Raspberry Pi Lego Box

So, this is nothing new. I was looking for some kind of a case for my Raspberry Pi, and came across one that was made from Lego’s. And since Lego’s are the shit, I decided to get mine from my parents place, and build one. Only to find out that after years of never moving, they've disappeared. Luckily, I have an awesome wife that found a generic Lego kit online.

So now, I’m ready to begin...

In my need to organize everything, I put all the blocks together to make it easier to find them. What I had forgotten as a kid, is that new Lego’s don’t come apart easily once they’re put together. If you were anal retentive, like I am, you may need to get a razor blade to separate them again. Just be careful not to scratch them. Or cut yourself. (This is my only public service announcement, so listen up!)

The kit I have came with a base for building on. It’s a little big for the Pi, but I was planning on adding random stuff to the box anyway. I started by getting an outline of the Pi, to see where openings are required for the cables. The cables seem to come out of every end on the Raspberry Pi. Something I wish they would have thought of when they designed it. (Maybe I’ll see about moving them on my next mod.) Once I had an outline of the Pi, I found that it does not sit flat. To fix this, I added a couple of supports. (The flat red Lego’s in the picture.) In order to not crush the solder points, I set these supports in very specific places.

Once this was done, I just built up the walls around the Pi. Even with 405 pieces, this is harder than it sounds. (Unless you don’t care if it fits nicely.) Again, all the cables are jutting out of every end. Even though I’m not using the lower quality connections, I chose to not cover them up. I also decided to add a window where the USB ports are, so I can easily get to them if I ever need to. This was a good way to keep them accessible, without leaving a huge hole in one end. It’s bad enough the Ethernet connection requires such a large hole. I also decided I wanted access to the SD chip for swapping. (I like the idea of booting whatever I want, just by changing out SD cards.) I also added a couple of pieces to hold the Pi down. Once the walls were tall enough to allow for it, I added pieces that just barely went over pieces of the Pi that would not break if rattled around. Just be sure not to squish it together too tight. You don’t want to crush any capacitors or solder points.

Once the walls were tall enough, I just added a roof. After the roof, I was able to add some other random pieces for looks. The best part about using Lego’s for this project? I can rebuild it over and over again. =)

As a side note, my Raspberry Pi is running RASPbmc. It streams media from MediaTomb off my Ubuntu server in the office. I'm thinking of setting up another SD card to boot into a gaming console. Any suggestions?

Social Media isn't making me money!

I was reading this article on VentureBeat about how much a tweet is worth compared to Yelp, (and by reading I mean I saw the pretty infographic), when I got the urge to spew my views on Social Media and how it's misconstrued. Here are my random thoughts on Social Media being profitable.

Social media, like all products, must be directed/adopted to fit what the demographic wants. Not what the founder/Creator thinks it should be. Twitter can't be a tool for selling a service/product like yelp can, if users don't use it in that way. I use Twitter for nothing more than a news aggregate, and to feed my Facebook posts. So for someone like me, the only profit you'll make is if your tweet is good enough to get me to click the link to your page. Then, your page still has to have the standard sales/marketing items to catch my attention and get that ever elusive click. (This is greatly simplified, but I'm not writing a how-to for people.)

Facebook on the other hand is much easier, because people trust input from friends and family more than an ad online. Or a tweet from a random site/company. (Even a relevant one). Once one person hits that like button, it grows exponentially as their friends see it in their feed and also hit the like button, or comments. Of course, you've still got to get that "Like" in the first place.

I have no experience with Pinterest yet, but can see great potential here for brand recognition. As users pin items, it goes through their Facebook feed, and thus grabs the power behind Facebook as well.

I know, none of this explains how to make money on these site. The answer is, to go hire someone that knows what they are doing to train you on it. (Not to do it for you.) As I said before, this isn't a how-to article. (Those will be on http://geekhome101.com if I ever get it going.)

Foursquare however, can be highly annoying and should be used only to tell your friends what bar you're at, so they can join you. No one cares if you're at the bank or seeing your Dentist... /rant
I understand the benefits of Foursquare. I just don't care for them.

The Squad that Plays together...

...stays together

Double Agent 323, Special Agent 1953, and COA of Precinct 120.
I felt something more than just a simple picture with my badge was in order. The Geek Squad was more than just a job for me. It gave me some of my best friends.
I am Sleeper Agent 323. (Left) Looking back, the Geek Squad and Robert Stephens gave me much more than I ever imagined possible. At first it was just a job that some manager at Best Buy offered me. It quickly became a lifestyle. Robert Stephens taught me that there's no reason to settle. Dream it, then make it happen. A state of mind that I try to stay true to, every day of my life.

Bug in bug

The friendships forged from my years with the Geek Squad were very rewarding for me. I recently married @jenpwns, our COA at the time, this last year. (Pictured top right) My best man, Special Agent @rcudia. Literally, "the best man" as he says. (OK, I'll give you this one Ryan. Live on teh interwebs.)

Busted

Each of us have excelled since we were all with the Geek Squad. Special Agent Ryan Cudia has moved up the ladder from a simple CIA position into the best Agent Sonoma County has ever seen. His new wedding DJ business has already become the #1 choice in their area. (OK, I don't know the stats, but so what. Hire them. http://alongmusic.net ) Jen and I have our own projects in the pipes as well. With the success of http://baconbag.com and the soon to be released http://tapthatbeerapp.com , as well as other endeavors, we're well on our way to our own form of World Domination!

Could we have reached the same place we are today, without Geek Squad? Perhaps, but then we would not be together. And that is a way of life I would not want to be part of.
Thank you Robert Stephens, for all you have taught us. We will never forget it. And while some may be sad to hear of your departure from Geek Squad, I for one can't wait to see what you do next.