TOM ARTHUR
I'm Tom Arthur and I live to find out how stuff works. Bicycles, beards & firemen aren't too bad either.
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Posts
I have cross post on Instagram & Facebook, so you’ve likely already seen this… but the Bubble Alarm Clock has been a ‘hit’ with Stanley and the instructables write up was featured on the front page! I seem to be in a bubble mania phase, we went to Toys ‘R’ Us today to look for other bubble toys to exploit.
Kids toys today are a sad lot. I was hoping to find a bargain on some random simple electronic toys to take apart but couldn’t find anything. There was a decent selection of bubble toys and I ended up with the Gazillion Bubble Hurricane. (Yes, that’s really it’s name - they also have the Bubble Typhoon) It does indeed produce a gazillion bubbles, however the drive mechanism for the wands seems to be faulty.
I’m going to have to return it and try again tomorrow. After reading online, it looks like they are not making the machines like they used to, the old version let you screw in the bubble solution as an auto feeder!
This Gazillion Bubble company & Super Miracle Bubbles seem to have a monopoly on the bubble fun market. Who knew.
Anyway, I’m glad to have a finished arduino project in daily use. I learned how to make a clock, use a transistor, use a relay, use an LCD and how to use github for code. All in all not a bad project.
What’s next? Bubbles + Bike
melted heart.
Apparently today’s theme is adorable pictures of adorable animals being adorable. Enjoy.
Operation #bubblegun alarm made major progress today. Sketches for controlling the pump, wand wiper via servo and now time + alarm exist. To be combined and improved tomorrow! #arduino #alarmclock #MAKE #sparkfun (Taken with instagram)
This eye-fi based ‘internet of things’ camera seems pretty neat. I have a few eye-fi cards sitting around. I wonder what I could stalk… the mailman when he opens the mailbox?
Last night I went to Disneyland and went on Star Tours the Adventures Continue, which impresses me more and more every visit. The queue is great and has lots of stuff to look out (it even uses projectors in a respectable way, I’m thinking about you Winnie the Pooh) but the ride experience is even better. (I’m also curious how the integration works)
I love that the Rebel spy incorporated into the film is an actual guest onboard the Star Speeder. This just seems like the right way to make things interactive. Not to be derivative, but what if Mara inside Indiana Jones & the Temple of the Forbidden Eye actually could *see* if you looked into her eyes. I remember ducking down and hiding as a kid because I literally believed I would be doomed if I looked into her eyes.
But think about it, what if she singled out the few or many people that looked into her eyes with a laser burst or another effect. There have been so many new special effect technologies in the last few years, Indiana Jones could be even more amazing!
The installation of the xbee + arduino powered garage door sensor was a success! This was my first time working with xbee, and I’m pretty happy about the way things came out.
The problem: because of the design of the house, it’s difficult to visually check if both garage doors are securely closed.
Although it might be a bit of overkill, this was an opportunity to figure out how to use xbee & install a sensor system.
My solution: Private twitter account that relays the status of both doors (open or closed).
In the garage:
- Two magnetic proximity sensors mounted at floor level on each of the garage doors.
- An xbee radio mounted on a spark fun regulated breakout board with one digital pin connected to each of the sensors
In the house:
- Arduino Uno with an ethernet shield & xbee radio mounted on a spark fun breakout board.
Online
- The Arduino reports the status of the garage doors to a pachube feed about every minute (the code for the arduino includes a watchdog script to reset the board if it gets stuck)
- Triggers on pachube automatically tweet when the door is opened & when it is closed.
In the future: Visual indicator of door status / push notifications instead of twitter / better handling of normal operation (short open/close for access/egress)
All in all, for my first try I think it went pretty well. The system is operating reliably. I wish that pachube made it easier to set more specific triggers. I’m not yet really familiar enough with writing/hosting the triggers or adjusting the arduino behavior to make the system wait longer before notifying that the door is open an unusually long amount of time.
I’m really excited tonight. I got the XBee radios talking to each other! It’s kind of a big deal. Progress!
This use of Kinect reminds me of those Shopper Trak devices that “counts people, analyzes data, and reveals total sales opportunities for retailers and mall owners, worldwide.” Nearly every big brand store (Gap, Apple, Disneyland, etc.) has these devices watching the doors counting you as you enter & leave and if you have bags or a stroller.
What else could we count? hmmm…
- Thanks, Tumblr, for getting rid of backdating posts for no apparent reason
yeah WTF? It messed up my blog about what I did today because the stupid app didn’t finish posting on the 23rd. Rawr.
They got rid of timestamping, so now I can’t backdate posts so more important posts for the day appear at the top of my beer blog.
Tumblr: becoming less and less useful for me by the day.
We are closing that part of the Design byMe service that allows you to order your digital models in real bricks.
LEGO.com DesignByMe : News - Changes to Design byME in January
I went to check online about improving my Lego Great Movie Ride Tram… sad that they are closing this service. It’s really difficult to find the exact parts you need for a custom design. :(
Yesterday I had the displeasure of spending some time at Bubble Beach Laundromat in Santa Monica. Mind you that there isn’t anything specifically wrong with this laundromat, other than the non-functional change machines and broken machines.
But why do laundromats suck so much? It seems like there is such potential for Tom’s Laundromat of the Future™
I imagine a laundromat that has three parts:
- laundromat
- coffee shop (not a crappy one) / bar
- NFC/RFID based payment & preference saving appliances
It’s a community center instead of a drab and depressing place where you go to sanitize your clothing / get rid of those pesky santorum stains. Naturally, there are some places where this type of thing would work (san francisco) and others where it wouldn’t (irvine).
Rather than using coins or those super annoying stored value ‘smart cards’ you would be encouraged to use NFC capable phones or place a RFID sticker on the back of their phone. Online, you set up a payment method & customize washing & drying preferences (maybe even automatic detergent dispensing). So, when you go to place your clothing in the washer, you simply hold your phone to the machine to pay & activate with your preferred settings.
With this type of networking, you could even have the system automatically text when it’s time to switch items to the dryer, or offer to have your clothing moved from the washer to dryer for a couple dollars. Naturally, you could use your phone/tag to order your favorite drink as well.
I don’t think any of this is that far off… it just needs to be designed to benefit the user. These ‘solutions’ produced by the giant machine manufacturers seem to benefit everyone but the person washing their clothing.
#att #rethinkpossible now that they have all but eliminated unlimited data, I’m always in the top 5% just for using my phone normally — #attsucks #notreallyunlimited #bs (Taken with instagram)
Lights Out: Ryan. AKA YouTuber 95Camry4Life, lives next door to neighbors who happen to enjoy having rather loud intercourse on a regular basis.
Rather than get upset and ask them to quiet down their coitus, Ryan has decided to put their bumping and grinding to good use by challenging himself to complete random timed tasks with his neighbors’ humping noises acting as the stopwatch.
In the first “Thin Wall Challenge” (above), Ryan attempts to blow as many balloons as he can before the sex sounds stop.
Below: The Thin Wall Challenge ante gets upped: If he can’t bounce five quarters into a cup before the beast with two backs quits huffing and puffing, Ryan will shock himself with a taser.
Can he flip before they flop? Let’s watch.
[thanks meg!]
(^^^ aw they thanked me!) You’re welcome, The Daily What! Is it weird that making this guy internet popular is my proud moment of the day? Maybe, but he seems like a nice, creative, and funny guy. Well done, sir. And I hope you get a ton of views.
Yay meg!
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Info
- SummaryWhat makes me tick? The constant desire to find out how stuff works.Experience
- Jan 2011 - Dec 2011Jr. Planner / TBWA\Media Arts Lab
- Jun 2010 - Jul 2010Social Media Intern / BrandtailersSupported account services department with client’s social media needs by identifying threats and opportunities in user generated content surrounding client’s brands. I also analyzed campaigns and translated anecdotal/qualitative data into recommendations and revisions
- Jan 2010 - May 2010Document Control Contractor / Walt Disney ImagineeringOrganized & updated Slide Library and Show Quality Standards Library archives in preparation for relocation of collections.
- Oct 2009 - Apr 2010Lead Strategist - Media Team / Circle Advertising, National Student Advertising Competition TeamI worked with a team of 50 others to develop and implement a media strategy that acknowledges and embraces that media includes all interactions between a brand and its audience. Our work contributed to Chapman University's Circle Advertising team winning 1st place at the NSAC District 15 competition.
- Mar 2008 - Nov 2008Creative Intern: Information Research Center / Walt Disney Imagineering
- Oct 2007 - Mar 2008Disney's Photopass Photographer / Disneyland Resort
- Jul 2007 - Sept 2007Returns Co-Worker / IKEA
- Jan 2007 - Jun 2007Technical Photographer Professional Intern / Walt Disney World
- 2007 - 2007College Program Campus Representative / Disneyland Resort
- Mar 2006 - Jan 2007Disney College Program Participant | The Great Movie Ride, Attractions Host / Walt Disney World
- Nov 2004 - Jan 2006Fantasyland Attractions Host / Disneyland Resort
- Sept 2001 - Jun 2004Technical Director & Intern / Skyline Theater Company
Education-
2012 - 2014New York UniversityMPS in Interactive Telecommunications Program
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2004 - 2010Chapman UniversityPublic Relations and Advertising in Film Production, Photography
Additional Information-
Websites:
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Photos
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Tweets
- Just preordered the @leapmotion device… can only imagine how many uses to be discovered at school later this year! Bubble machine control?!
- @jared_parmenter hey thanks! I'm pretty excited about doing more stuff like it
- Photo: Today I found a cowboy in SFO (my future ex lover) much to Stanley’s frustration, sat delayed at the... http://t.co/FdOt3gkj
- I just reached Level 3 of the "Fresh Brew" badge on @foursquare. I’ve checked in at 10 different coffee shops! http://t.co/ioS9Iluu
- Photo: Today I drove to San Diego with Stanley & Obama decided to tell the world he doesn’t think we are all... http://t.co/n4gaR1YF
- captured a panorama at Sunset Cliffs National Park with #Photosynth http://t.co/4CN7cPNo
- @bsilent don't know how I didn't see this, but thanks!
- @Dava988 Thanks. We have a place in NY, was referring to SF!
- @NYRentalBible Why isn't your credit processing page secure (HTTPS)?
- it sure seems like many @airbnb people suddenly 'go out of town' or have 'family in town' even after updating their calendar 24 hours before
- I just reached Level 5 of the "Hot Tamale" badge on @foursquare. I’ve checked in at 20 different Mexican Restaurants! http://t.co/WS6iWr4K
- @chunknchip awesome! thanks a lot for taking a look.
- @chunknchip hope to see you in santa monica agains soon! – this is @Square pricing https://t.co/XnXbfX0H, 2.75% + no extra fee with swipe
- @MojdehShayesteh thank you!
- I think @Square pricing is pretty fair… makes this 50 cent surcharge seem dumb. @chunknchip — was yummy though http://t.co/pF5qCFMk
- Santa Ynez river crossing with @jctucker and friends. Little did we know this was only the first of many. #camping http://t.co/cehkmzge
- Qui€ha… Ke$ha's vegetarian cousin
- @batterblaster found it at @WholeFoods all is right in the world! Camping readiness complete. http://t.co/azqyDAsh
- @batterblaster I can't find you anywhere! Tried #vons and @FreshandEasy, help! Twitter you are my only hope! We leave for camping Friday.
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Posts
- May 21, 12
Today I found a cowboy in SFO (my future ex lover) much to Stanley’s frustration, sat delayed at the airport, sang happy birthday to a southwest flight attendant and returned to the working life. (At least temporarily.)
- May 20, 12
Today I finally had IN-N-OUT, we took in the amazing sights of San Francisco, Stanley & I hung out with our buddy guy Geof, walked up Castro street and had dinner with Jim & Matt.
- May 19, 12
Today I explored a very hot and busy Maker Faire where there were lots of great projects, sculptures and things that made FIRE.
- May 18, 12
Today I visited tourist destinations, sufj as a gigantic concrete fire hose in San Francisco with Stanley.
- May 17, 12
Today I signed a 40 page apartment lease with Stanley, took the train to a bus to the plane, met an exceptionally friendly United crew on an exceptionally old Boeing 767, circled around San Francisco for an hour and took a train to our Airbnb residence. Phew.
- May 16, 12
Today I rented a Zipcar to see my grandmother in New Jersey, showed Stanley my childhood home, had dinner with Stanley and David and heard Stanley and I were approved for the apartment.
- May 15, 12
Today I walked around New York in the rain as Stanley had to talk about himself intensely, we placed a deposit on an apartment & had dinner with Doug.
- May 15, 12
Today I walked around New York City looking for a place to live, installed a window AC and saw the ITP spring show.
- May 14, 12
Today I flew to New York, had dinner with Stanley and a few of his Ohio friends, nearly died in a malfunctioning elevator & found my way to Sofi and Langston’s abode.
- May 12, 12
Today I took no photos as I prepared to leave for New York.
- May 11, 12
Today I went to Balboa Park with Stanley and Rex before driving back to LA and celebrating Josh’s birthday.
- May 10, 12
Today I visited billions of tourist destinations with Stanley and Rex & made friends with Sinatra the dog.
- May 09, 12
Today I drove to San Diego with Stanley & Obama decided to tell the world he doesn’t think we are all degenerates after all.
- May 08, 12
Today I was in Orange County and saw Trissa (we ate waffles for dinner) who I haven’t seen in ages.
- May 07, 12
Today I saw Death Cab for Cutie featuring The Magik*Magik Orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Amazing concert, hope they release some of the songs.
- May 06, 12
Today I had Phở for dinner with Stanley and went for a walk on the beach at night.
- May 05, 12
Today I went for a walk on the beach and went ice skating with Stanley.
- Today I took no photos as I recovered from seeing friends and worked to plan more of our SF/NY trip.May 03, 12
Today I took no photos as I recovered from seeing friends and worked to plan more of our SF/NY trip.
- May 02, 12
Today I had drinks with a few of my NSAC / Chapman classmates in Santa Monica.
