Reflection

If your screen is glossy enough, it's quite easy to reflect.  Simply click this black square and look into your screen.

The actual content of this post happens when you click the "Read more" button.

Morse Code Arduino Sketch

I've uploaded the Arduino sketch for the Morse code translator here:
http://chaosinacan.x10hosting.com/media/code/morse.zip
It is fully commented, so hopefully it isn't too difficult to figure out.  If it's confusing, just ask me and I'll try to explain it.

Also, if you want to try this project out, this is the circuit diagram for the entire translator.  The potentiometer at the center right was used to control the backlight level, but I replaced it with a setting in the code, so you can ignore that part.  If you're unfamiliar with the symbol, the component on pin 12 is a piezo buzzer.  Everything else should be labeled.

More stuff, like a component list after the break...

More Pictures

...or, should that be, Morse Pictures.  Hahahaha...  no.

Here's a few more pictures of the Morse code translator, starting with some outside shots.  We bought some gears thinking we would be making something else, but when that didn't work out, we decided we needed to use the gears for something.  Now our enclosure looks like one of those things you used to make in Kindergarten by gluing macaroni to stuff...

More pictures after the break...

Morse Code Translator in Action

A video of the Morse code translator in action.  Apparently, I fail at entering exclamation marks.  The screen's backlight automatically adjusts to the brightness of the room, shown in this next video.

Reading Morse Code with an Arduino

For part of my ENG 198 class, we were put into groups of 5, given an Arduino microcontroller and a $100 budget, and told what was effectively, "make something."  My group decided to make a balancing robot.  Then the parts we needed were on 2-3 weeks backorder, so we decided to go with plan B--just as soon as we could figure out what that was.  Eventually, we decided to make a box that you could tap Morse code into, and it would convert it into text and display it on a small LCD screen.

This is what happens when you use part of your budget on gears for a robot... then you build something that isn't a robot.  Anyways, ignoring the last-minute cardboard enclosure, there's a serial-enabled LCD screen at the top, a force sensor at the bottom, and the hole on the left is for a photo-resistor that adjusts the backlight brightness.  I'll post a video of it in action later along with some photos of the inside, but what I really want to talk about is a simple algorithm to interpret button presses as Morse code.  The Internet is full of examples as to how to turn dots and dashes into letters, or letters into dots and dashes, but I couldn't find anything on getting those dots and dashes in the first place.

More after the break...

The Pen is Mightier than PowerPoint

I have nothing against Microsoft or PowerPoint (or blind people), but it's often easier, faster, and more effective to explain things with a pen and paper.  Part of the reading for the University of Illinois' iFoundry class is Dan Roam's "the Back of the Napkin", which shows how to use pictures to solve problems.  After attending a lecture by none other than Dan Roam, I can say that a visual representation of a problem definitely helps to understand the problem.  All of us are visual thinkers.  Paraphrasing Mr. Roam, if you have the ability to walk into a room without running into something, you already have the ability to solve problems with pictures.  (For the rest of you, I'm not sure what to say.)

What's wrong with PowerPoint then?  Unless you have a tablet PC or are incredibly skilled with a mouse, programs like PowerPoint only serve to limit your creativity.  Actually, it isn't really PowerPoint's fault.  PowerPoint makes it simple to build bulleted lists, fancy charts, and pretty effects, but it is often so easy to focus on the presentation of an idea rather than the idea itself.  Presentations with nothing but text and bullet points aren't all that effective either.  Have you ever tried reading a book and listening to someone at the same time?  It's not so easy to focus your language facilities on two things at the same time.  On the other hand, if you can walk and talk to a friend without running into anything, you can listen and understand pictures at the same time.  In short, pictures can supplement a presentation without detracting from it.  For a great example, take a look at Mr. Roam's explanation of what went wrong with American health-care.

I'll end this with another interesting tidbit:  Take a look at these two pictures from hazardouspaste.com and XKCD, respectively.

 

Both flowcharts express similar ideas.  Which one draws your attention more?  The hand drawn one right?

Testing

This is a test. This blog is conducting a test of the Emergency Blogging System. This is only a test.

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This is a test of the Emergency Blogging System. The bloggers of your area in voluntary cooperation with the Federal, State and local authorities have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of a blog post. If this had been an actual blog post, the Lorem Ipsum you just read would have been followed by official information, news or instructions. This blog serves the Champaign-Urbana area. This concludes this test of the Emergency Posting System.