clamoring.com
3.22.2008
A while back a coworker of mine, who happens to be sensitive to gluten, introduced me to quinoa. Quinoa is a gluten-free seed with unusually potent nutritional content. It's about 15% protein and has a balanced set of amino acids, including lysine (which does all kinds of good stuff for your body). A serious bang for the buck. In fact, it is so healthy and such a robust crop that NASA is considering it for its CELSS program. Kinda of like Biosphere2 only in space.
At any rate, the stuff looks very much like couscous, which I'm lukewarm on. I was skeptical but found a fantastic recipe (p.175 in the Veganomicon).It had very bright flavors and a Caribbean in feel. The dish has pineapple, garlic, ginger, fresh mint, cashews, and lots of other tangy goodness. The recipe was a little labor intensive - lots of mincing. But the cooking part was all stir fry so once everything is chopped you just throw it in a wok. Here is a pic of the end result. It is served with limes and soy sauce.
posted by Clamoring on 22.3.08
2.18.2008
This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here... HUGE SUCCESS!
posted by Clamoring on 18.2.08
2.17.2008
FAIL
My thing today was supposed to be an ATC with a little robot on it with LED eyes that light up when you touch the pad. Unfortunately, my design is flawed and my touch switch doesn’t work the way I need it to. Apparently humans aren’t nearly as conductive as metal. Sux. I’m reworking my design and will post when complete. In the meantime here is the original PCB.
posted by Clamoring on 17.2.08
2.16.2008
posted by Clamoring on 16.2.08
2.15.2008
posted by Clamoring on 15.2.08
2.14.2008
posted by Clamoring on 14.2.08
2.13.2008
posted by Clamoring on 13.2.08
2.12.2008
Making an LED fade in and out using the Arduino platform.
yay!
****************************
int ledPin = 9;
int value = 0;
void setup()
{
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
}
void loop()
{
for(value = 0 ; value <= 255; value+=5) { // fade in (from min to max)
analogWrite(ledPin, value); // sets the value (range from 0 to 255)
delay (10);
}
for(value = 255; value >=0; value-=5){ // fade out (from max to min)
analogWrite(ledPin, value);
delay(10); // sets the value (range from 0 to 255)
}
}
posted by Clamoring on 12.2.08
2.11.2008
posted by Clamoring on 11.2.08
2.10.2008
This is a stained glass pendant of a firefly with an LED that blinks in the same pattern as a specific type of Japanese firefly. See how to make your own. Or you can buy this one!posted by Clamoring on 10.2.08
Inspired by Evil Mad Scientists
posted by Clamoring on 10.2.08
2.08.2008
This is a color changing LED light using the Arduino testing platform based on this totally awesome tutorial.posted by Clamoring on 8.2.08
2.07.2008
Chromatography snowflake: Coffee filter with two different colors of food coloring dipped strategically in water to cause bleeding.
posted by Clamoring on 7.2.08
2.06.2008
There are actually two cats in there. I let them out. :)
posted by Clamoring on 6.2.08
2.05.2008
I love my new Veganomicon cook book! I made the Mango BBQ Tofu for dinner. I think my photography has improved a good deal too. Here is a nice pic of the ingredients.
posted by Clamoring on 5.2.08
2.04.2008
Today I finally got proper photos of a pendant I made last week. I also listed the pendant in my etsy shop
posted by Clamoring on 4.2.08
2.03.2008
I made a onestring bag today. Actually, I made four. :)
posted by Clamoring on 3.2.08
2.02.2008
The QR code reads "your mom". It is etched copper and black paint pen. More pictures of the etching process are on my flicker photostream
posted by Clamoring on 2.2.08
2.01.2008
My Thing a Day today is a stencil for Hackerbot Labs, the place I hang out at a lot. :)
posted by Clamoring on 1.2.08
1.29.2008
Things to make:tiny buildings
ATCs
bristlebot
flavored vodkas
vanilla extract
clove necklace
rubber stamps
trinket tin
produce bags
needle case
vinyl coin pouch maybe with see-through window
Hackerbot applique t-shirt
Hackerbot silkscreen
gradient tights
apron
handbag
something cool with the Arduino
valentine's card(s)
glowstick juice drawing
postcard
something out of fiberglass
beambot
cupcakes
valentine's card(s)
tutu
new soles
pictures for the recipe wiki
hanging storage bags
paper dolls
planted plant
Supplies on hand:
stained glass supplies
4 new fabric choices
tissue paper
silkscreen block
fabric paint
papermaking mold & deckle
Supplies to buy:
stencil paper
sheer curtains from thrift store (for silkscreen)
spraypaint
glow sticks
bottles & corks for vodka
weekly theme ideas
recycling
electronics
valentine's
texture
posted by Clamoring on 29.1.08
10.01.2007
About six months ago I started getting calls from this number. Every day. Seeing as how all my finances were in order I wasn't expecting any collection agencies to be calling or anything like that. But every time I answered there was noone there (I assume an auto caller calls you and then it take a few minutes to route to someone at that company after you answer.) I started ignoring the calls. For about two weeks. I googled the number and came up with all kinds of unclear but alarming info revolving around scams. It seems like the callers are identifying themselves with various companies and demanding money. One day I answered the phone (totally pissed off of course). I demanded the lady on the other end tell me who she was and that they were calling me every day and that it was ridiculous. The lady told me noone at that office was calling me every day and they would take me off their list. She gave me a company name and location which I looked up online after the call. I can't remember what it was now but it seemed to jive as there were reports of fraud associated with the name. The calls stopped for a while.They started again about two weeks ago. At first I ignored the calls but they consistently wake me up every morning. I started answering the phone "Wolfram & Hart, how may I help you?" But usually noone is there. Today someone answered back. An Indian man asked for me by name, even spelling my name. I told him that this was a law firm. He asked if he had the wrong number and I said yes. Hopefully that will stop the calls.
If not, I'm going to tell them I'm deceased. ugh.
T Mobile can't block numbers apparently. I probably should check my credit file. I called the FCC and they said they don't take complaints of scammers but they told me to contact the FTC so I sumbmitted an online complaint form.
posted by Clamoring on 1.10.07
6.16.2007
I stumbled across this today and thought it was very eloquent. I don't normally post about politics but a comment a coworker made the other day inspired me to right a misconception he was spreading about Obama being against any war at all. This speach from 2002 states otherwise.original speach was published on Obama's website.
******************************
Remarks of Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama Against Going to War with Iraq October 02, 2002
October 2, 2002
Good afternoon. Let me begin by saying that although this has been billed as an anti-war rally, I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union, and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil. I don't oppose all wars.
My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton's army. He saw the dead and dying across the fields of Europe; he heard the stories of fellow troops who first entered Auschwitz and Treblinka. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil, and he did not fight in vain. I don't oppose all wars.
After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this administration's pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such tragedy from happening again. I don't oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism.
What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression. That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics. Now let me be clear - I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity. He's a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.
But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.
So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the President today. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings. You want a fight, President Bush?
Let's fight to make sure that the UN inspectors can do their work, and that we vigorously enforce a non-proliferation treaty, and that former enemies and current allies like Russia safeguard and ultimately eliminate their stores of nuclear material, and that nations like Pakistan and India never use the terrible weapons already in their possession, and that the arms merchants in our own country stop feeding the countless wars that rage across the globe. You want a fight, President Bush?
Let's fight to make sure our so-called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, through an energy policy that doesn't simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil. Those are the battles that we need to fight. Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance. Corruption and greed. Poverty and despair.
The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not -- we will not -- travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain.
posted by Clamoring on 16.6.07
4.09.2007
The l33t kids at the Public Nerd Area asked us along on a weather balloon launch this weekend. Pics here!
posted by Clamoring on 9.4.07
4.05.2007
posted by Clamoring on 5.4.07
2.06.2007
*taken from eff.org*January 31, 2007
Surveillance of Soldiers' Blogs Sparks EFF Lawsuit
Defense Department Withholds Records About Army Blog Monitoring Program
Washington, D.C. - The FLAG Project at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit against the Department of Defense today, demanding expedited information on how the Army monitors soldiers' blogs.
According to news reports, an Army unit called the Army Web Risk Assessment Cell (AWRAC) reviews hundreds of thousands of websites every month, notifying webmasters and bloggers when it sees information it finds inappropriate. Some bloggers have told reporters that they have cut back on their posts or shut down their sites altogether because of the activities of the AWRAC. EFF filed its suit after the Department of Defense and Army failed to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests about the blog monitoring program.
"Soldiers should be free to blog their thoughts at this critical point in the national debate on the war in Iraq," said EFF Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann. "If the Army is coloring or curtailing soldiers' published opinions, Americans need to know about that interference."
EFF's suit demands records on how the AWRAC conducts its monitoring, as well as any orders to soldiers about revision or deletion of web posts. It also demands expedited processing, as the information is urgently needed by the public.
"Of course, a military effort requires some level of secrecy. But the public has a right to know if the Army is silencing soldiers' opinions as well. That's why the Department of Defense must release information on how this program works without delay," Hofmann said.
EFF's FLAG Project uses FOIA requests and litigation to expose the government's expanding use of technologies that invade privacy. Previous lawsuits have demanded information about the FBI's huge database of personal information and the Department of Homeland Security's program to assign secret "risk assessment" scores to American travelers.
For the FOIA complaint filed against the Department of Defense:
http://www.eff.org/flag/awrac/awrac_complaint.pdf
For more on the FLAG Project:
http://www.eff.org/flag/
Contact:
Marcia Hofmann
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
marcia@eff.org
posted by Clamoring on 6.2.07
2.04.2007
1. Cooking Mama2. listening to Seattle Air Traffic Control tower (liveatc.net)
3. memorizing the hydraulic system on a Boeing 737
4. making the perfect baked ziti
5. finding a new garter belt
6. Battlestar Galactica
7. revisiting the Animaniacs
8. keeping my clothing put away instead of on the floor
9. getting more girls into gaming
10. procrastinating getting into KoL because I know I'll get addicted to it.
posted by Clamoring on 4.2.07
1.10.2007
my boyfriend is teh awesome.
Make Magazine entry!
posted by Clamoring on 10.1.07
12.21.2006
I've recently started keeping carnivorous plants. It started with a trip to my friend Emily's store, Science Art and More where I picked up a Drosera Capensis (Cape Sundew). I stared at it the entire way home, sticky tenticles glistening in the sun. It is really a beautiful plant.Carnivorous plants are pretty difficult to take care of. Well, not difficult, just complicated. I wanted to immediately go buy a dozen more in different varities but my boyfriend talked me down. We agreed that I should see if I kill this one first. That was this summer and the Sundew is very healthy and happy. I've found a number of excellent resources online and am learning something new every day.
I purchased my second plant, a Venus Flytrap, about a month ago. It didn't really look all that great when I bought it but it was just sitting there at the checkout stand so I brought it home. After some research, I learned it didn't look that great because Venus Flytraps go dormant in winter. They appear to completely die off, but in fact they spring back to life in the Spring. It's not super great for them but I am skipping this cycle this year for this plant. It is advised that you let them go dormant every year but I've read that if you skip a year the result will be not as much growth in Spring. I just didn't want to put him outside to turn brown right after bringing him home.
Carnivorous plants mostly come from boggy areas that are very wet and nutrient-poor. So you can't put them in normal potting soil or fertilize them. They typically require a moss & perlite mixture and standing water. So I mixed up some compost (which the nursery told Xander they used instead of peat moss) and some perlite. After a couple of days my Sundew looked awful. It had been way overhandled and had bits of dirt stuck on it's sticky bits. I looked at the bag of perlite. Unfortunately, it was Miracle Grow brand and had fertilizer added to it. Poor babies. I immediately put them back in the containers and soil I had purchased them in and waited for them to recoop before trying anything again. That was last week. They look great now.
I went to Home Depot to buy some chemical-free perlite. They didn't have any but they did have a large selection of carnivorous plants. I bought an Asian Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes) and a Cobra Pitcher Plant (Darlingtonia Californica). I wanted to also buy a Butterwort (Pinguicula) but thought I should just control myself. Today I went to a real nursery and purchased the supplies I needed to keep these guys alive: perlite, spagum moss, granite, and the cutest little potting tray and pots.
Each plant has it's own unique needs. For example, three of these guys like standing water but the Nepenthes doesn't. Which is why in the picture you see him sitting in a seperate tray inside the bigger tray. The Darlingtonia Californica is named "darling" because she is so prissy. She requires a pot lined with granite and you have to even cool her roots in Summer with ice cubes.
It's been really fun taking care of these guys. I hope they continue to thrive.
posted by Clamoring on 21.12.06
12.09.2006
I will be attending a Pokethulhu game on Monday. Just because I thought it would be funny, and with a little help from my bf with the Photoshop superskillz I designed my character in the form of a CCG card.
posted by Clamoring on 9.12.06
11.20.2006
The weather class I'm taking, aviation weather, transfers as a 300-level class to most universities. It's a fairly involved class but I've found it easier as I'm taking two concurrent pilot classes and the same information is important in all three classes. It's always surprising for some reason when something like "aviation weather" becomes applicable in a non-aviation environment... like my basement.One evening Xander comes to me distressed. Overnight a number of his tools in the basement rusted. This was alarming not only because tools are generally expensive but we have a lot of computer and electronics equipment in the basement as well. Just one evening proved to be damaging and the rainy season had just started.
He had been using several small dehumidifiers (the kind that use crystals) on certain shelves and in the computer rack. This seemed to be working until this one night. We had to step up the dehumidifying. We sealed the windows and a couple of open areas with foam. He purchased a proper dehumidifier but it was going to take several days before it arrived. But several days wasn't an acceptable waiting period. There was too much at stake and I sure as hell wasn't going to help him move that rack (ok, I really would have had it come down to it...)
The key factor in our problem wasn't the humidity, it was the condensation. So what you have to understand is when condensation happens. It happens when the temperature reaches the dewpoint (when it is within 2 degrees actually). We didn't really have a way of measuring the dewpoint in our basement but we could use the current Seattle dewpoint (which is found most accurately on a METAR report)as a guideline. It was relatively cold during this time, making it more difficult for the air to hold moisture. This was in our favor because we couldn't significantly change the relative humidity. All we had to do to prevent condensation was to raise the one factor we had control of: temperature. We turned up the heater a bit and haven't had a problem since.
posted by Clamoring on 20.11.06
11.17.2006
| "He had been found in Golden Gate Park, lovesick, wearing nothing but a thong, taking long pulls from a jumbo bottle of Courvoisier and practicing Kendo attacks with a genuine Samurai sword, floating across the grass on powerfully muscled thighs to slice other picnickers' hurtling Frisbees and baseballs in twain. Catching a long fly ball with the edge of your blade, neatly halving it like a grapefruit, is not an insignificant feat. The only drawback is that the owners of the baseball may misinterpret your intentions and summon the police." -Snow Crash | ||
posted by Clamoring on 17.11.06