Ripplin River Tech

BrightBlinds
This is a neat idea…but I’ve seen it 25 years ago…back then it was florescent lights hidden behind louvered windows in a normally dark basement.
Now this design from
http://pipeline.gnr8.biz/index.php?task=home&id=92

Made of electroluminescent (EL) sheets, Makoto Hirahara’s Bright Blind simulates a window where none exists.

In all other respects, the artificial blind functions in exactly the same way as a regular blind - ie turning the plastic stick controls the brightness, etc.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

I just found out about a website that can convert blogs (and other RSS feeds)  into a podcast automatically. This service called odiogo uses a text to speech system and merges those results with audio created from your text.

Here is the URL to use if you want to subscribe to the podcast version of this blog

http://podcasts.odiogo.com/ripplin-river-tech/podcasts-xml.php

Well it’s up to +1 F but with the windchill factor it’s still pretty cold. Must be time to post some progress on the IceBox

I ordered 1/4 tempered glass from a local glass store. Found some spiffy brass brackets for the corners.

I also found a sylvania LED light at Menards on sale for $13.

Hey, it was goodie day yesterday! I got the Smart Strip on sale at Menards…(note they have 2 versions…one is $29.99 and one is 419.99, the only difference is a few extra outlets. Not a lot of room if you are plugging in adapters (Wall Warts). The device works for my current computer…turns off the display and the printer when it goes into sleep mode…maybe I’ll pick up another one.

The GPWiz is being problematic. First I didn’t realize that it emulates a gamepad not a keyboard (thus the GP in GPWiz). But that is no problem, Mame can be controlled by a gamepad. Next problem, the USB plug must be plugged in to a powered USB port (problem since I only have one usb on my laptop) but I got past this by stealing the powered hub from my another computer. Now the real problem, the buttons only work when I configure the device in the Control Panel -> Gaming Options…It’s a nice wizard, a gui allows you to see which keys are being pressed and center the joystick. However, even though I have enabled joystick in Mame, the GPWiz seems to be ignored during Mame.