Canton Chills

After being able to prove that my Java DMX tester code worked on the old hardware, it's now time to test it out with my new MacBook, which is where I do all my work. It's useful to be able to control DMX devices in order to test out sequences as I'm building them. MacOS is more Unix-like, and thus, connected serial devices don't appear on a Comm Port list. Instead, they appear as file handles under the "/dev/tty.*" folder structure. I'll need to identify which on the DMX dongle is and put that in the Java DMX Text project code. Test 1: Identify the USB Serial Device that is the DMX Dongle This should be a matter of plugging in the DMX dongle USB cable and approving the popup dialog to allow it. And it was, except that it took about 90 seconds for the dialog to appear and during that time I worried that it wouldn't work. But it showed up in the list: Test 2: Connect to the Dongle Here, I'll update the Java DMX Test project to connect to the named se...

I'm at the point where I want to verify I can get my old DMX adapter working again. I know it worked a few years ago with xLights, but I need to do a few things differently this year. First off, rather than use xLights this year, I've already written a new DMX controller application. Because of this, I need to revive some old software I used to send DMX data to the adapter. The DIY adapter I use is called a Lynx Dongle and it's compatible with the EnttecProDMX protocol. The second thing is I'll be using several different laptop platforms and a RPi4 to run the show. So, there's a need to verify a lot of things. I'll write the show runner application to execute on RPi4 and utilize web-based remote control features. Test 1: The first test is to plug the Lynx Dongle into my old laptop and make verify which serial comm port it appears as. Looks like COM3: Test 2: Update the DMX test code and see if it connects. It actually connected and ran for 10 seconds, as program...

The front porch serves as a hollusion conduit using its two arches (there are actually two arches left) to host mosquito netting and projections. In the first year I projected hollusions into the arch, I found that the five foot depth of the porch was insufficient to fill the arch space. In that year, I positioned the projector inside my office, which is the room inside the house from the porch, and projected out the window. I needed to open the glass and remove the window screen, but it worked and people were genuinely amazed by how I did it. I blocked off access to that part of the porch visually and physically to prevent anyone from disturbing the effect, but I did notice a number of dads looking intently from different angles trying to figure out what I had done. When I noticed that, I told them. The next year, I came up with the idea to use a mirror to reflect the projection back, allowing me to take advantage of using double the porch depth and keeping my office out of the decor....

It's that time of year again. The days are long and hot. The county fair is in full swing. There are more BBQs than we have time to enjoy. And thoughts of frightening you children and neighbors fill my head. Over the last couple of years, health problems have held me back from firing up the Canton Chills experience. By the grace of God, that is all behind me and I'm motivated, energized, and abuzz with plans for amazing visitors of all ages. A fantastic phenomena has also transpired in my absence. Our street, our neighborhood has long been a Halloween destination for the East County area and our neighbors have not disappointed. Each of the past few years, we've seen a significant increase in decorations and immersive displays. My wife likes to note that I spent so many years raising the bar that the neighbors are only now getting to catch up. I've felt that I've let them down and very bad about it, but the situation was beyond my control. This year: that all changes...