Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy year!!
Wages are good, but profits are great. Wages will make you a living, profits will make you a fortune. Work on your wages full time and work on your fortune in your part time. Eventually, with enough consistent activity, your profits will exceed your wages and you'll be faced with an interesting crossroads. Welcome to the 21st century - the age of the entrepreneur!
Friday, December 25, 2009
A Macauley Family Christmas
Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy year!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Guitar Hero with Christmas Lights?
Former Disney special effects specialist Rick Turner has set up one of the greatest Christmas light display I've ever seen. 21,268 bulbs make up a display that has a working Guitar Hero game displayed on the house. It's programmed to play Eric Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover". To begin, just ring the doorbell.
**DIIIING DONG**
Rick Turner Explains:
"Christmas Light Hero is using 7 light controllers from Light-O-Rama built from kits to control 21,268 lights and LEDs. Each controller has 16 outputs and 2-3 TTL level control inputs that are used by the game system to fire different programmed light sequences depending on what happens in the game. It relies on the fact that the game sequence is very consistent. If the game and the lighting sequences start together, they will stay in very good sync through the length of the song. The light program allows branching and overlays for fail, star power and "ready." I have some ideas to automate the initial show/game sync, but for now you have to push doorbell buttons at the right moments.
To program the show a video recording was made of a perfect round of Guitar Hero playing Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover. The timing of all the dots and the light show choreography follow that video.
When you play, you watch only the Christmas lights, but the audio you hear is from the Wii, so your flubs are broadcast for all to hear [people in cars can tune 99.1 and crank it up as loud as they want.] When we are not playing, a separate version of the program that has the audio from the recorded game plays with the lights as a loop. The YouTube video also has this audio, [because I forgot to record the direct audio when I was shooting the documentation, and the camcorder did not pick it up very well.]
A video screen is on the driveway showing the game video, but if you want to be on the high score list you have to make it through the whole game only watching the Christmas Lights. Even though the game is in "easy" mode, the lights don't provide the same timing detail as the game does, so it is much harder. Even expert Guitar Hero players have a hard time with the lights, and nobody has made it through without errors [yet]."
Shooooot, get DMAC1999 (search him on Youtube) or Beberle2SH (also on Youtube) and I'll bet they demolish that setup.
**DIIIING DONG**
Rick Turner Explains:
"Christmas Light Hero is using 7 light controllers from Light-O-Rama built from kits to control 21,268 lights and LEDs. Each controller has 16 outputs and 2-3 TTL level control inputs that are used by the game system to fire different programmed light sequences depending on what happens in the game. It relies on the fact that the game sequence is very consistent. If the game and the lighting sequences start together, they will stay in very good sync through the length of the song. The light program allows branching and overlays for fail, star power and "ready." I have some ideas to automate the initial show/game sync, but for now you have to push doorbell buttons at the right moments.
To program the show a video recording was made of a perfect round of Guitar Hero playing Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover. The timing of all the dots and the light show choreography follow that video.
When you play, you watch only the Christmas lights, but the audio you hear is from the Wii, so your flubs are broadcast for all to hear [people in cars can tune 99.1 and crank it up as loud as they want.] When we are not playing, a separate version of the program that has the audio from the recorded game plays with the lights as a loop. The YouTube video also has this audio, [because I forgot to record the direct audio when I was shooting the documentation, and the camcorder did not pick it up very well.]
A video screen is on the driveway showing the game video, but if you want to be on the high score list you have to make it through the whole game only watching the Christmas Lights. Even though the game is in "easy" mode, the lights don't provide the same timing detail as the game does, so it is much harder. Even expert Guitar Hero players have a hard time with the lights, and nobody has made it through without errors [yet]."
Shooooot, get DMAC1999 (search him on Youtube) or Beberle2SH (also on Youtube) and I'll bet they demolish that setup.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
CDOT Releases Blood-Alcohol Content App for iPhone
Want to estimate your blood-alcohol content after a night on the town? There's an app for that.
The Colorado Department of Transportation released a free iPhone app that lets users estimate what their BAC might be. The app takes basic information like your weight, sex, how many hours ago you've been drinking, and what you've been drinking. It's obviously not an exact science, but it should give you a good idea of how much alcohol is in your blood stream.
The app makes the estimation and then comes back with messages like "You're buzzed", "Don't even think about it", and "No hangover expected".
A spokeswoman for CDOS says, "People just need to be aware of hoe alcohol affects them. This is just a dool to give them a little idea of where they are."
The app even uses the GPS to determine where you are so you can click the "Taxi" button and be connected to the nearest Yellow Cab office, way easier than dialing 777-7777!
The app is part of CDOT's "Plan Ahead" campaign to cut down drunk driving this holiday season. They even have a new website, PlanAheadColorado.com that will list more than 60 bars and restaurants in Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs that will provide free $5 vouchers for cab rides this holiday season. There are also seven hotels in Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs that will give customers a discount if they ask for the "Plan Ahead rate".
Download the R-U-Buzzed iPhone app here! (Must have iTunes installed…duh)
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