Picasa Web Albums

I have been spending some time lately organizing my photos in Picasa and uploading them to Picasa Web Albums.  I do not have a lot there yet, but I am adding albums all the time.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kcoombs

Electronics Projects: Ice Tube Clock & Minty Boost

I recently assembled a couple of electronics projects from Adafruit Industries.  They are not overly-complicated, but I think they are cool.

Ice Tube Clock

This first project is the Ice Tube Clock, an alarm clock featuring featuring a Russian vacuum florescent tube.

I received the kit and got my workstation together.  The main circuit board is in the clamps, the circuit components are in a pile near the netbook, the fluorescent tube is near the soldering iron, the and clear acrylic case is between the soldering iron and the netbook.

I assembled the pieces as per the instructions, and voila:

Here is another shot that gives a better view of the tube.  I think it’s pretty nifty:

I have been using it as my primary alarm clock for a couple weeks now, and it seems to do the trick quite well.  My only complaint: it’s not as big as I imagined.  This shot shows the scale:

Minty Boost

The second project is the Minty Boost, a charger for USB devices (such as my iPod Touch).  It’s simple: insert two AA batteries (I use rechargeables) and charge most USB-based devices.  The best part: the circuitry is tucked away in a Altoids gum tin.

Here are some pictures:

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video has many pictures per second.   Here is is:

Pumpkin Carving

Yesterday I got together with my neighbor, Alicia, and her friend, Annie.  Being Halloween-Eve, we grabbed some pumpkins and went to work.  Here is the result:

Annie made a happy birthday jack-o-lantern.  This is for her deceased grandmother, who’s birthday is October 31.  Alicia created a beautiful spider, and I decorated my pumpkin with Darth Vader’s mug shot.  Please note that I am not at all artistic: I used a pattern I found online.

Photo Albums

Here are a couple of albums from my Uintas and Buckskin Gulch trips.

Uintas: http://picasaweb.google.com/kcoombs/BlueLakeNaturalistBasin#

Buckskin Gulch: http://picasaweb.google.com/kcoombs/BuckskinGulch#

What have I been up to?

It has been some time since I last posted. I thought I would give you some highlights...

First, I went on my Europe trip. It was spectacular. I generally stuck with the itinerary of my most recent post. My favorite place: Switzerland. I don't really know where to start telling about the trip, so I won't. ;)

Second, I got home from the trip and started back at Workman for the summer. I am enjoying what I do there.

Third, I have taken a couple of little weekend trips. One was to Buckskin Gulch, a slot canyon between Kanab, UT and Paige, AZ. The weather was great, and I had a chance to get nice and wet while being a gentleman...

Another was a backpacking trip to the Naturalist Basin in the Uintas this weekend. I went with my roommate and I had a blast. Utah has seen a very rainy June, and it shows at the high elevations. I have done Spring packing in the Uintas, and I would say that they are at least a month behind. It was very wet...but that made it all the more fun...