Embedded Musings : Humor

Road signs warn of zombies

smaillet — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:32:31 GMT

Yep that's what the road sign said.... Really - see for yourself ( Road signs warn of zombies ) Hackers got into a construction road sign and changed the display to show a "custom" message. I bet the sign's manufacturer is wishing they'd used...(read more)

One day into Maker Faire and we have existential dilemmas

smaillet — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:11:44 GMT

Well one day at Maker Faire is passed, and it was a long day, we arrived for setup around 8am he event opened at 10am and ran through until 10pm! It was a long day but the attendees are a whole lot of fun loving creative people that keep things entertaining!...(read more)

Am I in whosville?

smaillet — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:52:44 GMT

So, there I was getting things ready at the Microsoft booth for Maker Faire, which has a reputation for some rather unique and quirky stuff. But I wasn't expecting to be transported to a Dr. Seuss story when this instrument rolled on by.......(read more)

How many trips to the electronics store does it take to make a Jack O' lantern?

smaillet — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:25:11 GMT

How many trips to the electronic store does it take to make a Jack O' Lantern? Well it turns out a lot more than we thought! John Leier (Technical Product Manager for the .NET MF) and I took on the task of making up some Jack O' Lantern for the Microsoft...(read more)

Electric guitar that tunes itself!

smaillet — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:29:23 GMT

Technorati Tags: Humor,Embedded,.NET Micro Framework

This is a really cool example of how small embedded devices are changing the way we do just about everything.

Embedded.com - Under the Hood: Robot Guitar embeds autotuning

No, unfortunately, this guitar isn't using the .NET Micro Framework (We'll have to have some sales and marketing folks talking to the designer at Gibson about that ;-) ) It does, however, represent the kind of really small ubiquitous embedded devices we are targeting the .NET Micro Framework for.

Now if they could only get that plug into your brain for "think and play(tm)" so I just think the musical notes and the guitar plays itself. ;8^)

To heck with the dogs, beware the ducks!

smaillet — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:33:00 GMT

No <bleep>, there I was thought I was gonna die... (all good skydiver stories start with that phrase so I had to throw it in)

Microsoft is designed with a campus style architecture, lot's of individual buildings with open areas and well maintained landscaping in between to encourage creative thought. Surrounding most of campus are some walking/running trails, some wooded areas and, on the East side, a couple of small ponds can be found along the edge of the trails. You can often find parents with small children feeding bread to the ducks at the ponds. Since I live nearby I use the trails to walk a portion of the way to my office each morning. This morning things turned strange. After several weeks of not seeing any of the usual ducks around the pond I turned the corner to see there were quite a few of them and they were all rapidly heading out of the water and starting to run up the trail towards me. That's only a bit unusual as they've figured out people often have food so they come right up and wait for it sometimes. (Much like dogs do. Cat's on the other hand don't bother, they just take what they want and let you know you should be grateful they chose you to take it from) However, what I didn't expect was their continued acceleration and wing extensions to take off. The challenge and wakeup for the morning was due to the simple fact that ducks don't exactly "go vertical" like an F15. They are more like an old 1950's crop duster that's never flown higher than 500' off the ground. So while they move pretty fast forward they don't go up very fast. (and they were still headed directly to wards me). New Discovery Channel moment for me: ducks are either blind or can't steer very well when they are taking off! I had to do an interesting bob and weave dance to keep from getting smacked in the face with a flying duck. Now, I've always been fond of Peking duck, and of course those silly little fortune cookies that go with it, but colliding with one at top speed didn't seem like a good idea. Then of course there was the not so irrational fear of... how shall I say... "droppings" as they flew over.

Preparing for the MVP Summit

smaillet — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:21:00 GMT

On occasion Microsoft invites all of the word Wide MVPs to come to a summit on campus at the company headquarters in Redmond. The MVPs for the 2008 summit began arriving over the weekend. I'm a bit sad I'm not joining them at all the events and sessions they are attending. I have always looked forward to the event as it allows the MVPs a chance to network among themselves AND with Microsoft in a cross discipline fashion. Since I became an MS employee I am no longer an MVP. However, I continue to consider many of the MVPs as my friends and colleagues. I do, however, get to participate as a presenter for the .NET Micro Framework product group. (Talk about switching to the dark side!) As former MVP I know that things can get brutally honest and open at the summit so along with writing up my presentation I need to take a trip to the company store to buy an umbrella for all the rotten eggs and tomatoes that will be hurled my way. (Not because there is anything wrong with our product! Just on principle because I used to be an MVP! 8^) )