Category Archives: Technology

It all started with this idea I had for a Halloween costume. I’d tell you more, but someone might take my idea. It’ll be good (If I can put it together)… But thats not what this post is about. Casey joined me and we went for a stroll through Home Depot. It’s always fun finding things there that are usefull, and not at all for what their intended use was.

We stopped in the PVC pipe aisle. The friendly staff at Home Depot kindly cut various sizes of PVC pipe and stacked them in a display. I picked up a 4 inch diameter pipe and a 2 inch diameter pipe and asked casey to start looking for various interconnecting peices. One of their less lazy employees came by and asked if I needed assistance. I explained I needed a peice to connect this to that and that to this and such. He asked, what I was using them for in a manner that showed not his curiosity, but to help recommend the right producs. The look on Casey’s face when I exclaimed, “I need them for a Potato Gun” was priceless.

Nonetheless, the clerk assisted me in finding all the right fittings and even recommended the PVC primer and glue. I already had the Spud Gun assembled and was walking around home depot looking for various parts I needed. I needed a push-rod and an igniter. The guys working (or I should say, not working) in Kitchens and Baths got a good kick out of it and advised I go with the BBQ igniter. I would like some sort of electronic ignition, but I can work on that in the future. They didn’t have the BBQ lighters in stock so I headed out to another home depot with Tiffany and Kerri. We picked up a BBQ lighter and I had everything I needed.

Assembly was simple. Casey and I primed and cemented all the PVC parts together and I gave it 2 days to dry. We drilled 2 holes and set 2 screws, a quarter of an inch apart from eachother. We hooked up the igniter to the screws and headed out for some Hair Spray and Potatos.

With all the components, we headed out to a secluded area and stuffed the potato into the barrel of the Spud gun (Spud Cannon? BOOMSTICK!!!). We sprayed hairspray into the larger chamber and sealed it shut. One of the leads from the igniter came loose so I had to hold it against the screw while I hit the ignition….

CLICK!

Nothing happened. I tried again…

Click..BBBBBOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

I could have sworn that the entire spud gun turned orange for a second as the potato was launched way out of sight into the distance. The recoil pushed the gun back, even though both me and Casey were holding it! It was music to our ears (and enough to get us in serious trouble if anybody else heard. lol)… We took a drive by the probably landing area, but we didn’t find much and I wasn’t comfortable with parking the car and walking around.

The next step will be to find some large fields/woods where we can fire and test range/acuracy/etc and do so without bringing a lot of attention to us… Also, we have some plans on painting it and making it look a lot cooler. It’s very plain now, just some joined PVC. Picture available after the cut and I’ll post more when we decorate/paint it.

I was talking with Casey last night about LJ and it occurred to me that I haven’t posted anything in a bit. We were talking about how LJ is an online journal and should be used as a means to communicate our inner-most feelings and emotions with our friends. I never really saw LJ that way. I used it more as a means to catalog my life and to post generalizations of the activities I take part in. For the most part, my best friends are not on, and/or do not read Live Journal which is one reason I probably never saw it in the same way Casey does. Also, I don’t believe in publishing my private life for the world to see, nor do I see the need to post information on the Internet and then make it Private so only a select few can read. This is why my LJ, MySpace and website are open for anybody to read. if I want it private, I don’t clutter the Internet with it 🙂

Sprint Shannanigans
Over the past few months, friends of mine have been giving me pointers on how to scam Sprint for a new phone. The only advice I followed was to apply the Insurance on my phone, but I did not bring myself to break my phone just to get a free replacement. As it turns out, I didn’t have to. The screen developed a dead spot affecting my writing/typing on it, so I headed down to the Sprint store and they are ordering me a replacement. Since my phone is no longer supported/carried by Sprint, they ordered me the new one. The PPC-6800 HTC Mogul. It’s a Pocket PC phone, just like mine, but it’s running the newer Windows Mobile Operating System (WM6)and I think it has more memory than my phone did. I should have it with in the week.

Web Cam Connundrum
Did I spell Connundrum right? Oh well.. I finally took the plunge and spend $100 on a Web-Cam. For years, my Web-Cams have been run using Logitech’s low-end $20 and $30 cameras. I used to use the QuickCamVC which was a $20 camera with comparable quality to most $80 cameras of its time, but Logitech could not get the drivers to work with Windows XP. Even in Compatability mode. So at the advice of a Manager in Logitech, I bought their $50 webcam and the quality was EQUAL to their shitty $20 cam. I was annoyed, but it’s the cam I use currently. It’s grainy, the focus is never right, and works like shit in low light. This will change when I get home. I picked up the Microsoft VX-6000 web-cam. It’s reviews claim it to be a GREAT camera, so I’m looking foward to hooking it up and getting away from Logitech altogether.

I’ll post comparisons and reviews this weekend.