• Moved the page navigation to the top
• Customized the header for a header image logo and background
• The showcase feature template is modified for use as a author slider and landing page
• Custom template for full page width

There’s tons of minor things but overall, I really enjoyed using Twentyeleven, great theme and it even looks alright on mobile devices with it being fluid. There was also a lot of image work that I did, but everything came out pretty nicely I think. I’m still working with the client on smaller tweaks, but the layout is there.

Visit http://comeflywithus.org to check out the book and see the site. There’s a lot of images from the book and there’s something for everyone!

Some notes: I’m still at odds with the header, but I’ll be fiddling with that. The rest of the page I’m quite happy with, I felt like the background stitching kind of looks like a seat belt, somewhat fitting in an airplane! Also, this site is built on WordPress Twenty Eleven theme, I liked the simplicity and versatility and it was a great exercise in fluid page widths, CSS3, HTML5 and more. Thanks for looking!

Malmo's Turning Torso in Sweden

I’ve gotten time in the past couple of weeks to begin making changes to the site as part of a continuous improvement. I still am using the Yashfa theme as a core and often times I wonder if I will get to creating my own WordPress theme, but right now I’m happy with the customizations I’ve made. If you compare the original theme to this one, they are quite different and even more so now.

I’ve recently made changes so that each page is a custom page template with potentially custom, widgetized sidebars and headers. The front page is still similar with featured content and basic contact info. Blog page now shows post titles nicer, and posts show up without strange borders as per the original theme. Perhaps the biggest visual change is the background that I applied.

Up on the list of things to do? Revolutionizing my portfolio page (temporarily gone for now), and eventually revamping the site.

I started out with a project box I got from Fry’s and an Arduino Duemilanove. To power the Arduino, I bought an 8 AA battery holder and used this to power both the Arduino and servo motor. Heres a brief list of components inside the box:

• Arduino Duemilanove
• Power switch
• 8 AA battery holder
• Control knob / potentiometer
• Lots of wires
• A button
• 6V voltage regulator

So how it works is the 8AA batteries provide 9.6 volts directly to the Arduino and runs a program that interacts with the control knob, button, and servo. The power switch disconnects the circuit directly from the batteries and the Arduino. Typically servos are suggested to only run with a maximum of 6 volts, and Arduino provides a 5volt output. this works but I want to get a 6 volt source, so I used the 9.6 volts from the Arduino’s VIN pin and applied a 6 volt regulator with then outputted to the servo. To connect to the servo, my brother had some pin connectors that i simply hot glued to a carefully drilled part of the project box. Note that with servos you have power, ground and PWM connectors. The reason I chose to use an Arduino is because the PWM allows for great accuracy and reliability of timing and speed.

Lastly, the button I mentioned is used to switch to a time lapse mode, moving a slight bit every ten seconds, right now I haven’t worked on making this time variable but changing it is as easy as changing a couple values in the program on the Arduino.

A couple things if you’re wanting to do something similar and haven’t done it much before. Take your time and plan out your attack, know how long wires have to be and where grounding will come from. Also be careful with shorting connections and blowing up electronics. I blew out 2 servos before getting it down correctly. Remember to do your research ahead of time to prevent any unwanted accidents! If you’ve any questions, let me know. Hope the pictures are helpful if this wasn’t!

I started with an IGUS slider kit off of Amazon, it was the DryLin W1040-A. At this point, you can drill a hole in the platform, attach a short 3/8 bolt and you’d be good to mount a tripod head and therefore your camera. I wasn’t satisfied with just a hand slider, so I wanted to motorize the thing. Sidenote: this is a great hand slider, I wouldn’t use it for heavier cameras (5d w/long zoom lens) but it works great for subtle slides.

So what I did was checked around the Internet and based a lot of my design off of Koko Monstrum. I used a lot of the same parts and really wanted to aim for as portable and functional as possible. I wanted to use the slider for slides from one end to another and for timelapses that start and stop for pictures.

So if you look on the Koko Monstrum site, he lists out using a lot of parts from McMaster Carr, which is a great resource for this kind of thing. The timing belt, the pulleys, aluminum shaft and coupling are pretty much the bread and butter to my slider. I’d definitely look into how big your sleeve bearings should be, they’re essential to prevent metal on metal contact and make the slide that much smoother. So definitely check out his page, he has two pages for his slider, one with a crank pulley and then he motorized it.

One thing that confused me was how to attach the belt. I got enough to cover two meters of length. Cut it and then attach it like you see in the picture. Make sure you have space for the belt under the platform, especially on the smaller W1040-A unit I have. Just make sure the length of your belt will fit your rails because it has to go twice the length of the rail length.

Another thing was how I attached the servo. I opted to mount it below the slider after drilling four holes that correspond with the mounting holes that are on standard sized servos. I had to be precise here so I measured on a sheet of paper the dimensions of where the screws were, taped it on the slider rails and drilled it with a drill press. I really would suggest using a drill press for the precision.

The rest of the holes were quite simple. Remember you’re using 1/4”-20 or 3/8”-16 for tripod mounting holes. A tap set will be really helpful here, I got a cheap one from my local hardware store, they work alright for the aluminum. You’re going to have to also grab some bolts and nuts if you don’t want to tap any holes, and be prepared to cut the bolts to your liking if they’re too long.

As for the servo, GET A CONTINUOUS servo. I attempted modify a servo but it didn’t work for me. I mean it moved continuously but it didn’t go the other way… So I got the Hitec 1425CR with a 1/4” shaft spline attachment instead of the shaft coupler that Koko uses.

The tripod head that I’m using is a cheap ball head that is surprisingly sturdy. But you can really use any head that fits. The one caution for me was that since I use nuts and bolts to secure the belt, the nuts would prevent me from putting a large tripod head onto the platform.

UPDATE: Just posted about the control box, you can check that out with some pictures here 

In short, I’m using an IGUS slider kit with parts from McMaster-Carr for the slider itself. For the motor and controlling unit, I’m using an Arduino and continuous servo. A lot of credit go to my brother for the electronics part.

So here it is in all its 30 seconds of glory:

Favorite photo while I was over there? Too many to count, but here’s a great one I really liked of the Eiffel tower in Paris.

Unlike my work at University Web Communications, I was able to use copyright music. I probably used this assignment more to use certain music than anything; I think I want to direct a music video in the future (like Evan did).

Special thanks go to Alexa and Lyndsay for helping me out on this; they were too kind in helping me with this project.

Some neat facts:

• I recorded the unzipping sound of my pants separately by standing in front of the microphone at crotch level; you can hear it in the first video in the bathroom shot.
• Cooking the egg was incredibly cheesy, but I think me leaning forwards in the second video takes the cheese cake for sure.
• If you look at my butt in the second video while I climb up the train, you can see that I am wearing monkey pajama pants under my jeans. So basically I’m acting like a monkey, while wearing monkey pajamas.

Video #1 – Morning Routine

Video #2 – Bike Ride

For my work with OSU Web Communications, I was asked to produce a short 30 second clip summarizing the event in spirit and in premise. This was to be used for the University’s Portland Business Roundtable address in Portland that happened on January 19th, 2011. To get an idea of the type of event this was, this was where many stakeholders of the university and Portland business leaders were in attendance. I was thrilled to be able to present a piece of my work to this group.

A couple of neat facts about the video:

• All of the audio was recorded on a small but extremely capable audio recorder known as the Zoom H1
• There is nothing like seeing so many people come together for an event like this, there was so much orange!
• The band is not the Oregon State marching band, rather they are a group of OSU alumni that used to be part of the band

This is the video in all it’s glory, I hope you do enjoy!

I don’t think I could go a day without a song stuck in my head or without listening to my favorite artists. I think that it’s important to say this because music plays a large role in how stories are told and is a wonderful way to have fun playing and listening. I’m not here to discuss the merits of music, but rather discuss the relevance of how social media is changing how we listen and choose to listen to music.

I was watching an Eric Clapton video on YouTube for his song, “Change the World,” today and what an absolutely amazing and talented man that is.

Before we move on, please watch the video all the way through. And if you’re like me, watch all the variations and live versions of the same song. Seriously, just watch it:

What I think draws me to how amazing this song can be summed up by this comment by jettyoeill on YouTube who says:

“13 years ago I was dating my husband, he in Canada, me in L.A., I sent him this version of this song. It said it all,it still moves me! We just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. The inside of my husband’s wedding band reads, “We changed the world”. Thank you Babyface and Eric Clapton.”

These stories are what make social media beautiful. The sharing, the stories, the amount of heart that is out there is staggering. I feel so happy reading comments like it. What I feel so happy about is that people are sharing these stories that are so unique. Whenever I listen to it, I smile part due to the lyrics but also in part to all the people that have had positive memories like jeyyoeill has had with this song.

I smile because they’re so genuine, and if we learn anything from social media it’s that being genuine is the key to a successful social media strategy.