January 23, 2012 – MakerBlock

3.57% More Contempt

I really hate January and February. This year, I have 3.57% more contempt for February since it is a leap year. Historically, these are dark and foreboding months for me. I am grateful this month is nearly at an end, but fearful for what lies ahead. I’m not overly superstitious, but like any reasonable man I believe robots work better with Daft Punk and the first two months of every year the darkest months indeed.

One little bright note. Not this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, but last year’s, had such a brilliant opening monologue.

“On every world, wherever people are, in the deepest part of the winter, at the exact mid-point, everybody stops and turns and hugs. As if to say, “Well done. Well done, everyone! We’re halfway out of the dark.” Back on Earth we call this Christmas. Or the Winter Solstice.”

On December 22, 2011 I happened to be having lunch with a friend. As I did so I noticed there was a nearby table with about eight or so people. I happened to overhear them toast the winter solstice. That, in turn, made me think, “Hey! We’re halfway out of the dark!” That thought does warm me some now. If this were merely a matter of seasonal affect disorder or just a superstition about the dark, that would be one thing. Instead, my personal attitude of loathing towards these first two months is borne of a long experience. Bad things just seem to stack up in these months.

If the posts on this blog take a melancholy turn for a bit, please do excuse.

Goodbye Kitty

This past Thursday one of our kitties was acting very lethargic and withdrawn. Highly unusual behavior for such a social, friendly, and outgoing creature. We took her to the vet for tests that day and heard back from them on Saturday. I was in a meeting in San Francisco when I got the news. I left the meeting immediately and rushed home, picked her up, and took her to the vet. Her kidneys were failing and there was very little to be done. They tried to hydrate her, but she kept getting worse. When it became apparent there was nothing more that could be done, we sat with her, talked, petted, and kissed her.

Our kitty had such personality – affectionate, friendly, curious, and adventurous and we will miss her terribly.

It was tough telling our daughter. We answered her questions the best we know how. But, how do you explain the absence of a thing? As amazing as the Greeks were, they didn’t have a concept of “zero” of nothingness. I must say, she’s dealing with all of this far better than we are.

DrawBot – The Assembly, Part IV

Here’s what I was able to do last night:

As I’ve mentioned, I know very very little about Arduinos or how to hook them up. Although the Adafruit stepper motor page gives some guidance as to how to hook up the Stepper motor – 200 steps/rev, 12V 350mA, “Red, Yellow, skip ground, Green, Brown,” I have no idea which side or starting from which end of the terminal block this is supposed to go. Admittedly, I have a 50/50 chance of wiring it up properly.
I tried hooking up two old steppers I had scrapped from some old electronics – but all I got for my troubles was a small popping noise and the smell of electronics. There was no blue smoke, no apparently burned parts, and I was able to program the Arduino Uno to blink and then run a servo through the Motor Shield.
I designed and printed a spool for holding the monofilament line and which will fit snugly on the stepper motor shaft. I got a little sidetracked playing with Skeinforge settings, but the spools turned out really well.
I printed a gondola for holding the pen, designed for the Polargraph by John Abella
I designed and printed a holder for the Arduino with the Motor Shield on it – but it was slightly too narrow for some reason. I’ll have to redesign, reprint.
I’ll have to design and print a new motor block as well as a filament line guide. I have some cool ideas for the latter.
I tried to use the Polargraph controller, but I wasn’t able to get it to do much. I”ll give it another whirl tonight.
I know I’ll also have to change some of the Polargraph Arduino code to accommodate the motor and spool combination I’m using.

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