It's also worth mentioning with respect to the new piece for Coachella, that I've acquired a few new tools that are making the process much quicker and easier. First and foremost, and really the centerpiece of it all, is the new Tektronix TDS3024B Oscilloscope. This baby has been on my wishlist ever since playing such a huge role in my senior design project success back at UIUC, and with the days counting down fast to Coachella, I decided I needed all the help I could get, and it really has been a big help.

I often describe working on electronics without a good scope as being comparable to trying to work with your eyes closed. It's not necessarily impossible but it increases both the time and frustration of even simple tasks by orders of magnitude. It's much easier to work intuitively when you can see what's happening right before your eyes. The image above, which I grabbed just to confirm that the duty cycle of the PWM was changing (in this design, the duty cycle of the PWM is also capable of changing faster than the eye can perceive), shows in yellow, pink, and green the CS, MOSI, and MISO lines from the FPGA to the SD card, and in cyan one of the channels of PWM out to an LED. Prior to this I had an old Tek265 analog scope which was useful in many circumstances, but for things like the serial bus debugging of the past few days, just didn't do the job. The 3024 has 4 channels @ 200MHz with all sorts of advanced measurement capabilities, FFT, advanced trigger, and a 640x480 color LCD. It also sports its own internal web server so getting screen captures is as simple as opening a web browser. The only negative is that when debugging a 50MHz serial bus on a 200MHz scope, the waves are pretty distorted, so a higher bandwidth wouldn't hurt. I wouldn't trade the advanced features for more bandwidth though, and to up the bandwidth to 500MHz crosses the line into 5-figure territory, which just wasn't in the cards this time. The reality is that the 3024 has been capable of everything I've asked, and I couldn't be more pleased with my decision on this one.

Also very helpful has been the Intronix LA1034 LogicPort USB Logic Analyzer. A logic analyzer is essentially an oscilloscope that trades the ability to see analog voltage levels for the ability to see lots of channels at once — in the case of the LogicPort, 34. It's somewhat limited in its sample storage capacity, which limits the length of data you can view at one time, but it mostly makes up for this with really smart triggering, which lets you focus that limited view on exactly what you want to see. The software also decodes serial buses, so it turns the SPI data and clock wave forms into hex that you can read directly (shown in the image below), which has been invaluable in the past few days. It's also an incredible bargain, when you compare with hardware solutions that (in Tektronix) start at $10k. The LogicPort is no $10k piece of gear, but it's a great addition to the lab that I'm very glad to have made. Plus, it's made in the USA by a small American company doing great work, which is always nice to support when the opportunity arises.

A few months back I switched to Verizon FiOS Internet service, which I had been watching for some time and had just become available. My big motivation for the switch was a really nice advertised upload speed of 5mbps (with the premium package: ~$58/mo). This blows anything previously in the "even close to affordable" category out of the water and is nice if you're sending big files frequently.

I've been happy with the service since day one, but today I was sending some 10 megapixel images up to my webserver and thought I'd used the time I saved to post this plug for FiOS.

Now how about getting that franchise deal with the city worked out so I can get switched over to FiOS TV too? Rumor has it that FiOS will be carrying 150 HD channels by EOY 2008.

I was just searching to see what happened with the vote on New York Senate Bill S66 (either scroll down two posts or click to read my thoughts about the bill) today, and while it was unsurprisingly impossible to find any information on the outcome (it's quite possible that it's been postponed due to the juicier issues of the day in Albany), I found a brief paper on the topic by a group perhaps a bit more knowledgeable about the law than myself, The New York City Bar Association. The paper is available here, but in case you don't follow the link, suffice it to say that it opens with the words: THIS BILL IS DISAPPROVED (caps and bold from the source).

The NYC Bar specifically denounces the idea that we should be prohibiting even the endorsement of such an activity, "illegalizing or at least chilling a considerable amount of constitutionally protected speech." With specific regard to the restrictions the bill would place upon the Internet, they write, "Nor it is in the public interest for the New York State Legislature to attempt to keep information from U.S. web users: such an attempt can only prove futile, given the vastness of the Internet; waste public resources; and as discussed above, chill valid and protected speech."

My thoughts exactly.

It's also quite disappointing (although, as I said before, unsurprising) that there is so little information on this matter readily available on the web. A Google search for New York Senate S66 yields only three relevant results (at least in the first two pages of results), two of which are links to this site (one to my previous post and one to my copy of the text of the bill) and the other being the PDF of the NYC Bar paper linked above. Is it any wonder legislation like this slips through our system unnoticed? Hats off to projects and organizations like Readable Laws and Sunlight Foundation who are trying to change that.

For the past few months, and really accelerating in the last couple of weeks, Dad and I have been working on a new piece, set to debut at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival April 25-27. At its core will be a much improved spherical display with high-res surface complemented by volumetric accents, all in 24-bit color. On-board will be on the order of 10GB of removable flash memory, combining the increased resolution and color depth with a much greater potential show length as well as much easier program changes. All of this will lend itself toward a renewed focus on content, which is a very exciting thing for me as a big step toward the high-definition three-dimensional canvas which I originally envisioned with the ORB.

To make this a reality, I've finally crossed the void into the world of FPGA, and I'm loving it. The ability to quickly create massively parallel hardware in a few lines of code is really powerful. It takes a bit of getting used to, but within a few days I was generating the beginnings of working code in VHDL, largely with the help of Volnei A. Pedroni's Circuit Design with VHDL and the Altera Cyclone III Starter Kit. Now, just under a week into serious development, I feel as though I've got a pretty good handle on things, so the learning curve isn't as steep as it initially seemed, particularly if you've got some crossover experience developing both software and hardware.

As is unfortunately too often the case though, the learning curve seemed steeper when it came to using some of the pre-existing libraries I found. I needed SPI to access the flash memory, and so I started looking for libraries. The Altera board shipped with Quartus II which I'm using for all of my development and is a pretty nice package. Quartus leads you directly to Altera's NIOS soft-core processors with all kinds of great add on modules. These designs are cool because they allow you to set up part of the FPGA to act as a microprocessor meaning you can develop in a typical procedural language like C where appropriate, using the hardware definition languages only where necessary. The demos were easy to walk through and I thought I had everything figured out — until I read about the $2500 per seat licensing fee.

I'd heard of OpenCores and it sounded like a really cool project so I thought I'd check it out. OpenCores is essentially Sourceforge for HDL (hardware definition language) designs, albeit much less trafficked. It appears that there is some great work going on there, but at my level of knowledge, the documentation was just insufficient for my needs. If I really needed a fully-featured CPU running on my chip I'm sure I could have figured it out given enough time, but as it stands it's far from plug and play. And as the countdown timer on coachella.com continually reminds me, the show starts in 45 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and 26 seconds. So it's time for action.

As it turned out, I spent a bit more time tweaking the SPI module I had been writing prior to looking at the soft cores, and with just a bit more effort, got it up and running. I then began work on a state machine that controls the SPI module and passes the data out to a set of PWM modules which actually control the LEDs. I'm still working on scaling the code and getting some of the finer control functionality implemented, but all indications are that with a few more days of work the code will be 99% complete. Then its on to PCB design, construction, and content.

In parallel with the electronics, Dad's hard at work building two chassis, one to ship to Manhattan for me to use as a framework to finish the electronic development and another to finish out in time for Coachella. We've got a totally new look this time, a bit more design-influenced and incorporating some cool high-tech materials. I'll get some photos of that part of the process up here as soon as they become available.

In the meantime, it's back to work.

Here they go again. This time, we've got New York State Senate bill 66 which aims to step up the restrictions on internet gaming (including of course, poker). Now we're not just going for the sites, but also the internet service providers for providing the access, which is a bold political move with clear implications well beyond the world of online poker.

A person "profits from gambling activity" when, other than as a player, he accepts or receives money or other property pursuant to an agreement or understanding with any person whereby he participates or is to participate in the proceeds of gambling activity, including but not limited to an agreement or understanding to act as an internet service provider. "Internet service provider" means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet.

The three sponsors of this legislation are Senator Frank Padavan (R) of Queens and Senators Mary Lou Rath (R) and Dale Volker (R) of eastern NY state. You can read it in its entirety here, or go straight to the Senate website and search for [Bill] [S66] [2008] with all of the boxes checked. (As an aside, how about giving us the ability to search and link directly to your work, Senators, instead of hiding from Google and the rest of us behind a clumsy CGI interface?)

If you read this blog with any regularity, it shouldn't be news that I'm a big advocate of the game of poker. I support it both as a player and as an unwavering advocate of the freedom and independence of American citizens.

Poker's been very good to me. Not because I've won a fortune playing it (although I am some thousands of dollars financially better off for the game), but more because of the things it has taught (and continues to teach) me. Learning firsthand about how people (most of all me) react under pressure and learning to deal more gracefully with that pressure has made me more effective in business and in life. Likewise, sharpening skills of observation and attention toward the end of understanding the true motivations of other people and evaluating the truthfulness of their statements and actions is of clear value across all aspects of everyday life. And finally, I happen to enjoy it. I don't have time these days to play as much as I'd like but it ranks high on a shrinking list of leisure activities in an ever more time-crunched life as a (judging by the Senators' standards crossed with my love of poker, apparently degenerate, albeit well-employed) technologist. So, Senators Padavan, Rath, and Volker, you intend to tell me that after working a 12 hour day that I can't open up the Full Tilt client and play a $10 poker tournament? You've all got to be out of your f**king minds.

You've got to be out of your minds to belong to a political party that campaigns on freedom and patriotism and smaller government, while bristling at the opportunity to get more involved in my personal and private life. See, I think I might actually be something of a conservative at heart. I like my freedom. I definitely like less government intervention in my personal life, and I'm not so crazy about the government getting overly involved in the business world either. When I hear people talk about conservatism or look at a definition of the term, those things seem to be at the core, but when I see the government trying to waste my tax dollars to prevent me from taking part in one of my favorite pastimes, led by people who call themselves 'conservatives', I have a lot of trouble figuring out how those three little brains of yours and the fellow members of your party reconcile that discrepancy.

You've got to be out of your minds to think that blocking access to pieces of the internet that a few people in Washington or Albany find offensive, dangerous, immoral, or (most importantly as you will see) unprofitable to your district, is a good idea. I know of a few other places that have formed a habit of this sort of policy. China, Iran, and Pakistan come to mind. I don't think that many of us here care to start down that road. A lot of the people reading this probably don't care too much about poker, but there's an above average chance that they do care a lot about the Internet. I, for one, certainly do, and I intend that it remain free (as in freedom) and open. Free and open doesn't mean free and open as the U.S. and NY state governments see fit. It means free and open.

So most of all, you've got to be out of your minds to think that this will work. In a world where corporations who specialize in developing technology spend millions of dollars to secure products, only to have them, almost without exception, cracked open by individuals and loosely banded groups of high school and college kids within days of their release, do you really think the government is going to be able to do a better job at putting the genie back in the bottle? So, Senators, ever hear of a proxy? Ever hear of Tor? Didn't think so.

In every case posted above, hackers have found ways to circumvent the government imposed censorship. Don't you think we crazy, free-spirited Americans will do the same? Want to make that illegal too? Then you'd better start lobbying for some new taxes to build some new prisons, because they'll be bursting at the seams. Incidentally, there is reason to believe that this is one of Sen. Volker's political goals, since as the April 26, 2007 op-ed in the Times Union, Spitzer must lead drug law reform points out, he has a disproportionately large number of the state's prisoners in his district, making him an economic proponent of an active correctional system. Beyond that, a Prison Policy Initiative article places Volker high on the list of NY politicians who are benefiting from gerrymandering which is pushed across the boundary of legality only by counting the population of their districts' packed prisons.

Does Senator Volker plan to fill more prisons with thousands of online poker players? I doubt it, or at least I hope not. In fact, the text of the bill continues to absolve the players of our sins. But he does like keeping his districts stuffed full of non-violent minor drug offenders, and it's tough to promote the cruel hand of justice to one politically marginalized group and tolerance to another. So when his district's financial well-being depends on full prisons, tolerance becomes a dirty word.

But, all of that is really a secondary concern, and now it's time for the payoff—the Ace on the River if you will. The real reason the government is, both at the state and federal level, against online gaming is (big surprise) that they want their hand in the rake bucket. This press release from Senator Volker's own website describes another new piece of legislation that he has just introduced that would provide an equal share of casino profits to his rural constituents. Gone is the ruse of the moral high ground, and we're left with the truth. The senator wants a thriving casino pumping money into his district's budget. Some coincidence that in the process, he wishes he could just get rid of that pesky little computer network that happens to be providing stiff competition.

The Senators should not be blamed for this. Their job is to stand up for their constituents, but their methods and judgment are horribly wrong. Devise a plan to tax online gaming, fine. Start a successful online casino of your own, fine. Find a way to use online gaming to promote your district's casino (which for anyone who's waited for a table at a brick and mortar cardroom since the online and TV poker boom is not a difficult thing to imagine), fine. But don't tamper with the freedom of the Internet and the freedom of your state's citizens in an effort to funnel a few extra dollars into your district's coffers. That's just wrong. And so yes, for shamelessly sponsoring that idea in the NY state legislature, all of you, Senator Volker, Senator Padavan, and Senator Roth, are out of your f**king minds.

So what are we to do? If you support the fight for the freedom of poker, consider joining the Poker Players Alliance, an organization chaired by retired NY State Senator Alfonse D'Amato that lobbies for the rights of poker players and keeps us informed of current affairs like New York State Senate bill S66, through email alerts like this:

Poker needs your help! On Tuesday, March 11th your state Senator will vote on legislation (S.66) which will force Internet Service Providers like AOL, Google and MSN to block their customers from accessing lawful Internet poker Web sites and other gaming on the Internet.

This is a direct assault by the New York State Senate to censure your rights to access the Internet to play poker or similar games in the comfort and security of your own home.

Before Tuesday, please call Sen. Martin Connor at (518) 455-2625.

Tell them:

• I am voter in your district and a poker player
• I strongly oppose S.66 because it restricts the free flow of information and services over the Internet
• New York should not follow the example of repressive countries that censor the activities of their citizens on the Internet.
• Please vote NO on S.66

With your help we can stop this outrageous bill. Please call your Senator TODAY!

After your call, tell us how it went by clicking here.

Proud to Play Poker,
Alfonse D'Amato, Chairman
Poker Players Alliance

Whether or not you specifically support the game of poker, if you dislike the idea of the flow of Internet traffic being restricted by the government, find your Senator and call and tell them so. The vote is on Tuesday, March 11.

My sincere thanks go out to Al D'Amato and the rest of the members of PPA for taking a stand for the rights of poker players and ultimately, all Americans.

Finally a candidate who seems not just passable, but someone to be excited about. What I want for Christmas next year: a trip to Obama's inauguration next January.

On a related note, on my way back from the holiday I enjoyed a nice read in The Atlantic on Why Obama Matters.

Happy 2008.

Clinton Would Crack Down on Computer-Generated Cartoon Sex (Wired Blog Network, via /.)

Ugh.

Just loading up and ready to leave LA after an incredible NextFest 2007 at the LA Convention Center. We met a great number of attendees and fellow exhibitors and had a great time making contacts for the future. Also exhibiting were fellow ITP '07 grads Jury Hahn, Dan Albritton, and Chris Kairalla with MegaPhone, a cool platform for playing interactive games using any mobile phone as a ubiquitous controller and ITP grad and former faculty Jen Lewin with one of her Light Harps, which provided a beautifully ambient musical underscore to our NextFest experience.

For those of you who made it to NextFest before my business cards, my contact info can be found here.

Thanks to everyone who came out tonight to the closing party of the Interactive Youth exhibition at Material Connexion. I'd also like to thank everyone at Material Connexion, who hosted a great event, especially the outstanding Ben Rosenthal, Project Manager for Public Programs.

Also, in from the archives is a link from back in May from the Popular Science How 2.0 Blog about the ORB at Maker Faire.

I finally set up YouTube to take videos directly from my mobile phone, so I wanted to automatically embed my most recent video on this blog (find it in the sidebar above the Flickr photos). I couldn't find anything exactly like what I wanted (i.e. plain and simple), so I threw together a little PHP script to do the job. Here's the source. After changing the username, width, height, and optionally the API key (get yours from YouTube), either paste the source directly into your template files or save it to its own separate file and include it. In either case, your site must run on PHP for this to work. No guarantees on this one, it's just thrown together, but it works for me. Good luck.

Information is power. OLPC link

Material Connexion, New York has installed an exhibition entitled Interactive Youth which is an assortment of work from Michael DelGaudio, Anne Hong, Andrew Schneider, and my father and me, including Storyteller, Sasu Bracelets and Ochie's Cube, Solar Bikini, The Alphabet Machine, Mutherboards, City Streets, Northern Lights, and The ORB.

The exhibition was just blogged by the industrial design site Core77, and yesterday I took some photos, a few of which are posted below.

The exhibition will be on display through Aug. 3, 2007. Material Connexion is located at 127 W. 25th St., NYC. Many thanks to Ben Rosenthal @ MC for all of his hard work in making this exhibition a reality.

And this time on to L.A. for a little relaxation. Also big plans of slipping off to Vegas for a little dabble at the poker table. Better reload, Doyle, I'm on my way...

Writing from the airtrain to JFK en route to O'Reilly Foo Camp. It promises to be an exciting weekend of meeting, developing, and general geekery. Also looking forward to a couple of quick meetings with my good friend Tao @ Swivel.com to iron out the beginning of my consulting work for the startup, which aims to yield some exciting work that will hopefully prove to be a useful toolset for hackers and data-fetishists everywhere. Stay tuned...



Time to get checked in and catch a few z's before SFO. Be good.