Are congratulations in order? At 9:18 PM y’day I successfully entered and compiled the first interactive code of my life. It is also the first code I’ve compiled in some twenty years, and the first code ever compiled on a PC (non-mainframe computer). I don’t have the Arduino chip to test it, but if it will compile, it will run. What’s more, upon seeing the binary information after all these years, it came back to me in an instant. (Why the twenty year gap? It is called having to work for a living.)By 10:33 PM, I have dismantled an older, but working, digital camera. Following the directions given by Arduino, I was able to identify and analyze the components that caused the camera to time out after 30 seconds of being idle. Then, it was easy to find the power leads and shutter switch. I have several old cameras for parts, so I do believe one of my first projects will be to convert one of these to a time-lapse model. The only thing stopping me right now is the cost.
Mind you, nobody get carried away. I am an experienced programmer, it is the hardware I still need to learn. I can easily get miles ahead of schedule on the coding. I remind you, it is the interaction of the code with the physical world that fascinates me. Anything can be done by rewiring enough circuits, the trick is to get one circuit to do many things via the programming. Now, that is a worthy challenge.
Before I found the Arduino, every project I thought of stalled at the prototype phase. That is, every time I required an engineer, none of them wanted to work on a prototype without being paid up front. Somehow I knew my plans were not so complicated. If I can program that time lapse, I can program Project 22, the automobile black box of 2003-04 semi-fame. Why? Because the cameras already exist, they just need a little interfacing with the proper code, sensors and actuators. See, I’m learning.
My big plan, however, is the digital license plate. I don’t hate license plates, but I hate how the authorities abuse them. Still, that would not stop me from making money from that very corruption. My license plate design would begin to flash red if the insurance policy was expired, or when the speed is over the limit it would flash the MPH and freeze at the highest setting for 24 hours when the vehicle stops.
It would strobe at a signal from a police car, making following easier, along with transmitting its GPS setting every 15 minutes. And I would do a lot worse, all for the almighty dollar. Remember, it is Joe Complacent, not I, who ever allowed the authorities so much power over us, and I owe him nothing. All to be controlled by RFID chips, which of course, I retain the password to overwrite if ever used against me. I believe this level of DMV intrusion is inevitable, so why not make my money?
veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism
