My Future Blogging Subjects

I plan on using this blog for a number of topics that interest me or things I have a desire to learn. Here is my list:

• Classic Cars
• Airplanes
• Robotics
• Biometrics
• Software Development
• Graphic Design

Classic Cars

I own a few classics. 1956 Ford Thunderbird, 1960 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 2, 1967 Austin Healy Sprite, 1973 Triumph TR6, 1982 Mercedes Benz 380SL, 1983 Ferrari 400i, 2001 Solectria Force (electric). The current project, and the one I will be blogging most in the near future is the "modernization" of the 56 Thunderbird. I am in the process of upgrading components of the car so it will drive less like a 50's cruiser and more like a modern vehicle. More on this in the next post.

Airplanes

I have an experimental 2000 Zenith Zodiac 601HD in my garage. This is a 2-seat LSA (light sport aircraft). I bought it from a salvage company after it experienced an engine fire on startup. The engine, a Subaru EA81, was not damaged nor was the airframe. All hoses and wiring needed replacing. I have done this but am now working on the avionics.

Robotics

I have done some tinkering with Arduino microcontrollers. They are easy to get started and make an ideal platform for learning electronics, embedded design, and robotics. Plus they are cheap! I am teaching my son to program on an Arduino. As he learns, I will post his lessons and progress.

Biometrics

I work at a fingerprint sensor manufacturer, Validity Sensors (www.validityinc.com). In technical marketing, one of job functions is teaching customers about biometrics. I will try to include some interesting material about biometrics in future posts here.

Software Development

This is an area I want to learn more about. I wrote a simple Palm Pre webOS app, a loan calculator. Unfortunately I picked the wrong platform. I have taken a classes on Java, JavaScript, HTML and web technologies, but have no practical experience. I want to build some simple apps for android and iOS. As I learn, I will post my experiences.

Graphic Design

At work, I have access to Adobe Creative Suite. I occasionally use Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, and In Design. Because I am a casual user, it takes me a long time to do something simple, as the user interface is not intuitive. After learning a simple task, I put the program away long enough to have to re-learn the task all over again th next time I use it! I am hoping to spend some extra time to really know these programs enough to break that cycle.