vertical challenge | observations from an outlier
configuring ubuntu wireless there is nothing cool about a robot that needs wires plugged in — actually it vexes me to no end. running ubuntu in an embedded device can be a real pain when first setting up a new device. many robots are running linux on low cost itx boards these days and they all suffer from the same security hassle with initial network configuration. you just unboxed…
why I take drugs good journalism on the topic of drugs isn’t hard to find, but it’s still almost never reflected in public policy (in the usa and canada). for example, harper drug policy put my access to medical cannabis into legal limbo and made it much more costly. this was done to make disabled people pay corporations for their medicine, not to regulate a “dangerous plant.” an honest…
renovations for disability after many months of power tools, dust, painting etc.. I finally have the wheelchair accessible apartment I’ve always wanted. my desk and kitchen has been upgraded to create more usable room and increase functionality for me. lost of decorative choices too of course, but mostly the changes were designed around smoother rolling for me. most obvious to me is the legless table (desk pictured right). I…
climbing with ze belgians a crew from Belgium found the me via the “boosting” news stories and planned a trip to come climbing in squamish. they chanced the weather for mid October but we got lucky, very lucky. that’s what I remember most about any of our big climbs, constantly checking the forecast leading up to the event. It was looking like rain, so we had the climbing gym…
led lighting with arduino yun progress on the rgb leds continues, here is the code for a useful android testing tool, with a very brutal looking UI.. awful. sliders for the red, green, blue light levels, few buttons for presets and scrolling debug messaging. the only noteworthy thing is defining the range of the sliders to suit the pwm levels on the arduino end.. so, [0 – 255] values…
Philips has a new led lightbulb coming soon for $12, but of course it doesn’t have wifi or bluetooth radios for that price. cheap and hackable led bulbs are being done on kick starter too (but also without a radio). this is because just the wifi radio costs $15 dollars. but.. is a sweet rgb led bulb with wifi be worth 100? the costs are mostly in the communications….
home automation for disability this has been a very messy few weeks, months even, but finally I have the perfect home-theater/workout-out .. living room. i can do my pulls and watch movies through the rainy months in great comfort (and no excuses not to exercise daily). great effort was required to get this false ceiling in place, but it was worth it. there are no more wires stapled, taped,…
I own two drobos and they have saved the day a few times, but also have caused great frustration too. Why buy two of them then? Well, drobo won the american business awards for best product, and many more. The problem is that it’s simply underpowered hardware and that the hard drives can’t be mounted by any other system. Now I can say a few nice things about about…
BACK TO THE WALL chronicles the 10-year journey of a quadriplegic rock-climber, Brad Zdanivsky, as he pursues his dream of climbing the 1700-foot vertical wall of the Squamish Chief. But sheer desire it not enough. An epic attempt like this also needs passionate support and a strong team to make it happen, and for Brad, it’s his dad that leads the pack. With the support of professional mountain guide…
So, things break and need repairs. My Dad has always said.. “don’t repair, fit the spare”, but this part hasn’t been available a long time. I looked, made calls, sent emails, got calls back.. but no luck. The board is simple, just a few AC Power relays, but it is the controller for my bed and I needed it working as soon as possible. after an hour with the…
testing pan and tilt from servo city here is an arduino sketch (below) to control a pan and tilt system from your keyboard. I chose high torque servos hoping they would be a bit smoother and less “buzzy” when tracking into new positions. with the lightweight gopro camera there is still some jittering, but nothing that can’t be removed with a good video editing tool. servo city claims this…
workouts at home Winter has been pretty kind with sunshine thus far, but the rain is coming. Days where I can’t wheel on the seawall, I do more “pulls.” Getting ready for climbing the chief climbs I spent hours on this simulator at home. (see notes on performance boosting) After many versions, I’ve come up with the ideal system for a quadriplegic to get a good workout at home….