USB Pumpkin

[warning: this post contains 0% of your identity/connectedystems RDA (that is to say, no technical content whatsoever)]

Well, in the last weeks (months?) I really worked on an extremely heavy schedule. This Saturday I felt like I needed to relax and do something with my hands (other than typing and weaving the mouse). It didn't last long, Sunday I was already back on the slides for TechEd; but in the meanwhile, I had a lot of fun carving my very first pumpkin ever :-) it's not widespread practice in Italy, so I had no background whatsoever.

First thing, we bought a nice pumpkin: bright orange, not too big, not too small, definitely round.

Then we went to the hobby shop near Redmond Town Center and bought a wood carving mini set.

While my wife was emptying the thing, I printed a big stencil and "projected" it. After that, I projected pumpkin shrapnels all over the place until voila'! The design I had in mind miraculously appeared. Here I am proudly posing with it:

I am sure you recognize the design! ;-)

This morning I proudly installed it on my desk:

Information cards are welcome in my office!  Mike had a good laugh when I showed him :-) Note the map that I use for the Italia9 interviews in the background.

If the design is not geeky enough for you (somebody may say nerdy, but nevermind), check this out: this pumpkin is actually a USB Gadget! Not one that you'd find on Engadget maybe, but gadget nonetheless. Instead of featuring the classical shaky yellow flame for illuminating the inside of the jack'o lantern, I am using a cold blueish led light powered by... USB :-). Pictures with the details follow.

The USB pumpkin getting its juice from a USB port of the Lenovo X61 Tablet (GREAT machine, BTW). You wonder how I found the drivers for it, I guess :-D

The guts of the device exposed, showing how the USB led light is more a Neon origami a' la William Gibson, rather than traditional atmosphere. But again, that's more like me :-)

I would like to send a challenge here to my office neighbors: come out with a pumpkin of your own technology! I am sure that my neighbor on the right knows how to work with shells already...

Well', that's it. I hope you don't mind a "light" post from time to time. I actually don't feel guilty, because I am *sure* that some of the next posts are going to make you happy! Curious? Stay tuned, then... it won't be long! ;-)