The Rocketry of Central Carolina (ROCC) hosts rocket launches using their rocket pad for rockets from 1/4 A motor size all the way up to gigantic K size motors. Adam and I have gone several times just to watch the launches, and a few times Adam has launched his own rockets. I much prefer this to the times he used the car battery to launch a few homemade rockets at our home. Watching rocket launches is free and a small donation is recommended if you use the ROCC launchpad. See some of our ROCC adventures after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Adam@SheekGeek | Posted in Linux, Music, Review | Posted on 22-06-2010
I have had some issues dealing with “experts” at local music stores and even reviews of products online; in particular dealing with USB condenser microphones used for music recording. I though that since I could see how so many people claim to be experts, yet give misleading information, I should do my part is dispelling some myths about USB audio hardware using a particular example.
Even some “experts” at the music store will have no clue what they are talking about, so let me enlighten you something so you won’t fall prey to their stupidity.
I like to record music from time to time on my computer. Nothing special, a riff here or there on the guitar, or a cover song or something. I wanted to have the simplest method for recording so when I chose to, I can focus on recording music instead of setting things up. I found the MXL USB.006 Condenser Microphone to be perfect for my application, however everyone and their brother advised me against it. Even the guy who sold it to me at “Guitar Place” said it wasn’t as good as running a standard condenser mic through a mixer and using a USB sound card. The one he recommended was the Behringer UCA202. So I bought them both to see the differences.
Now that some time has passed, I am able to reflect thoughtfully and professionally over the Maker Faire that was held in Durham on Sunday, April 25th.
From a teacher’s perspective, four makers in particular presented things I just “need” to have in my classroom. This is my wish list:
Classroom Visits for “Scrap” from the ScrapExchange
Leatherbound Books
ShopBot Tyro
DIY Multi-Touch Screen
Find reasons and more information about each of my choices after the jump.
Posted by Jessica@SheekGeek | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 22-04-2010
Come see our light-following robots and other SheekGeek products! SheekGeek is making the drive from Charlotte to Durham this Sunday to run a booth at the Maker Faire: NC. We are excited to finally have a MAKE event somewhat nearby and couldn’t miss out on the geeky festivities. Sadly, because we will be running our booth, I’m not sure how much time we will have to visit other exhibits, but we will do our best. There are lots of cool things to see, from book binding to CNC fabrication. It looks to be a promising day!
I’ve had a FTDI cable for a while for testing serial communications between my microprocessors and my computer and for that job, it works great. However, I recently grabbed a couple Ardweenies from Solarbotics and decided to use my FTDI cable to program them. The FTDI cable doesn’t have an automatic reset, so you have to push the reset button on the board at exactly the right time when trying to program it from your computer. This causes tons of frustration.
Oddly, a few days of experimenting with the arduinos, my cable got a short in it. While fixing the short, I was surprised to find out that the FTDI cable uses the same chip as the Sparkfun Programmer (which has automatic reset) so I went about modifying my cable to include this feature.
Modifying the cable is much easier said than done, but since I got it working, I figured I’d do a write-up on it in case anyone else wants to give it a shot.
In the first part of this two-part series, I went over some of the basics of graduate school applications. In this part, I’ll go over some more detailed aspects you should consider when choosing a program and tell you some tips that might help you get in even if you don’t fully meet the requirements.
After each detailed section, there’s a “TLDR” notice. This stands for “Too Long; Didn’t Read” and gives just the basics of the section.
The Repticon (Reptile and Exotic Animal Convention) first came to Charlotte, North Carolina in January of 2009. We attended and had such an interesting time, we couldn’t resist when in it came back into the area.
Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children ages five to twelve, and free for children four and under. It is a great deal considering it provides several hours of amusement and learning.
If you are looking for a specific reptile or other exotic pet, it is a perfect venue to meet the breeder and haggle a price. Here is a photographic journey of our experience. Read the rest of this entry »
From time to time, people ask my advice for how to get accepted into Graduate school. Reading the school websites, and talking to professors and administrators isn’t enough. Not to mention you need people skills to get in. In this, the first of a two-part series, I’ll break down the very basics of what many programs require, and give you tips and tricks to help out. The second half will be advanced tips, that show that you really want in the program.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not an expert on this subject. I don’t have the best people skills, and I don’t know all there is to know about Grad school, but I do know what worked for me, and my advice has helped a few people to get accepted so far.
I’ll begin with some general questions I get asked. The second part of this series will go into more advanced aspects of Grad school selection and even some tips that may help you get in even if you don’t meet the requirements.
After each detailed section, there’s a “TLDR” notice. This stands for “Too Long; Didn’t Read” and gives just the basics of the section.
In keeping with the tradition of an open source diy community, SheekGeek is excited to share that we have uploaded the manuals for our robotic kits. The W.A.S.P. Original(pictured) is the first kit SheekGeek created. This light following robot is nifty because you can control where it rolls with a flashlight. Next is the W.A.S.P. Original’s fraternal twin, the W.A.S.P. Solderless. As the name implies, this kit requires no soldering, but is the same basic light following robot as the W.A.S.P. Original. Last up is the Black Widow Walker – a 4 legged, 2 motor walking robot. Yes, we know black widows have 8 legs and not 4, but the name fits the overall design. Maybe one day it will evolve to have more legs…
The Rocketry of Central Carolina (ROCC) hosts rocket launches using their rocket pad for rockets from 1/4 A motor size all the way up to gigantic K size motors. Adam and I have gone several times just to watch the launches, and a few times Adam has launched his own rockets. I much prefer this to the times he used the car battery to launch a few homemade rockets at our home. Watching rocket launches is free and a small donation is recommended if you use the ROCC launchpad. See some of our ROCC adventures after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
