geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy - Profile | ThreadSky

Headed out to my weekly Tesla protest

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

It's been a fun morning. I'm helping a Los Angeles STEM education nonprofit prepare a kids' event, and I got to build and play with this vertical wind tube. (Remarkably simple instructions here: https://gooddayswithkids.com/2015/02/08/build-wind-tube/)

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Finished V2 of the truncated icosahedron, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. The sides are 32 hexagonal and pentagonal PCBs, joined by 3D printed corner connectors and covered with 3D printed diffusers. The pixels are mapped and it's running 3D animation patterns on a #pixelblaze.

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

[US Politics] Went to a protest at SpaceX today. It felt good to join others in taking action.

submitted 29 days ago • 0 comments

Truncated Icosahedron project rev. 2 is in progress, and I'm much happier with this version. It's less (but still somewhat) fiddly to assemble and has 3x the LEDs!

submitted 30 days ago • 0 comments

Using p5.js to map the vertices of the truncated icosahedron build. I'm always too lazy to make 3D mapping part of a project's design phase and I always regret it later on!

submitted 45 days ago • 0 comments

On the plane home from Winter Light Festival and I looked down to see my water bottle doing this. Took me a second to realize it had accidentally toggled a random LED bauble that was in the same pocket 😂

submitted 49 days ago • 0 comments

Headed out to the Portland Winter Lights festival. I have adopted a "more is more" aesthetic for the evening.

submitted 51 days ago • 2 comments

This quote from Count Zero by the very prescient William Gibson (@GreatDismal) keeps popping into my head... "And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human."

submitted 53 days ago • 0 comments

I spent much of 2016 through 2020 in mental "fight or flight" mode, and I gotta say, that feeling sucks just as much now as I remember it did.

submitted 54 days ago • 0 comments

Quickly designed and printed tea light holders for a Lunar New Year celebration tonight. The transclucent portion is embossed with the Chinese character for luck. The embossing should be thicker to make the characters stand out more, but the pretty, color changing LED tea lights cover any flaws.

submitted 59 days ago • 1 comment

Progress continues slowly on the PCB truncated icosahedron project. I realized I'll have to redo all the 3D printed corner connectors for it to close it fully and still look symmetric. Waiting for heat set inserts to arrive, so I hooked it up to a #pixelblaze controller just to enjoy the patterns.

submitted 61 days ago • 0 comments

Scored a stunning, sound-reactive LED pillow by @flashingjanet in a #makergiftexchange and I have been carrying it with me and talking to it to watch it react. The black mesh cover creates a lovely moiré effect. Janet creates amazing LED wearables and decor and is worth following!

submitted 62 days ago • 4 comments

Testing two different etched patterns for the edge-lit acrylic inside the PCB sides of the truncated icosahedron. Not sure if I like the star or flower designs better, or if I should use some other pattern. Opinions and ideas are welcome. I want each side to […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

submitted 63 days ago • 0 comments

Nice to see some @pixelfed coverage on CNET. Not only that, the article provides step-by-step instructions on how to export everything from Instagram and import it into Pixelfed. 👏 https://www.cnet.com/news/social-media/fed-up-with-instagram-how-to-move-your-photos-to-pixelfed/

submitted 67 days ago • 3 comments

Working on an illuminated truncated icosahedron (soccer ball) made from pentagonal and hexagonal PCBs. The concept is the same as the regular icosahedron I posted previously. Each side will hold a piece of etched acrylic illuminated at its corners. The […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

submitted 66 days ago • 0 comments

I made a PCB icosahedron for a #makergiftexchange, learning a lot in the process. I wanted it to be see-through, so the sides have triangular holes containing etched acrylic pieces illuminated at the corners. Laser cut faux leather covers the outside. A #Pixelblaze controls the patterns.

submitted 74 days ago • 3 comments

Ready for the festival of lights! The number of edge-lit "candles" on each can be changed with the push of a button and the colors evolve through a rainbow spectrum. I built these several years ago and it always makes me happy to bring them out.

submitted 95 days ago • 0 comments

Found a 2.7mm thin Neopixel strip with a silicone coating and decided to cram as many rows as would fit ( turned out to be 5) onto a headband. Added a #Pixelblaze Pico controller and an off the shelf holder for an AA-sized Li-Ion battery. I intend to be "light headed" for the holidays!

submitted 100 days ago • 3 comments

Inspired by @geekmomprojects 's friend's tree, I tried out @themariday 's mapping tool a few days ago. This is a setup I put together for testing a tool I was working on years ago, and it managed a pretty good map (only ~4 notably misplaced pixels). Maybe I'll […] [Original post on leds.social]

submitted 103 days ago • 2 comments

Anyone interested in a little art activism? TransTexas.org has a program called Love Letters where you can send a message - including an art card - through their org to let a trans person in the state know, that despite the political turmoil, they are loved Would anybody in the Fedi […]

submitted 104 days ago • 3 comments

Finally got around to Pixel mapping my friend's Pixelblaze-controlled Christmas tree using @themariday 's video pixel mapping tool (https://github.com/TheMariday/marimapper), and it was fantastic! I could never have mapped the 600 LEDs on this tree without it.

submitted 112 days ago • 1 comment

Hey all, I'll be on the @makemagazine Volume 91 launch party live stream tomorrow, https://makezine.com/article/maker-news/make-friends-at-our-live-make-magazine-volume-91-launch-party/, along with other super cool makers like @shawnhymel , @gvy_dvpont and Kirk Pierson. I'll be talking about […]

submitted 117 days ago • 0 comments

Prepping addressable string lights to adorn my friend's Christmas tree. There are 600 LEDs, powered by a Pixelblaze controller with an output expander that breaks them into three 200-pixel lengths for better power distribution. Gonna try to map their positions on the tree for cool 2D/3D patterns.

submitted 117 days ago • 0 comments

Found a magnet-activated, battery powered LED board+controller on AliExpress (https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNudMLl) and turned it into a (chunky) ring with a quick 3D print:

submitted 119 days ago • 0 comments

3D printed Thanksgiving napkin holders (from printables.com) 🦃🦃🦃

submitted 123 days ago • 0 comments

In-depth article about the best competitive Scrabble player of all time. Nigel Richards spent six weeks memorizing the French dictionary to win the French tournament, despite not actually speaking French. He's currently trying to repeat the feat in Spanish […]

submitted 136 days ago • 1 comment

OMG, we just drove past three police cars, sirens blaring, chasing after a speeding Krispy Kreme truck on the other side of the freeway. It's a sign of something, though I've no idea what.

submitted 141 days ago • 0 comments

Text message from my 83 year old mom this morning required no additional contaxt

submitted 144 days ago • 0 comments

Had an insanely fantastic time at Hackaday #SuperCon this year, capped by winning a prize in the Simple Add-On contest with my "Bendy SAO" board assembly:

submitted 145 days ago • 0 comments

At SuperCon this weekend. It's too verwhelming (in a good way) for me to remember to stop and post about it, but think that everyone needs to see this guy who hacked his badge to connect to an electric typewriter which is constantly downloading and typing web pages. Best wearable/SAO ever!!

submitted 148 days ago • 0 comments

Went to a Halloween party last night, so I pulled out my LED plushies, and made a boat from a cardboard box. I was "Disco Jacques Cousteau"

submitted 154 days ago • 2 comments

Backyard PCB BBQ

submitted 157 days ago • 0 comments

My first time using a solder paste stencil has gone pretty well. The pads on these side emitting LEDs were so tiny, I knew I wouldn't be able to assemble them without one. The boards are part of an SAO design for SuperCon. If I haven't made any major mistakes, they'll be ready just in time.

submitted 159 days ago • 0 comments

Riley found his spirit animal on the UCLA campus this morning

submitted 170 days ago • 0 comments

Announcement to my fellow Los Angelinos. This coming Tuesday (Sept 10), I'll be giving a short presentation on how I'm using LED strings with 3D printed assemblies of shapes in various projects. The venue is an artist salon/mixer called "Collab" in the downtown LA area. Details here […]

submitted 203 days ago • 0 comments

Today I updated an old edge lit matrix build with a new #WLED control board, the QuinLED Dig-Uno. This project will be part of an exhibit of various kinds of displays at SupplyFrame that will be viewable during #supercon2024 and afterwards.

submitted 209 days ago • 0 comments

My furry companion, Riley (left) and I hung out with @Jorvon_Moss and his companion bot Digit (center) this afternoon, comparing our successes and frustrations training a puppy vs. training an AI.

submitted 216 days ago • 0 comments

Every once in a while I wonder if I'm being too nerdy, but somehow it never stops me

submitted 218 days ago • 0 comments

Tomato production in the backyard is slowing down, but is still ahead of our ability to eat them all (to the benefit of family/friends!) In an attempt to keep up, I made a tomato tart.

submitted 221 days ago • 0 comments

Ugh... https://wapo.st/3X7mfbc

submitted 223 days ago • 0 comments

Came back from a few days away, and, since there is no way to press "pause" on a tomato plant, we had a small harvest waiting for us. Currently slow-roasting some of the yield.

submitted 238 days ago • 0 comments

Picking tomatoes in the backyard has become a lovely morning ritual

submitted 243 days ago • 0 comments

Had tickets to "Barbie" movie night at the Hollywood Bowl tonight with girlfriends, so I cobbled together quick LED headbands held together mostly with tape. Everyone here is wearing pink, and there is a strong audience reaction whenever the Barbieland president (black and female) appears on screen.

submitted 246 days ago • 0 comments

Last day of STEM camp featured an escape room/ scavenger based on Hogwarts, but substituting science for magic. (At some level they're indistinguishable, right?) Each "house" was named after a famous scientist, and we made trading cards/ badges for the […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

submitted 247 days ago • 0 comments

DIY lightsaber definitely enhanced my enjoyment of John Williams night at the Hollywood Bowl tonight!

submitted 260 days ago • 0 comments

Tomatoes (and one precocious strawberry) are just starting to come in from the many plants in our garden. While the harvest is still manageable, I was inspired to lay them out in a histogram (tomatogram?) copied from @alpenglow's clever #teardown2024 talk.

submitted 265 days ago • 0 comments

I finally got around to assembling a plastic storage cabinet and privacy tent (to block UV radiation) in the backyard to house the resin printer I bought many months ago but have been afraid to use without good ventilation. I'm focusing on projects to avoid […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

submitted 272 days ago • 0 comments

I'm in Scottsdale on vacation, and my hotel had a NASA astronomer outside with his telescope and a screen giving a talk about visible objects in the night sky (galaxies, nebulae, star systems). Got to hold a 4.6 billion year old piece of meteorite! It was a […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

submitted 276 days ago • 0 comments