When I found out I could use my Canon A2000is point and shoot to create a time lapse, i was floored. I owe it all to the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK). With this nifty piece of software, your Canon camera can boot a whole new feature set from an SD card. Most importantly, run Ultra Intervalometer script.

One gotcha with CHDK is that it will only boot from a FAT16 partition. So if you have a 4gig+ SD card, you will need to jump through some hoops to create a bootable FAT16 (32mb will do) and a larger FAT32 partition for storage. MacOS and Linux read the partitions no problem, if you are using Windows… SDM Installer will help you create and switch between partitions.

The next thing you need is power, after all your wimpy lithium-ion or in my case NiMH’s won’t last all day. This is where an AC Adapter comes in. Mine didn’t come with one, so I found a HQRP AC Replacement Adapter for my camera. Get the one with the transformer in the middle, it has a longer cord.

Once you get all your images together, you need to make the video. For this I used Quicktime 7 Pro. It was super easy and imported directly to iMovie for transitions, audio and text. When creating the video, I used the default 15fps photo sequence.

It’s hard to believe that my sub $200 Canon A2000IS camera is capable of such amazing things. Many more to follow, stay tuned.

Just remember… time is relative.

Upper West Branch Penobscot River and Chesuncook Lake
August 2nd – 5th 2009

Ever since the epic Maine 2003 trip, I wanted to go back. There is just something about the great north woods of Maine that makes me feel at home.

We enjoy canoeing and camping and thought why not combine the two. Typically we have backpacked on our multi-day camping trips. Something about being able to not worry about weight as much and spending more time enjoy the camp life was very appealing.

We targeted the upper west branch of the penobscot for it’s remote setting and docile waters. The fine folks at Katahdin Outfitters helped us plan the perfect trip. We left our car at the ranger station on Chesuncook lake and put-in at Lobster Stream on the river.

Here is a map of our course and our camps:

View Maine 2009 in a larger map

Fishing was another draw for me. I had a great smallmouth bass day trip on the east branch back in 2003. The west branch is more known for it’s landloc salmon and brook trout. With the water being so high and being late in season, the fishing was less than stellar. I caught several creek chubs, perch and one small brook trout but not a single bass. I have to admit, I didn’t fish that hard, I was too busy enjoying the wilderness.

As you can see the camps were well established and for the most part very clean. Our favorite was the first on Big Island North. What a treat to be able spend the night in such a beautiful place. Jaimie was so relieved to see the well ventilated housed latrine. It was “a busy week” and we saw at most a group or two of people each day. The camps are quite far apart so settling in early is advised.

We had a wonderful trip and would highly recommend it!

Resources:

- Google Maps – West Branch Penobscot River
- Katahdin Outfitters – Penobscot River

This was the first time I used the GPS on my iPhone for tracking and marking waypoints. I stuffed it in a pocket on the top of my backpack and I must say it worked quite well. I used the iPhone app Trails to record the hike. The battery life was great, it only used about a third of the battery for the 3 hours it was tracking. One nice feature was the use of the light sensor (near the ear piece). When it was covered, the screen automatically shut off to help save the battery. The accuracy seemed quite good as well, there are even posts saying the phone/app bests a $200 Garmin.

Here are some pictures from our hike on the Merryman Trail at the Loch Raven Reservoir in Timonium, Maryland. We parked on Warren Rd. and had easy access to the trail. We got side tracked at the feeder stream waterfalls and took the fire road up to a neighborhood and decided to turn back (as you can see from the maps). Overall it was a nice hike and beautiful spring day. You can view more details on our Hike In and Hike Out @ EveryTrail.com.

More information about the trail can be found here.

You have undoubtedly heard about this outstanding book/movie. Well if you haven’t seen the movie yet, the consumer copy is being released on March 4th. This is a must see (and/or physically own if your primitive squirrel instincts are in overdrive).

I will warn you; when I saw this movie in the theater this past fall, it inspired me to do all sorts of things, including selling all my DVDs/CDs on half.com. With that said, the link to the right is to the Amazon Unboxed pre-order.

This is one you can’t miss.

click images to enlarge »

Field boxes are an essential part of rc flight. As I graduate from backyard flying, the more I realize this. There is nothting worse than getting to the flying field close to sun-down only to realize you forgot something. Having the right tool/band-aid could make the difference of another flight or heading home. Here is a list of things I keep in my flight bag. I restock as items are used and complete a checklist from time to time to make everything is there.

The bag is a Craftsman Professional 11-Pocket 8 in. Electricians Tool Tote
from Sears. It fits everything nicely and is compact and light.

Three Red Belly Piranhas

I started these fish in a 20 gallon long aquarium while I was waiting for the biomass to build in the 55 gallon. They were the size of a quarter when I bought them. They eventually outgrew the 55 gallon and I had to return them to the fish store. They were a lot of fun, but also a lot of work.

First Saltwater Tank

This tank was started with a variety of damsels and later the home for a maroon clown, coral beauty and a crab.

Scooby the Guppy

This fish was amazing, she lived to be one and a half years old! She started her life as a feeder fish for my red belly piranhas. She found a comfortable hiding spot between one of the logs and a plant and managed to survive for almost a month. She deserved a home of her own. I moved her into a 5 gallon tank where she somehow managed to give birth to 5 babies! This was truely a miracle fish. She ultimately died of natural causes.

Here is a overview of the planes I have been flying. More details to come…

Soarstar Electric ARF by Super Flying Models

This is my first real plane. It was a great trainer
for both the build process and flight.

Yak 54F by E-flite (Quique Somenzini designed)

This is my first plane with ailerons, it flies great. 20-20 Hacker
Style motor, 25amp Towpro ESC, 3S 1300 Lipos

Slowfly plans by Sloper Steve

This is my first scratch built. I am currently building
another and will post details.

‘Tis the season for some of the most awful music. Thanks to The Matches, it’s not all bad. This song has been a favorite since the first time i heard it on radio wazee. I was also fortunate to hear them live at the Masquerade in Atlanta, GA.

Who doesn’t like live music? To me it is one of the purest forms of art. It used to be the only way you take it in was, well to go to a concert. That is unless you happened to find a mono cassette copy or got really lucky and scored a soundboard recording. Most bands know for their live creativity have an open taping policy. This is great for people who only get out a couple times a year to take in a show. With a good stereo or set of headphones, you can enjoy a concert while you relax at home.

Recording technology has come a long way. Just a couple of years ago, the only way to get your hands on live recordings was to network/trade with tapers/collectors or request blanks and postage (B&P) exchanges. Most taping policies do not allow recordings to be bought or sold. B&Ps are a great way to get started, friendly collectors (or people who accidentally burned two copies) would offer up shows. All you had to do was send blank media with a return mailer. This was how I got started with my collection.

I haven’t traded for almost 4 years now. You can see my collection at http://db.etree.org/mrmatt57. I still have most of these shows. If you want one, drop me a line, I’d be happy to do a trade or B&P.Collectors started of with analog recordings, then DATs/CDs, now it’s all lossless digital. Two popular formats are Shorten (shn) and Free Lossless Audio Codec (flac). Over the years flac has grown to be the defacto-standard. Unless you are streaming audio over the internet, live recordings should never be archived or stored in compressed codecs, like MP3.

Many websites are poping up hosting BitTorrents and archives of shows. The largest collection by far is archive.org. This is the same website that brought us the way back machine. Take a look, your favorite band just might be listed.Much of this is only possible because a dedicated few that make the journeys to the shows and lug around their equipment. Much thanks goes out to all the tapers!

Although music is the main reason most of us go to shows, the energy and visual experience of being there in person can not be understated. Nothing truly replaces physically being there. But there is something to be said about listening to a concert at 9am in the morning. I enjoy listening to shows with headphones. My favorite phones are Sennheiser HD580′s. It takes ample volume to bring you that true concert sound. If you find your headphones aren’t loud enough, pickup or build a cMoy pocket amp, you won’t regret it (disclaimer: not responsible for any hearing loss/damage). So, next time you are jonesing for a concert, check out the new digital world of live music.

People have been asking what I am running for my current system so here is a post dedicated to just that. Several of the components have been carried over from many configurations ago. I have been through many iterations and a lot of research to derive this system. Suggestions and Questions are welcome, please comment.

System:

Intel D975XBX (Rev A0)
Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo @ 3072mhz (1365.7mhz FSB, x9 Multiplier, 1.259v Core)
Scythe Ninja Air Cooler w/ 2 x Thermaltake 120mm 95cfm
4Gb Geil @ 853.8Mhz 5-5-5-15 (4:5 FSB:DRAM)
EVGA GeForce 8800GTS @ 576Mhz 640MB @ 1.7Ghz
Biostar GeForce 8400GS 256MB (KVM Display)
SuperMicro 5bay Hot Swapable HDD Enclosures x 2

Drives:

NEC ND-3520AW DVD_RW
Plextor PX-W5224A CD-R
NewEgg 4Gig USB2 (ReadyBoost)
IronKey 4Gig USB2 (Portable Storage/Apps)
Western Digital 74Gig 10,000 RPM Raptor (Primary OS)
4 – Seagate 320Gig 7200.10 (Raid 5 Storage)
Old SATA drives for backup

Peripherals:

Color Balanced with Pantone Huey Pro
Microsoft/Razor Reculsa Keyboard
Logitech G5 Mouse
Func F30.R Mouse Pad (Get one while they last)
IOGear Miniview Symphony Multi-function 4-Port KVM Switch

Sound:

Swan M10 2.1 Desktop System
Sennheiser HD580 Headphones
Shure E4c Sound Isolating Headphones

Software:

Micorsoft Windows Vista 32-bit (Yuk, if only 64-bit software was up to par)
Editplus (By far my favorite text editor)
Microsoft Office 2007 (Love it!)
Virtual Ubuntu and Red Hat Distros
Various Virtual Development Environements (clients, servers, stress-tests, etc)

Network:

Linksys WRTG 54 v3 – Tomato Firmware (QOS rocks!)
Linksys EG005W Gigabit 5-port Workgroup Switch
Pure Cat6 Cables

Power:

Monster PowerCenter Hts 2000 Mkii
CyberPower CP1350AVRLCD UPS Battery Backup – 1350VA

Printer:

HP LaserJet 1020 (B&W)
Target/Kinkos (Color Photo Prints)

This one is really digging into the archives… Here are some pictures and specs of my first car (not my parent’s station wagon). I learned a lot and have many great memories from this car. I often joked, that I literally turned every bolt on this car. I didn’t have access to air tools either, all old fashion Craftsman hand tools. There where many long cold nights completing mods so that I would be ready to drive to work the next day. I wish I had better pictures, but here they are (Mostly scanned 35mm, if I find the original print/negatives, I will rescan).

Engine/Performance:

Port/Polished Cylinder Head (Gude)
Bored Throttle Body (Gude)
Port/Polished Intake Manifold (Gude)
Reprogrammed ECU (Gude)
Racing valve grind (Gude)
Top-End Cam (Gude)
MSD SCI-L Ignition
MSD Blaster SS Coil
MSD 8.5mm Plug Wires
B&M Short Shifter
Centerforce Clutch
AEM Cold Air Intake
AEM Cam Gear
DC Sports Ceramic Headers
DC Sports Catback Exhaust
Autometer Air/Fuel Ratio Gauge
Autometer Fuel Pressure Gauge (Full sweep electric 0-100psi)
Denso Iridium Spark Plugs

Suspension:

Eibach Sportline Springs
KYB Gas Struts
Ingall’s Camber Correction Kit
Axis Wheel Site Mesh 17×7
BF Goodrich Euro T/A Tires 205-40-17
Powerstop Cross drilled rotors
Axxis Carbon Metallic Pads

Appearance:

25% Smoke Tint
Clear lenses (Marker, Bumper, Tail, Side-marker)
Color match painted trim
DC Sports Red Billet Oil Cap

Stereo / Entertainment:

Alarm:

Python 3000HF
Proxy/Dual Stage Shock Sensors
1 Mile Pager System

Check out my very first web-log, My 1994 Honda Accord Journal

Also, check out my Flickr stream for more pictures.

Jaimie and I went camping at Peaks of Otter on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia last weekend. We tent camped at site #21 and Hikes around the lake the first evening. It was a beautiful day and was quite crowded around the lodge. The park is very well maintaned and the staff is very friendly. This was the first trip with our new Mountain Hardware Casa 4 tent. Setup time is a about 2 minutes more than the average tent, but worth the effort. The design offers a roomy interior with a spacious gear vestibule. The next morning we woke up and hiked the sharp top mountain trail. We just about had the trail to ourselves on the way up. At the top, we ran into a group that took the bus up. The views are sweet, you can see a complete 360 degrees. It is also worth the trip over to Buzzards Roost. There are some cool climbing rocks and more breath taking views. Here are some pics:

… these picks are from last October in Vogal State Park, Georgia.

If you haven’t seen/heard about it yet. LiPo batteries can be dangerous, check it out. It is very rare that a lipo would ignite under normal use. It would take charging it at a higher rate than recommended (typically 1C) or a internal short. People have had serious property damage, here is a list of what causes the fire and what is damaged. They make commercial battery bunkers, some people use cinder blocks and bags of sand. I have also seen ammo cans used, but I could not find them locally and I didn’t want to pay for shipping. I found a honeywell steel lockbox at WalMart for $10, that is pretty stout. I don’t have the desire to test it (yet), but I think is should hold just fine. Also to help suppress any fire that could arise, I put a Pyrex pan over the battery. I did buy one of those LiPo charging bags, but it is a pain to open and close every time I want to charge a battery. I have it lining the bottom of the box. it is definitely not necessary, but since I have it, why not. The way I see it, all this effort is the cheapest fire insurance available.

I learned two very valuable lesson today…

1.) Don’t rush sending electronics airborne
2.) When attaching anything to a RC Plane, make sure it’s on there good.

I had so much fun the other day taking the video with my soarstar, I rushed out there today and look what I did…

I had been flying my Soarstar for a couple of months and finally decided to attach my Pentax Optio S6 camera too it. The easiest setup what to just strap it down and record video. Eventually I would like to setup a servo to take pictures. These cameras are not great a shooting video, but here it is:

Recently my Dad sent me an AirHogs Aero Ace and boy I am glad he did. They are a ton of fun. You can get them at WalMart or Target for $30. Without a doubt the best toy for the price. They have a 2-axis controler for throttle and lef-right. There are two small motors setup in a push configuration. The throttle controls the prop speed and the left-right governs the speed to allow it to pitch side to side. They fly great and take a lot of abuse. Here are some pictures: