Diversions – Chad Dotson

Bringing the Internet to Mars and Beyond

By chad February 6, 2016Doing Things Better, Neat Stuff, Space, TechnologyNo Comments

With the exploration of space and the eventual colonization of Mars humanity needs to establish a method for improving internet connectivity for people on the surface. One method of achieving this is to place one or more satellites in high orbit around the planet. These would use interplanetary internet(delay tolerant)…

Project Excelsior – Technology Update

By chad August 18, 2014Diversions, Programming, Software Engineering, TechnologyNo Comments

For the past month or so I've been working on a little side project that I've dubbed "Project Excelsior." I've not had an abundance of time to spend on it over the past few week, so I'm just now wringing out some of the technology stack. I've almost decided completely…

My First Raspberry Pi Project

By chad December 28, 2013Featured, Hobbies, Neat Stuff, Raspberry PiNo Comments

Almost every year, I try to select a fun project to do while off for Christmas. This year the project I selected was based on Raspberry Pi. Specifically I decided to build a device that would, when motion is detected, find the range to the motion using an ultrasonic rangefinder,…

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by…

By chad October 21, 2013Neat Stuff, Photography, UncategorizedNo Comments

This weekend, I had a chance to tour the The Columbus Foundation's replicas of the Niña and Pinta on one of its last days in port in Chattanooga, TN. I took several photos, but I made a wallpaper quality version of one. This is the rigging and top sail of…

Kingkiller Chronicle Speculation

By chad December 31, 2012Books2 Comments

This bit of speculation is centered around events described in The Wise Man’s Fear, the contents of this post could be regarded as spoilers so you’ve been warned.

Red Bull Stratos

By chad October 14, 2012Neat Stuff, Space, TechnologyNo Comments

Watch the world record freefall from the edge of space live right now. (video embedded) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrIxH6DToXQ#! More information: http://www.redbullstratos.com/

Time-lapse Video Of A Lightning Storm (July 20, 2012)

By chad August 29, 2012Neat Stuff, PhotographyNo Comments

This is a time-lapse of a lightning storm that I took back in July. The video consists of a series of images taken as a thunderstorm passed overhead. All pictures are taken with ISO 200, f/3.5, and an exposure time of 15 seconds. The audio is "Ritual Of Earth" by…

ISS Flyover August 28, 2012

By chad August 29, 2012Photography, SpaceNo Comments

These pictures were taken during a flyover of the International Space Station on August 28, 2012. The one lesson learned from this set is that next time I want to take a series and stack them together for a picture that has the space station crossing the whole sky.

Curiosity – Complete Decent Video In HD

By chad August 23, 2012SpaceNo Comments

A new, enhanced version of Curiosity decent video has been created. The original NASA release was only thumbnails. This video is available in up to 1080p and it looks amazing. Here are some links for more information on Curiosity: Curiosity @ Wikipedia Curiosity @ JPL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZX5GRPnd4U

A Tron-Inspired Performance By Wrecking Crew Orchestra

By chad March 18, 2012Neat StuffNo Comments

This is a dance routine by the Wrecking Crew Orchestra, a dance group from Japan. This video was taken at one of their performances of a Tron-Inspired routine. Its a pretty awesome concept and even better video. Source: YouTube