Category Archives: Psychology

Cuttlefish Comm Board – Update 1

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In my original post Cuttlefish Comm Board, I was planning on laying the LED strip on its side. Well, after digging into addressable LED strips, I quickly learned that this option was not going to work.

Laying the strip on its side would give me better LED resolution (spacing between the LEDs), but I could never figure out which LED I was trying to program, as opposed to laying it out flat. Also, rolled up, I could not fill in the entire display area, as I was limited by the angle that I could bend the strip.

I decided that I would cut the strips and connect them together, so that they could be laid out flat. The LED resolution would not be as good, but at least I could keep the project moving.

By the way, if you plan to buy LED strips, know that not all of them are addressable/programmable. Some just flash, which unfortunately I bought first. No biggie, as I am using this strip to practice cutting and splicing.

The strip on the left is the non-programmable – only flashes. The strip on the right is programmable via a micro controller (Arduino Board – or others) and a computer.

Cutting and splicing LED strips is not that easy – just my opinion. I was not able to solder the strips together with discrete wires, but found some connector clips on line, shown below. They worked pretty well.

The picture below shows sample strips laid flat. This is how the entire cuttlefish display area will look. Each yellow square is a multi color LED. The splicing connectors will be behind the display area.

I’m going to lay this out so I can play around with the programming. I am not happy with the resolution, but after thinking a bit more I decided to ultimately go with an LED display board, as shown in this picture.

This is a 16 x 32 LED display, which I should be able to control using my Arduino PCB (at least the literature said it would work).

This will give me 512 LEDs, good resolution, variable colors, and I can make them appear as a moving wave. This is really much more like the chromatophore cells on the cuttlefish skin. Should be cool!

My display area is smaller (due to the size of the LED board, but that is an easy fix. I’ll just make the cuttlefish display area a bit smaller.

Now if I just knew how to program in C++. Okay, more to learn.

All Holidays Dream

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Many years ago, I worked with a wonderful guy named John who, unfortunately, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often called Lou Gehrig’s disease.

ALS is a motor neuron disease that rapidly affects the nervous system, causing loss of neuro-musculature control.

As time passed, he did succumb from the disease. His wife set up an amazing life celebration in his memory.

Several years after John passed, both he and his wife showed up in my dream. I was not lucid in the dream, he was the leader, as he took me back to his house for an unforgettable second celebration that his wife Jacie had set up.

I think of John at all holidays. He left this life too soon, but I know I’ll meet him again one day.

I shared the dream with Jacie, and now with you.

Here is the All Holidays dream:

John and I were walking outside his condo complex. We were in the parking area, which was surrounded by several block walls of varying height.

Suddenly, John began jumping on all the walls like some sort of super hero. He encouraged me to do the same, which was not too easy for me. I think he was trying to tell me that no matter what happens, things will be okay.

When we got to the highest wall, we were able to leap onto his condo balcony. This was really one heck of a shortcut to his house.

Through the sliding glass door, the house was a kaleidoscope of colorful light. I could see fuzzy hues of red, green, blue, and yellow.

As we entered, the interior of the living room had been segmented into many small cubicles. Each cubicle had been decorated to represent a different world holiday.

Every imaginable holiday was represented. John, Jacie and I went into each cubicle and experienced the observed celebration, as if we had actually gone to the host country.

It was simply amazing! I did not understand how Jacie could pull this off and why. She told me that John did not have long to live, and she wanted him to experience all the joy the world had to offer. She was able to do all of this for him out of love.

I really believe that it was John’s way of telling us to love life everyday – the very best you can.

Remember to say “Hello” to your loved ones this Holiday Season – where ever they are!