Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 9d

Made a 🌈 on the new #raspberrypi 500+, and l'm not sure I'll ever get past playing with the keyboard to use it for another purpose!

A mechanical keyboard which houses the new Raspberry Pi 500+ computer displaying a rainbow pattern across its keys.

13 1

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12d

Just set up a small wearables exhibit for this weekend's #bayareamakerfaire. I'll be giving workshops today and a talk tomorrow as well, so it's going to be a (fun) busy weekend!

5

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17d

For athletes who spend so much time practicing, they sure seem to have a lot of trouble catching the ball.

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17d

don't follow sports, but have somehow ended up at a football game today (Broncos @Chargers), and feel like it's mostly just an excuse for day drinking.

1 1

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23d

Video of the gorgeous pendant in action

3

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23d

At the Orange County Maker Faire this weekend, I got to see @californiasteam and his gorgeous LED jewelry creations, and was super excited to get one of his brand new "Duonacci" pendants. It's powered by a super capacitor which charges fully in just minutes and lasts for many hours.

Me posing next to Sander from California's theme. Displaying a gorgeous spiral LED pendant that I am wearing

Sander from California steam standing behind a very glowy display of LED jewelry and wearables at the Orange County Maker Faire

2 2

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Aug 14

Getting ready to bring some Bendy SAO boards to @crashspaceLA tonight for a presentation with @alpenglow where well show off some fun PCB projects. Attached the SAOs to the SuperCon 2024 badge and it's giving strong Medusa vibes!

3

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Aug 7

Maker Tom Keddie remixed the Bendy SAO board for a Pride event, and
love how it turned out!
https://hackaday.io/project/203708-bendysao-went-to-pride

A tabletop display of a multi-segmented car wash balloon man sculpture constructed of PCBs in different colors arranged at jaunty angles to each other with some the backlit LEDs running up the front center of the sculpture illuminated in an alternating blue and red pattern.

1

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Aug 6

Riley (left) channeling his spirit animal on the UCLA campus

A medium sized black and tan 2-year-old dog sits on a pedestal next to a giant bear statue that is life size or slightly larger. The dog is looking at the camera and his tongue is hanging out

1

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Aug 2

Experimenting with making an illuminated daisy chain by 3D printing snap-on circular covers for a pebble light string and cutting shiny vinyl flowers that fit around the glowy centers.

A black bucket cap rests on a table. Several silver flowers with illuminated red centers run around the middle of the hat. In front of the hat is a string of pebble lights in which the LEDs have been covered by translucent circular diffusers. Some of the diffusers form the center for vinyl flowers that have been placed around them. On the table in front of the LED string are two of the 3D printed diffusers, along with two flowers cut from vinyl with holes in their centers for placing the diffusers through.

1 3 3

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Jul 27

I'm belatedly getting around to showing off this **GORGEOUS** crochet hat the uber talented @alpenglow made for me. She integrated a pebble light string and #pixelblaze controller. It's all powered by a flat top 18650 with a clever charge/discharge circuit […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

1 29 7

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Jun 26

I'm teaching at a nonprofit STEM education camp this week, and yesterday we had an activity where the kids had to solve science puzzles to figure out who had kidnapped our class mascot, a masking-tape goldfish. All staff members were suspects. One child made […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

A notebook with a crayon picture of a fish drawn on it and titled "Detective who took the fish"

A child's notebook of observations that reads:

Detective Isla
fish on the loss (loose)

Who took the orange fish in the morning sign I'm lonely (the kidnapper left a sign next to the remaining mascot saying "I'm lonely")

Ms. Sherry in the office

Mr. Alex he was playing Frisbee outside

Mss Debra: I don't trust her

But it could be Ms. Amy

2

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Jun 13

The prize for winning a top spot at the Hackaday SuperCon SAO challenge with my Bendy SAO design was getting 100 copies of it produced and assembled. These bendy boys just arrived this week. They're getting flashed and paired with 3D printed stands, so now I […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

Two green poseable PCB assemblies, shaped like inflatable car wash men are illuminated through translucent patches on the front of the PCBs. One assembly is laying on a table, connected to a programmer while the other assembly stands vertically with its base held by a round silver 3D printed stand. Begind the assemblies is a plastic bin filled with dozens more identical assemblies.

1 6 1

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · May 27

Walking in the UCLA campus today, I grabbed what I thought was a copy of the "Daily Bruin" student newspaper. Turns out it's a (quite good!) lookalike satire. Worth zooming in on the images to read the headlines.

A folded student newspaper named "The Westwood Enabler" with a main headline reading "UCPD ARRESTS STUDENT FOR THINKING ABOUT PALESTINE"

A satire version of the Daily Bruin titled "The Westwood Enabler"

2 16

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · May 26

There will come a day when I finish an entire sewing pattern without installing a piece backwards. Today is not that day.

1 1

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · May 18

Just finished sewing a new sling bag with a 32x18 LED matrix inside the pocket flap. The pocket flap snaps off so the matrix can be used in other designs. The #pixelblaze controller and battery fit nicely inside the front pocket

7

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · May 16

Was hiking when my dog emerged from the bushes with this large bone. I texted my (doctor) husband to see what it was and he texted it back "fibia," then immediately went offline before answering my second question, "not human, right?" Still waiting for that […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

A hand holding a large bleached tibia bone

2 1

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · May 10

Is my weekly #teslatakedown protest. This Saturday I'm in Santa Monica. Smallish but quite high impact protest with good energy and a very high visibility location at the 3rd Street promenade. Also, this couple is awesome.

A grey haired man and woman standing on a street corner holding up protest signs reading "Boycott Tesla" and "Elon Kills Babies"

1 3

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · May 4

Another small but mighty protest outside the Milken conference in Beverly Hills where Musk is speaking #teslatakedown

A small group of protesters holding anti-Musk signs across the street from the Beverly Hilton which has a sign announcing the Milken Institute conference

A small group of anti Musk protestors on a street corner holding signs

1 8 14

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · May 2

This is fine...

A cascading series of lever wire connectors, joined to each other with hookup wire, start with a single barrel jack to wire connector and end by sending voltage/ground to 15 different power wires to power 15 PCBs from a single cable.

1

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Apr 26

It rained this morning, so the weekly Santa Barbara #teslatakedown protest is smaller than usual, but mighty in spirit.

A small but mighty group of protesters standing along a sidewalk holding signs outside of a Tesla dealership

6 13

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Apr 22

The diffusers on the new LED polyhedron (dihedral hexacontahedron, right) looked so much better than the first build that I had to print new ones for the truncated icosahedron (left). I also synced up the patterns on both builds (with #pixelblaze) and will be […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]

2 24 4

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Apr 19

Another Saturday, another #teslatakedown protest. This is a portion of the crowd outside the dealership in Santa Barbara.

A line of protesters holding signs and standing in front of a Tesla dealership

9 1

GeekMomProjects @geekmomprojects.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · Apr 17

The LED deltoidal hexacontahedron is complete! 60 identical PCB sides covered with 3D printed diffusers. Two #pixelblaze controllers work in sync to provide a fast frame rate for patterns on the 1200 LEDs.

5 43 14

Reposted by GeekMomProjects

InarticulateQuilter @inarticulatequilter.mastodon.art.ap.brid.gy · Apr 16

Am enjoying having a Pixelfed account

There are small differences between it and Mastodon that are taking some getting used to. Nothing too radical, nothing really better or worse, just little things like the layout. It took me a bit to get comfy here, but I did, so I expect these growing pains […]

Original post on mastodon.art

mastodon.art

2