Morse Code Input Device
A friend and I programmed this FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) to function as an input for morse code, which then outputs the characters to an LCD display.
The input is the right button of the 5-button arrangement on the bottom right.
(We were in the middle of inputting “Congratulations.”)
the river pulls me along
gentle tug of the hand
below a bridge
moonlight sleeping on the waters
my spirit operates in an infinite space of imagination and calm
a jacuzzi of musings, bubbling around and easing me into a deep sleep
slowly, slowly…
life’s progression toward death is like a slow fall into a deep sleep
the red fire fell - flames still beating, bleeding
light devouring it, rays like lasers
until the smooth crisp outline hardened
the outside, a shell
a wisp of smoke escapes, streams upward
thin and smooth like candle wax
the final breath
of the hollow heart
http://gdriv.es/nonce-words-data-parser
For research, I’ve been up to analyzing nonsense words, or nonce words, essentially. So I was faced with the common task of writing a script to analyze data.
Instead of writing a standard python script or something similar, I decided to set up a site on Google Drive (video, article), which is pretty cool for quick and dirty creations.
Benefit: I may be able to use drive to host a variety of scripts in the future. It’s nice because I can just share the link with my research advisors/fellow assistants and know that they have access to the script.
What I learned:
Simple site set up with Google Drive, using JS to parse text.
The Code:
https://github.com/dmonopoly/nonce-words-data-parser
my mind is the knife;
my thoughts, the blade.
unfortunately, you hold the handle.
This is example output of my WriteArt project. It’s an experimental way to write - basically, the program is a parser that parses plain text and adds span tags around appropriate words (or parts of words) so as to vary font size. There’s plenty of room for expansion, but I think the simple program is nice to quickly make nice writing - like the above example, which comes from this writing:
To be great22 is to be misunderstood26; To be loved22 is to be in reciprocal joy.30After running this through the parser, you get span tags around the enlarged words with the font size (in pixels) added as an inline style.
You can also write like this:
Life25's greatest moments Come from with14in26 Not with14out26This then becomes
The code for this project is here: https://github.com/dmonopoly/writeart. People are welcome to join the project, make a pull request, etc.
Future feature ideas: make up a notation for bold, italics; handle default font sizes; put it in a web app, maybe; plenty of stuff. It could grow into a neat markdown-like thing of sorts. Whatever it is - it’s a little project I thought to make to help me write out beautiful words like the above more easily. I’ve done it before in writing like this.
Final thoughts: project done in C++, and I learned Google Test (gtest) and CMake in the process.
my life is the music I express
the fire that flickers in the night
the embers that jump - a shouting mess
warmth within warmth, a flowering light
Factory Project - Santa’s Workshop (narrated by a teammate, not me)
A huge 11-person team project for a 200-level CS class.
The program, written in Java (Swing, which is so, so, so outdated…), involved multi-threading, agents, server-client interaction, various frames, animations, and more - all to simulate a factory where we manufactured “gifts.” The number of hours spent meeting with the team probably surpassed the number of hours I spent on certain other classes.
Nonetheless a good team/managerial/code-mayhem experience.
Change dispenser from my digital circuits class at USC.
A place to pour out your thoughts. thotdrop.com
This app is one of my favorites - and it’s an ongoing project that emerged out of the old CYL project from high school. Right now I only let a few friends use it, and it’s pretty closed down (and I admit I use it the most by far), but I really, really love this project and hope it leads me somewhere.
It lets you visualize the various thoughts you’ve had in views I call Cloud, Timeline, Stream, and more. I find it powerfully connected to something I call my Theory of Reminders - basically, reminders, timed right and presented in the right way, do not merely draw forth a thought to the mind but go further to transform the mind (I think of all those inspirational speeches that I’ve heard before. So many of these speeches tell me nothing new - they’re merely reminders of what I already know. Yet, they can be moving. Stories function in this way too - by reminding us of something deep already in our minds). Thotdrop sometimes strikes a cord in me when I see a thought that I’ve had; it can be refreshing, hilarious, startling - so much.
The project also takes up a water metaphor quite nicely. “Pour out your thoughts…” “The Ocean of Memories” “Stream of Consciousness” … so many, they just keep coming up, and I feel delighted to implement them in somehow.
The status now? I’ve been busy with semester work and research projects, but I hope to come back to it soon. Regardless, it’s something I’m bound to continue using. It might even connect to my linguistic interests of parsing tons of memories - words - and deriving something meaningful from them.
There’s so much more to write about - I literally have pages and pages written elsewhere on this (including in the app itself) - but I’ll leave it at that.
