BubbleCam
The Internet has brought many people together. Its made friends and families more
accessible no matter where in the world they happen to be at the time, and its
helped create new friends out of complete strangers. Because of the simple access to the
Internet, anyone can create their own website, and invite virtually anybody in the world
to come in and have a look. Thats just what Andie and Mike of andieandmike.org have
done.
Andie and Mike have created their own website to keep their family and
friends informed on how life is going where they live in southern Florida. Theyve
got an online photo album, an online cookbook, the ever present guest book, and of course
a link to email them. But what makes their site so remarkable is their use of the Anaconda, ActiveHome,
and other X10 products.
Their first setup is the "Patio Bubble Cam." From anywhere in
the world, you can click on a link that will take you to Andie and Mikes patio,
where you click on a button and trigger a commercial bubble machine, which shoots bubbles
into the air. The view of the bubbles is compliments of the X10s Anaconda. And the
triggering mechanism itself is also done using X10 and ActiveHome. The Bubble Cam only
works during the day, and is activated the same way you activate your lights using
ActiveHome Macros and XRay Vision.
And once youve had your fill of bubbles, then drop on by and play
with the AC Cam. AC is the household cat, and the camera is pointed at the cats
favorite nesting place. If its daylight, then youll get to see AC doing what
cats do best... sleeping. And if the blinds are up, you can even see what the weather is
like outside.
But what if you go up to look at the kitty, (or at least his resting spot),
and you cant see anything because its dark? Then what do you do? Well,
youll have to turn the lights on. Thats right, YOULL have to turn the
lights on. Right there on the page Andie and Mike will direct you to the lighting control.
There you can click on a button and turn on the lights. Who knows, you may even get to
see AC nesting... or sleeping.
Andie and Mike say, "Since weve been listed as the AllCam
Editors choice and made it in the EarthCam top ten, weve been getting over
200 visitors a day most of which operate the bubble machine at least once."
Thats "at least once." Some of the visitors, (like us here at X10),
couldnt stop playing with the bubble machine. What is it about bubbles that
captivate us so?
And when its all over, you can go to the bubble FAQ, and theyll
be glad to tell you just exactly how everything was done. Right down to the X10 equipment
used in the endeavor.
Maybe if we got enough people setting up their own bubble machines, we
could have one "righteous" bubble party.
Send comments or feedback on this article to xzone@x10.com
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