Away

I am currently out of the country, and the hotel I'm at charges high wi-fi rates. I will not be able to access my computer until August.

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Book List

In my spare time I put together a list of books I hope to acquire with in the next few months:

• Head First C# by Andrew Stellman http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596514824/ref=amb_link_5946812_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-
2&pf_rd_r=1GC0EB4Q1E823T4YS1SD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=338587201&pf_rd_i=69860

• The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Home-Chemistry-Experiments/dp/0596514921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212946912&sr=1-1

• Making Things Talk by Tom Igoe
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Things-Talk-Practical-Connecting/dp/0596510519/ref=pd_bbs_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212946629&sr=8-5

• JunkBots, Bugbots, and Bots on Wheels: Building Simple Robots With BEAM Technology by David Hrynkiw http://www.amazon.com/JunkBots-Bugbots-Bots-Wheels-Technology/dp/0072226013/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213207112&sr=8-1

• Robot building for beginners by David Cook http://www.amazon.com/Robot-Building-Beginners-David-Cook/dp/1893115445/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213208167&sr=1-1

• Robot Builder’s Bonanza by Gordon McComb http://www.amazon.com/Robot-Builders-Bonanza-Third/dp/0071468935/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213210492&sr=8-2

• MAKE The First Year by Mark Frauenfelder http://www.amazon.com/Make-First-Year-vol-set/dp/0596526776/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213211431&sr=8-4

• MAKE the Next Year by O’Riley Media http://www.amazon.com/Make-Next-Year-OReilly-Media/dp/0596510195/ref=pd_sim_b_title_1

• MAKE the Third Year by O’Riley Media http://www.amazon.com/Make-Third-Year-Technology-Your/dp/0596517971/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213211848&sr=8-1

Highlight the link and drag it to address window to see it on Amazon.

The Last Lecture

I hate to double-post on the same topic, but I find it more than worthy of mentioning that I finished reading The Last Lecture yesterday. It is, flat out, the best book I have ever read. I cannot stress how important it is to read. It has given me an entirely new perspective on life, and I feel like I'm a little bit wiser now.


Brennon


P.S. I'm still away from my equipment, and I've been hunting for little wi-fi hotspots. Sorry, but I'm working on it.

The Last Lecture

At the onset of my leaving, I would like to quickly point out the book, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. After seeing his famed lecture online (http://video.google.com/videosearch?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=Randy%20Pausch%20Last%20Lecture&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#), my life would never be the same. I was touched by his honesty, wisdom, and life lesions. He is an unforgettable man, and is dying from pancreatic cancer with over 10 tumors in his liver.

I have never seen such a remarkable man, he's has the brilliance of Einstein, the wisdom of Franklin, and the tenacity of Stephen Hawking. His book, The Last Lecture, surpasses that of any masterpiece. It comes from the heart of a remarkable man, and it will be cherished for years to come. Not only that, it will also be a guide for his kids who have to live with out a father.

"The brick walls are there for a reason. They're not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something." Pausch's book is rich with wisdom that will not be easily forgotten. The Last Lecture will make you laugh, cry, and most of all: appreciate the beauty and value of life.

The is my handbook as to how I want to live my life.

Away From Blog

One of my goals is to update this blog at least a couple times a week, however I will be going out of town tomorrow. I will most likely not be able to post for a few months, but I'll return whenever I can.

My apologies,


Brennon

Harnessing the Most Powerful Telescopes on your Computer-LIVE

A few years ago, I was given perhaps the kindest and most cruel gift I had ever gotten, a SLOOH 50 minute time card. With a few clicks of the mouse I was able to harness extremely powerful dome telescopes and use them live. I witnessed some of the most beautiful and remarkable masses that were once outside my reach. I gawked at nebulae, stared in wonder at galaxies, and gazed at other planets. I could do all of this LIVE, taking pictures along the way. I had the universe at my fingertips, and I fell in love.

Then, it was all snatched away, almost instantly as the "You are out of credits" sign smugly grinned up at me. It was gone.

Two years later I now have a "Commander" membership for $99.99 a year. The planets have trembled in my presence. Galaxies retreated at my gaze. I was in control, and I still am. I am the master of the universe, I am Brennon.

Of course, anyone can be master of the universe (its really not that hard), its all there for you at Slooh.com. Almost every night, I use their telescopes in Chile, Australia, and the Canary Islands. With the Commander ranking, you get your own webpage to show off your pictures. At www.myslooh.com/brennonw I have over 500 pictures, growing rapidly.

See you there,



Brennon

LASER Art with Cameras

After posting images of my laser light show, I realized what cool art you could make by projecting a laser onto a camera. I might want to look into this further later, but for now, here are some fun images I took:









Brennon

LASER Light Show in 7 Easy Steps

A few weeks ago, I grabbed 2 pieces of wood, 2 springs from a pen, a hot glue gun, a CD, and a laser to make this laser light show. Here's how you can make your own in a matter of minutes!

1) Glue one block of wood almost any size (just as long as it can fit nicely on the other piece of wood) and hot glue it tho the end of another piece of wood. The sizes are not very important as this is a simple project.

2) Extract 2 springs from 2 pens.

3) glue both springs together to make 1 larger spring (once again, just about any pen-sized spring will do).

4) Cut a pice from almost any CD, make sure it fits nicely on the springs with out making them slouch too much.

5) Glue the connected springs to the face of the board that is on top of the base.

6) Hold the laser pointer at the end of the base so its beam is hitting the CD. You can mount it later with more glue if you wish.

7) Tap the top of the wood block with your finger to get the disc piece to wobble. Be sure that the room you are in is dark and you have a nice smooth wall to project it onto. The results are amazing! With every vibration, new patterns appear on the wall. All this can be done in minutes!





P.S. They make the strangest blobs on your camera...

Physi the *Robot*

I built this little fella in a matter of minutes, and it cost me nothing. I built it from scrap metal I had on hand and 2 motors I extracted from old Xbox controllers. I would love for this site to be a guide, but rather than list out all the steps as I normally would, they are already here: http://letsmakerobots.com/node/728. I have already written out detailed instructions there, and it was a fun little project to do.


Brennon

Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments

I hope to order The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture soon. This book will be full of many more great experiments to do.

Stay tuned!

Brennon Williams

Turpis the Robot

In the past couple of days, I've been working on my first real robot. It is so hideous that I decided to name it Turpis, Latin for the word ugly. It runs on two motors that are not geared (bad idea) and uses two more bumper switches to navigate. I've been having trouble getting my computer to recognise the axe023 microcontroller I'm using. For more information visit http://letsmakerobots.com/node/760.