All My Cool Stuff

I really shopped around before buying a pico projector. The AAXA P300 Pico/Micro LED Projector is one of the best pico projectors on the market. It has a 1280x800 Resolution and is 300 Lumens. I've used this thing for everything: presentations, rear window projections, interactive installations, etc. You can also run this thing on batteries (perfect if you want to use a Raspberry Pi and mount this thing on a bicycle - road projections are cool).

I still can't believe that this thing actually exists. A Raspberry Pi Model is a tiny computer (approximately $30) that works very well for hacker DIY projects. It's actually is a real computer - capable of browsing the web, playing games and doing basic computing. I've used it for all sorts of projects. Also, there is a supportive community that will show you how to make computers do things they haven't really done before (and did I mention that it's ridiculous inexpensive).

OK, let me start off my saying if you haven't used a laser cutter before... well, then you haven't lived. Epilog makes the best laser cutters for all maker spaces and fabrication studios. I've designed and cut out hundreds of designs in acrylic, wood, paper and fabric. It can also engraves images onto almost any material (except for PVC - because it's toxic).

TheMakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer certainly lives up to it's hype. While I actually don't own one of these machines, I have used the one that we have at work extensively. In fact, our 3D printer runs pretty much all day long. It's easy to maintain and prints beautifully.

I work with the Arduino a lot. I've built museum and school exhibits, wearables, games, etc. I've also taught some courses that use Arduino. The Arduino gives you a sort of superpower - you can sense and manipulate the world around relatively easily. The Arduino is one of the most exciting inventions of my generation.

You can purchase a standalone Arduino, but if you are remotely serious about building something cool you should grab the The Arduino Starter Kit (Official Kit from Arduino with 170-page Arduino Projects Book).

It comes with a lot of parts and the book is actually quite good.

I make a lot of things that blink, buzz and move. After all, the internet and the open source movement make it possible for anyone to learn whatever they want to learn.

I love to cook. I especially love to grill. Playing with fire while cooking food is pretty much the best thing ever. I use my grill about three times a week (even during the winter). I figured out that pretty much anything you put in the grill - whether you think it's grill-able or not will come out tasty. Except for cold cuts... they are gross on the grill.

Anyway, my first grill was a cheap no-name grill from Home Depot. It cost something like $70.00. It lasted maybe six months before it all fell apart. I mean, it really fell apart. Even the top hinges got burnt off. But I guess you get what you pay for.

But then something amazing happened.

My family bought me the Cadillac of all grills. A Weber. Best gift I ever got. I love it so much that if I had a kid, it's name would most certainly be Weber.

I love Apple products - I use almost every one of their products. However, I don't own an Apple TV. Instead, I am now the proud owner of an Amazon Fire TV. I originally bought this as gift for someone because they love TV and don't care for Apple products. So the Amazon Fire TV seemed like the perfect gift! Except I found out that they already had one...

So I brought it back to my house (with the intent of returning it, of course) and after a few hours, the glistening wrapped plastic seduced me - I couldn't resist - I couldn't help myself. I unwrapped the damn thing and plugged it in. And then I turned on the TV

And when the picture illuminated in full HD - I grinned and stared at it for hours. The TV never looked like this before. The controller was so easy to use (much easier than the Wii remote I was previously using). The voice recognition was nearly perfect. I downloaded music apps, games and all kinds of stuff. My TV became the center of home entertainment. I figured out how to stream Spotify over this thing using my phone. I've been listening to Alice in Chains (the MTV Unplugged version) on repeat for two weeks since this discovery. I'm also watching the Nature show - which comes free if you are an Amazon Prime member.