the gin on my clean up rag and cleaned the area around the hole and the plug.

PHIL image du jour

2011-06-22T11:41:00.002-05:00

Public Health Image Library (PHIL) has many useful images that are in the public domain. Here is today's image du jour.
ID#: 1472
Description: Anterior chain of Mesocestoides sp.
Anterior chain of Mesocestoides sp. Tapeworm, cestode, parasite.
Content Providers(s): CDC/ Dr. George Healy
Creation Date: 1965
Categories: CDC Organization : MeSH : Organisms : Animals : Invertebrates : Helminths : Platyhelminths : Cestoda

Now where was I going in my search before I was delightfully distracted?

Neptune's Bicycle

2011-06-18T15:20:00.002-05:00

I found Neptune's bicycle between the ebb and flood on the beach next to LIRR station in Greenport NY.

Selling Cornflakes

2011-06-13T09:57:00.004-05:00

This photo of me comes from the shoe box photo archives of colleague Brian Perkinson. I confess that as crew in the movie/TV industry, as well as member of the DGA, to aiding in the legal sale of corn flakes, kitchen detergents and after shave tonics that are "necessary" products in today's consumerism. I was "sitting-in" for the DP and gaffers in a lighting check. The folds in the photo delineate the frame of the shot masking out the back light and rest of set. The grip stand in front me of was a temporary spatial marker. While the further details of this particular job elude me, a close examination of the digital watch on my wrist should give a clue to the decade of this early Polaroid image.

Oyster Report - June 10, 2011

2011-06-11T16:59:00.004-05:00

I spent several hours at the Cedar Beach Creek facility of SPAT: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County working on my 1,000 oyster crop that over wintered there. I brought a few back for taste testing.
My progress report:
Fall 2010 tasting = 24
Early Summer 2011 tasting = 49
5 cages x 100 = 500
7 cages x 50 = 350
Hollow shells = 31
Total accounted = 954

Kim Tetrault who runs this Southold cooperative can also be discovered locally playing electric and acoustic bass with Jazz on the Half Shell.

Fordham FAB - Dean Gautschi

2011-06-08T20:19:00.005-05:00

Dean David Gautschi was at the white board last night at the summer practicum of Fordham FAB. I am posting this photo for the benefit of my fellow classmates. Click on the image to see more detail of the diagram and formula.

I am fortunate to have my proposal PreMinder selected and I am joined with two terrific team members that are MBA graduates: Anthony Battaglia and Andrew Arcangel.

Stay tuned.

Andy Goldsworthy's Rivers and Tides (video)

2011-06-05T20:15:00.004-05:00

This was my first exposure to Andy Goldsworthy's artistic practice. His connection with rock and others fundamental elements then launched into the forces hidden nature inspire me. Huge praise to Thomas Riedelsheimer, director+cinematographer+editor, who elegantly captured the ephemeral in Goldsworthy's work. This movie was made in part with funds provided by Scottish art lotteries--bravo--I'll buy a ticket next time I'm there. Rivers and Tides is available as a DVD order from Amazon. I saw it as immediate play on Netflix.

AR answer to Willa Cather

2011-05-20T09:36:00.003-05:00

This is an iPad2 screen grab of my first AR Junaio GLUE object that is the answer to the poster behind, "Why is Willa worried?" This project is in support of the author Terese Svoboda in the release of her new novel Bohemian Girl, University of Nebraska Press at BookExpo America conference May 23-25, 2011 in Jacob Javits Convention Center in NYC. Here is the poster:

The oval portrait of Willa Cather is the target.

today's dualities

2011-04-27T09:43:00.002-05:00

do/don't
live/die
stranger/friend
build/destroy
engage/ignore
and/or/nor
bit/bitten
nourish/harm
tag/erase

stay tuned,
notes to myself for another project,
steve

Many Steps by Takayuki Akachi

2011-04-26T18:13:00.002-05:00

I like MANY STEPS by Takayuki Akachi.

Nautical object

2011-04-25T11:09:00.004-05:00

What is the name of this nautical object? Where does it get positioned on the boat hull? Orientation star upwards? Terese got this for me last year when she teaching for the SLS in Lamu, Kenya. I want to attach correctly to Aeolus.

Against the wind

2011-04-19T20:37:00.004-05:00

Despite the drizzle and gale winds last Saturday, the opening of the Décollage: Torn Exteriors Show in Williamsburg was nicely attended. Above is an iPad2 screen grab of my work "After Delvaux" and here's a video made by Stephen Heiden.

After Delvaux .obj final

2011-04-11T09:41:00.006-05:00

These are screen grabs of the final After Delvaux 3D .obj as posted to Layar for their approval before the Décollage: Torn Exteriors show at Ventana244 Art Space.

FRONT VIEW: The 3D object is designed to be inserted into the street side living room of a ground floor apartment at 252 N. 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY 11211, a few doors away from the gallery at 244. The red back rectangle hangs in front of the school windows across the street.

REAR VIEW: Theoretically this would only be viewable to inhabitants within the apartment building itself.

Please come to the Artist’s reception: Saturday, April 16, 2-5pm.

See AR 'After Delvaux' at Bklyn opening 4/16

2011-04-05T14:35:00.003-05:00

The show runs from April 16 to May 8, 2011.

The gallery is Ventana244, 244 North 6th Street, Brooklyn NY 11211

Click on the image above and print it out as a handy flyer with more details.

Orca scene [pun] in waters off Greenport

2011-03-27T10:46:00.007-05:00

I just finished an orca scene plunging into the waters off Mitchell Park in the Village of Greenport. This concept image is an .png 2D export from Google SketchUp and is to be included as an AR component of "Cellphonia: Whales" in my NYSCA proposal. And yes, I know the orca is not native to Greenport waters, read Wikipedia to learn more about he orca's usual habitat. The orca source is courtesy of Mandun.

Décollage: Torn Exteriors: Progress report on 1st day of spring

2011-03-21T14:13:00.000-05:00

Décollage: Torn Exteriors: Progress report on 1st day of spring: "This is the current state of my room to be inserted into the building front of 252 North 6th Street. Behind the main room open is another ..."

Bogliasco Fellows - February / March 2011

2011-03-20T11:34:00.002-05:00

These are the edit selects from an augmented reality installation study recently made at the Villa dei Pini, Bogliasco Fondation, Italy. I was there as a guest of the Fellow Terese Svoboda.

Flavio Ermini in garden of Villa Dei Pini

2011-03-03T05:29:00.002-05:00

Flavio Ermini is Bogliasco Fellow in Literature - Creative writing in the 1st semester of Fondazione Bogliasco progam in 2011. I am in the process now of placing him and the other 6 fellows into the garden of Villa Dei Pini adjacent the main building. This is part of a work in progress toward a larger AR installation project. I am working with Google SketchUp and you can download this image object from their 3D warehouse titled as Flavio Ermini in garden of Villa Dei Pini.

Villa Dei Pini (work in progress)

2011-02-27T04:51:00.009-05:00

at 44.379856, 9.059553

I just posted model "Villa Dei Pini (work in progress)" to my warehouse and this is a geo located villa that still needs a roof and photos of the exterior walls painted onto the basic shape.

However, at this stage when I position the building into the terrain, the terrain is not adjusted for the grading to the grounds adjacent the the model walls. Thus the uphill portion of the model is buried while the downhill side of the model is suspended in the air. What is the procedure to correctly place the model? Do I need to also create the terraces in the terrain around the building?

I am a guest here for 10 more days and I would like to get as much finished on this project as possible so any immediate comments will be much appreciated.

view: cross section screen grab

view: model on terrain

view: model on map

Ariel view by maps.Google and TeleAtlas

Hiking behind Fondazione Bogliasco

2011-02-25T06:24:00.001-05:00

in front of Parrocchia San Giogio di Barvi, Genova, Italy

2011-02-24T05:11:00.001-05:00

After school on February 22nd 2011 in plaza of the central historic distric of Genova.

Centro Storico di Genova

2011-02-24T04:57:00.000-05:00

Bogliasco Poem

2011-02-24T03:33:00.004-05:00

da un ingorgo di sogni
non ho alcun potere
trovo il mio amante nel mare
pirati nel cielo mi distraggono

youtube.com/watch?v=GmSrM-2lj7s

Fishing Boat Haul Out in Bogliasco

2011-02-20T03:40:00.004-05:00

The method of embedding wooden beams across the boat ramp is smart. The hull is hauled over the forgiving wooden beams rather than roughly abraded on a beach, rock or cement shingle. The principle advantage of not putting the trailer in the salt water is the wheel bearing do not get wet and the trailer suffers less rust. A public electric cable winch pull as the men guide the hull.

Shot: iPHone. Edit: FCP.

Fondazione Bogliasco

2011-02-12T11:15:00.004-05:00

Feb 7 to March 11, 2011
Attending fellows with companions:
Stanley Gontarski, Theater with Marsha Gontarski
Terese Svoboda, Literature - Creative Writing with Steve Bull
Benedetto Sicca, Theater
Claudio Serughetti, Film
Maria Elena Gonzales, Visual Arts - Creative
Flavio Ermini, Literature - Creative Writing with Ida Travi
Laurie Stailings, Dance Choreography
Pete Wyer, Music Composition with Kate Saunders

Decollage example informs and amuses me

2011-02-04T00:11:00.002-05:00

New International Dictionary, 2003. Altered book. 12 × 9 × 7 inches. by Brian Dettmer en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Dettmer This image was found on wikipedia and sourced to packergallery.com

Emperor

2011-01-10T11:17:00.002-05:00

I took a beginning Tarot seminar from my longtime friend Donna Henes and this was the first card I pulled in a self directed one card reading. Tarot provides an interesting contrast to the stricter demands of my usual citizen scientific investigation, engineering and coding practice. As a follow up Tarot exercise I vow for one month to pull a card a day and read the flow.

Two feet of snow

2011-01-04T15:39:00.004-05:00

Blizzard NYC, December 2010

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

2010-11-11T08:58:00.008-05:00

"Every year, people in all 50 states and across six continents see birds in their own backyards that begin their lives on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to more than 200 wildlife species including polar bears, musk ox and caribou. Wildlife and mankind are already under stress from the impacts of climate change. Put this cause on your agenda and focus your energy to designate this area a National Monument and you will protect a critical habitat for wildlife and help preserve biodiversity."

Everyday my email in-box has petitions from worthy causes that I have supported in the past. I endeavor to respond to one of them each day and delete the rest. The copy above was added to an automated letter to be sent from me to President Barack Obama. This service was expedited by the Sierra Club. The link to the USA federal government Arctic National Wildlife Refuge site is http://arctic.fws.gov/. Here is Wikipedia's entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_National_Wildlife_Refuge. This is authentic living 11/11/2010 and I personally support this message. Meet me to verify.

Creative commons details. Photo credit: Steven Chase, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

aZza Gallery as Flickr group

2010-11-09T09:31:00.003-05:00

In conjunction with my pending launch of aZza app for iPhone and iPad, I created aZza Gallery as a Flickr group. This gallery will be melded into the aZza website experience at aZza.mobi

AEOLUS in Nantucket

2010-09-20T09:20:00.003-05:00

AEOLUS is nesting with other dinghies at Children's Beach in Nantucket. She was there this last weekend to transport the Lochridge family members around the harbor at their 4th annual reunion on the island. In the background is the ferry EAGLE of the Steamship Authority that transported Aeolus to this destination.

Track weather (Earl) on your mobile

2010-09-03T14:58:00.004-05:00

Check out Earl's latest position with nifty storm track weather map overlays on your wireless device at http://stevebull.mobi/weather11965.php.

I built the page two years ago for myself and shipmates when I was a relief purser and deck hand on the North Ferry Co. http://www.northferry.com/.

Steal this code and write your own custom weather page for your mobile page. My source is Wunderground

AEOLUS - double ended skiff

2010-09-02T09:51:00.004-05:00

AEOLUS is a double ended rowing and sailing skiff that my son Frank and I finished in 2009. This photo is taken at the inaugural launch from Preston's dock in Greenport NY. Aeolus is a lapstrake hull of stitch and glue construction from a kit supplied by Chesapeake Light Craft. She is 15 feet long and weighs only 95 lbs. Note her cotton lanteen sail from Lamu, Kenya.

Desktop tidbits

2010-08-12T10:14:00.002-05:00

While cleaning up my desktop I rediscovered this mix from the Cellphonia: Blues June 2010 installation that still puts a smile on my face. Check it out at http://cellphonia.org/blues/audio/mix-20100602atAI.mp3 :)s

Cellphonia: Blues / Analagous Projects / ICMC 2010

2010-06-04T13:22:00.004-05:00

Cellphonia: Blues was selected and presented by Analagous Projects for the 2010 International Computer Music Conference (icmc2010.org) and this installation version received favorable reporting in the column Nocturnalist | Taking the Canvas Digital by Sarah Maslin Nir with photos by Béatrice de Géa for the New York Times. For the next two weekends in June visit the Cellphonia: Blues installation at Devotion Gallery.

Listen to the latest mix.

Thank you all for your participation.

Kelvin Paddle Launch

2010-05-07T08:30:00.002-05:00

"In cases where the size of the propeller approaches the total draft available, it is necessary to adopt either the tunnel stern or the paddle wheel....It is efficient up to moderate speeds, and specially suited for towing." Kelvin Paddle Launch circa 1913.

Lloyd Lochridge - Oldest Boy Scout in USA

2010-03-06T10:57:00.007-05:00

Austin, Texas, February 6, 2010 - Lloyd Lochridge rode at the front of the Austin Boy Scout parade this morning in an open white BMW convertible together with a 14 yr old Eagle Scout. Mr. Lochridge is said to be the oldest Eagle Scout in existence! - Austin American Statesman
Later I joined uncle Lloyd's Boy Scouts of America troop in Forest Hills, Queens, New York -- no camping or open fires permitted.

PHP Links

2010-03-06T10:50:00.002-05:00

Google results with string: php resize image on upload

Resizing images with PHP - I will try this one first, it processes three common image types
PHP: Upload and Resize an Image - an interesting variation of above w/ useful bg info
Code Examples -> Image Upload And Resize Script - note catch of errors

Frank Svoboda's bid for Regent

2010-03-01T10:14:00.012-05:00

Vote for FRANK!

My father-in-law Frank Svoboda is running for the elected position as Regent of University of Nebraska.

Visit Frank's campaign site SvobodaForRegent.org for more details.

iPhone Developer Links

2010-02-28T17:32:00.002-05:00

Terrific Beginner Tutorials [switchonthecode.com] - thank you

An Absolute Beginner's Guide to iPhone Development Because of file naming on my part I totally failed on my first try here. My tricky rename file fix did not work. So I do not recommend simply renaming a typo misnamed file within the developer environment. However, working all over again from scratch was a success.
Creating Basic Buttons Builds on tutorial above, very nice.
Lots more here under "Cocoa Touch" www.switchonthecode.com/tutorials

Circuit Links

2010-02-22T21:32:00.003-05:00

code, circuits, & construction - Tom Igoe
555 and 556 Timer Circuits
Capacitors
LM741CN Operational Amplifier (8-Pin Dip)

LEO Space Farm

2010-02-09T09:23:00.007-05:00

From the archives I discover a paper "Low Earth Orbit Space Farm" (1986) written with Nils Bruun and Randolph Liebelt and presented at AIAA conference in USA and IAF conference in UK.

ABSTRACT
The paper proposes a modular low earth orbit space farm which combines the current CELSS technology with a single launch, artificial gravity space vehicle to provide fresh produce to a nearby space station crew in a balanced exchange for their biodegradable waste and carbon dioxide. While growing a substantial amount of produce, the space farm will also be developing the plant propagation technology for transfer to future lunar colonies and to accompany long range space missions, ie. interplanetary exploration. The components of the space farm will be launched by conventional booster, then manned, assembled and operated by a crew of two. Since the space farm is habitable during all stages of development, the shuttle rendezvous will be brief. Adding modules will facilitate increasing crop yields.

The complete paper: LEO-Space-Farm.pdf

My Asterisk Links - passing variables

2010-02-08T21:53:00.003-05:00

asterisk-gateway-interface-scripting-with-php
Asterisk+AGI+php
Asterisk+Detailed+Variable+List
Asterisk+variables
asterisk-channel-variables-and-the-asteriskagi-perl-module/
What is AGI?

I was able to pass variable from .php to dialplan, that is the number that SalesPitch.mobi needs to make the follow-up call, let's review the hard code:
/* as saved within the passvariables.php script itself */
//- essential parts of /var/lib/asterisk/agi-bin/passvariables.php
// lines 51 to 64
// create .PHP variable with a hard code phone number
$CLIENTNUMBER = '8005551212';
$SOMETEXT = '\"some text for swift to speak is thus\"'; // *
// speak a script identifying that we are in this file
write ("EXEC Swift \"pass variables dot p h p\"");
// speak the variable to be sure it works
write ("EXEC Swift \"$CLIENTNUMBER\""); // spoken as a billion number
write ("EXEC Swift \"$SOMETEXT\""); // spoken as complete string
// create DIALPLAN variable equal to .PHP variable
// this DIALPLAN variable is a Channel variable
write ("EXEC Set CLIENTNUMBER=$CLIENTNUMBER");
// * NB: ONLY THE FIRST WORD IN THE PHP VARIABLE IS GETTING PASSED * * *
write ("EXEC Set SOMETEXT=$SOMETEXT"); // *
// go to dialplan with DIALPLAN variables in tow
write ("EXEC Goto scene6|s|1");
// - essential parts of /etc/asterisk/extensions.conf [scene6|s|1]
/*
[scene6]
exten => s,1,Wait(1)
; identify this dialplan context
exten => s,2,SayDigits(66)
; go to this new context with "Channel" DIALPLAN variable in tow
exten => s,3,Goto(sceneTest,s,1)
; hangup if above not available
exten => s,n,Hangup()

[sceneTest]
exten => s,1,Wait(1)
; identify this dialplan context
exten => s,2,Swift(scene test)
; speak digits of DIALPLAN variable
; from passvariables.php
exten => s,3,SayDigits(${CLIENTNUMBER}) ; spoke in single digits
; * NB: Swift ONLY speaks first word of this DIALPLAN variable
; to be determined later how to pass a .PHP string as a variable
exten => s,4,Swift("${SOMETEXT}")
exten => s,n,Hangup()
exten => i,1,Playback(pbx-invalid)
exten => i,2,Goto(salespitch,s,1)
exten => t,1,Playback(vm-goodbye)
exten => t,2,Hangup()
*/

Transfer resistor = Transistor

2010-02-06T11:49:00.003-05:00

My son Frank sent me a link to HOW DO THEY REALLY WORK? by William Beaty, BSEE 1995 and I am pleased to report that this is the best explanation I have ever read on transistor basic principles. For years and years I was baffled by all previous explanations and this article told me why. There are useful links at the end for more visualizations plus a nifty article on Iron Pyrites Negative Resistance Oscillator with a DIY cat whisker radio.

aZza + RaaWee

2010-02-04T15:03:00.002-05:00

Early shout outs to Saleem Qazi and his crew at RaaWee for the Android programing they are providing to my art application aZza. I look forward to the finished code, publishing and selling this application out of Orange, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Android & Sony-Ericsson shops.

My Amaryllis

2010-02-03T11:02:00.004-05:00

I got the bulb that prduced this amaryllis at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden store two years ago. This blossom is the last of five. The photo made on my Google Android developer phone
exif:GPSLatitude: 40,43,4N
exif:GPSLongitude: 73,59,16W
Snow still clings to the back wooden deck.
Happy Chinese New Year!

SeeClickFix: New York : Fallen Fire Plug

2010-01-04T09:48:00.002-05:00

SeeClickFix: New York : Fallen Fire Plug

Posted using ShareThis

I like SeeClickFix.com as citizen empowerment social network service. Congratulations! I plan to use it again.

Citizen Complaint

2010-01-01T11:26:00.005-05:00

Fire Plug broken off on South side of Delancey Street, New York between Allen and Forsyth. It has been there at least two days ignored by the "authorities" that should restore its functional location seen on the side walk in the background of this photo. I shot the picture with my Google developer phone after turning on the add GPS to photo feature.
exif:DateTimeOriginal: 2010-01-01T10:57:23 -05:00
exif:GPSLatitude: 40,43,10N
exif:GPSLongitude: 73,59,27W

View Larger Map.
To get the map I resolved the EXIF data using by Photoshop to create the following string '40 43 10, -73 59 27' that regrettably puts the fallen fire plug location on the North side of the street but close enough for my purposes. This photo will be the reference image for my "Citizen Complaint" Android application to be submitted in NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge due in few days. More details to follow.......

My Android Links

2009-12-26T16:52:00.003-05:00

I want to port my applications to Android so I return to the task of teaching myself. Here are some useful links to me along the way.
Signing an Android Application for Real Life Mobile Device Usage / Installation - terrific posting, i did it, it works, thank you

Fundamentals | Android Tutorial for Beginners (Part 1)
Getting started w/ Eclipse/Android dated 12/07, NSG
Tip: An easy way to add import packages to your project is to press Ctrl-Shift-O (Cmd-Shift-O, on Mac). This is an Eclipse shortcut that identifies missing packages based on your code and adds them for you.
A first hand look at building an Android application Did not work for me, skips steps, careful frame-by-frame examination might make this work for you, try target device 1.5

Global warming: Who are the leaders?

2009-12-16T09:07:00.003-05:00

My question that I posted to Avaaz.org site for them to pass onto Gordon Brown.

"Curbing global warming requires change of life style for western nations. My fellow citizens and I are ready. But where is the political leadership with the voice and the will to present this future. This future is a bright future with bicycles and public transportation and spending more time strolling with family and friends. Children will be taught to weed and cultivate victory gardens. Who are the leaders that will set an example and steer the new course?"

Avaaz reply: Thanks for RSVPing to today's phone conference with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. This meeting with him is a great opportunity for us to engage with power as citizens around the world. And we'll keep him on his toes!

These are the access numbers to the call:

Participant Access:
Please dial in 5-10 minutes prior to the start time using the dial in number and passcode below.

Participant Passcode:
790507

Local - USA, New York:
+1 212 444 0891

Local - USA, New York:
+1 718 354 1388

Local - Italy, Milan:
+39 02 3041 3128

Local - Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur:
+60 (0)3 6207 4180

Local - Spain, Madrid:
+34 91 114 2187

National free phone - South Africa:
0800 981 919

International number:
+353 (0)23 88 61541

Optical Theramin in 2010

2009-12-03T20:39:00.005-05:00

Here are some research links toward a follow-up pitch to Hans Tammen to teach an analog device building workshop in February 2010 at HarvestWorks.

Workshop: Build optical Theremin with one or two analog filters.

[below work in progress]
http://www.tuttlesoundlabs.com/experiments.html
http://www.getlofi.com/2006/01/optical-theremin-ebay-round-up.html
http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2008-04/build-pocket-theremin-cheap
http://www.popsci.com/files/theremin_sample.mp3
http://xn--47-fcc.com/squarecave.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqWzJt3Nm-U&feature=player_embedded#
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/01/555_timer_light_synth.html
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/10/more_555_timer_projects.html
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/03/in_the_maker_shed_555_noisemusick_k.html
http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKAS1&Click=19209
http://www.netinstruments.com/theremins/theremin/optical-theremin-kit/
http://www.google.com/search?q=optical+theremin+kit&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/products.asp?dept=1427
http://library.thinkquest.org/10784/circuit_symbols.html
https://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&ddkey=https:Logoff

Google Groups "Cellphonia" jacked?

2009-11-27T10:07:00.001-05:00

Forgive the kvetch. I believe that Google Groups "Cellphonia" group has been jacked and I can not remember if I created the group or not. I don't seem to be the owner. Any thoughts how to fix this problem before we call in an n-strike.

Seasonal Gift List 2009

2009-11-24T12:07:00.005-05:00

Latest items (not on Amazon list :)

Digital Oscilloscope DIY Kit from SparkFun. This kit includes everything you need to build your very own, fully functional, digital oscilloscope. Once you've got it up and running, the oscilloscope features up to 5M samples/second, 8-bit resolution, up to 50Vpp max input voltage, and more! And BNC Probe Kit is a necessary signal snatcher to go with scope.

Bluetooth® Portable Rotary Phone - Black or another color from SparkFun. Links nicely to your cellphone, lessens EMF on those incoming/outgoing calls.

SolderPro 50 Butane Soldering Iron Kit

Illuminated LED Eye Loupe

Amazon wish list: http://amzn.com/w/1IMTKAY992X5M.

Book (before I discovered Amazon service):
The Book of Codes: Understanding the World of Hidden Messages (Hardcover) - Paul Lunde (Editor)

Power Supply for Benjolin and Zeitgeist

2009-11-14T13:49:00.001-05:00

I just received a 25W AC - DC Triple Output desktop power supply made by MEAN WELL, Model: P25A13D-R1B. Data sheet at https://www.jameco.com/Jameco/Products/ProdDS/190960.pdf. I intend to power both my Benjolin and Zeitgeist from this AC-DC supply. I also ordered the 5 pin female DIN connector from Jameco-- take a look at either Jameco part number 15844 or 29399. They were cheap enough that I ordered one of each to have a choice for the final install. At of this writing Jameco has more of these power supplies in stock and Jameco prices are the lowest, and shipping w/in USA is good.

Below I cut-n-paste as email (Nov 8, 2009) from Rob to myself and others with good advice on power supplies:

Hi all,

My recommendations for a power supply for both the Benjolin and the
Zeitgeist.

Principally I do always recommend a desktop Plug-In AC Adapter power supply similar in looks to the ones used for laptops. These are the safest devices to use in terms of hazard of electrical shock. Regrettably they are a bit hard to find. But note that if you want to do circuit bending experiments, especially when they involve body contacts, then *always* use batteries!

A good choice for a desktop power supply is one that is sold by Mouser.com:
http://www2.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/P50A13D-R1B/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtpk
qKkT5w3uiB%2fqpDJDtRebgXKIecL%2f1U%3d

(Regrettably it seems to be a non-stocked item and might have a delivery
time of perhaps up to ten weeks.)

A simple 5-pole female DIN connector can be used on the enclosure of a project to connect to this power supply. By using two female connectors on the back of every enclosure one can daisy chain the power to perhaps five to ten more boxes. Desktop power supplies are the easiest to share amongst several projects, which is a definitive additional value.

When putting a power supply into the housing of a specific project I would recommend a closed frame power supply like:
http://www2.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/T-40B/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMu0oxGuRuN
KHzvx70GkCU%252bvmzt/DvjUqMo=

This is also a very good alternative to a desktop supply when putting this supply into its own plastic housing with several connectors to power several projects at once, thus turning it into a desktop power supply all by itself. Probably this power supply is the easiest available one, and so you might consider it if you do not succeed to find a suitable desktop power supply.

In essence it would be possible to use a frameless power supply like:
http://www2.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/PD-2512/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMu0oxGuR
uNKHzvx70GkCU%252bv%252bAeyeoSWfsA%3d

but I do *not* recommend an open frame power supply for ány DIY project, simply as the maybe twenty bucks extra that you pay for a closed frame supply or thirtyfive bucks extra for a desktop power supply are peanuts when at a moment in the future it does actually protect you from electrical shockand saves your life! Never take any risk with AC power!!!

Regards,
/Rob

FROM fookie TO gaia online

2009-10-19T08:32:00.005-05:00

I don't know bethlora at Gaia Online. She emailed a[at]pet-pals asking me if I were really her friend. Pondering this I wished I was out fishing for blues with my Cuban Yo-Yo under schooling menhaden in Greenport. However from my cave on Ludlow I joined GO instead and my avatar is ukutoro. To test the fun and secure a few more gold pieces to buy virt-clothes, I used some of my sign-up reward gold to buy a nixie tube lottery card. I tried my trusty fookie to pick the number and include the result below:

My fortune was a good Monday morning grounding and perhaps you will find the flaw in the lottery number.

I opened Fetch to make repairs to the PHP.

Thank you Gaia for this blessing and guidance.

.svg files

2009-07-15T21:04:00.002-05:00

Someday I will do something with .svg files that can produce scalable images. Here's one I discovered today on wikipedia. Look at the source code of the image for the .svg details. Note the 'embed' tag was used to present the image. Created with Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) is the attribution within the .svg code.

Hoffman Box - DIY in the kitchen

2009-07-14T14:42:00.007-05:00

A Hoffman box is an enclosure used to secure electrical and/or network equipment, and is used in such things as a protected distribution system. - wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoffman_box

I am trying to perfect Pet-Pals for J2ME distribution on camera phones and I needed to pass a gnarly part of the Java Verified process performed by NSTL. To make my own Hoffman box I put the Nokia E71 into a small sauce pan inside a large sauce pan inside a larger pot with lids over all inside the oven. This combination gives great signal isolation. I do NOT recommend you cook a casserole at the same time.

Remote Testing aZza.jar, Fookie.jar and Fookie.wgz Nokia WRT

2009-06-20T10:37:00.008-05:00

http://apu.ndhub.net/devices is terrific for remote testing on real devices.

[2009-06-21 testing]
* * S60 2nd Edition FP1
-
Nokia N70
357093003717992
+358504877457
SW 5.0705.3.0.1
Fookie - Unable to install. Invalid file.
aZza - Unable to install. Invalid file.

* * S60 3rd Edition
-
Nokia E61
356211000550494
+358504877460
SW 3.0633.09.04
Fookie - Invalid Jar file.
aZza - Invalid Jar file.
-
Nokia N80
352764013029256
+358504877447
SW 5.0719.0.2
aZza - Invalid Jar file.

* * S60 3rd Edition FP1
-
Nokia N82
358082012062382
+358504877446
SW 30.0.019
aZza - passes all tests
Fookie - passes all tests

* * S60 3rd Edition FP2
devices available later

* * S60 5th Edition
devices available later

[2009-06-20 testing]

Fookie.wrt Version 1.01wrt:
Nokia 5630 XpressMusic - S60 3rd Ed FP2
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic - S60 5th Ed
- Connected to Nokia 5800 XpressMusic from sandbox/10.76.1.29:Com7 via USB/serial
Nokia 6220 classic - S60 3rd Ed FP2
Nokia 6720 classic - S60 3rd Ed FP2
Nokia E71x - no SIM, proto (AT&T variant)
Nokia E75 - S60 3rd Ed FP2
Nokia E90 Communicator - S60 3rd Ed FP1
Nokia N78 - S60 3rd Ed FP2
Nokia N82 - S60 3rd Ed FP1

aZza.jar Version 1.02, Java Verified:
Nokia 5630 XpressMusic - S60 3rd Ed FP2

My WRT Resource Page

2009-06-17T13:37:00.011-05:00

Code snippets table for common use cases with code example

CS001242 - Sending SMS messages in WRT - Does NOT work on my Nokia E71 - This code snippet shows how to send SMS messages synchronously and asynchronously using the Messaging Platform Service for S60 Web Runtime introduced in S60 5th Edition.

How to build a Web Runtime layout with Header and Buttons Bar a stepping stone to better UI

Remote Device Access Services - remote testing for short periods of time on real devices -- major boon. Try the camera on each device to get weird POV of the testing bench. And don't forget to DELETE/REMOVE your application after testing...actually it is sort of fun to test the other applications that developers have left behind.

Forum Nokia Device Specifications page. You can also look for which phones support WRT by selecting, "Web Runtime" from the filter.

Web Runtime API reference - very useful reference. I recommend novices build a WRT test application and discover the properties of each of them.
* * * Noto Bene: * * *
Some of the APIs might confuse you in Aptana emulator.
For example:
Web Runtime API reference > JavaScript widget object > openApplication()
audio recorder works :) within WRT sideloaded onto Nokia E71
but produced alert message ;( unable to show w/in emulator
// Recorder 0x100058CA
// Enables the mobile device user to record audio clips.
widget.openApplication(0x100058CA, "");

Web Runtime widgets - basic introduction page to WRT

I will try to update this page from time-to-time. - Steve, 2009-06-20

Buenos Aires Treasure/Scavenger Hunt Proposal

2009-06-09T09:50:00.002-05:00

[This project did not get the green light but I liked the proposal - Steve]

On June 15th, 2009, twenty thousand (20,000) players will scour downtown Buenos Aires on a wild hunt for a cash prize provided by sponsor. Clues to the hidden treasure will be delivered to cell phones and wireless computers from the heavily branded world around the players. Statues will whisper secrets, billboard copy will deliver text, street performers share tips, a local newspaper club review contains a clue, and the sponsor will SMS text message hints for the game. Quick thinking players with fancy footwork have the best chance to win. Throughout the three-hour game, the sponsor's message will be delivered by product placement and ad-embedded scavenger clues directly to the tech-savvy players. Friends and family can assist on the web or by watching the game's live media coverage spotting the message their team may have missed.

Game Goal: The winner is the first team (or individual) to uncover the answer to 21 clues within the borders of downtown Buenos Aires.The game will have 5 easy clues, 5 medium hard clues, 6 very hard clues, and 5 brain-busting clues.

Players: 20,000

Teams: Players can form any size teams but 3 to 5 players per team is recommended.

Primary Game Device: Mobile phone with internet browser.

Secondary Game Device: Computer at local Internet cafe with one player in cafe communicating to other team members by cell phone.

Game end: At the end of the game all players will be notified the game is over. The sponsor may choose to add an invitation message for all players to meet at a specific location and party.

Game venue: To be provided by sponsor

Game prize: To be provided by sponsor

Swag: Sponsor and other companies can provide any number of smaller prizes to be placed directly into the hands of the players before, during or after the game.

Game liability insurance: To be provided by sponsor

Time limit: 3 hours. If the game play exceeds 3 hours, then sponsor can terminate game play whenever desired. The game engine logs will fairly determine and verify the winner of the game.

Technical details: Cutlass, Inc. in New York will coordinate Buenos Aires production through HS Latin America (www.hslatinamerica.com) and install its patented game software on Buenos Aires Internet Service Provider (ISP) servers in order for its game engine to respond to 2,100,000 hits from players in the 3 hours of game play.

Personnel provided by Cutlass: Game master Steve Bull (NYC), 1 production manager (local), 4 street assistants (local), 4 call center support (local), 4 street performers (local).

[I left out the money terms.]

Travel: Bull will arrive in Buenos Aires on June 9th and scout 50 clues with organizers on June 10th and 11th. For the final game only 21 of the best clues will be used.

History: The first Cutlass Treasure Hunt game was produced for Times Square, New York on 01/01/01. Cutlass Treasure Hunts are now the regularly featured game of choice on college campuses across the USA.

Cellphonia 4'3" Live @NIME2009

2009-06-05T18:46:00.002-05:00

Call: 1.212.937.7725 to add your note (of silence)
Visit: http://cellphonia.org/433/listen.html to see the scrolling score and listen to the installation performance at The Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University.
Commissioned by New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME)

Nokia WRTKit - getting started

2009-05-24T07:53:00.003-05:00

For the longest time I could not find the WRTKit, although I could find tons of references to it. Finally I chanced on WRTKit folder (lots of useful stuff inside) as a part of the WRT RSS example at http://wiki.forum.nokia.com/index.php/Image:RssLib.zip.

I then cut-n-pasted the WRTKit folder into my first "Hello World" example courtesy of WRT Effort http://efforts.embedded.ufcg.edu.br/wrt/?p=9#comment-101. While the example is not perfectly worded, it got me going. It almost always seems to be a part of the novice's task to discover what is obvious to the author.

The WRT Effort site seems to have a lot of useful samples, check out http://efforts.embedded.ufcg.edu.br/wrt/?cat=1 .

AZZA Progress Report

2009-05-03T09:52:00.006-05:00

Here is how AZZA appears on Nokia E90 device. forum.nokia has a very nice testing platform for artist developers. Stay tuned for the relaunch of AZZA in Nokia OVI store.

Skerry Boat Building Progress Report

2009-05-03T08:50:00.003-05:00

photo 2009-04-28
My son and I are building a double ended row and sailing boat from a kit provided by Chesapeake Light Craft. We are about half finished, the hull exterior has been epoxied and sanded and is now ready for paint. The interior is epoxied and partially sanded. My goal is to finish the boat this summer. An antique British Seagull outboard engine appears on a rolling hand cart behind the stern. My son's name is Frank and he is 17 years old.

The Skerry dimensions: 15'0" LOA, 4'6" beam, 5" draft, hull weight 95 lbs. The term "Skerry" is related to the Old Norse "sker," an Orkney word, the local name for a "rugged ... sea-rock, covered by the sea in high water or in stormy weather." It was also the name given (c 1540) to "little punts or boats that will carry but two apeece." (Quotes OED.) "Skerry" is now common in Irish, and is recognizeable in the Rosalie Fry children's book The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, the source for the famous John Sayles film The Secret of Roan Inish.

Cellphonia 4'3"

2009-04-24T13:34:00.003-05:00

Scot Gresham-Lancaster and I just got the go ahead to produce Cellphonia 4'33" at NIME 2009 festival in June at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.

Here is a performance of John Cage 4'3" at Barbican Centre in London

Orange New York Developer Centre

2009-04-23T15:25:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I had a very productive afternoon at the Orange New York Developer Centre, 2 World Financial Center. In the testing room, they have a setup with many different handsets and a 3G telecom network as if you were in the UK/France Orange region. I am putting finishing touches on a release of Pet-Pals for the re?-opening of the UK Orange app store and I needed to test against several different handsets. For a small shop like mine, this is a great resource that I thought to share with you.

Of course, you've got to sign up as an Orange developer but that's not so hard and I let the motivated sort that out.

Working in mysterious ways

2009-03-23T10:07:00.005-05:00

This arrived in my email inbox from Kenya. I share it with you.

This is pretty unique - don't ask me how they do it.

Place your mouse on the E below and drag to the U.

Ev! en though you can't see Him, GOD is there for yoU

Please forward this to everyone you know and something

good will happen to you in the next hour...

just watch and wait for it.

I am a keyboard fisherman picking apart the tangled net of the back story. I look beyond the source code horizon. Spring blessing.

WNYC Solicitation for Art

2009-03-13T09:10:00.006-05:00

These are my iPhone submissions to WNYC Green Space artwork contest:

President Obama action figure, digital clock pet dog and plastic carrot on NYC counter top.

President Obama action figure, Chinese sculpture of accountant presenting a bill and Mexican bobble head turtle on NYC counter top.

President Obama action figure, solar panel, Kenya recycled bottle cap souvenir and street bottle cap as baby turtle on NYC counter top.

Organic Winter Wheat

2009-03-05T10:31:00.005-05:00

Near Grant Nebraska, Terese and I have a field of organic winter wheat sprouting. Approximately: +40° 59' 60.00", -101° 45' 0.00"

Frank, our son, points to the green tufts.

Looking down rows not many weeds. North field fallow.

View North over native grass buffer strip.

How-to-Twitter and How-to-Make-a-Scene

2009-02-24T09:39:00.002-05:00

I need a How-to-Make-a-Scene video and here are two videos to inspire me:

How Do You Use Twitter? from biz stone on Vimeo.

Caribbean Pirate by George Patience

2009-02-23T09:23:00.004-05:00

Caribbean Pirate by George Patience

George Patience was a naive painter working out his shed in The Ferry, Little Exuma, Bahamas. I was a visitor in The Ferry making a documentary movie on boat builder and natural marine scientist Clarence Fitzgerald. I boarded on the couch of George and Gloria's tiny bungalow for 6 months in 1969. George painted using acrylic colors.

Even in those days, The Ferry had a very narrow bridge that serviced this tiny community at the Northwest end of Little Exuma island. Zoom into the map and notice the few dwellings at the cut between the islands, about 1/3rd of the way from Forbes Hill, Great Exuma to William's Town, Little Exuma.

Walter Lawson Brigham, R.I.P.

2009-02-21T10:28:00.007-05:00

Walter Lawson Brigham work jeep

Walter was my friend. Walter was a master craftsman, boat builder and pillar in the community of Shelter Island NY. I enjoyed sailboat racing against Walter and his son Lawson at the Shelter Island Yacht Club for many years before we worked together. In 1972, Walter was my construction partner on the first house that he ever built and the first house I ever built at 10 Chequit Avenue. This house I designed for my father, Henry Nelson Bull and his wife, Janet Scellen. There are many stories I could tell you about Walter. I recommend you ask the locals as they can tell you even better ones.

Here is a rule that Walter taught me, "Measure twice and cut once." Whenever I admire the lines of boat, Walter will be with me.

Obit: The Suffolk Times

Useful LINUX Links

2009-02-09T14:22:00.003-05:00

Here's a few helping me now become a better LINUX administrator. In high school I used to punch IBM cards to get things going. They were my punch cards held together with a rubber band, now that's security. Where are those punch cards?

Administering your Linux system at http://alien.slackbook.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=linux:admin

An A-Z Index of the Bash command line for Linux at http://www.ss64.com/bash/

Useful introduction to Linux Command at http://linuxcommand.org/index.php

Magpie RSS - PHP RSS Parser

2009-02-05T15:47:00.002-05:00

I like the Magpie RSS - PHP RSS Parser, a "XML-based RSS parser in PHP. Supports most RSS versions including Userland RSS and RSS 1.0. Supports modules and namespaces magpierss.sourceforge.net/"

I used it to parse the Hollywood-USA.mobi Showbiz News page at http://hollywood-usa.mobi/news.php

The news source is the movie industry standard The Hollywood Reporter RSS news feed.

However, note when you look at the source file of the feed itself at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thr/news that the RSS feed authors added html tags and other conten of no interest to me. So I used 'explode' in this fragment of PHP code below to trim the string:
require_once('magpie/rss_fetch.inc');
//
$url = 'http://feeds.feedburner.com/thr/news/';
$rss = fetch_rss( $url );
//
foreach ($rss->items as $item) {
$title = $item['title'];
$description = $item['description'];
$pieces = explode("<", $description);
print "$title ".$pieces[0]."";

In earlier attempts I was working with 'lastRSS 0.9.1' "Simple yet powerfull [sic] PHP class to parse RSS files. by Vojtech Semecky, webmaster @ oslab . net with Latest version, features, manual and examples: http://lastrss.oslab.net/"

Welcome to Provide Support Live Chat then gatlineducation.com

2009-01-12T20:33:00.007-05:00

A log of a frustration that slowly works itself out. My chat to continuing education at CUNY got picked up by software support of the company providing the chat client.

Steve:
I need a computer system administration course. I am responsible for over 15 web sites on 5 servers scattered with different Internet Service Providers in the North East USA. I want to improve my casual practice to provide best quality service to my customers. Please recommend a course. Thanks, Steve
Call accepted by operator Irene. Currently in room: Irene.
Irene:
Hello Steve
Steve:
Hi
Irene:
You reached a wrong support line, sorry. We offer a live chat software for websites.
Steve:
The chat server for CUNY was being balky
Steve:
and kept giving me an error message ' Please fill all required fields ' when I had filled out all required * fields
Steve:
Irene, are you still there
Irene:
Sorry, which company are you trying to reach? We are a software development company, we offer a live chat software for websites, but we are not related to our customers who many be using the software on their websites
Steve:
http://www.gatlineducation.com/citytech.cuny/industrial.htm is using your software and doing a poor job of it. Why do you think that is????
Irene:
Sorry, we can't help. Please try contacting that company directly by e-mail or by phone, we are not related to them. We offer the live chat software software and we can only support our customers in questions related to our service.
Steve:
I am going to recommend that CUNY (City University of New York) discontinue doing business with your company because the software you have delivered them is flawed and I was seeking tech support from a live operator and although you are there you are unable to make the stretch to help me.
Irene:
Could you please provide some more details about the problem you have with our software?
Steve:
I know you are not related to CUNY but your company logo and link were on the bottom of the form on the page URL I just sent you. I presume there are no live operators at CUNY now because the school is on winter break. However, that is not the message that I receive from their site. I just get a confusing loop that resulted in you getting this first message that was intended for CUNY.
Irene:
I have just made a test call to them, everything is working fine. Please, make sure that you fill all the required fields: department, name, last name, question, e-mail and contry
Irene:
*country
Steve:
did all that...should I send you a screen grab of the properly filled out form
Irene:
Yes, you can use the "Send file" button below the header of your messenger to send the file directly in chat
Steve has sent a file. Click cuny-live-chat-NG-20090112.tiff (323 KB) to receive the file.
Irene:
This form is not related to our live chat. This is their form on the page, that gives you the "Please fill all required fields". Please, contact them directly
Steve:
If you notice on the bottom of the image that I have two button choices 'Register now' and 'Admissions chat' and the problem occurred when I choose Admissions chat. Therefore your live chat is associated with the form.
Steve:
Are you saying there is no connection....
Irene:
The button is just below the form, it is not related to it. I guess that the "Register" button is related to it, since it says "- Registration -" above. If you press the button, you will see the form that is related to our chat. If you fill the fields in the appeared messenger, everything should work fine
Steve:
I did. I filled out all the fields correctly. I think there is some cross talk between forms and submit and poor user interaction design. If try this again with them I feel certain that I shall loose my communication link to you as the session IDs and cookies are now intertwined...I imagine.
Irene:
Just try to press the button without filling the registration fields. To connect with their representative through our chat you will need just to fill the fields in our chat form, after you press the chat button
Steve:
Okay, I'll try it again and if we get disconnected...thank you. - s
Irene:
The messenger will open in a separate browser window, so the connection won't be lost. Please, let me know if the problem persists
Steve:
Okay here goes
Steve:
No good....I'm sending you another screen grab.
Steve has sent a file. Click cuny-live-chat-NG-20090112.2.tiff (178 KB) to receive the file.
Irene:
You need to select the department, it is also marked with a star
Steve:
You mean I need to select the Admissions Department, when there is only one department on the screen. Hmmmmmm.... I'll try that
Irene:
Yes, this is how it is specified in their messenger
Steve:
If there is only one department then your software should pre-select the button in my humble opinion
Irene:
Thank you for your call. Have a nice evening!
Irene has left the conversation. Currently in room: Steve.
.....
and finally the chat with "Our Help Desk" at http://www.gatlineducation.com
Steve:
I need a computer system administration course. I am responsible for over 15 web sites on 5 servers scattered with different Internet Service Providers in the North East USA. I want to improve my casual practice to provide best quality service to my customers. Please recommend a course. Thanks, Steve
...
Welcome Steve! Please wait for our admissions counselor to answer your call.
Call accepted by operator Philyssa. Currently in room: Philyssa, Steve.
Philyssa:
Hello!
Steve:
did you understand my message to start this chat
Philyssa:
If you click on this link you will see all of our course offerings in the IT field. http://www.gatlineducation.com/inttechdes.htm
Philyssa:
Under each course name you will see a brief description. If you see what you think will apply to you then just click on the courses name and it will send you to that courses website, where you can view all of the details that are available for that course.
Steve:
I already read the listing and there are several interesting courses but none that specifically address my needs to become a better system administrator.
Philyssa:
One moment...
Philyssa:
Microsoft Certified System Administrator Plus 2003 (MCSA+)
Steve:
CompTIA™ Linux+/LPI Level One Certification Training - GES 902 -- 300 hours is close but aimed at beginners. I am mostly self taught and perhaps beyond the beginner stage and I don't see a value to become a CompTIA Linux+ certified
Steve:
Hmmm...I would prefer Linux as I am running various brands of Linux is running on each of the servers.
Philyssa:
Ok, so our Linux course is what you're interested in today?
Steve:
How much is the cost of CompTIA™ Linux+/LPI Level One Certification Training - GES 902 course? And can I save money by getting it without the certification?
Philyssa:
May I have your zip code, please?
Steve:
10002
Steve:
Instructor Bio: Terry Ladouceur is a veteran of the Online Instructional Team at Academy Online.
Philyssa:
Borough of Manhattan Community College is our partner school that would offer this course online to you and issue the certificate of completion to you in the mail after you successfully complete this course with a grade of 70% or higher. Here is the link that you would need to click on to register online for this course, http://www.gatlineducation.com/bmcc/design.htm The cost of this course is $2195.00.
Steve:
Is it possible to telephone or email the instructor in advance
Philyssa:
I can forward your contact information to one of our admissions counselors and they can contact you back, but I cannot give the course instructors contact infomation out to a non registered student.
Steve:
Please forward the information. I just took the demo quiz and scored 80% which is a pass.
Steve:
Is there a book associated with the course?
Philyssa:
Good for you, maybe after you take this course you'll score a 100!
Steve:
How can I measure the value of the certificate? For example where are job postings that mention that they need this certificate. I need to rationalize this expense to my family, my partners.
Philyssa:
The materials included with this course are:
Linux Course book
Access to an online IT Library
Steve:
The Linux Course book is mailed to me?
Philyssa:
All materials are included. The cost of materials will be covered by your tuition. GES will ship all materials via UPS ground service upon registration.
Steve:
Okay on the course materials.
Philyssa:
The certificate of completion that you will receive for completing this course is issued from our accredited partner college. It does not state that the course was an online course.
Steve:
Understood....do you a link for me that shows job openings that request this certification in order to qualify to apply?
Steve:
I'm okay with online learning although I've never tried it.
Philyssa:
No, I do not have a link like that, but you can go to careerbuilder.com and check out what they have on their site about this career field.
Steve:
Okay. Thank you for your time this evening. - Steve
Philyssa:
You're very welcome! Thank you for using our live chat feature!

How to code in WRT for Nokia E71 Location of device

2009-01-08T16:25:00.016-05:00

I am writing this for myself to keep track of the steps I took to learn "How to code in WRT for Nokia E71" and the outside reader may discover something useful too.

Task: Within WRT application discover the location of the Nokia E71 device (at NYC:Cutlass studio for example) and send that information as GET request to http://touchtonetours.com/hollywood-usa/delta.php?lat=40.716500&lon=-73.989000 to display the page you see on the cell phone micro-browser.

Story:

1. The AccuWidget example is useful to see how you can local weather information via an RSS feed from line 91 of accuwidget.js [var url = "http://rss.accuweather.com/rss/liveweather_rss.asp?metric=1&locCode=" + locationCode;] however the device user must supply the location code from either a menu or special knowledge. I found the interface clunky but that is often expected with example scripts.

2. Check out http://code.google.com/p/prototypewrt/ for some very useful and good looking examples that help me understand the javascript better. In particular, load accordionDemo.wgz [http://prototypewrt.googlecode.com/files/accordionDemo.wgz] on your Nokia E71 or whatever device and see an elegant tab solution. Sadly, no device lat/lon help here.
(Forum.Nokia.2008 Code Example Challenge = Web Runtime (WRT): Dou Yongwang (Dougcn) from China is awarded the prize for a series of well-documented examples on how to use the Prototype JavaScript library to create nice widgets, using, e.g. accordion.)

Mac OSX Trick 1.1: Download http://prototypewrt.googlecode.com/files/accordionDemo.wgz onto your desktop. Bluetooth > Send file... to your Nokia E71.

Mac OSX Trick 1.2: By right mouse click duplicate the file http://prototypewrt.googlecode.com/files/accordionDemo.wgz that you have just downloaded. Now the file reads 'accordionDemo.wgz copy' so double click the file. The file un-zips and there is a folder with all the components of the WRT (.wgz). Open the folder and launch index.html and see the same micro-browser functionality on your Mac OSX browser. Investigate the code.

3. If I wanted to solve my task by J2ME + Google use link J2ME Google Maps API for useful future exploration. Java ME Location API without Google map.

4. Eclipse + WRT plugin, someday I'll be friends with Eclipse.

5. Arghhh, read entry #7, "...you cannot use location and other system functions through WRT in S60 3rd Edition devices." from Accessing GPS location using WRT - Developer Discussion Boards -- I will solve this tonight!!! Time for Plan B!

6. Wait CS001161 - Obtaining location information WRT on S60 5th Edition may have the beginnings to a solution.

7. Okay, time to bring closure to this. Useful description of Web Developer's Library 1.3 > Guide to Web Developer's Library > Library contents to return to later. Good Location Acquisition API: API description.

8. Check out example Location Service API example from library.forum.nokia.com Web Developer's Library 1.3 > Web Runtime API reference > JavaScript Service API reference > JavaScript Location Service API. I built the WRT and it did not produce location results on my Nokia E71. My conclusion: this is reference document and not a practical example for January 9, 2009.

9. My solution to finish this submission to NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge Americas due today is http://touchtonetours.com/hollywood-usa/delta.php that looks nice on the Nokia E71.

delta.php

References:
NAVTEQ Global Challenge
forum.NOKIA.com
Map24

Plan B:
The user writes his/her address into my E71 micro browser form. By some PHP script my server looks up some service like geocoder.us: a free US address geocoder (find the latitude & longitude of any US address - for free ... Free lookups are throttled by your IP address to one request every 15 seconds.) that returns the address as latitude and longitude. I drag take the lat/lon through more PHP and finish the task. I have used a variation of Plan B in 2006 for LBS game Hot-n-Cold, semi-finalist in NAVTEQ Challenge.

AIG Blunder and letter to Secretary Paulson

2008-10-10T08:04:00.003-05:00

Dear Secretary Paulson,

Although this event was probably calendared in advance and the venue required a substantial deposit, the AIG executives who headed out on a St. Regis retreat acted irresponsibly.

Since AIG is so confused about their priorities, I believe your office should publish the proceedings of the retreat as well as publicly list the attendees. I recommend your office use the AIG blunder as an example to them and other bail out companies of misbehavior that can not be condoned.

I do not want a purge and I do not want socialism. Instead give the struggling mismanaged business leaders clear guidelines on the proper business ethics you expect. I look forward to the future of responsible free enterprise.

[1. My note on October 10, 2008 to Secretary Paulson was prompted by http://act.truemajorityaction.org/]

[2. Since I imagine Secretary Paulson or his aides having little time to read my electronic missives I share this with the reader here;-]

Storm Mapping

2008-08-07T19:29:00.007-05:00

Wunderground.com provides some useful weather maps. Note the approach of the Tornado Vortex Signature of the storm that is overhead now in Greenport NY. The URL that also includes the notation of lightning strikes is http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=zoom&num=6&delay=15&scale=0.750&noclutter=0&ID=OKX&type=N0R&lat=41.07141495&lon=-72.35475159&label=Shelter%20Island%20Heights,%20NY&showstorms=10&map.x=366.5&map.y=230¢erx=402¢ery=226&lightning=1&smooth0&showlabels=1&rainsnow=0

= Tornado Vortex Signature : = Hail

This was an animated .gif so try the URL for the full effect.

SMS Enablers

2008-07-29T07:30:00.004-05:00

A possible 5,000 text messages in a one hour event need to be projected onto the screen for audience to enjoy. How am I going to make that happen? Below are notes to myself and impressions of several services that I discovered. These are MY thoughts and NOT a complete investigation so any mistakes and misrepresentations are my misunderstanding. Go to the sites yourself, contact the contacts and do your own assessment.

TextMarks.com is my top candidate. Check out what you do with PHP on this developer page
http://www.textmarks.com/dev/docs/apiclient/php/?ref=devsb
Try an SMS to short code 41411 followed by a two letter state code like "az" for Arizona. Here is the useful code that creates the response you will see on your cellphone.
http://www.textmarks.com/dev/docs/etc/stateinfo/
TextMarks has an impressive TextMark Management Panel with options that range from Usage Stats, Configuration (of course), Developer Extension (nice, I'm still a llittle confused howtake best advantage here) to Share/Promote (includes a GET TSHIRT for wearable promotion--bravo).

Widgetbox guided me to TextMarks via useful page http://www.widgetbox.com/tag/sms so check here for lots-o-widgets-sms.

winksite got into this mix by colleague recommendation. They are useful to create a quickie cellphone web page. And the audience could post to the screen through a cellphone page if those 16 year olds all enabled Internet access on their mobile devices--NOT. See http://winksite.com/site/site_profile.cfm?susid=24779 to see how my colleague shrunk Cellphonia aka Cellphonia.org (I need to get around to re-directing the URL or redoing the home page et cetera).
Regarding SMS, winksite is not doing it now.

Mozes.com was an early SMS front runner candidate for me. But they never responded to my email or phone inquiries. I don't think anyone is there there because their code is not triggering. See http://wiki.mozes.com/developer/index.php/Gallery to understand the potential that intrigued.

msgme.com is another top candidate. It was recommended by a colleague associated with WHERE.com where [pun] I have GPS cellphone applications to finish ;-|. Message Me aka msgme by Waterfall Mobile seems to be carefully pursuing a SMS marketing platform model that precludes the customization that I require. However, the msgme focus and alliance with the carriers may so reassure my clients that they are willing to overlook the user experience issues, to be determined.

That's all for now. I've got ready for the proof-of-concept demo.

Cheers, ;-)s

Winky Dink

2008-06-09T10:07:00.001-05:00

Winky Dink rediscovered. I'm cogitating a Help Winky cellphone game. Stay tuned.

Proper closure

2008-06-05T09:49:00.004-05:00

I often struggle to find the proper closure for email or snail mail letters. So here is a quickly researched list for my future reference.

Always,
Best,
Best wishes,
Cheers,
Fondest love, (Princess Diana?)
Hugs,
Love,
Mahalo, (Hawaiian for thank you)
Regards,
Regretfully yours,
Sadly,
Sincerely yours,
Thank you,
Thanks,
Warm regards,
With every good wish,
With respect,
With kindest regards,
Yours faithfully,
Yours in haste,
Yours truly,

and in my search I discovered freesampleletters.info that provides useful free sample letters for a variety of correspondence.