Tag: driving
A Foot Interface
by Jon on Feb.16, 2009, under Interface, Technology
So here’s what I got:
The whole thing plugs in via USB and acts like a regular joystick – the four pedals are four different axises on the controller.
And the whole thing is pegged onto a circutboard from a regular controller.
Edit: FYI, the foot pedals I found at a thrift store. After tearing away the unwanted/unneeded parts, they were screwed to a piece ‘o wood. Some buttons were purchased and, after making the appropriate holes, they were also attached.
The use of an existing controller had some disadvantages: the board I used has a hardware dead zone that makes no sense with pedals and makes them pretty much unusable.
Running over dogs
by Jon on Jan.25, 2009, under General
No, I didn’t hit any.
I’m note sure what it it. As I was driving to church today there was a guy walking his son and 3-4 small, white, fuzzy dogs. (I’m assuming they were Bichon Frisés.) Anyhow, none of them were on leashes, so they wandered wherever they wanted – including onto the road. I stopped for one, who thought its walk would be better spent on the other side of the road. I stared to go again. Just as I was starting to get up to speed, another dog that had walked on ahead decided it wanted to cross the road too. Right in front of me!
Since I was keeping a wary eye on it already, I was able to stop just fine, but what is it that possesses people to think it’s okay to take a whole bunch of dogs out, without training or leash, and just let them run around as you “walk” them? Anyone who was driving with less care/who was driving distracted would have turned that fuzzy creature into a splat on the road. Admittedly, it’s the driver’s responsibility to watch the road, but even the best driver can’t go from 65 to 0 when something darts out ten feet in front of him.
Anyhow, be sure to keep your dogs on a leash, or don’t scome crying to me when I run it over.