I guess readers can see that I've gotten pretty big into photography.  It's another good way to combine my favorite sports and activities with yet another challenge.  I've carried my DSLR across Iowa on my bike in my handlebar bag.  I've hiked miles deep into Walls of Jericho with all my lenses and my full size tripod (what was I thinking on that one?)  I have a waterproof case so I can take it canoeing or kayaking. 

So many times, I've taken beautifully composed pictures on my adventures (like my Natchez Trace tour) only to return home and the pictures were crap.  They turn out to be just a little off - sharpness, exposure, the flash might wash a scene out, etc.  That's why I researched cameras and came up with my DSLR selection.  Over time, my opinions have fine tuned on the gear I like.  I love L-series Canon lenses for a variety of reasons.  I'm kinda itching for a full body camera, but I'd have to be walking through the forest and some money would have to fall on me.  Either way, point-and-shoot users can rest assured that any DSLR with interchangeable real glass lenses and large sensors will improve the quality of your photos 10-fold. 

So which camera should I buy?  That's a question I get frequently from my friends.  Since I'm biased towards Canon, I'm going to limit my response to the question to Canon.  That said, someone with an investment in Nikon has a choice to make.

Anyhow, you'll have to click Read More below to get the rest.

As a Verizon customer for years, I was a little reluctant to switch to AT&T just for an iPhone.  I mean really - your smart phone has to first work properly as a phone, and I know from observation that the Verizon network is better almost everywhere.  I'm a little miffed about the rumor mill, suggesting that the iPhone will come to Verizon.  I doubt that will ever happen.  So, finally a contender arrived - the Motorola Droid.  I upgraded my 4-year old Motorola Razr, got the data service, and I'm now sorry I waited!  So here's my review so far.

When browsing around for electronics information on Arduinos and other miscellaneous stuff, I found this guy.
http://screwdecaf.cx/forearm-ruler.html
He has some really interesting projects, but most of all I like that he's a nerdy tinkerer at heart, has dreads and he does crazy stuff like tattoo'ing a ruler on his arm.  Come on, the dude is seriously nuts!

OK, so I finally finished my DIY LED bike light using the 3-LED Cree XR-E design from www.bikeled.org. I rode with it last Tuesday night on the Natchez Trace ride with some HBC members. In summary, it's impolitely bright. Running at 1000mA, it's very much like car headlights, and even brighter than some of the headlights of cars that passed us. Most of the time, I rode with it dimmed down to 500mA or 350mA modes.

Other comments - I bought the Cree XR-E star boards from DealExtreme. The parts came in fairly quickly, considering they came from Honk Kong. I saw in the latest DigiKey catalog that they're now carrying Cree.

Also, the TaskLED nFlex is a very small board. But, the fit is still very tight inside the square aluminum housing. Packaging seems to be the hardest part of building a light like this. The setup is a little confusing at first, but it doesn't take much fooling with it to figure it out.

I bought the lenses from led-spot.com, which is some subset of another company. But, the lenses were relatively cheap and it was a good experience. The only complaint I had was I had to grind out sections of the lens to make room for the solder connections on the star. Be careful laying out which pads you're going to use. BTW - I don't have a Dremel, so I mounted a dremel bit in my drill press and spun it up to high speed. It cut the plastic lens like butter. I wore my face mask and I recommend you do too.

Speaking of lenses, I use two 5 degree and one 20 degree lenses. They throw a very nice pattern. I also have the 25x5 which I intended to use for commuting so cars can see me from the side. But, I think there's enough light scatter to do the job. And I'm pretty dang reflective.

Arctic Alumina Adhesive is VERY cool stuff. It appears to be very good epoxy, and it's very heat conductive. No, it doesn't take much if your parts fit well.

I also took an old POS mag light adapter and chopped it up to improve the mount. It's a gadget that has two velcro straps and a rubber thing in the middle. One side holds the mini mag light, the other side holds the handlebar. I cut the rubber thing in half and siliconed it to the L-brackets so the lamp assembly mounts properly.

Finally, the 4800Ah Li-Ion battery fits nicely in one of those "Bento Box" things. What I'm talking about is those things you're supposed to carry Gu or snacks in so you can get to them while riding. Maybe I'll post some pictures when I get a chance.

Problems I have right now: The light dims itself if I run it too long in 1000mA. I suspect the nFlex can't run at 1000mA for very long and it self limits. 750mA is pretty dang bright, but I'm still going to explore how to get it to run full blast.

Long story short, it was a fun project. It was funny to hear the "wow's" from folks at the ride when I turned it on. Though I spent more on my first one so I could play with options, I think I could build one for about $125. This light is easily bright enough to actually see where you're going - a rare or expensive thing in modern for-sale lighting systems. Go build one!

PS - I'm eyeballing that MC-E project that Allen is working on. Light building is a little bit addicting!

My Advent Prodigy II speakers were completely rotten around the outside. It makes sense since I bought them in 1992!  The foam had rotted completely out and the crumbled remains were laying on the floor. So, I began searching and I came across lots of speakers, including some AP-II's that had been "refoamed." So, after a few Google searches, I figured out what "refoamed" meant and I found lots of information on how to do it. So, another ebay search, I found a kit that looked promising - two surrounds, glue, shims, brushes and a set of instructions. So I ordered it and got started.

The instructions that came with mine basically followed this sequence:

1. Remove the speaker elements from the cabinet.  No problem.
   
2. Scrape and cut the old surrounds away and get all loose material removed.  Makes glue stick better later.  I used my fingernails first, and it made a big mess.  I recommend an "orange stick" usually sold where you find fingernail polish.
   
3. Cut the dust cap (the roundish mesh in the center of the speaker) loose from the cone, leaving a small section remaining to hold it perfectly in place.  This gives you access to the voice coil tube that rides over the magnet so the paper shims can be installed.  By far, this is the hardest thing to do.  If you choose to do so, use a very sharp knife and take your time.  I recommend skipping this part and wing it with the centering.
4. After installing the shims, glue the new foam surround to the cone.  This was a basic process sort of like contact cement.  Paint a thin layer of glue on both surfaces.  Let it dry until it's tacky, and press the two parts together.  I think it's better to put the glue on a little thick rather than have too little glue.  You'll figure it out after your first pair of speakers.
5. Once the glue dries, then glue the surround to the speaker frame.  Same process with the glue - both surfaces and let it dry until it's tacky.  The shims hold everything centered, if you chose to cut the dust cap loose.
6. Finally, glue the "gasket" back on, and glue the dust cap back on.  I did the cap first, then the gasket.  I turned the speakers face down on the hardwood floor and sat the couch on top to hold it all together while the glue set.
7. Reinstall the speaker in the cabinet.  Make sure the glue dries because you'll really want to crank it up for a test.

I have an itch to tinker with Arduino processor boards. www.arduino.cc. I think I'll try a sprinkler controller or something like that. www.sparkfun.com has some interesting looking stuff to interface to it. Controlling LED's is a good thing to experiment with, but I want to play with analog signals that cause digital things to happen - maybe an accelerometer or a gyroscope application. More later.

I've always been toying with the idea of a homemade bicycle light.  I haven't done it yet, but here are some resources to make it happen.

Some guy's site that explains what Cree is, how to pick lenses and a few sources: