Posts

  • Nov 4, 2015

    Week 3/52: Learn D3.js

    I started on my first weekly commitment as planned, but “feature creep” has extended the scope of that project well beyond 2 weeks, and I’m still working on it :/ However, I got to cross off another goal I had for this year in week 2, though not by my own choice. I got to volunteer with kids through KEEN San Francisco for a friend’s birthday. It was kinda confusing in the beginning, not knowing how to act around slightly challenged kids, but pretty soon I settled comfortably in my role as a horse pulling kids on a cart and running around the gym while they yelled “Giddy-up horsey! Faster!!!” I’m definitely going back to volunteer again.

    Also, I got to squeeze in a business/pleasure (literally!) Halloween trip to NYC on top of that. I started the night as Indian Jones a.k.a Hindi… but then, had to attend to a production issue call from our NOC :/

    What can I say, Indy hates Snakes…

    … and Hindi hates Bugs!

    Anyway, For week 3, my goal is to:

    1. Finish what I started in week 1 (I’m almost done with it!); and
    2. Learn D3.js and generate at least a simple interactive chart. May be a simple color wheel.

  • Oct 27, 2015

    12in12 - Project 1: Arduino Audio Visualizer

    I purchased an Arduino Uno kit a couple of years ago, but never found time to thinker with it. So, for my first monthly creation, I am gonna bring it out of storage, and create an EQ Visualizer with LEDs that reacts to Audio (or at least a fake signal, if getting a microphone hooked becomes a hassle). In case you aren’t familiar with what an EQ Visualizer is… here is a basic example of one.

    image

    Each vertical bar above depicts the intensity of audio signal in a specific frequency band. And here’s one that’s built with LEDs, and probably made by its creator utilizing an Arduino chipset as well.

    image

    This is pretty much what I intend to build, except for one small change. What’s the point in doing a basic FFT on an Audio Signal, and displaying it on a basic 8x8 or 24x24 or 8x30 LED Matrix? It’s been done millions of times before. Where’s the fun in that? In my project, there isn’t gonna be a simple LED matrix to display the output. Instead, in its place, I’m gonna use an even simpler display device… A one-dimensional LED strip!!!

    But wait! How am I gonna display a histogram/bar chart with just a uni-dimensional LED strip? Am I glad I asked myself that question for you (#dealwithit)…

    Let me introduce y’allz to some infinite goodness!

    ... continue reading >


  • Sep 27, 2014

    Hexayurt Construction

    This is the second in my series of posts on Burning Man Tech. In my last post I introduced you all to the Hexayurt. In this post, I will step you through the process of constructing one (we built two actually), and the choices that we made along the way and why we made them.

    One vs. Two

    The first decision we had to make was whether to build a single long yurt, or to build two smaller ones? Both designs would have required the same amount of panels, 24. And, the single-yurt configuration would have yielded more usable indoor space. However, we chose to build two separate standard 6-sided ones. We did this for a couple of reasons:

    • The design for each yurt would be a commonly found one on the playa, and we could easily find online resources to help us build our first ones.
    • More importantly, we have heard stories of things getting heated up on the playa sometimes with ensuing drama between friends. So, we just wanted to have the option of not having to deal with a person(s) and swap yurts if necessary.

    The Basic Concept:

    The basic design (as explained in my previous post) involves six 4'x8’ walls that are arranged in a hexagon layout, and are then reinforced by a six-panel hex-cone roof from the top and by a tarp taped to them from the bottom.

    image

    Materials

    R-Max Thermasheath3 1.5" 4'x8' Panels   x 24 @ $25.00   = $600
Filament Tape 6"x180'(60yd)             x 4 @ $43.00    = $172
Aluminum Foil Tape 3'x30'(10yd)         x 8 @ $10.00    = $80
Tarp 12'x24' (Super Heavy Duty)         x 3 @ $50.00    = $150
Rope                                    x 3 @ $10.00    = $30
3'x1/2" Rebar                           x 12 @ $2.00    = $24

    ... continue reading >


  • Sep 24, 2014

    Burning Man Shelter: The Hexayurt

    So, you’ve decided to go to Burning Man. i.e, you are gonna go camp out in the middle of a desert for a week in dusty, dry, extreme conditions where temperatures can range from below 40°F to over 100°F, and dust storms can bring in winds up to 60 mph. A backpacker’s tent just ain’t gonna cut it for shelter! You need something way better. Something that’s sturdy which can help you stay warm at night, and most importantly, keep you cool during the day when you are most likely to sleep after partying all night – Something that is rigid, has good aerodynamics, easy to tie down to ground with stakes, is thermally well insulated, and is easy to set up and take down. In other words, you need a Hexayurt!

    This dude named Vinay Gupta came up with the concept of quickly building a shelter in the desert by simply taping up insulation panels together, and built the first Hexayurt. And in recent years, it has become the primary means of shelter on the playa. So, what is a Hexayurt? This picture can give you a better idea.

    ... continue reading >


  • Sep 24, 2014

    Burning Man Tech

    image
    image

    So, I went to my first burning man this year. And after three weeks of cleaning up playa dust from my stuff, I have decided to take a break and do a post about it. (There’s still more cleaning left to do… Oh Yeah!)

    This post is not about boring you with what I experienced there.

    TLDR; It’s awesome! It’s DIY Heaven! It’s not really life changing, but it makes you think it is; well, it did turn me into a hugger :/… And to counter myself, everyone’s experience is unique (so may be it did change lives). Did I already mention it’s DIY Heaven?

    No, this post is about what got me excited about BM in the first place… The Art, and the DIY tech behind it all!

    In fact it’s gonna be a series of posts around a few topics:

    and finally

    • Art: My ideas for contributing to the playa next year

    For now, enjoy this short clip to get a sense what it’s all about.


subscribe via RSS