This is an addendum to an older post about a jitter wacom tablet: (http://poonheads.blogspot.com/2007/12/wacom-jitter.html)
To sum up the old article: I had recently purchased a new PC case made of PVC. The PVC did not shield anything from the RF coming off of the fans and pc parts. My Intuos3 Wacom tablet was jittery because of the RF interference coming from the plastic case. The solution was to get a new PC case.
I just started Grad school at Indiana University in Bloomington. Because I can no longer leech off of my parents, I decided to move into a small apartment in Bloomington while I go to school. This is all relevant, I promise.
Because the apartment is relatively small, space is at a premium. Instead of a nice computer desk, I'm using a 2foot by 4foot wooden folding table. It has no keyboard drawer. This small table must hold my two very large monitors, my keyboard, my speed pad, miscellaneous desk accesories, and my Wacom Tablet. Everything is very close together.
When I first set up my computer in this new place, I noticed that the Wacom Jitter had returned. I was almost certain that this was caused by my tablet being too close to the monitors. Turns out I was only half right.
The RF interference was coming off of the monitor, but it was not hitting the tablet directly. It was seeping in through the USB cable that connects the tablet to the computer. I had the cable running under the monitor and behind the desk. Since the cable is not well shielded, the RF had no trouble getting in through the cable.
I discovered this on a hunch. Instead of running the cable behind the monitor and behind the desk, I ran the cable around the front and taped it to the bottom of the desk so that it no longer runs near the monitor. My hunch was correct. The tablet is still as close to the monitor as it ever was, but since the cable is farther away, the jitter has disappeared.
Bottom line: The cable is more important than the tablet itself to shield from the RF.
On a related note: For months, I've noticed that my Wacom mouse (that I use as my primary input method) has been randomly double clicking or not clicking at all. I've always thought it was a driver problem, or caused by the same RF interference as the jitter. As there is no jitter, I'm fairly certain it's not the interference. After doing a little testing, I've decided that it's probably just that my mouse has gone bad. The issues occur at different frequencies depending on where I physically press the mouse button. It seems that the move probably exacerbated the problem, as it's been happening more often since I've moved here. My solution: Buy a new mouse. It should be coming in on Tuesday and we'll see if that's actually the problem. If not, I'm out 50 bucks and have no idea what's wrong with my tablet.
On an unrelated note: Now that I've started grad school, I'll probably not be able to update as often as I'd like. I'll do my best, but make no guarantees. In addition, it may be some time before I'll be able to finish the Ants comic - at least until my new mouse comes in.
Later,
~Ben
Update - 9/2/08: I got my new mouse in the mail. It was just as I suspected. I must have worn out the buttons on my old mouse. This new one works like a charm. The middle click mouse-wheel button even works (it never worked well on my old mouse). So that's awesome. ~Ben
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Saturday, August 30, 2008
The Wacom Jitter - Addendum
Thursday, August 7, 2008
I Love Music: 5 Years Time
I initially heard this song on Virgin a while back. Didn't think much of it. Then I heard a clip of it on a Saturn commercial and it got stuck in my head.
5 Years Time is a catchy little diddy by Noah and the Whale. It starts out a little slow, but quickly heats up with a variety of interesting instruments. It's well paced and just when you think it's getting a little repetitive and a little boring, they change it up a bit. It keeps this up for 4-ish minutes and instead of fading out (which the repetition would lead one to expect), it ends abruptly on a high note. In general I like my songs short and sweet, but these guys are pretty interesting and I wouldn't have minded a minute or two more.
I'm unable to embed the Youtube video as I normally would, because they've disabled that feature. I've linked the above image to the video, though. Also, you can get to it straight from here: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8YCSJpF4g4)
You know... I've always fancied myself an Alternative/Classic/Punk rock kind of guy. According to my imaginary genre score sheet, however, this newly discovered "Folk Rock" has overtaken my previous genres of choice. What's up with that?
Until next time
~~Ben
Resources:
Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_and_the_Whale)
Youtube Channel: (http://www.youtube.com/user/realnoahandthewhale)
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Comic: Ben versus The Ants
Holy Crap! New Comic!
I haven't done this in a while now (more than 9 months) so I'm a little rusty. I have the whole thing penciled out. The first 3 panels are scanned, inked and colored. Unfortunately, I only have the first panel finished, with text and everything.
But that's okay. A long time ago, I set up the site to accept comics one panel at a time. So that's how we're going to do this one. When I finish a new panel, I'll post it. When it's posted I'll throw up a new wisdom post to let you know it's been posted. This will go on until it's done.
So, check out the first panel of the newest Poonheads comic titled "Ben versus The Ants". It's in the comics section, or you can just follow this link: (http://poonheads.com/comics/Default.aspx?id=ants)
It should be exciting, so stay tuned.
XOXO
~Ben
Update:
6:30PM 5/25/2008: Panel 2 is up.
Update:
7:30PM 5/25/2008: Panel 3 is up.
Update:
1:36AM 5/31/2008: Panel 4 is up.
Update:
8:04PM 6/01/2008: Panel 5 is up.
Update:
9:14PM 6/05/2008: Panel 6 is up.
Update:
10:23PM 6/30/2008: Panel 7 is up.
Update:
11:18PM 7/02/2008: Panel 8 is up.
Update:
9:10PM 7/26/2008: Several panels added... Arby's contest is over, so I decided to update the comic... I find out the results next Friday.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Ben Montana
Hey, everyone.
I made a video for this Arby's contest. If I win, I become famous and get free Arby's. Which would make me very happy. So... If you don't mind, please sign up and cast a vote. You can view my awesome video and vote here:
(http://www.rescuebrigadeaudition.com/video/view/12)
If you really want to help, vote every day!
If you have problems signing in... Try using your email address and password (instead of your username) because Arby's authentication system sucks balls.
Also, I promise to finish the ants comic as soon as possible.
~~Ben
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Run Down
I've been relatively busy lately. I plan to finish that Ants comic pretty soon. In the mean time, I've got a quick run down of what I've been up to.
E-bay: Addictive
Snake Eater Figure: Oh man
Metal Gear Solid 4: Okay
Metal Gear Online: Awesome
Playstation 3: Not bad
Blu-Ray: Fucking sweet
Get Smart: Hilarious
Wall-E: Pretty good
Izzo's: Tastey
Arby's: Tastier
Pepto-Bismol: Thank god
Migraines: Not awesome
Stress: Also, not awesome
Work: Super not awesome
Programming: Ugh
Grad School: Fuck yes
Mustaches: Dapper
That is all.
~Ben