Saturday, April 27, 2013

Tron Light Bike Tour (discussing my tron light bike model)

Fun times!

The creation of this Tron light bike model brought back some nice memories of when I first saw Tron: Legacy! 3D World Magazine January 2011 had some amazing tutorials on creating, modeling, rendering, and animating a light bike in Maya. My version of the bike is quite different from the model in the magazine, but it was still very fun to create even though it is unfinished. But I like the way it is right now. Watch the video for more information on resources and software I used to create the light bike. Maybe you would want to create a model of your own!


Friday, April 26, 2013

Cheap Android Tablet Keyboard (kinda a re-post with a small update)

WATCH HERE: Video review of the USB keyboard for Android 10 inch tablets. I am uncertain as to whether Android makes these or not. I believe they are a product of China, but they work with Android devices. The Amazon purchase includes a USB mouse, stylus, and faux leather folio case and the USB keyboard, of course!

My mother is still strongly using this and it is still in awesome shape. The package may go for under $20 currently!

It also works with the Raspberry Pi! [Only some of the punctuation keys will need to be reconfigured for use with the Pi].


Monday, April 15, 2013

Probability Distribution and z-scores (Psych Nerd Series- Stats)

Are you having trouble finding and interpreting z-scores for your statistics course? Watch this tutorial to learn more about z-scores. What are they? How do you calculate them? What do they mean? How do I know if my calculations are correct? FEEL FREE TO ASK MORE QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM! Learn to love stats and feel confident in your work. ENJOY! (Please share and comment if you need more help). THANKS FOR READING, THANKS FOR WATCHING!



Sunday, April 14, 2013

Raspberry Pi Tutorial: HDMI to VGA Adapter and Config File Edit

Do you want to use your HDMI to VGA adapter from the Raspberry Pi to a VGA input monitor, but the display will not show?

Uncommenting some of the settings in the config.txt tags, and changing some of the equality settings will allow the visual display to show on your monitor while using the HDMI to VGA adapter. Use this for the DELL 17" VGA input monitor.

Follow this video tutorial to edit your config.txt file from the Raspbian Debian Wheezy image. ENJOY!


Raspberry Pi HDMI to VGA mod

The HDMI to VGA adapter can be used to adapt the Ras Pi to display to a monitor that supports VGA input.
Many monitors have a VGA input but they may not have an HDMI input.
While it is not impossible to find, I have come across more monitor models with VGA capabilities but lacking HDMI input. Some displays (especially laptop displays) may only support HDMI outputs. But for the Raspberry Pi we need and HDMI output plugged into the Pi and some sort of supported input into a display device. Other than using the composite cable into a TV monitor, you can also purchase a cheap HDMI to VGA adapter from Amazon.com for less than $12; you can then adapt your Pi to most monitors.

(Stay tuned for more instructions involving the HDMI to VGA adapter). Suppose you are having issues viewing the display on your monitor once you have adapted the HDMI to VGA on your monitor. You need to edit the CONFIG.TXT file you saved on your SD card Raspbian Debian Wheezy Linux image. I should shortly post related information for the CONFIG file edits.

Other setup info:
This mod contains the following hardware setup:
-USB keyboard
-USB mouse
-USB hub
-USB wifi dongle
-iPhone power adapter
-USB power cord
-NEC LCD monitor
-VGA cable
-HDMI to VGA adapter
-SD card (containing system Raspbian Debian Wheezy)

TRY ONE LIKE IT FOR YOURSELF! Happy modding!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Limitless in Life (PART 1)

I do believe I have shared this video before. In Forget What You Know: Jacob Barnett at TEDxTeen proves during Ted Talks that the limitations forced upon us are not always legit.

Think of all the things that people have told you that you cannot do. 
Have you done them? 
If so, how and why?
And if not, why not?


Limitless in Life (PART 2)

Limitless.
http://www.korsgaardscommentary.com/

Have you seen the movie Limitless?

What are our true limits, and how are these determined?

Does a standard IQ test truly tell us that we are able to learn and do well in the Western public school system? What about other tests? Is it the testing that determines how limited we are?

And do we even truly have limits?

If the faith of a mustard seed truly can move mountains, what is holding us back?

Other people...
Ourselves...

In the movie Limitless a pill can take a sluggish, undetermined person and create in them abilities to produce what they could never have created otherwise. Of course this drug would be limited and exclusive- and of course illegal.

If everyone was limitless, how could we compare and judge and quantify our own worth! Right?

While driving, limits are set to predict safety. But these limits often change according to weather and traffic. Going 60 mph on the I-101 North may be legal. But if everyone else is crawling at 5 mph, it would be best to travel at a similar speed instead of upstaging each car and driving the legal limit at 60 mph. If the weather is hailing and raining heavily, driving slowly enough to see out of the windshield and to prevent skidding tires would be the right and safe move!

But don't we also take this approach in life?




Thursday, April 4, 2013

CamStudio Save Error Fix

Having trouble saving longer video recordings in CamStudio? Fix the error messages and recording problems. Watch this video!



Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Raspberry Pi and 4.3" TFT Car Reverse Monitor

This video portrays my personal setup and first time usage of the TFT monitor with the Raspberry Pi (running Debian Wheezy).

For my Raspberry Pi and TFT Monitor setup guide, click HERE check out this blog post!



Raspberry Pi TFT Monitor 4.3" Setup

Watch the R-Pi & TFT Monitor Setup 
Raspberry Pi and TFT 4.3" Monitor

The Raspberry Pi board works with the TFT 4.3" monitor from www.amazon.com. The affordable monitor can be purchased for between $12-25 USD and ships from within the USA or from China.

The primary purpose being for use in a car in connection with a camera for displaying reverse, the monitor has many features which can be adapted to other devices.

Check out the video here!
The portability the TFT monitor as well as the small size and few connectors makes this screen great for carrying with the small Raspberry Pi.

The TFT monitor setup is quite simple.

Quick Setup Guide

Monitor Setup

The monitor comes with a cable attached for input (composite yellow and audio white). The red is for power. An external cable is also provided: This cord is the power adapter cable which connects to the red input on one end and connects one black and one red wire to a battery of the appropriate voltage on the other end (the necessary voltage may vary if you choose a differently sized TFT monitor). You can also connect the red input to a 12V DC power adapter.

Raspberry Pi Setup

Your Raspberry Pi will connect with the yellow composite output to your monitor yellow input. You can also connect the white audio, but I do not believe this model of the monitor supports audio.

Insert your SD card running Debian Wheezy, Raspbmc, or another supported Linux OS. Connect your USB keyboard and USB mouse. Connect the Ethernet cable (I use a USB adapter which provides 4 extra USB ports. I also use a wifi dongle which occupies one of the open USB ports).

Link to YouTube tutorial!
Once you have connected the devices for the system, display, typing, pointing, and internet, you will want to power on your Raspberry Pi board. Connect the micro USB to the board and insert the USB end into a powered USB port. I use either my laptop (while the laptop is powered on) or I use my iPhone power adapter.

You will see the monitor display a color scheme and within seconds your Raspberry Pi will begin to boot the system.