brian r stuckey » random

72,727,200 pixels of Michigan

Brian Stuckey — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 23:05:36 +0000

Here is a high resolution panoramic view of a beach we visited in Michigan. It isn’t a great photo technically, but it is fun to scroll around so I decided to post it.

72 Megapixel Michigan Beach

Apple Keyboard + UV Light

Brian Stuckey — Sun, 09 May 2010 05:55:02 +0000

I have a question for all material scientists & plastic experts. I have an Apple wireless keyboard and a near-UV LED flashlight. As one would expect, many things fluoresce: tee shirts, white paper, etc. What is odd, is that only some of the keys on my keyboard do this. I would expect this to be an all-or-none type deal but specifically the F,J, arrows, Cap locks, function, alt, control and return keys glow while the others do not. Under normal light these keys look identical and feel the same.

Why would Apple use a different material for these keys? (My wired Apple Keyboard does the exact same thing.) Does anyone know why there is this difference?

The unusual keys:

J
F
Cap Lock
Fn
Control
Alt / Option
Enter / Return
arrow keys

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Flashlight: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10709
The Keyboard: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC184LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA1Mg&mco=MTMzNzg5MDM

ALCO MS-250AC

Brian Stuckey — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:31:11 +0000

This is a follow up to my post on the Alco MSM-5a from about a month ago. This is an unexceptional mosaic readout display but the major differences, that I can tell, between this and the 5A is that this one is a little bit smaller, it cannot be easily disassembled and it includes a red filter to color the display. These were purchased from Surplus Shed for $2.50/each.

Description On Side of Unit:

ALCO
MOSAIC READOUT
MS-250AC
20-MA 2.5V Lamps
Japan

Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh

Brian Stuckey — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 05:06:51 +0000

I re-discovered this game recently. The last time I played it was on my parents’ AT&T 6300 with CGA graphics! It is actually a really good game. It is a table tennis variation with a breakaway wall in different shapes. Some bricks drop pill-shape items down that change your paddle size, number of balls it the air, etc. I have to play this in VM Ware on my Mac but it is still playable. Some of the timing of the game, most noticeably the opening sequence, is timed based on the CPU. This pretty much makes the opening scene unintelligible.

Oh, and this game came out in 1988. I feel really old now.

Boring Action Video!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Description from Wikipedia:

The mysterious enemy known as DOH has returned to seek vengeance on the Vaus space vessel. The player must once again take control of the Vaus (paddle) and overcome many challenges in order to destroy DOH once and for all. Revenge of Doh sees the player battle through 34 rounds, taken from a grand total of 64.

New Features:

Revenge of Doh differs from its predecessor with the introduction of “Warp Gates”. Upon completion of a level or when the Break (‘B’) pill is caught, two gates appear at the bottom of the play area, on either side. The player can choose to go through either one of the gates – the choice will affect which version of the next level is provided. The fire-button is only used when the Laser (‘L’) or Catch (‘C’) pill is caught.

The game also featured two new features for bricks. Notched silver bricks, like normal silver bricks, take several hits to destroy. However, after a short period of time after destruction, they regenerate at full strength. Fortunately, clearing a level does not require that any notched bricks be destroyed. Also, some bricks move from side to side as long as their left and/or right sides are not obstructed by other bricks.

The US version features an entirely different layout for Level 1 that feature an entire line of notched bricks, with all colored bricks above it moving from side to side.

The game features a mini-boss in the form of a giant brain, which will help you practice for DOH. You must aim for the brain’s mouth to defeat it.

Home versions of Revenge of DOH also featured a level editor, where players could create their own levels or edit and replace existing levels, with the exception of two levels: the mini-boss and DOH.

Minneapolis Then and Now :(

Brian Stuckey — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:42:26 +0000

I have a great old photo of Minneapolis in my collection that I am trying to place a date on. I am guessing 1930′s-40′s but I can’t tell for sure. It appears to be taken from Hennepin Avenue from ~6th street facing southwest. Does anyone have a better idea?

THEN

NOW

My best guess is that it was taken from about here. Which do you like better?
View Larger Map

Update!

According a photo I found on Lileks (http://lileks.com/mpls/gopher/index.html) the theater on the side of the frame is probably the Gopher. That puts this photo at the 600 block of Hennepin avenue – right where the City Center is now. I am guessing this was taken from Hennepin avenue but it may have been shot, facing the opposite direction, on Nicollet Avenue. According to the site, the theater opened in 1938 so this photo is probably from the 40′s. Anyone have a better guess?

Update #2!

I believe this photo was taken in 1949 or 1950. If you zoom in on the theater, there is an advertisement for “Sons of New Mexico“. According to IMDB, it came out in 1949 and was apparently a pretty crappy movie.

Technicolor Pachyderms

Brian Stuckey — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:00:52 +0000

Here is a video that most 20-somethings will remember. It is the creepy scene from Disney’s Dumbo. I’m 27 and this clip is still a little bit creepy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Look out! Look out!
Pink elephants on parade
Here they come!
Hippety hoppety
They’re here and there
Pink elephants ev’rywhere
Look out! Look out!
They’re walking around the bed
On their head
Clippety cloppety
Arrayed in braid
Pink elephants on parade
What’ll I do? What’ll I do?
What an unusual view!
I could stand the sight of worms
And look at microscopic germs
But technicolor pachyderms
Is really much for me
I am not the type to faint
When things are odd or things
are quaint
But seeing things you know that ain’t
Can certainly give you an awful fright!
What a sight!
Chase ‘em away!
Chase ‘em away!
I’m afraid need your aid
Pink elephants on parade!
Pink elephants!
Pink elephants!

Bad news for Google Earth Plus

Brian Stuckey — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:15:55 +0000

Dear Google Earth Plus Customer,

As a valued Google Earth customer, we want you to be the first to know that Google will no longer offer Google Earth Plus. With new enhancements to Google Earth released this week, we believe
the needs of many Google Earth Plus customers will be met with Google Earth 5.0, which is freely available to all our customers. For those customers who require additional capabilities and faster speeds, we have a special offer to try
href=”http://earth.google.com/enterprise/earth_pro.html”>Google Earth Pro free of charge for two months. If you like it, you can buy it with a limited-time discount only available to our Google Earth Plus customers.

The latest version of Google Earth lets customers import and track global positioning system (GPS) data. Our Google Earth Plus customers told us GPS tracking is one of the main reasons they choose
Google Earth Plus. Now, since you can use this feature for free in Google Earth 5.0, there’s little separation between Plus and the free product. In order to simplify the decision of which version of Google Earth best meets our customers’ needs, we decided it no longer made sense to continue
Google Earth Plus.

As a current user of Google Earth Plus, you have several options:

Stay with Google Earth Plus. You can continue using Google Earth Plus for the time being, until either your license expires or until we come out with a new version of Google Earth.
href=”http://earth.google.com/enterprise/earth_plus_details.html#earthplus”>Learn more
Use the standard version of Google Earth. You can now import and track GPS data in Google Earth 5.0 without having to pay an annual fee. Learn more
Try Google Earth Pro. Google Earth Pro includes additional features to let you to do even more with Google Earth. For example, print and save images with 3x higher resolution for your documents
and presentations, import GIS data, and import up to 2,500 rows of spreadsheet data. As a loyal Google Earth customer, we are offering you a two-month free trial of Google Earth Pro and the opportunity to purchase a one-year subscription for $99 (regular price of $400). Enter this promo code
PLS2PRUS (PLS2PREU for Euros and PLS2PRUK for British Pound) and follow these instructions to sign up.

We believe that Google Earth or Google Earth Pro will continue to meet your needs for exploring rich geographical content with the same easy-to-use features that you’ve come to love about Google Earth Plus. Please note that the imagery in both Google Earth and Google Earth Pro
is exactly the same as the imagery in Google Earth Plus.

If you have any questions, please contact us via the Google Earth Help Center.

The Google Earth team
earth.google.com

To unsubscribe, click
hereor send an email to:xxxxx@uptilt.comGoogle Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
earth.google.com

Mini tornado hits a little league game

Brian Stuckey — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:34:56 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cleaning the Apple Keyboard

Brian Stuckey — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:33:45 +0000

Here is a short utorual I wrote a while back to document cleaning the older white and clear keyboard. This does not apply to the newer think keyboards Apple released in 2007.

I love the design of Apple keyboards. The clean while surface supported by clear plastic looks great. However, after a few weeks of use (and eating at my computer) the keyboard became quite dirty. After a while, the device became so dirty that I purchased a second one. Since I could sacrifice one keyboard to experimentation – I did just that.

I have managed to clean both keyboards several time with no ill side-effects so far. I can’t say that this won’t destroy your nice keyboard, but here are the steps I take.

Things you will need:

dish detergent (anti-grease & anti-bacterial)

a large sink or bathtub

paper towel

salad spinner (preferable)

or a colander

a flat screwdriver

THIS PAGE PRINTED OUT

Begin by using your screwdriver to pry the keys off. Be careful – the board is resilient but you can still scratch it.

You will notice that some keys have metal clips behind them. These are to guide the key straight down as you push on them. Just take these keys off slowly and everything will come off easily. Once the key is off, just pull the clip off and set it aside.

After taking off the keys, put them in a gallon size ziploc bag with some detergent.

Shake the bag once and a while. Let it sit for several minutes.

While the keys are soaking, start your bath and fill it with warm water and the detergent. Move the keyboard around in the water to loosen some of the dirt and then let it soak for a while

After 5 minutes of soaking, take out the keyboard and rinse it off in warm water. You may need to repeat this step several times to get the soap bubbles out of the bottom part of the board

Next, take the keys and put them in the bowl for your salad spinner. Run this under tap water for a few moments to get all of the soap off

Here comes the fun part. Put the spinner together and give it a whirl. Let it stop. Shake it. Repeat. Do this at least 5 times.

Spread out the keys on paper towel to let them dry. For food safety reasons, now is probably a good time to clean your spinner as well.

Let the keys dry for a little bit. They should be done in 30 minutes or so

Remember that page you printed out? Now is a good time to get it. You will need a reference when putting everything back together. If you have an extra keyboard, this will work as well.

Find all of the keys that had the metal clips on the back of them. Put all of the clips on NOW. If you do this step while putting keys on, you will find that it is difficult to find mismatched clips. All of the clips should rotate easily. If anything feels stiff, try it on another key.

Slide the clips under the hooks on the bard first. Then, rock the key down into position

One down. Just over 100 more to go…..

A partially completed board.

Watch out for keys like L and 7. They look alike and can easily be misplaced. The same warning for I and the division key.

LET IT DRY. Seriously. Let it sit for at least a week. Stack it vertically so water can drain out. After it has sat for AT LEAST A WEEK, you can try it out.

Odd discovery – Post-Its glow in the dark.

Brian Stuckey — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:51:01 +0000

I discovered that, under some conditions, 3M Post-Its glow. They don’t simply glow, but they exhibit phosphorescence. I did not expect that.

I discovered that basic 3×3 post it notes actually exhibit this when they are hit with my 432nm (bight blue) laser. The exact Post-Its I used are here: http://www.amazon.com/Post-Notes-Colors-Sheets-654-14AU/dp/B0002DOC68/ref=pd_sbs_op_6

See the video after the jump

Click here to view the embedded video.

brian r stuckey » random

72,727,200 pixels of Michigan

72 Megapixel Michigan Beach

Apple Keyboard + UV Light

ALCO MS-250AC

Description On Side of Unit:

Links

Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh

Boring Action Video!

Description from Wikipedia:

Minneapolis Then and Now :(

THEN

NOW

Update!

Update #2!

Technicolor Pachyderms

Bad news for Google Earth Plus

Mini tornado hits a little league game

Cleaning the Apple Keyboard

Odd discovery – Post-Its glow in the dark.