Data Tuesdays

So, a couple weeks before winter break, I put together a GPS Shield for the Arduino. Below is a picture of the apparatus. Found that a tupperware works great as a container. After a few days, got it to work pretty well. It has issues in buildings, as can be seen in the map. On a side note, I also love how my entire room and desk is white. I live in a giant lightbox. Anyway. it still boggles my mind how invisible and pervasive GPS chips are in our everyday gadgets. It takes your breath away to think about the satellites. I think this animated gif sums up the richness of it all. To think, there are thirty one silent metal machines in the frozen emptiness of space, broadcasting messages through the blue sky down to us animals. And they do it all to help us drive to Starbucks, or Grandma's, or guide missiles to a house in the desert. [Raw Data] So, today I went to class carrying around a little ear that can hear into the sky. Processed the data and got a map. Slowly zooming out on the map gave me some insight as to how little our day-to-day motions are on this little blue planet. Not to use our insignificance to diminish our egos, but to use it to admire the vastness of what has yet to be explored.