If I ever settle down...
On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 9:53 PM, Tim Hanna
seriously, that's what real engineers with real experience, real time, and real funding do, rather than 3 students do, sophomore year, in the second half of one course with $100. I'll get there one day... :)
[now that I have some web-space, I hope I remember to re-post the website Sylvie and/or DJ made for that project]
While I'm thinking about ideas for the future, to have in my space... if I ever have money and a space...
0. Barmonkey on steroids
1. public computer terminal. Useful for searching, controlling music, and perhaps self-made home-automation.
2. Big, huge, self-cleaning blender. I'm not sure if the self-cleaning part exists, but if it doesn't, it will. Add a water tap and a servo valve, and have the output over a drain. it'll flush itself pretty well, anyway. This is for all-fruit smoothies (which are healthier than fruit juice according to stuff I've read recently about the necessity of consuming fiber along with fructose), milkshakes, cream-of-____, and other blended foods and beverages.
3. general-public (outside the living area) bike workshop, following the model of some I've found here. $5 or so annual admission, all the tools are public, and it's open whenever a volunteer is there to watch over things (initially me, but the ones here have developed a following of open-space fans who help run the places)
4. A shower with multiple movable, extendable, adjustable shower heads. Seriously.
5. Comfy-chair laptop docking station. Most of all this would have an ergonomic keyboard, or better, a keyboard split in two pieces with each piece re-positionable (or if I'm lazy, just on the armrests), with built-in wrist-rests. Maybe the computer would be not so much a docking station as a separate desktop that does wi-fi remote-desktopping, so it's easier to set it up on more computers? Maybe also give it hardware video in and USB-host mouse/keyboard out, in case anyone wanted to plug in their laptop to the home network or big screen, but didn't want to or couldn't install remote desktop software... but it'd be a lot easier to do the remote desktop thing. Ah! Or maybe make it a web-client! That'd be awesome. I need to research this more, as I'm sure there are a *ton* of people who have already made such things, if and when I ever get the money and space to set it up. Anyway, there'd be a direct video-streaming-speed connection to the TV and other network outlets in the house.
6. (this one is going a little far, maybe... perhaps if I build my own house?) Stone floors with sub-floor heating. It's what this milano apartment has, and it's soooo nice. You can slide around fast in your socks, and the floor is always warm! I'd want to do it with something green, like a roof-mounted solar-heated water system... but man, that'd be nice. The design requires a bit of finesse, especially if you want to combine the floor hot-water heater with the shower/dishes/etc. hot water heater. Or maybe there's no reason to do that. Maybe a separate solar-water-heater for each area of the house, so each one's setup variables can be tweaked for the particular application (for example, floor heating - high throughput, bath - maximum temperature).
On the note of number 6, I also really liked my parents' solar water heater, which had no electricity involved (except maybe a small pump? or did it work on convection), just a big sun-absorbing panel over which the water ran.
Now I'm just rambling, so I'll leave it there and put this on my blog.
~George
Subject: Barmonkey on steroids
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/gallery- robot-bartenders/
seriously, that's what real engineers with real experience, real time, and real funding do, rather than 3 students do, sophomore year, in the second half of one course with $100. I'll get there one day... :)
[now that I have some web-space, I hope I remember to re-post the website Sylvie and/or DJ made for that project]
While I'm thinking about ideas for the future, to have in my space... if I ever have money and a space...
0. Barmonkey on steroids
1. public computer terminal. Useful for searching, controlling music, and perhaps self-made home-automation.
2. Big, huge, self-cleaning blender. I'm not sure if the self-cleaning part exists, but if it doesn't, it will. Add a water tap and a servo valve, and have the output over a drain. it'll flush itself pretty well, anyway. This is for all-fruit smoothies (which are healthier than fruit juice according to stuff I've read recently about the necessity of consuming fiber along with fructose), milkshakes, cream-of-____, and other blended foods and beverages.
3. general-public (outside the living area) bike workshop, following the model of some I've found here. $5 or so annual admission, all the tools are public, and it's open whenever a volunteer is there to watch over things (initially me, but the ones here have developed a following of open-space fans who help run the places)
4. A shower with multiple movable, extendable, adjustable shower heads. Seriously.
5. Comfy-chair laptop docking station. Most of all this would have an ergonomic keyboard, or better, a keyboard split in two pieces with each piece re-positionable (or if I'm lazy, just on the armrests), with built-in wrist-rests. Maybe the computer would be not so much a docking station as a separate desktop that does wi-fi remote-desktopping, so it's easier to set it up on more computers? Maybe also give it hardware video in and USB-host mouse/keyboard out, in case anyone wanted to plug in their laptop to the home network or big screen, but didn't want to or couldn't install remote desktop software... but it'd be a lot easier to do the remote desktop thing. Ah! Or maybe make it a web-client! That'd be awesome. I need to research this more, as I'm sure there are a *ton* of people who have already made such things, if and when I ever get the money and space to set it up. Anyway, there'd be a direct video-streaming-speed connection to the TV and other network outlets in the house.
6. (this one is going a little far, maybe... perhaps if I build my own house?) Stone floors with sub-floor heating. It's what this milano apartment has, and it's soooo nice. You can slide around fast in your socks, and the floor is always warm! I'd want to do it with something green, like a roof-mounted solar-heated water system... but man, that'd be nice. The design requires a bit of finesse, especially if you want to combine the floor hot-water heater with the shower/dishes/etc. hot water heater. Or maybe there's no reason to do that. Maybe a separate solar-water-heater for each area of the house, so each one's setup variables can be tweaked for the particular application (for example, floor heating - high throughput, bath - maximum temperature).
On the note of number 6, I also really liked my parents' solar water heater, which had no electricity involved (except maybe a small pump? or did it work on convection), just a big sun-absorbing panel over which the water ran.
Now I'm just rambling, so I'll leave it there and put this on my blog.
~George
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