Arduino - Morse Code

In my Sensor Network class, we are playing with Arduino boards and ZigBee chips to create a network of devices that communicate with each other to accomplish a common goal. We got our hardware a little while ago, and were told to test the equipment to make sure it was in working order. The demo program that comes with the Arduino board flashes the on-board light on and off in one second intervals. So, if you had a board that you can make a light flash what would you do with it? My first thought was to flash "SOS" in Morse Code, repeatedly! Cool, I worked. Now, what? Well, the Arduino connects to your computer via a USB cable that you can communicate with the board. Why not allow someone to enter any message they like and have the Arduino flash that message in Morse Code. I get a chance to make a more in-depth program, look a little deeper into the Arduino spec, and have some fun sending weird messages along the way.

I have my Arduino sample code up on my GitHub account. I'm going to be adding to it as we work on projects throughout the class, so keep checking back for updates.

Twenty-Six

Another year has passed me by. This time last year, I had just come back from helping my parents move to Arizona and I was beginning the 'A' License in a Week course at Skydive Chicago. I had just 11 jumps under my belt coming into this day a year ago, today I have 87. Some highlights from the last 12 months:

  • Stephanie and I are both licensed skydivers holding a B-License rating
  • I have started graduate school to get my Masters of Computer Science
  • My sister and her family have moved out to Washington, D.C.
  • My parents have begun work on their new house in Arizona
  • I am working for myself as an Independent Contractor and have my own company
  • My little cousins are not so little anymore, with two graduating and one entering high school this past year
  • Friends of ours have gotten married and a few more couples we know have gotten engaged

And this next year is shaping up to be even busier than last!

Grad School, Fall 2009

I'm halfway done with grad school with a 4.0 still going strong. The Fall 2009 semester starts on Monday and here is what I'm taking:

  • CS542 Computer Networks I Fundamentals
  • CS547 Wireless Networking
  • CS590 Advanced Software Analysis
  • CS595 Sensor Networks

After this semester, I still need to take one last course that will count towards my Software Engineering specialization in order to graduate. The problem is I took two of the six listed courses as an undergrad and cannot count those courses towards my masters. So I need to wait for one of the last two courses to be offered, or most likely take one as an independent study course. One cool thing about this upcoming semester is that it looks like I will be able to continue developing the Brookfield Zoo iPhone application through a Federal Work Study grant, so now I have something constructive to do during the four hour break between classes on Monday and Wednesday. And I think I'm going to be playing around with Arduino boards in my Sensor Networks class, which should be fun :-)

Skydiving and Summerfest 2009

Summerfest is in full swing over at Skydive Chicago, unfortunately, Stephanie and I have to work this week. We were there this past weekend, taking part in our first boogie, and hopefully we will get to go back next weekend as Summerfest wraps up. Some highlights of the weekend include: watching the 100-way relative work formations, jumping out of a Skyvan, and spinning like crazy on a 3-way hybrid jump with Matt hanging below the 2-way round Steph and I built. For those who can make it out to Ottawa tonight, they are doing a UFO jump followed up with fireworks, and if it is anything like last years show, it will be well worth your time to make it out there.

In other skydiving news, my sitflying is coming along, once I started focusing more on using my arms (rather than my legs) to stabilize myself in the air, I started holding the sit for longer. Stephanie and I are both proud owners of our very own rigs! Now it's just a matter of practice before we are able to pack our own gear. We have a tandem group setup for August 22nd, if anyone wants to join us and make a skydive, drop me an email and I'll get you the details.

One Hundred Push Ups Challenge

Stephanie and I are trying to get through the hundred push ups training program. We just started, so I'm posting this as a motivator. In about 6 weeks from now, we both hope to be able to complete the challenge and do 100 consecutive push ups. Just for fun, I'm going to log our daily progress and keep track of how many push ups we do over the challenge.

Week 1
Day 1		 MichaelSets: 6, 6, 4, 4, 7Total: 27
StephanieSets: 2, 3, 2, 2, 8Total: 17
Week 1
Day 2		 MichaelSets: 6, 8, 6, 6, 9Total: 35
StephanieSets: 3, 4, 2, 3, 10Total: 22
Day 2.5StephanieSets: 6, 8, 6Total: 20
Week 1
Day 3		 MichaelSets: 8, 10, 7, 7, 10Total: 42
StephanieSets: 8, 10, 7, 7, 10Total: 42
Week 2
Day 1		 MichaelSets: 9, 11, 8, 8, 11Total: 47
StephanieSets: 9, 11, 8, 8, 11Total: 47
Week 2
Day 2		 MichaelSets: 10, 12, 9, 9, 13Total: 53
StephanieSets: 10, 12, 9, 9, 14Total: 54
Week 2
Day 3		 MichaelSets: 12, 13, 10, 10, 15Total: 60
StephanieSets: 12, 13, 10, 10, 16Total: 61
Week 2 MichaelExhaustion TestTotal: 29
StephanieExhaustion TestTotal: 21
Week 3
Day 1		 MichaelSets: 14, 18, 14, 14, 20Total: 80
StephanieSets: 12, 17, 13, 13, 17Total: 72
Week 3
Day 2		 MichaelSets: 20, 25, 15, 15, 28Total: 103
StephanieSets: 14, 19, 14, 14, 22Total: 83
Week 3
Day 3		 MichaelSets: 22, 30, 20, 20, 30Total: 122
StephanieSets: 16, 21, 15, 15, 25Total: 92
Week 4
Day 1		 MichaelSets: 21, 25, 21, 21, 32Total: 120
StephanieSets: 18, 22, 16, 16, 27Total: 99
Week 4
Day 2		 MichaelSets: 25, 29, 25, 25, 36Total: 140
StephanieSets: 20, 25, 20, 20, 28Total: 113
Week 4
Day 3		 MichaelSets: 29, 33, 29, 29, 46Total: 166
StephanieSets: 23, 28, 23, 23, 33Total: 130
Week 4 MichaelExhaustion TestTotal: 50
StephanieExhaustion TestTotal: 37
Week 5
Day 1		 MichaelSets: 36, 40, 30, 24, 43Total: 173
StephanieSets: 28, 35, 25, 22, 35Total: 156
Week 5
Day 2		 MichaelSets: 19, 19, 22, 23, 18, 18, 22, 45Total: 186
StephanieSets: 18, 18, 20, 20, 14, 15, 16, 41Total: 162
Week 5
Day 3		 MichaelSets: 20, 20, 24, 24, 20, 20, 22, 50Total: 200
StephanieSets: 18, 18, 20, 20, 17, 17, 20, 45Total: 175
Week 5 MichaelExhaustion TestTotal: 63
StephanieExhaustion TestTotal: 53
Week 6
Day 1		 MichaelSets: 45, 55, 35, 30, 55Total: 220
StephanieSets: 40, 50, 25, 25, 50Total: 190
Week 6
Day 2		 MichaelSets: 22, 22, 30, 30, 24, 24, 18, 18, 58Total: 246
StephanieSets: 20, 20, 23, 23, 20, 20, 18, 18, 53Total: 215
Week 6
Day 3		 MichaelSets: 26, 26, 33, 33, 26, 26, 22, 22, 60Total: 274
StephanieSets: 22, 22, 30, 30, 25, 25, 18, 18, 55Total: 245
Week 6 MichaelExhaustion TestTotal: 70
StephanieExhaustion TestTotal: 60
Week 7
Day 1		 MichaelSets: 45, 55, 35, 30, 55Total: 220
StephanieSets: 45, 55, 35, 30, 55Total: 220
Week 7
Day 2		 MichaelSets: 22, 22, 30, 30, 24, 24, 18, 18, 58Total: 246
StephanieSets: -- Sick --Total:
Week 7
Day 3		 MichaelSets: 26, 26, 33, 33, 26, 26, 22, 22, 70Total: 284
StephanieSets: -- Sick --Total:
Week 8
Day 1		 MichaelSets: 45, 55, 35, 30, 65Total: 230
StephanieSets: 45, 55, 35, 30, 62Total: 227
Week 8
Day 2		 MichaelSets: 22, 22, 30, 30, 24, 24, 18, 18, 80Total: 266
Stephanie   Sets: 22, 22, 30, 30, 24, 24, 18, 18, 64   Total: 250
Week 8
Day 3		 MichaelSets: 26, 26, 33, 33, 26, 26, 22, 22, 70Total: 284
StephanieSets: -- Sick --Total:
Challenge    MichaelPush Ups: 105Total: 4153
StephaniePush Ups: Total: 2818

After a weekend of skydiving, Stephanie and I weren't able to make the 100 push-ups at the end of week 6, so we will repeat week 6 and try again until we get there.

Woo-hoo! It took a little longer than the 6 weeks, but I was able to complete the challenge with 105 consecutive pushups! Steph has been sick and sore lately, and will take a week or so off before getting back into the program.