Brian Stuckey's I Need Caffeine Blog

More Laser Companies

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 04:17:25 GMT

Are you looking for "another laser company" because LaserCommunity won't allow you to see the names of competitors? Well, I'm here to help you out. Or, at least I will try to. First, let's talk about companies I've dealt with.

Companies I've personally dealt with:

Nova Lasers (http://www.novalasers.com)
Thoughts: I've ordered some optics from them on two occasions and both times were great. On one occasion, a small part was missing. I emailed their support and they mailed the missing component out asap. Highly recommended. ALSO - if you have an older CNI style Wicked Laser, their X-series lens holder works great!

Atlas Nova (http://www.atlasnova.com/)
Thoughts: I ordered a 650nm and 635nm laser from them and the transaction was great. The products shipped quickly and I was happy with the quality of the lasers.

Meredith Instruments (http://www.mi-lasers.com)

Other trusted companies

Aixiz (http://stores.ebay.com/) and (http://www.mfgcn.com/)

Deal Extreme (http://www.dealextreme.com/)

LaserGlow.com (http://www.laserglow.com)

Laser-Man.co.uk (http://Laser-Man.co.uk)

Lucent Optics (http://www.lucentoptics.com)

Optotronics (http://www.optotronics.com/)

Z-Bolt / Beam Of Light Technologies (http://www.z-bolt.com)

Unbiased Laser Forums

Laser Pointer Forums (http://www.laserpointerforums.com)
Note: I'm user abadcaffeinetrip

Candle Power Forums (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/)

Companies owned by Wicked Lasers

Wicked Lasers (http://www.wickedlasers.com)

LaserPointer.com (http://www.laserpointer.com)

TechLasers.com (http://www.techlasers.com)

Starphaser (http://www.starphaser.com/)

Laser Community (http://www.lasercommunity.com)

Another Laser Company

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 04:36:06 GMT

So, I have a new project going on. I'm trying to collect a list of links to reputable laser resources. The new site is called AnotherLaserCompany.com and I have some content for it already. If you have one I should add to this list, please email me!

Brian

Help! We are sinking!

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 01:56:39 GMT

A hillarious commercial for learning English. It is almost as good as the IKEA Unboring (that is because you crazy...) video.

Paging Doctor Freud

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:59:58 GMT

First up is a commercial from Dodge for their trucks. Now, without making fun of the manliness of guys who drive big trucks, I will let this commercial .

Home Made X-Y Laser Scanner Tunnel Effects Video

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 04:29:56 GMT

XY Laser scanner controlled by my mac. Longer camera exposures a light smoke were used to display the beam in near darkness. This particular setup is generating a tunnel effect. This is done by drawing a circle with the beam and then placing the camera in the center of the circle, pointed towards the source. There are some other random beam shots in here that I filmed while working on the tunnel.

WATCH: Police shoot a bomb suspect. CNN Video

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 23:36:03 GMT

A great banner ad for CNN video from 5/22/05. The ad is telling people they can watch people be killed on CNN's website. Great ad, folks.

Side Effect: Sucking Hard

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:53:56 GMT

Apparently, if you take Prevacid, one of the side effects is "sucking hard." ...I think they need to work on how they punctuate this text.

They got a pepper bar!

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 16:49:07 GMT

Just a quick update for tonight. I added a classic Quiznos commercial from the genious behind the Gay Bar music video - Rathergood.com

How to clean your apple keyboard - step by step instructions with lots of photos.

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:25:24 GMT

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:

1. dish detergent (anti-grease & anti-bacterial)
2. a large sink or bathtub
3. paper towel
4. salad spinner (preferable)
5. or a colander
6. a flat screwdriver
7. THIS PAGE PRINTED OUT

Click on the photo to begin:

Laser Scanner Atmospheric Effects

Thu, 31 May 2007 03:16:13 GMT

Even more laser videos!
Well, I bet you can't guess what currently has my interest.... Anyway,, I've added a new video of my XY scanner illustrating beam effects.

My new first-surface mirrors from Anchor Optics came in on Thursday and work great. The extra weight from the mirrors doesn't seem to slow the scanning down any, which is a bit of a surprise. So now, most of my videos using the scanner will be with my DPSS laser instead of my 650nm or 635nm.

Laser scanner video to music

Thu, 17 May 2007 04:41:29 GMT

My XY laser scanner controlled by music. Check out the Quicktime video of it.

VIDEO: Homemade computer controlled XY Laser galvo

Mon, 14 May 2007 12:36:57 GMT

Here is a quick video of my homemade laser scanner. It is built from laserdisc parts and two lasers. The red one is a 635nm diode and the green one is a 532nm DPSS laser.

Tornado interrupting soccer game in Japan

Fri, 11 May 2007 04:08:21 GMT

A short WMV clip of a large dust storm interrupting a little league soccer game in Japan.

Check out my new website

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 05:17:50 GMT

Post purchase domain name regret. Looking to sell. Make offers - any serious offer will be considered. Have a celebrity gossip site? Want to have a good laugh at Britney's bad fortune (or wig)? Have the perfect domain name!

Finally, a site update

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:23:57 GMT

It isn't much of an update, but I did add three videos: http://www.ineedcaffeine.com/scanner1.php
http://www.ineedcaffeine.com/scanner2.php
http://www.ineedcaffeine.com/scanner3.php

New Video 3 of 3

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 01:27:17 GMT

Laser Scanner + DPSS laser + smoke (closeup of smoke)

New Video 2 of 3

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 01:26:39 GMT

Laser Scanner + DPSS laser + smoke (blowing smoke)

New Video 1 of 3

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 01:24:25 GMT

Laser Scanner + DPSS laser + smoke

A Quick Lesson in Computer Security

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 23:54:44 GMT

One of the most basic principals in computer data security the that of “risk mitigation.” Essentially, it is doing everything possible to minimize sensitive data being compromised and to reduce any harm if it is.

One of the most basic methods of accomplishing this is by deleting old data. I haven't taken classes at the University for two years. Why does the Department of Art have my old records? What value do they add to the school? (I graduated from the School of Journalism.)

Now, I see the value in keeping my official transcripts; I want the University to maintain those records. However, individual schools should only keep the minimum information needed to function. This way, significantly fewer students are at risk.

“If you don't need it, delete it.” (B R Stuckey, 2006)

Second, the University needs to mandate industry accepted encryption across all administrative computers. If there are records on the computers, the volumes that store the data should be encrypted. This way, the incident would have been a "hardware theft," not a "sensetive data theft."

There is a serious lack of understanding about how to manage sensitive digital information at the University of Minnesota. The school needs to establish and enforce strict standards for handling sensitive student data. Each college needs to have someone with a technical background to oversee the handling of private student data.

Students trust the University of Minnesota to keep their GPA, SSN and other records private. The University owes it to students, current and former, to diligently defend this data.

Besides, there has to be a FERPA/HIPAA violation in here somewhere….

ANOTHER U of M Data Theft

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 00:59:30 GMT

The Departmetn of Art at the University of Minnesota allowed a laptop to be stolen with student infomation loaded on it. This is the SECOND time the University of Minnesota has done this to me. This is sounding like standard procedure for them...

Fun Commercials

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 21:25:44 GMT

All of the commercials I've collected are here: www.ineedcaffeine.com/mediapages.php

Reminder: Today is Talk Like A Pirate Day

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 02:32:11 GMT

Arrrr. Talk like a pirate, mate.

The U of M lost my personal data

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 23:16:59 GMT

IT had a computer stolen with lots of my information on it. Great.

New Video: Spy vs Spy Dynamite

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 21:25:58 GMT

Spy vs Spy Mountain Dew - Dynamite

New Video: Spy vs Spy Hallway

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 05:45:50 GMT

Spy vs Spy Mountain Dew - Hallway video

New Video: Spy vs Spy Helicopter

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 05:45:12 GMT

Spy vs Spy Mountain Dew - Helicopter

New Video: Spy vs Spy Canopy

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 05:44:23 GMT

Spy vs Spy for Mountain Dew - Canopy video

New Video: Sheep Shaver!

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 03:41:21 GMT

Well, sort of a new video.

New Video: Starbucks

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 21:26:35 GMT

Some people need their morning fix. What can I say?

New Video: Ugoff

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:59:13 GMT

Great old ad from CPB for BK

New photo album

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 01:48:33 GMT

I just posted photos from my last trip to NYC. Check them out here. Caffeine intake was updated through today. Nothing else for tonight.

New Video: Unboring

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 03:36:54 GMT

Ikea Commercial - must watch!

New Video & Entry

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 01:53:52 GMT

I'm back from NY. I have a good couple of days out there and I see that my bandwidth has shot through the roof. Cool. Thank you Stumble Upon. I should have the nice photos posted in a few days. My camera phone "street shots" can be found here.

I have added a new video to my site - a VW Golf GTI commercial which I find amusing. Check it out here.

Lastly - I just purchased a Moka Pot espresso maker so I'll report back in a few days with how I like it. My initial reaction is that for the price, it produces decent coffee. It does not produce the crema that I am used to. The coffee itself I would give a 3.5 of 5 stars. The grounds looked a little burned and that was reflected in the taste. This is probably because it is brewed at a higher temperature than normal coffee and for much much longer than normal espresso.
Brian

New Video: Bugs Bunny - Falling Hare

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 05:05:24 GMT

Watch an old Warner Bros cartoon with Bugs Bunny during WWII.

New Video: VD Is For Everybody!

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 05:05:39 GMT

VD is for everybody. Watch it!

Updates to INeedCaffeine.com

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 02:08:28 GMT

I've added a fun videos link at the top of the screen. I should be adding some more intersting links up there. More photos on MillCityLiving.com and some reworked links.

Don't Copy That Floppy

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 20:25:17 GMT

Don't copy that floppy! An old PSA for anty piracy.... Watch the video

July 26, 2006 Changes

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 01:34:27 GMT

Okay, now this is looking more like a real website. I've implemented as RSS news feed and cleaned up some of the backend code. I think I am going to add a "funny videos" section like I had on my old site - that shouldn't be too hard to accomplish. Any other suggestions on what I should add?

Check out my moblog

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 19:47:21 GMT

Photos taken with my Treo phone - updated real time

Welcome to version 4.1

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 19:39:47 GMT

Cup of coffee? Check.
Lost sleep? Check.
New design? Check.
New web stats? Check.
New servers at my host? Check.
Content? Oh crap. Let me work on that one.

Okay, here is what is coming - when I have time. I am working on adding a real-time rss based news page. Since I am a nerd, it will probably be a portal for me to read all of my nerd news (see "Good Reading" above.) I have plans to add more photo galleries as well as an online calendar where people can schedule things for me. Neato. Let's see how this goes....

Brian