Wiimote Whiteboard Test

I was reading about some software that lets you use a wii remote & an IR light pen as a sort of poor man's smartboard. You can use it to add tablet PC capability to a regular LCD screen, or project a screen onto a wall and use the whole wall as a giant touchscreen. You can download the necessary software here.

Here is my quick test of concept using my MBP, a DVD remote for the IR LED, and a wii remote:







This second video shows the original software's developer demonstrating the possibilities for this fun & useful concept:







There you have it. If you are already using this wiimote whiteboard in an interesting way share it with us in the comments below.

Self-Portrait

I was messing around with Adobe Illustrator and created this blocky simulacrum. I'm obviously not adept with Illustrator yet, but I used to be pretty good with Fireworks. The two programs are somewhat similar in their basic function, but different enough to cause a modest learning curve. No matter; I'll get everything figured out eventually.

Computer illiteracy and American Television

I wanted to apply to the Secret Service when I finished college. Never got around to it before I landed my current job. Too bad, since all I had to do was tell them I can make a GUI in Visual Basic...

Turkey Crossing

I encountered a small flock of turkeys my the way home from work on Friday. There were about a dozen of them, clumsily flapping their way up from the Schuylkill River. They flew across the road, and continued flapping up the mountainside.  Here is the approximate location of the sighting:  

Google Map


View Larger Map

I'm on Twitter

If you've missed me, you can also follow my microblog on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/zoomquick

First Widget

While on my horribly long road trip last week, I started playing with Apple's developer environment, Xcode. Included in this package is a program called Dashcode which gives developers the ability to create nifty little widgets for OS X's Dashboard. Shown here is a widget I built using the tutorial:


It's a countdown to my birthday! The button on the bottom, when clicked, takes you to my Amazon.com Wishlist so you can buy me a nice present. If you want a copy of my widget for you computer, you can get it here (ZIP file, 3.9 MB).

Disclaimer: Use my widget at your own risk. As I said, I built it using a modification of a tutorial from Apple, and therefore I do not know what I'm doing.

That's Bullshit!

If you are a console gaming enthusiast and you've never seen the Angry Video Game Nerd on YouTube, you'd better go watch his videos right now! In addition to his reviews of old, shitty games, AVGN also has a segment called "You Know What's Bullshit?" in which he rants on about whatever happens to make him upset at that particular moment. His second episode on the penny was featured on CNN.

Shown here is episode 8. Its about printers, so it fits with my intended technical gizmo blog theme. Enjoy!

On the Road, Again...with my Mac!

I'm back on the road! I'm on my way to Atchison, Kansas for a Steel Founder's Society meeting.

Also, since my last post, I got a Mac. A MacBook Pro, to be exact. I had an iMac a few years ago, but it died in an involuntarily, self-inflicted incident (I think there's still a blog entry about it here). Now I'm back in Mac, and it's good to be back.

So, I saw Blogger has a Dashboard widget for quick blog entries. I'm trying it out now. If you can read this, the widget is operational.