Chalk Farm

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:53:00 -0400

It all started last Spring. I had a new roof put on my house and the roofing company sold me on this ventilation system that was supposed to be just right for my type of home. Well things were great in the Spring but as we got in to the heat of the summer, I found it to be very difficult to keep the second floor of my house cool. Curious as to how hot the attic was getting throughout the day, I put a remote temperature sensor in the attic to monitor the temperature. It sounded like a good idea at the time but a couple of problems arose. First, I couldn’t store any data and second, it was so hot the batteries in the remote sensor would only last about a day or so.

At about the same time, a friend was working on some projects with a microcontroller platform called Arduino. We spent some time talking about how we could create a 1-Wire network with the Arduino and some DS18B20 temperature sensors and then got to work. We built a project using an Arduino Nano that connects to the temperature sensors using RJ11 phone wire and were able to read in the temperatures from the sensors.

Next we needed to find a way to easily store and access the data without having to run multiple programs on a server. With a little research, we found ThingSpeak.com which offered the solution! In addition to storing the data collected from the sensors, I was able to graph my data with easy to read and see charts that are dynamic. I can now monitor my attic temperature as well as other temperatures in my house and see if the changes I make to my attic ventilation and HVAC usage are effective. And who knows, maybe I can reduce my carbon footprint by having this knowledge.

You can see the graphs from my sensors above and more detail about my project here.

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sat, 5 Jul 2008 11:57:00 -0400

A little Donkey Kong in the P's basement arcade.

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:46:00 -0400

The storm I had to navigate around to get to PIT today.

PHL-RIC

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 20:26:00 -0500

With this years second big winter storm hitting the Northeast, I wasn't sure I would make it to Richmond tonight. Now the challenge will be in the morning when I have to fly RIC-LGA-PHL-LGA-RIC.

Cannon Beach, OR

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 19:34:00 -0400

Carlsbad Caverns, NM

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 22:13:00 -0400

Over 750 feet below the surface.

Roswell, NM

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 22:07:00 -0400

8/18/2006 on our way to Carlsbad, NM.

Bandelier National Park, NM

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 09:37:00 -0400

Cliff dwelling remnants of a Ancestral Puebloan community established 7 or 8 centuries ago.

Santa Fe, NM

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 22:21:00 -0400

Busy day in Santa Fe. We left Albuquerque around 9:00 am and drove north on 14 to Santa Fe. The drive was very scenic and about half way, we stopped in a small town named Madrid. It was an old mining town that was once abandoned and now has many shops and artisans selling local art and jewelry. I'll have many more photos posted once I get home.

Petroglyph National Monument

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:12:00 -0400

I see my first Petroglyph at 9:00am today.

I Triple Dog Dare You

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 10:21:00 -0500

This will never happen in Jacksonville, FL. I'm watching the marathon of The Christmas Story on TBS waiting for my last day of a four day trip to start.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 09:43:00 -0500

Christmas morning watching The Christmas Story on TBS. I have a 2:00 PM flight to FLL with a 2 hour sit and then back to RIC. I should be back in RIC by 8:30 then I get on a 5:45am flight home to begin 12 days off.

Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 22:33:00 -0500

NICE!

I found the secret to making more money!

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 22:31:00 -0500

Excellent earning potential. Apply today.

Waffle House

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 22:24:00 -0500

Still waiting for our dinner. I ordered a cheeseburger with bacon. What a meal!

Christmas Eve Dinner Menu

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 22:00:00 -0500

Christmas Eve in Jacksonville, FL

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 21:32:00 -0500

This is the control tower at the airport. I don't think Santa will have a problem finding this place.

Key West

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Fri, 9 Dec 2005 20:28:00 -0500

Beautiful night in Key West. I hear it's cold up north. Not here, it's about 75 degrees. This a picture of the terminal building at the airport.

Thanksgiving Day

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 19:02:00 -0500

I'm traveling to RIC this evening on US Airways. Only 8 other people on a A319 with me. We board and the door is closed with 20 minutes to departure time. All that needs to get done now is for the ramp rats to load the bags. How long could it take to put bags for 8 people in cargo? Well here at Philly too long. We ended up getting off the gate on time. Not early. Also, you would think with 9 people total and it being Thanksgiving that they would put us all in first class. Nope! First class was empty. Customer service people, customer service.

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 13:19:00 -0400

Today Susan and I arrived in Sausalito and will be here for two days. We had lunch at the Horizons Cafe which is hanging over the bay. It turns out that we had lunch there on our last vist seven years ago. Tonight we have reservations at The Spinnaker Restaurant which also hangs over the bay with a great view of the city.

Vintners Inn

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 12:35:00 -0400

Today was our second day at the Vintners Inn, Santa Rosa, CA. It was another busy day of wine tasting. We visited Rodney Strong, SIMI, Chateau Souverain, Clos Du Bois, Geyser Peak, and Ferrari-Carano. After that we drove to the town of Calistoga and had a late lunch at the Hydro Grill. For dinner, we went to Willi's Wine Bar, williswinebar.net, it has very small portions that are meant to be shared.

Jamie

Bodega Bay

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:46:00 -0400

Today we drove out to Bodega Bay and north on 1 and visited several beaches on the way. On the way back via 116 we visited Korbel. The picture is from the Fisherman's Memorial located off of Westshore Road which is off of 1. This photo was taken at about 10:30 in the morning. The fog burned off within a few hours.

Jamie

Sonoma, CA

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 21:06:00 -0400

Susan and I had a busy day today. We visited St.Francis, Chateau St.Jean, Blackstone, Benziger, Kunde, and Kenwood. We did all that and had lunch at the Plaza Bistro in Sonoma in about seven hours. Now we have to figure out how to get all this wine home.

Tonight we are going to Syrah, a local restaurant in Santa Rosa.

Jamie

Queen Anne

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 20:22:00 -0400

This is the historic Queen Anne Hotel in San Francisco. We stayed here seven years ago as well. We're in Sonoma now and we just got back from Kendall Jackson and the Ledson Winery tours. Lots of fun!

San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (JR) — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 19:39:00 -0400

The world famous Buena Vista. Located near fisherman's warf, the Buena Vista is known for its Irish Coffee. Also, across the street is the famous street car. Not in the picture but just behind the street car is Alcatraz.