Published June 7th, 2008
in General.
As I have reported earlier I am working on creating a robot that can play soccer, on its own. This simplest solution here was to build a robot using Lego Mindstorms NXT with the addition of a few extra Mindstorms sensors.
Sometime after we received the kit I saw this report by Gizmodo on one of the Lego factories. The report shows videos about the different types of machines used to create the bricks, store the bricks, and box the different types of bricks to make your set.
One particular video that caught my attention was the one about the free roaming robots that get called up by various machines to empty their containers and give them clean ones so they can continue doing their job.
Hopefully my soccer playing robot will be as efficient at scoring goals as these robots are at collecting newly made bricks.
There are more Gizmodo Lego stories here.
Published May 18th, 2008
in General.
Now that Westnet is owned by iiNet there will be even more competitive rivalry between the two companies. The first that I have been involved with is a Westnet vs iiNet Robot Soccer competition.
The competition is actually being held by SciTech and they are allowing us to compete. The idea is you need to build robots no higher than 22cm that are able to play soccer, with an infra-red transmitting ball, totally on their own. No remote controls! The robot needs to think for itself.
To make it even more complicated is it is a 2 vs 2 competition. So you will have two robots thinking for themselves trying to get a ball into the opposition goals. There are heaps of other rules like the robot has to release the ball into the goal, it can’t push it in, and the robot needs to keep within a 122cm x 183cm matt.
We have decided to go with Lego Mindstorms NXT robots. These kits come with various sensors and all the blocks needed to build your own robot. All we need to do is write the AI code and engineer two fully operational machines.
How hard could it be???
Published April 18th, 2008
in General.
I remember the times when Bubble Jet printers were released. At first they came out in Black and White, later on colour was released. To no surprise, due to the cost of a colour printer, the black and white models were the most popular. I felt honoured to be one of a few people who had the privilege to have a “colour” printer. A clunky HP, can’t remember the model.
As years went on Laser printers became popular. However it took awhile until they became affordable to the home user. This changed about a year ago when you could get a Black and White laser for less than $500. Today you can get a black and white laser for under $100!
After surviving for so many years without any kind of printer, other than a less than reliable old inkjet, it was about time I got one. The main reason was because of Jess and her University studies. As Jess would be using the printer for her assignments I thought I would go for a laser. Knowing black and whites are much better value for money I started looking at these.
However once my investigations got into motion I noticed HP were doing cash back deals on a few of their colour LaserJet models. One in particular was the HP Colour LaserJet 1600 for $169 (after $200 cash back). What a bargain! I looked online and only really found one article relating to this printer. Due to some of the reviews I was a little hesitant to get this one.
But I thought; $169 you can’t go wrong. I went out and got it. I’ve had the printer going for many months now. The $200 has been put into my account, so the deal is complete. All I can say is I am extremely happy with my decision. So far really good, time will tell how she handles herself. Add my existing scanner to the picture and I have a true HP home office set up!
Published March 2nd, 2008
in General.
Back in 2000 when Windows ME was the operating system of choice I purchased a then state of the art HP ScanJet 4300C scanner. This scanner had great resolution, character recognition software, and an LCD panel to allow direct photo copying between the scanner and a printer.
Then I upgraded to Windows XP and from that moment onwards I had trouble finding compatible drivers to get the scanner to work. It was about that time that I moved in with Jess who had her own scanner so it was never really a problem.
When ever I wanted to scan something I would use Jess’s clunky, but reliable, scanner. This worked well until she retired her PC for a laptop meaning I had two options; connect her scanner to my PC or get my scanner working.
Being proud of what I bought at the start of the millennium I decided to try give the old 4300C a shot before sending it to the tip. To my amazement the driver software I downloaded from the HP website worked first shot. To make things better they had an update for Office2003 so I can send scanned documents straight to Word. If I ever decide to use Vista it looks like they have a driver for that to. Great work HP!
I downloaded the driver and Office update from the HP Website.
Published February 29th, 2008
in General.
It’s a leap year and with it comes a bonus summer’s day. With the weather the way it as the moment one would have to think if today really is the last day of summer.
This summer has been very memorial with a trip to Canberra where Jess participated in the National Futsal competition followed by a stay in Melbourne spending some time with Corey and his girlfriend Eng plus of course the Australian Open.
Following the holiday to the nation’s capital and the nation’s sporting state Jess has had an arthroscopy on her knee, to cut away some damaged cartledge from her soccer trip and I’ve had a filling to fill in a gap previously taken up by an older filling.
With plenty of food, relaxation, and the “too hot to exercise” days I think I managed to put on a kilo or two. Thankfully the hockey season is starting up again with the addition of two weekly training sessions. No matter how hot or early it is I’ve been heading down to training on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings. I think I can already feel the difference with the pain slowly disappearing as my fitness level increases.
Let’s hope the upcoming winter brings plenty of rain!
Published January 10th, 2008
in General.
This week I have been over in Canberra to support Jess’s WA Women’s Futsal team in the 2008 National Competition. The trip started on Sunday with Jess’s team and I flying from Perth to Sydney (Jess’s team were on a separate flight that flew a few hours after my flight). Once Jess’s plane landed in Sydney we had a long wait until our single flight to Canberra. So we walked around the airport, watched the end of the Australia versus India (controversial) Cricket game, and ate dinner.
Eventually we boarded the Qantas Boeing 737 to Canberra. The flight was short and before we knew it the plane was touching down in Canberra. Mind you the landing was a little scary with the 737 requiring the entire length of the runway before it could safely land…
Monday was the “Opening Ceremony” for the National Futsal Competition so until Monday evening when the ceremony commenced I had all day to check out Canberra. The first thing on my agenda was a drive to Parliament House. This was followed with a visit to the Canberra Museum and Gallery and finished with a look around Canberra City.
Then came Tuesday and finally time for the games. WA’s first game was against NSW Lightning which they unfortunately went down 1-3. The second game for the day was against Northern NSW Country seeing the girls with their first win of 2-1. The last game for the day was against NSW Storm which the girls were unfortunate to lose 2-3. The good news was Jess contributed to the score line in this loss.
Wednesday WA only had two games. The first game was against NSW Thunder, a hard game seeing the girls go down 0-5. With a long wait until the second game for the day I drove down to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex to see a real moon rock! Back to the Futsal competition the girl’s last game was against Victoria. The girls were drawing the game right up to the last few minutes but a lapse in defence saw them lose 2-4.
Today the girls finished the competition with three hard games. The first game was against host state ACT. The girls did well to hold them up but were unfortunate to go down 1-2. The second game was against Northern NSW where the girls were back in form with a convincing 5-0 win. The final game against Queensland of the competition was a heart stopper with the girls scoring late in the end to draw the game 2-2.
With the competition over Jess has one more night with her team before being allowed to enjoy Canberra on her own until we fly to Melbourne for our actual holiday.
Published December 31st, 2007
in General.
So it’s been a while since I have posted on my blog so here is a quick over view of the month. After all December has been an interesting month with plenty of things going on.
At the start of the month Jess got into the state Futsal (indoor soccer) team. She has been training three days a week in preparation for the early January competition in Canberra.
I had my “late twenties” birthday on the 10th. This was celebrated a day earlier with family at the Mexican Kitchen in Fremantle. The food was great and the mocktails were even better! I received gifts in the form of items for the house, books, DVDs, and a watch!
And then of course there was Christmas. Christmas was a long (warm) day with breakfast at Jess’s Uncle’s house, morning tea in South Perth with my family, lunch at Jess’s auntie’s house, and dinner with Jess’s parents house. We ended the day playing Trivial Pursuit wit Jess’s parents and Jess’s brother and sister in law. This was another event where I won in the present department receiving some great clothes and chocolate!
January is going to be a busy month with our Eastern States holiday comprising of Canberra for Jess’s soccer tournament and Melbourne for the Australian Open.
Published November 19th, 2007
in General.
After I broke my leg I took up running to bring my fitness levels back to normal. Naturally running took place after low impact cycling! I started running around the block (3km) until I built up my endurance and then took on the double block (6km).
When I worked in Osborne Park I would go to my dad’s house after work, this was normally after a double lap at Lake Monger in Leederville. It’s debatable to the perimeter of the lake… I think it’s about 3.5km.
However each year running takes an abrupt end when the hockey season starts. With multiple training sessions and games each week there’s no need to do all the running. There’s enough fitness work in the Hockey training!
Well the hockey season is over again and it’s back on the street after work. I’m now in my new house, which is literally 100m away from my original house so I run the same known circuit. As I run after work environment always plays a part. If it’s too hot or it’s raining I will skip a session.
A few weeks ago I ran the “PWC Cool Night Classic Fun Run”. This is a 5km run from Barrack Street Jetty to UWA. I optimistically entered myself in the under 25 minute group. I was surprised to see myself run the track in 22 minutes, the fastest out of the Westnet entrants.
I admit Running is a bore so I’m looking forward to pre-season hockey!
Published November 1st, 2007
in General.
Yesterday was Halloween. Although I generally never pay any notice to this event we celebrate it each year at work, just for fun! And fun it was this year.
So going into Halloween some how it was decided we would all dress up as Mexicans (We actually said we were Mexican Zombies to fit in). I think the Mexican idea had something to do with Steven getting the nickname Senor Fong. The day started with all of getting into work on Wednesday and putting on our pre-hired ponchos, hats, and fake moustaches.
The day was a ball! Especially when we walked around the building with Mexican music blaring from one of my Amigos’ carefully concealed mobile phone. There were plenty of laughs as we all rode the lift going to each floor of Central Park. Of course we couldn’t have Mexican Day without Nachos for lunch. Just in case you’re wondering, Nachos is not the best food before you go on a long run!
The day ended up be a success as we won the best dress team in the company!
Check out my Gallery or the Westnet Blog for more photos of the day.
Published October 9th, 2007
in General.
All of the Lanzon Uncles and Aunties, including my Dad, Margot, and my brother Tim are over at Malta at the moment. Most of them are over there on a four week holiday to visit the Lanzon City and to see my Nanu who is under ill health at the moment.
Tim, who is on a two year holiday in Europe (mainly the UK) took some time away from his working holiday to meet up with the older Lanzons and join in on the festivities. Tim has taken some great pictures of the adventure.
The rest of us youngins at home are thinking seriously about performing the adventure our selves. Malta is definitely one of a few countries I’ll be visiting one day.
