the end :)

So I spent my whole weekend on writing my instructable. I didn't work on any other class's work because this took so long. You dont realize how many steps went into it til you sit and try to write it out. But it took me more time than it would have because I drew some diagrams in photoshop for steps that I didnt have good pictures for and I linked videos on youtube on how to solder and how a breadboard works so when people like me, or like I was before this class, can do it easily. I published it late Monday night.

I was pretty excited to see that I had 43 views the next morning, so you can imagine how psyched I was when I got an email that my instructable was chosen by the editor to be featured!!! Then I got another email saying the it would be on the homepage! THE HOMEPAGE! Wicked Awesomeness!

I'm so glad its all said and done, but I had a blast! This is my favorite class of my college career :)

instructables update 4/19

Took the doll to the mall today. Went to show it to all the employees at all the stores that asked for me to come show them when it was done but most of them werent at work today so i will have to go back. I had fun though. I was holding the doll as I walked through the mall and as i passed by people I had the doll turn and look them. I got a few reactions but not many. The fun part came when my kids and I stopped at the food court to eat lunch and i sat the doll on a table a little distance away and followed people as they walked by. That Was GREAT FUN! People walking by in singles barely glanced at it, but people in groups had great reactions. Some jumped, some stopped dead in their tracks and stared. i tried to get a video but everytime i recorded, nothing good happened and when I stopped, there was a great reaction, go figure.

When we passed by a jewerly store some employees noticed the doll and asked me to come show them. They were great and made my day. They loved it and had never ending streams of compliments to give. :)

instructables update 4/17

So i spent all day saturday and most of the day sunday at my parents' house working on this project. My step dad graciously agreed to help me put everything in the doll. He didn't like me taking pictures though so that was a battle, but I got some. It took forever and lots of trial and error but we got it working. It doesnt work to my expectations and Im kida disappointed but no way am I going to fool with it and chance messing it up.

The head only turns from side to side and that motion is limited, it doesnt have the full 180 degree range I was hoping for, but it does move so good enough.

wireless kama chuk code

#include <Wire.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdio.h>
uint8_t outbuf[6];
int cnt = 0;
int ledPin = 13;
int servoPin = 5;
int servoPin2 = 6;
int pulseWidth = 0;
int pulseWidth2 = 0;
long lastPulse = 0;
long lastPulse2 = 0;
int z_button = 0;
int c_button = 0;
int refreshTime = 20;
int minPulse = 1000;
int minPulse2 = 500;
int dtime=10;
#define pwbuffsize 10
long pwbuff[pwbuffsize];
long pwbuffpos = 0;
long pwbuff2[pwbuffsize];
long pwbuffpos2 = 0;
void setup()
{
    Serial.begin (19200);
    Wire.begin ();
    nunchuck_init ();
    pinMode(servoPin, OUTPUT);
    pinMode(servoPin2, OUTPUT);
    pulseWidth = minPulse;
    pulseWidth2 = minPulse2;
    Serial.print ("Finished setup\n");
}
void nunchuck_init()
{
    Wire.beginTransmission (0x52);
    Wire.send (0xF0);
    Wire.send (0x55); 
    Wire.endTransmission ();
    delay(30);
   
    Wire.beginTransmission(0x52);
    Wire.send (0xFA);
    Wire.endTransmission();
    delay(30);
 
    Wire.requestFrom(0x52, 6);
    delay(30);
}
void send_zero()
{
    Wire.beginTransmission (0x52);
    Wire.send (0x00);
    Wire.endTransmission ();
}
int t = 0;
void loop()
{
    t++;
    long last = millis();
    if( t == 1) {
        t = 0;
        Wire.requestFrom (0x52, 6);
        while (Wire.available ()) {
            outbuf[cnt] = nunchuk_decode_byte (Wire.receive ());
            digitalWrite (ledPin, HIGH);
            cnt++;
        }
        if (cnt >= 5) {
            //            printNunchuckData();
            int z_button = 0;
            int c_button = 0;
            if ((outbuf[5] >> 0) & 1)
                z_button = 1;
            if ((outbuf[5] >> 1) & 1)
                c_button = 1;
            switch (c_button) {
            case 1:
                switch (z_button) {
                case 0:
                    break;
                case 1:
                    muovi();
                    break;
                }
                break;
            case 0:
                switch (z_button) {
                case 0:
                    delay(10000);
                    break;
                case 1:
                    delay(3000);
                    break;
                }
                break;
            }
        }
        cnt = 0;
        send_zero();
    } // if(t==)
    updateServo();
    delay(dtime);
}

void updateServo() {
    if (millis() - lastPulse >= refreshTime) {
        digitalWrite(servoPin, HIGH);
        delayMicroseconds(pulseWidth);
        digitalWrite(servoPin, LOW);
        digitalWrite(servoPin2, HIGH);
        delayMicroseconds(pulseWidth2);
        digitalWrite(servoPin2, LOW);
        lastPulse = millis();
    }
}
int i=0;
void printNunchuckData()
{
    int joy_x_axis = outbuf[0];
    int joy_y_axis = outbuf[1];
    int accel_x_axis = outbuf[2]*2*2; // * 2 * 2;
    int accel_y_axis = outbuf[3]*2*2; // * 2 * 2;
    int accel_z_axis = outbuf[4]*2*2; // * 2 * 2;
    int z_button = 0;
    int c_button = 0;
    if ((outbuf[5] >> 0) & 1)
        z_button = 1;
    if ((outbuf[5] >> 1) & 1)
        c_button = 1;
    if ((outbuf[5] >> 2) & 1)
        accel_x_axis += 2;
    if ((outbuf[5] >> 3) & 1)
        accel_x_axis += 1;
    if ((outbuf[5] >> 4) & 1)
        accel_y_axis += 2;
    if ((outbuf[5] >> 5) & 1)
        accel_y_axis += 1;
    if ((outbuf[5] >> 6) & 1)
        accel_z_axis += 2;
    if ((outbuf[5] >> 7) & 1)
        accel_z_axis += 1;
    Serial.print (i,DEC);
    Serial.print ("\t");
    Serial.print ("X: ");
    Serial.print (joy_x_axis, DEC);
    Serial.print ("\t");
    Serial.print ("Y: ");
    Serial.print (joy_y_axis, DEC);
    Serial.print ("\t");
    Serial.print ("AccX: ");
    Serial.print (accel_x_axis, DEC);
    Serial.print ("\t");
    Serial.print ("AccY: ");
    Serial.print (accel_y_axis, DEC);
    Serial.print ("\t");
    Serial.print ("AccZ: ");
    Serial.print (accel_z_axis, DEC);
    Serial.print ("\t");
    Serial.print (z_button, DEC);
    Serial.print (" ");
    Serial.print (c_button, DEC);
    Serial.print ("\r\n");
    i++;
}
char nunchuk_decode_byte (char x)
{
    x = (x ^ 0x17) + 0x17;
    return x;
}
void muovi (){
    float tilt = (700 - outbuf[3]*2*2);
    float tilt2 = outbuf[2]*2*2;
    tilt = (tilt);
    pulseWidth = (tilt * 5) + minPulse;
    tilt2 = (tilt2-288);
    pulseWidth2 = (tilt2 * 5) + minPulse2;
    pwbuff[pwbuffpos] = pulseWidth;
    pwbuff2[pwbuffpos2] = pulseWidth2;
   
    if( ++pwbuffpos == pwbuffsize ) pwbuffpos = 0;
    if( ++pwbuffpos2 == pwbuffsize ) pwbuffpos2 = 0;

    pulseWidth=0;
    pulseWidth2=0;
    for( int p=0; p<pwbuffsize; p++ ){
        pulseWidth += pwbuff[p];
        pulseWidth2 += pwbuff2[p];
    }
    pulseWidth /= pwbuffsize;
    pulseWidth2 /= pwbuffsize;
}

solder plan

instructables update April 5

So I played around the code again and again and I got it working for the forth time. I wasnt getting my hopes up though since the other 3 times it worked, it stopped. After loading different code and reloading the working code it still worked and after powering down and back up it still worked!!! FINALLY! So Willie drew out a solder plan and I helped him solder wires to the breadboard. When it was test time....... it didnt work. We checked all the wiring and it was fine and we reset the arduino and still it didnt work. I was about to give up on this code again when Willie figured it out. When he held down the reset button and connected the wireless nunchuk before releasing the reset button it worked just fine. So, the nunchuk must be initiated before the program starts running.

With this information, its clear that I need a momentary push button switch for a reset button and a toggle switch for an on/off button. I also need something to make the doll more rigid to mount the servo.

Next step is to get the new materials I need and start puting the hardware in the doll.

instructables catch up April 3

Worked the whole class with Thomas and Willie trying to figure out the problem with the code. Nothing we tried would work and we were all feeling frustrated and miffed so we stopped for the day.

instructables update April 2

Within seconds of having it working, It just stopped. Kaiden moved one wire and now, nothing.

instructables update April 2

The code from Saturday refused to work when i tried to hook it all up to get a video. I have no idea why, nothing had changed. I tweaked the code a bit and it started working so I quickly got video footage because this thing is obviously tempermental.

blah!

obviously not..... I'll have to get a new video

instructables update March 31

I went to radio shack and picked up the connector for the battery this morning.

So, I was telling the LeBlancs, a family that is a close friend of mine, about this project friday night when I was picking up my kids from them after work. Megan, the oldest child mentioned that her dad is good with electronics and that he might be able to help. When I told him what I was trying to do, throwing out words like arduino, servo, wireless nunchuk and code, he had a blank look on his face like he had no idea what I was talking about but he agreed to try to help. On Saturday we went over to their house and I showed him the two working codes. He rigged the big remote control car battery to the breadboard for a power source for the servo so that we didnt keep draining 9 volts in minutes. After only copying a pasting a short bit of code from one to the other and changing the baud rate from 19200 to 115200, we have working code for a wireless chuk!!! I was soooooo excited!! The servo was moving soooo fast and I wanted to try to slow it down, so he changed the baud rate back to 19200 and it stopped working. We changed it back and it still wouldnt work! Why? That's all that was changed but it wont work. Why didn't I get a video???? Why? Darn!


After dinner, we got back to work. We tried all kinds of things to get it working again. We were looking at sections of each of the 2 codes, comparing them. We noticed that the read delay was different and I suggested changing the read delay to match. So we changed it from 10 to 30 and it worked!!! YES!!!!!! I got the video first thing and we didnt try to tweak code again for fear of it stopping again.

I got the video on my phone and saved it to my computer. Just tried to play it and it wont play all the way through. I dont know what happened, maybe it didnt save right but i already deleted it from my phone so I dont have a video after all. it will play a few seconds before it messes up so I will try to upload it so at least a little proof is there.

instructables update March 30

I went to the advanced auto parts store on the way to work to get a connector for the battery but they didnt have one. Going to radio shack tomorrow.

instructables catch up blog March 29

March 29th

Thanks to Thomas for giving me the code from his shoulder cam project. Now I at least have a working code for a wired nunchuk.

We, Thomas and I, also found out that one of the codes I found is a working code, it just isnt written to control a servo. I could stop here now that I have a working code, but if I am going to use a wired chuck I want to slow it down. With this code the nunchuk moves so fast and is very sensitive and jittery. I want to slow it down and I'd like to make it so that holding the c button allows you to control just the y axis and holding the Z button controls just the x axis so that you can move left and right independently from up and down. I would still rather have a wireless chuk instead of a wired one for the plan I have for this project. Since I now have a working wired and a working wireless code, if I can somehow combine the two I might get what I want.

instructables catch up blog March 22

March 22

I've been trying and trying to get the wireless nunchuk to work. I found several more versions of code, some of which are written just for the Nyco Kama chuk which is the brand I have. I've read the forum discussions on this topic and have discovered that not only is there a different code for a wired than for a wireless, but there is also a different code for each brand of wireless chuk. Luckily the main 2 brands discussed are the madcatz  and the Nyco Kama, so at least I have the right nunchuk.

After trying all these codes with no success I decided to try to at least get it working with a wired chuk because, after all, it will get the job done, just not how I'd like it. I loaded the code that Willie used in his project and tried it with a wired chuk. No luck.

instructables catch up blogs March 8

March 8th

Found out that at least the nunchuk extender cable wires are plugged in to the correct places on the arduino. I loaded up the sweep sketch from the arduino program and connected a wired nunchuk to test it since the wireless one isnt working.

instructables catch up blogs March 4th

I'm behind on posting so I'm going to post a series of entries by date of occurance to catch up to my current progress.

This is the video I got my 5 year old to help me do to show how to use the multimeter to find out which wires in the extender cable are which.

and here are some photos as well

Arduino Lab on the Syntax

Blink without delay:
it sets pin 13 as output for the LED, the place to plug in the LED, this is a constant meaning it doesnt change. Then it sets the changing information or variables.
I think what the code is doing is setting up so that the program checks the time that has passed between blinks. If the time that has passed is more than the interval time you want, the program will blink the LED. If the LED was on when the time interval was reached, it would turn it off. If it was off, it would turn it on.

tone melody:
the library holds all the information you need to program all the different notes to make different melodies.
It states the meoldy to be played and then sets the duration of each note. The 4 means a quarter note and 8 means an eigth note. It then tells the program how to determine the duration. It will divide 1000ms by the note duration of 4 or 8. The code then does on to set a pause between the notes. The pause is defined as the note duration plus 30%. There is no loop so the melody does not repeat.

instructables update/ final project

So, I going to use my instructables for my final project. If I understood correctly, I can do this. I only need to use a micro-controller (arduino, check), a sensor (wii nunchucki, check), a switch, and it has to do something physical (move, check). so all I need to add is a switch.

I am working on getting an internet camera that I plan to add into the doll, preferably in the head so that it turns when the head turns and thus will be like seeing what the doll would see. I want for this camera to be able to viewed by anyone who so choose from any internet connection. I am wondering if this will count for the switch or not.

I am also working on an alternate way to add the audio aspect as the bluetooth headset to speaker option was a horrible failure. I posted the question of how to link the two on instructables and have recieved answers telling me that it isnt possible so its time to find another way. I am currently bidding on a wireless microphone on ebay. My hope is that the reciever will plug into the bluetooth mini speaker I have already purchased and therefore serve my purpose. If it doesnt, there are other options but all are too expensive for me: 2 way audio baby monitors, 2 way audio internet cameras, personal PA systems, and other wireless microphone systems and intercoms.

I have taken some photos and videos of my progress so far hacking into the wireless nunchuck to be used as a controller.

response to 5&6 NBC

Megan Barton

Response to ch. 5 & 6 NBC

                This was a very interesting read. I could understand most of it, for once, which is great news for me.  I’m not sure what I want to talk about first, so many new ideas and possibilities were brought to my attention in this reading. Let’s focus on the mind control aspects.

                One of the studies mentioned was intended to enable a blind person to see using a camera and computer set up attached to their brain. The results weren’t as incredible as you might imagine from this information. The person was able to perceive visual-like sensations. They would react to objects that seemed to come at them in one study for instance. They couldn’t really see like they would had, they had working biological sight. They even kind of hooked the person up to a TV and the internet. While the results aren’t there yet, you could imagine the possibilities. What would you “see” if you were hooked up to the internet? Would you see code kind of reminiscent of the Matrix or would you kind of exist in a virtual world? If the later was true, imagine all the possibilities for MMOs. If you were hooked up to a computer and saw the virtual world as if you were actually there and you were logged on to an online game, would your body move and react in the real world to what you saw and experienced in the virtual one? Would you perceive a sense of pain if you saw yourself get zapped with electricity or slashed with a sword? These are all outlandish ponderings but in a more practical and realistic view, the possibilities of enabling the blind to see again are phenomenal.

                Along the same lines of the aforementioned online video-gaming aspect, Steve Potter’s study begs similar inquiries. He used in vitro grown rat hippocampal neural tissue to control a virtual animal. One is left to wonder what this makes the creature. Is this creature “alive”? The tissues controlling the animal are most definitely alive, but are attached to no living body. Does this make the creature a computer program and thus not living, or does the living tissue take precedence and rule the being as living? After a time, would the living tissue have integrated enough with virtual body to experience sensations of pain or pleasure inflicted on the virtual body? This brings on very interesting pondering in my mind. Would it be possible to attach the mind of a fully paralyzed individual to a virtual avatar so that the person can live on in that reality? Or maybe integrate the person’s mind into a 100 percent mechanical robot body? Would it be like having bodily control again? In a different imagining, in a far off future, having built on this study, would such a world exist in which a person could wear a headband, similar to those used in the game Mind Flex, to attach their neural activities to an online virtual avatar to play in online games, or go to virtual speed dating meetings, or family reunions or even business meetings? Just imagine this world, how easy it would be to keep in touch with family in a more in- person kind of way than the existing technology of today.

arduino lab

instructables progress

So far:
I have ordered and recieved an arduino uno, motorolla bluetooth headset, bluetooth mini speaker, and a nunchuck extender cable. I also bought a wireless nuncheck controller, a servo, and 2 different sized dolls.

I have just finished trying to do some work on it. I cant get the two bluetooth devises to pair and have no idea how to fix that. I tried following the instructable on wireless nunchuck controlling the arduino but have reached a stall because my knowledge is extremely limited and I dont want to break anything. Then I started connecting my servo to the arduino but have reached a stall there as well. So seeing as I have no one to ask for assistance here I will just wait for class.

octopus sound machine info

It just occurred to me that i ought to post some information about the sound machine because people who have watched the video have no idea what they are seeing.
So, I made the third design of circuit boards from the handout in class to make the occilating sound machine. Then I found the little stuffed octopus toy at Hudson's Treasure Hunt for like a dollar. It was perfect because of all the legs and since it was originally a dice game, it has a zipper pouch on the bottom were dice were stored.
I dug through my small home tool kit and found 5 nails of the same size to use for the touch points. I then cut lengths of wire and after stripping the ends, wrapped the wire around the nail and taped it together with electrical tape. I poked a small hole in 5 of the legs of the octopus and threaded a wire length through each of them so that the nail head wouldn't fit through the hole. I added a drop of superglue around each nailhead to ensure it wouldnt slip into the hole. After all the wires were in place I soldered them to the curcuit board and then zipped the board into the pocket. This is what I had done until I remembered that I needed to add my toy.

My original toy was a lost cause with my limited electronic altering abilities so I went out in search of a new one. I found this cool little paperjams guitar pic that plays chords from 3 different songs when you make a strumming motion for like $7. I took it apart and rigged it so that you had to push a certain spot to make it work instead of shaking it. Then I decided to attach it to the nob of one of the eyes from the inside so that it would play when you poke the eye. It was a very frustrating task! It took some serious fenageling but I got somewhat working. The button kind of travels a little so you have to search for it, which is kinda fun. So, there you have the inner workings of the octopus sound machine.

Octopus sound machine video

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ewqn6Arbr0U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

intervention videos

more intervention photos

instructables update

So i've been tossing around a few new ideas for this project. One of them is making talking dolls of people i know. Zander says "You know what?" all the time!!! So I was thinking of making a stuffed doll of him with a button in the arm that when pushed will play a recording of him saying You know what? And one of my brother which would be more complicated because it would have several sayings that it would cycle through.
Like this stewie doll.

And then I was thinking about how Thomas said that he hacked a webcam on his shoulder to be controlled by wiimote and I was thinking of building on this idea. I love the movie the Emperor's New Groove and Krunk's shoulder angels are one of my favorite parts. So I was thinking of getting a really creepy doll, like a living dead doll to sit on my shoulder with a web cam in its head that would be controlled by a nunchuck so that I could turn the dolls head to follow people that walk by and get it all on tape! these are living dead dolls:


Nunchuck hack: http://www.instructables.com/id/Wireless-Wii-Nunchuck-control-of-Arduino-projects/step7/The-software/
animatronic assemblies: http://www.instructables.com/id/Animatronic-Monkey/   and
http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Animatronics-with-Servos/step3/Rotator-Cuffs-and-Hip-Flexors/

Maybe even make a devil and an angel to be actual shoulder angels. They would have speakers in them that you could use the controller to speak through to make them whisper suggestions in your ear. This would be great if you walked through the mall and had a friend controlling each doll following at a distance so that they could control the dolls movements and words. Imagine seeing that at the mall!

video trouble

I am trying to uplaod the video footage of the intervention project but its giving me trouble. I waited for one to load for over 2 hours with no luck. I'll keep trying.

WOW! intervention update

So I drove home with ART! in throwies on my hood. I parked in my normal spot at my apartment building and decided to leave the throwies on the car overnight and put them up in the morning. Today I was leaving the apartment thinking how I still had to clean them off the car before I got on the highway cause I wasnt sure they would stay put at 80 mph. I walk outside and lock the door and there is a group of maybe 8 kids playing outside a ways from me and I hear them say something to the effect of " its the lady we took..." and they all take off, running around the corner of a building. I get to my car to see that there isn't a SINGLE throwie left! Something tells me they had a little something to do with that. LOL! As I was pulling out I saw them peeking around the side of the building at me and a little boy, maybe about 3 yrs old started running circles with a throwie in his hand! Little do they know that they saved me the time and trouble of cleaning them up!!!!

Intervention Project Documentation photos

intervention project summary

The project is done. It was done in 2 parts.

Part 1: Friday, at Friday Night Fun at work I brought in throwie materials for the art project of the night. I set up at the art table and videoed the first 4 kids to make throwies and they tested them out in the kitchen area. which got plenty of attention from the other kids because kids arent allowed in the kitchen area normally. After that, the kids kept coming to make throwies. Several wanted to make more but I didn't have enough for that so they were disappointed. I sent letters home with the kids who made them telling the parents to ask about the throwies and about my plans for the project for the next night. Then I took about 30 kids with their throwies outside on the playground to play with them and it was awesome! All the red and yellow lights floating about, but sadly, my camera wasnt able to pick it up very well :(

Part 2:  I went out last night with over 100 throwies in red and yellow with a handful of purple to the parkinglot of a plaza that holds gamestop and starbucks. I got permission from a furniture store there to use their big moving truck and I was excited because it was a big surface to work with. Got out there with my signs and chair and throwies to find out the metal looking truck isnt magnetic in the least. I was so Bummed! I ended up having to use my car which is pretty small and not as exciting as the original idea. The LeBlanc family I met at work got there soon after I did and they brought signs they had made for me. They helped me make the rest of the throwies and stayed through the whole project. So the weather decided to be the coldest of the season and we were freezing the whole time. We danced and held signs that said to honk in you like and played with the throwies. Finally one little boy came out and played for a little bit. He was good! He got them to stick one after another after another! After that, 2 young men showed up and made the whole night better! They took over! Took the signs, ran up and down the street and yelled. They even darted across the street to the walgreens and started tagging people's cars and the pay phone with throwies. Then they decided that if poeple honk it means they want one and started trying to put them on the cars as they drove by. When traffic was stopped at the light, one of them ran across the road and planted a throwie on the back of an unsuspecting car but it fell off. Finally, 3 more kids from Friday Night Fun showed up and helped out. A cop drove by and we were all jumping and screaming and he pulled in the lot and I was kinda scared! But he was cool, he laughed when we told him what we were doing and then had us put some throwies on the top of his car and when he drove past us on the road again he played his siren for us! When I left for the night, I spelled ART! on my hood and drove home that way.

instructables project idea

My youngest son, Kaiden, is completely into Yo Gabba Gabba at the moment. He always wants to watch the movie and he dances like crazy to the songs. I was thinking that I might as well make something for this project that i will want to keep and that will be useful in some way. Combine that with needing more entertainment for my kids so that I can do homework in peace and this idea was born.

So his favorite song is the Hold Still song, you can see it here:

http://youtu.be/sLSpXaokFkc

Zander and Kaiden both like the character Brobee. So my idea will use Brobee.

I want to make a freeze dance game. I want Brobee to dance and sing the hold still song and have a sensor of some kind so that it can tell if the kids freeze or not. Maybe it can tell who is player one and who is player two and it will call out Player one, you're out! or something like that. So Freeze dance Brobee is my plan.
I haven't much of a clue how to do what I want. I browsed instructables for some motion sensor how to's but I havent really found what I want.

I'm thinking that I could somehow combine the dancing Brobee doll:

and either a kinect or a wiimote and sensor bar

and the song downloaded on itunes to make my freeze dance game.



My second idea is a back pack umbrella. It is my invention that combines a backpack and an umbrella. the umbrella would be inside the backpack in the place that the handle collapses into on the rolling back back models so that it is strong enough to stay put in windy weather. There would be a button on the shoulder strap that releases the umbrella. The umbrella would shoot out and then when it is extended above the head, it would open out. This way you wouldn't have to hold the umbrella so that your hands are free to carry groceries, art projects, or children. Very convenient if I say so myself.

oscillating octopus

NBC reponse 2

NBC Response #2 ch 3 and 4

First off,

            Your own body is a phantom, one that your brain has temporarily

constructed purely for convenience.

—V. S. Ramachandran and S. Blakeslee

That is an awesome quote to remember. The three experiments presented give interesting testimony for this quote.       The fact that you can perceive your nose as being 2 feet long after only a few minutes of the sensations provided by the volunteer even though the knowledge you have had your whole life says that it cannot be so is confounding. After only a few moments in time, you can negate information you have held for years based on your perceptions at that moment in time! I can’t wait to go to work to try the nose elongation experiment. I, unfortunately, cannot try it now as I only have a 5 year old and a 1 year old to help me at the moment. I will put Ramachandran and Blakeslee quote stated above on the board as the quote of the week and add the experiments to my lesson plan for the week for education and career.

          This ability to perceive sensations is evident in phantom limb patients. They continue to feel pain in a limb that is no longer there and this can be fixed in an interesting way. The example given is in a patient feeling that the phantom hand is clinched. They simply used a mirror thing to project the image of the existing hand in the place the missing limb should be so that the patient can look down and see a hand where the missing hand should be and then clinch and unclench the existing hand. This fools the brain into thinking all is well and fixes the problem! This whole thing with the tricking of the brain is great in cases such as this to help people, but one can only imagine what can be done with this knowledge by people with ill intentions. Think of the possibilities of torture that can arise with this knowledge. I know, I sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but it’s true. There are people in the world that will misuse this astounding information. This stuff is all fascinating to consider.

lab update

So we worked on our occilating circuits this week. I chose design 3 because it had numerous touch points and the least number of resistors. I dont know why but I wanted less resistors. I changed one of the capacitors from 100uF to 22uF simply because I didnt realize I needed a third cap and just used one I had from previous labs. My circuit did not work the first try but Will fixed it for me. One part was one position off, go figure. The thing didnt make much noise, just some quiet little static noises, but I got it tomake a siren sound once which was coolness but I couldnt replicate it.

 I drew my plans on photoshop but have since changed the 22uF capacitor to a 100uF. I soldered all the parts to the board, which is much easier than working on the bread board in my opinion, then tested the circuit. It worked on the first try which is awesome. The result was less than dersireable. It barely made any noises and everyone else was getting really loud cool sounds so I changed the cap back to the original design's suggestion. Then it was fun! All kinds of cool, fun, loud, give you a headache sounds ensued.

Will was playing with it and he was getting a great sound when he just barely poked the touch point. I tried the same, but didnt get any sound. Talk about disappointing, but then while he was holding 2 wires and I was still holding the third, he poked my arm with his free hand and, behold, the cool sound came! I then turned into a poke Megan fest. He made different variations of the sound by touching different places on my arms, hands, face, and neck. Then another classmate joined in the festivities. We each had a wire and the 2 of them played the circuit through me. It was a riot!

NBC response 1

NBC response #1 ch 1 and 2

                Well I am relieved, to say the least, that this text is much easier to comprehend and more interesting than the previous reading. I find the information and viewpoints presented in these first two chapters very intriguing.  The notion that we are all cyborgs is incredible. To think that I am a cyborg because of my dependence on my cell phone for the time, phone numbers, weather reports, movie show times, appointment dates, and notes to remember. Our brains and smarts aren’t solely responsible for, say, a presentation on an artist is art history class. We come up with the, hopefully, awesome presentation using our brains, yes, but in combination with books, notes, internet searches, and other people. I could argue that my brain took in all the information and produced the presentation, but the author of the text argues that my brain simply shoved off some of its responsibilities onto these other sources and the resulting presentation was a collaboration.

            The most awesome notion in the excerpt in my opinion is the part about the tabs. How cool would that be? To be able to find out where a book is in the building, who has been using it, how often it’s been used, and if it is in use at that moment! That would particularly come in handy for lost car keys! Much better than the “find it now” crap or the whistle or clap finder things that never work. If that isn’t awesome enough, add to that the ability of your house to detect activity in certain rooms and turn things on and off when your car is in proximity.  It’s like having a butler and a serious security system!

            All this thus mentioned has been non-invasive, all outside of the body. One of the implanted cyborg devises mentioned was an implant that sent data on heart function to the owner’s cell phone and in the event of a heart attack the phone would automatically call for help. The possibilities of technology in combination with the human body are endless and amazing.

               

oscillating circuit diagram

aaahhhhhh

Like the title says: AHHHHHH! I am so far behind. I needed to read the chapters and do the response from last week as well as this week's. I spent the entire weekend on homework. I have a group presentation in art history on Thursday so I had to make the drive to Pensacola saturday to work with my group to prepare. Bye Bye saturday.... We didn't get it all done on saturday so I spent all day Sunday doing research and putting together the presentation. Bye Bye Sunday.... So Monday, I called in to work and spent the entire day on homework again. I have a critique of the latest project in typography today so I had to finish it of course. I took me the whole day to get it done. Finally finished at 11 and had to get the kids in bed and ready for school today. So, I didnt get a chance to get to the readings....again!!! Blah.

On the bright side, I did place the order for materials to make throwies for the intervention project and i brainstormed ideas and called the George Ohr O'Keefe Museum to ask for a space to use. They gave me lots of ideas for spaces to check into which I havent gotten to act on yet.

So Hopefully I can catch up on wednesday..... fingers crossed

lab blog 1.1

So... soldering....... one word for ya: BLAH!
Definitely don't like it at all. I bought an iron from walmart for $5 and I guess you really do get what you pay for.  It's crappy. It has to cleaned every other instant. I am going to return it and get a better one from another source.
A HUGE thank you to Sara Jiron for being my tutor and go to person for this. Thank you for not letting me flounder helplessly!
Well, the project it done. The project works. Objective accomplished.

response 2...kinda

So i totally didnt realize that the reading is from the book we are supposed to have for the class until now. For some reason i was thinking there was link to it online like the last one. Silly me! I dont have the book yet because I am broke so I will read and respond as soon as I get the book.

lab blog 1

ok, so i just had a lot typed up, ran the spell check, tried to backspace a word and the stupid thing backed out of the entire post and erased it all! ughh!! Let's try again shall we. (hit save button now)

So we have done 3 labs so far. The throwie lab, the one using a 9v to light an LED, and the blinky light lab.

The throwie was by far my favorite. It was the easiest to understand and to execute. You just have to touch the legs of the LED to the correct sides of a coin battery to make the LED light up. Add a small magnet and tape it all together and you have a throwie, which is basically a magnetic light that you can throw at a magnetic surface for hours of simple amusement. These neat little things are often used in graffiti which is totally awesome. It was mentioned in class that we, as a class, should make a bunch of these and go out to do a collaborative graffiti work. Im all for it! (hit save here)

I found on the instructables web site, a way to make the throwie so that the light comes on when it sticks to a surface instead of staying on all the time. It was very simple. You just had to put in a barrier so that the leg of the LED only made contact with the battery when the devise was magnet was engaged. I altered my throwie to this design. I was totally accomplished! (save now)

I showed the throwie to my boss at the youth center. We might possibly do this little project at work with the kids. It would be a great community performance art piece!

The second lab was very similar. This time no magnets but still lighting an LED. Instead of a coin battery, we used a 9 volt battery. Since we were using 9 Volts we had to also use a resistor. The LED can only handle 3 volts with out blowing the circut so the resistor must be used to control the flow of the voltage so that the right amount of power reached the LED. We got to experiment completing the circuit with a piece of copper tape and a strip of graphite. Both materials are conductive and carry the voltage, but the copper tape is more efficient. The copper carries the power so that the LED maintains the same level of brightness as it has when the circuit os completes by touching the legs of the LED and the resistor together. The graphite only completes the circuit when the legs of the LED and resistor are close together and even then,the light is very dull. So copper is has less resistance than graphite. (save)

The blinky light lab was difficult and I didnt even finish it. We used a diagram to arrange parts on a bread board to make 2 LEDs blink on and off. It took me 3 attempts to get the circuit to work, and i still dont understand exactly how it works. We experimented completing the circuit with alternate parts:

control group:
120k and 33k resistor and capacitor value 4.7

-with a 120k and a 33k resistor and a capacitor value of 10 the lights flash slower (about every second) and stay lit slightly longer

-with a 120k and 33k resistor and capacitor value 22 the lights blink slower (about every 4 seconds) and the lights stay lit longer ( for about a second)

-with a 120k and 10k resistor and capacitor value 4.7 the lights blink faster and don't stay lit as long

-with a 120k and 10k resistor and capacitor value 10 the lights blink every 2 seconds but stay dont stay lit as long

-with a 120k and 10k resistor and capacitor value 22 the lights blink every 4 seconds but they barely stay lit

so... the capacitor seems to control how often the lights come on: the lower the number, the more frequent = frequency
....and the resistors seem to control how long the lights stay on: the more resistance the longer it stays lit = duration

I didnt get to the soldering yet...next time (save)

response paper 1

Megan Barton

Response paper 1

            This reading was written in smart people speak. It’s the kind of stuff that you can read the words, but they go in one ear and out the other without leaving behind any semblance of understanding in their wake, like poetry. You almost have to decipher it line by line and one dictionary page at a time. Of what little I understand in the reading, I choose to discuss the power of machine over man.

            The writing tells of the subtle enslavement of man to machine. The author gives ample support for this claim which is rather intriguing. He discusses how electronics are designed with an emphasis on user- friendliness rather than functionality and aesthetics. That in the world today, according to the majority, electronics should be understood, not interpreted and they should not confuse or disappoint. In other words, electronics are designed so that they are so easy to use that people don’t have to think in order to figure them out. In this way, we are putting our lives in the hands of the electronics we use. We are slowly being conditioned to all think the same way or better yet, not think, but conform. The example given in the writing is the camera. When an individual is trying to take a photograph, a light will blink when there is a chance of ruining the image. This feature is limiting that individual in that it is not only limiting the creativity of that person, but it is also depriving them of valuable knowledge. If the feature wasn’t there to warn a person of the potential of a spoiled image, that person would have taken the photograph, seen that it wasn’t up to par, wonder why the photograph didn’t turn out, find the answer to that question and then modify the situation to correct the problem. That person would have used problem-solving skills and research skills to learn about the mechanics of a camera in order to take better photographs. The blinking light takes all the thought out of the situation, the light blinks, you move on; oh well, on to the next photograph.

            Another point to note is that because of electronics, “we readily cease to ‘see’ the world we live in, and become anesthetized to its distinctive features.” How often do you see people on smart phones, laptops, and I pods? In today’s world families don’t communicate face to face, even if they are under the same roof in a 3 bedroom house. In a commercial I saw on TV the other day, a woman is video chatting on the computer with her daughter. She is bragging about all the deals she got on clothing for the family and holds up some clothes and shoes she bought for her daughter with the money she saved from all the good deals. Suddenly the daughter leaves the screen and then reappears in the room beside her mother thanking her for the clothes. It’s ridiculous that they are in the same house but they are too lazy to go from one room to another to have that exchange in person. I have an experience worse even than that. Sitting in the floor in the living room at my mother’s house I get a text message from my brother. I look over, in disbelief I may add, at him sitting on the couch a mere 3 feet away from me! I mean really?? Are you so lazy, that you couldn’t find the energy to open your mouth and speak, but you could move your fingers and type a message? He’d rather use his phone to communicate than have an audible conversation with another living being. In restaurants, people get together to go out to a nice meal and instead of speaking and spending time with each other, they, especially the younger people,  sit there and text, or face book, or play one of the millions of apps on their smart phones or I pods. Just today I went out to Buffalo Wild Wings with my 15 yr old sister and two kids from work, both girls, ages 12 and 13, along with their mothers. The two mothers and I spent the time talking with each other while the 3 girls all sat there on their various electronic gadgets. All of these things illustrate the point. We are using electronics so much that we don’t see the world anymore. We see that screen. We walk down the street but we don’t notice the people we pass or the way the clouds look in the sky or the wonderful way the sun hits that puddle of water or the beauty of the shadows cast by the chair on the patio at that diner because our attention is fixed on that screen in our hands as we text or play games or watch ridiculous viral videos of people doing stupid things. Now in fine art classes, perhaps for the first time, we have to be taught how to see the world, how to appreciate its beauty and wonder.

            Electronics aren’t just a part of our lives; they actually help shape our lives. They help determine the type of job we get, the places we go, the things we see, and the people we meet. We can’t work from home if we don’t have a laptop, we can’t attend the meeting in the online chat room while on a bus without a smart phone, we can’t go a couple states away without a vehicle, we can’t know the most current events without a television or radio or the internet and we can’t meet people in Egypt from the comfort of our own home without some sort of smart device. We have become entirely too dependent on electronics. I wonder how many people retain their basic math skills when ever electronic device has a calculator on it. Do cashiers ever have to do the math to determine the correct amount of change to give? Do people ever have to do the math to determine the appropriate tip to leave a server after a meal? Most people don’t bother figuring out simple multiplication when they can reach in their pocket and pull out a devise with a calculator to do the thinking for them. How many phone numbers do you know? I know that I can say I only know a handful of the top of my head. I used to know all the phone numbers for all of my friends and family and the local pizza hut! Now I have my phone. All the numbers I need are programmed in the phone under the names of the people they belong too. I don’t have to know the number to call them, I don’t even see the number when I call; I see the name on the display. If I were to lose my phone I would lose contact with almost all of the over 200 people I have saved in there.

Having said all that, it is conceivable to think that man is becoming enslaved, so to speak, by machines. When you depend on something or someone for so much in your life, you become a slave to their will. They or it have or has power over you. We are giving this power over us to electronics. If electronics were to somehow become intelligent creatures with their own will, we would be slaves to them because we are losing the ability to think for ourselves.

machine love poetry

an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet from the artificial heart of the Shakespearean cyborg:

                             See how she leans her cheek upon her hand.
                              Oh that I were a smart phone in that hand
                             That I might touch that cheek!