After the break, I have some info on the Arduino project and how I got involved.

A couple of months ago, I bought an Arduino Diecimila microcontroller board after getting interested in the Arduino project while working on my exercise bike project.  Basically, these boards have a set of input and output pins that can be used to interface with switches, sensors, and output devices like LEDs.  In addition to the board, the project produces an open-source integrated software development environment that enables you to write code for controlling the microcontroller and upload it to the board via a USB cable.  The programming language involved uses syntax similar to C++, so you don’t need to learn how to program in a controller-specific assembly language.  Plus, since uploading and running your code on the board is quick and easy, the system is straightforward and convenient to debug.

The thing that’s great about the project is how easy it is to get started.  I actually bought an Arduino starter pack, which includes pretty much everything you need to start making cool projects. After I got it, I began by writing a program to light up patterns in a row of LEDs that came in the starter pack.  This was followed by an application to the exercise bike project: I built a little optical tachometer (using an LED and a photocell from the starter pack) and wrote code to send RPM data back to my computer over the USB connection (actually serial over USB).

One night I was up by myself and I thought that my 4-year old daughter might get a kick out of a little device that could sweep through the colors of the rainbow.  I had red, green, and blue LEDs, so it was actually pretty simple to get it working using the Arduino and the protoshield from the starter pack.  With maybe about 2 weeks remaining before Halloween, it occurred to me that I should put this type of device inside my pumpkin.  However, the LEDs I had used in my little prototype seemed a bit anemic for a pumpkin to be displayed outdoors – I needed to find something better.

I ended up settling on a high-power RGB LED array that I bought from SparkFun Electronics (which also carries a full line of Arduino boards and lots of other cool stuff).  The Arduino is connected to a prototyping breadboard which contains the various resistors, potentiometers, and transistors needed to drive the high-power LEDs.  This intermediate set of circuits was necessary because the LEDs I used can take up to 350mA, while the Arduino can only supply about 20mA per pin.  Other than the Arduino board and the LED array, I got all the components used in this project from Radio Shack and You-Do-It Electronics Center.  Thanks to my parents-in-law for the gift card that covered my Radio Shack purchases and thanks to Ricky Hardy for the ride to You-Do-It Electronics.

In the end, the project was a lot of fun.  I learned a lot and I got a lot of positive feedback from friends and neighbors about the pumpkin.  If you have any questions or comments, please leave them for me below.

Furthermore, unless you are incredibly wealthy, if you use your AT&T phone outside of the US like you would inside the US, you will be bankrupt quickly. This page allows you to check the per minute rate for roaming in practically all countries around the world. Roaming in all the European countries in the ads costs $1.29/minute, while Hong Kong costs $2.29/minute. That’s expensive! However, it’s still on the low end of things. If you happen to find yourself in Azerbaijan (we have neighbors from Azerbaijan), you’ll be paying $4.99/minute! So, while you may not have “no bars” while you’re traveling, at the end of your trip you will almost certainly have “no money”.

One thing that can be said in favor of AT&T is that it is a GSM carrier and, if you have a phone with a radio on the proper frequency, you could take your AT&T phone to Europe, buy a new SIM card there and easily use a relatively cheap pre-paid plan while you’re there. This avoids the costly international roaming charges but it means that you’ll have a different phone number while in Europe. If your US carrier is Verizon or Sprint (which use CDMA), for example, you would have no ability to simply buy a SIM card in Europe to avoid international roaming. Rather, you’d have to buy a whole new phone. However, while the ability to get a European SIM card is helpful, this is not what AT&T is advocating. They advocate they you simply use their service under international roaming.

In any case, the relative infrequency of Americans’ international travels coupled with the outrageous cost of international roaming makes this line of advertising very unconvincing to me, even though I have probably been to Europe much more than your average American.

It turns out that the show is really entertaining and might teach you a thing or two about spy skills.  A new season is beginning on July 10th.  However, tomorrow USA is having a marathon of all of last season’s episodes back to back to back…  All the fun starts at 6:30am and the last episode ends at 7pm.  So, head on out to the grocery store tonight and buy yourself lots of snacks for your 12 1/2 hour Burn Notice viewing.  Or, you could just set up your TiVo or MythTV to tape the whole thing.

I’m glad I did: it was hilarious.  The basic synopsis is this: in 2002 two American guys find out about the World Air Guitar Championships held in Finland so they go – not as competitors – only observers.  They are struck by the fact that there are no Americans in the competition, so they resolve to organize championship events in the US in order to send a US champion to the world championship the following year.  I don’t want to give much more than that away because the story is really good.  Anyway, if you’ve ever pretended to perform a guitar solo in your bedroom, this documentary is for you.

The documentary is out on DVD, so you can get it on Netflix or something.  Or, if you want to watch it for free, it’ll be on VH1 at 1PM tomorrow (Feb. 13th), so set up your Tivo.  The trailer (which I think doesn’t really do it justice) is here.

With their two victories tonight, the Pirates advance to 59-72 (.450).  This lifts them out of last place in the NL Central, putting them a game and a half ahead of Houston.  In addition, it puts them only half a game behind Cincinnati.  A win in tomorrow’s game would move them to fourth place in the NL Central.  For those of you paying attention, if the Pirates are to post a winning season, they must win 23 of their remaining 31 games – which allows them only 8 losses for the rest of the season.  This is unlikely, but not impossible.  Afterall, they are 8-2 in their last 10 games…

Finally, those of you who might be frustrated by what looks like another disappointing season should consider the following: last year on this date, the Pirates had a record of 51-81 (.386), which meant that a winning season was already impossible.  In addition, they were a whopping 19.5 games behind first place.  This year, they’re at 59-72 (.450) and they’re only 8.5 games behind first place.  I’m not saying that they’re going to win the division, but they could.  Don’t forget that the Padres won the NL West in 2005 with a record of 82-80, the worst possible winning record and the worst record ever by a team that made it into the postseason.  So, while the Pirates aren’t doing quite as well as we might like, they’re definitely moving in the right direction.

PS: Interestingly, tonight the Pirates tied the franchise record for most home runs hit by the team in any calendar month.  The record has stood at 43 since August of 1947 and, since there are still 3 more games left in August, it stands a good chance of being broken by the 2007 squad.

If you want to peruse all the entries, look here. If you want to see the contest home page, check here. Some of the stuff is really good, but don’t be surprised if you find something that is both embarrassing and painful to watch. You’ve been warned.