MIDI CONTROLLED NEON
From Hackaday: The people who make neon signs are a vibrant community with glass bending and high voltage electronics. There is a need, though, to sequence these neon signs, and it seems like MIDI is the way to do it. That’s what [david] is doing for his entry to the Hackaday Prize, and the results already look great.
The idea for this project is to transmit MIDI data to a controller that activates neon tubes accordingly. As for why [david] chose MIDI over DMX512 or some other protocol, the object here is to sync with music, and if you already have a drum machine sending MIDI out, you might as well just patch into that.
WHY Louisville’s Will Russell to open Marvelous Mystery roadside attraction on Barret Avenue
From WDRB.com: LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The view from the sidewalk on Barret Avenue looks a whole lot different today than it did when Lynn’s Paradise Café was in its heyday.
The chef who drew nationwide fame for her pajama party brunch announced it would close in 2013.
But well-known Louisville business man Will Russell hopes to carry on Lynn’s legacy, quite literally. He carried the sign from her old businesses into his new business next door.
“When Lynn’s closed, it kind of went dormant for a while,” said Russell, the co-creator of Marvelous Mystery. “We don’t have delicious fried chicken, but we do have some really great T-shirts.”
Why diners look like trains – a brief history of the American fast food icon
Mickey’s Diner in Minnesota: serving sliders since 1939 CREDIT: GETTY
From The Telegraph: Charming, novel and quintessentially American: the humble diner is in many ways to the US what the pub is for Britons. They may all be built from the same blueprint, with their booth seating, neons signage and train carriage-esque format; and offer up the same formula – cheap food at all hours – but every diner has its own, distinct soul.
They look like rail carriages, incidentally, because they essentially once were – in some cases converted from such into mobile eateries, and otherwise built to replicate them. To learn of their beginnings, we must travel back to the late 19th century and then to New Jersey, which remains America’s undisputed diner capital to this day.
The cheap-and-cheerful concept of quick meals for those on the go can be traced back to 1872 when businessman Walter Scott started selling food from his horse-drawn wagon to employees of a newspaper in Providence, Rhode Island.
Fulton reveals $29 million plan to upgrade historic theater, transform downtown Lancaster block
This rendering shows the Fulton Theatre after renovations along North Prince Street.
From LNP | Lancaster Online: Twenty years after the community restored its beloved Fulton Theatre, the fruits of a visionary $29 million campaign were announced Sunday with a promise to update the venerable performance center inside and refurbish half a city block outside.
Billed as a “breakout performance celebration” inside the landmark building, about 250 patrons and supporters broke out in applause and gasped at some of the coming features that will expand the Fulton into an arts complex with four performance venues, not just one.
For starters, the plan that was four years in the making will transform a full block of West King Street and half of the first block of North Prince Street.
Family’s epic road trip to all 50 states with newborn could break world record
From USA Today: An Australian couple is taking maternity leave to a whole other level – by road tripping to all 50 states in the U.S. with their newborn, Harper Yeats, and possibly breaking a world record in the process.
Mom Cindy Lim, 31, and dad Tristan Yeats, 34, have kept track of the family’s travels on an Instagramaccount that features adorable photos of baby Harper in each state they stop in.
In a statement to USA TODAY Friday, the couple said they have applied to the Guinness World Records to have the achievement recognized.
“It is not an existing title so it apparently takes (Guinness World Records) 12 or so weeks to determine whether they will accept it as a title,” the statement read. “If so, we will then need to submit evidence to have Harper’s record set.”
With only 3 states to go before they reach their goal, the couple added that they’re “optimistic” Harper will be the youngest person to visit all 50 states at just under 6 months old.