Andie & Mike's Garden BubbleCam!
Visit their site to find the whole story, but I've got a few thoughts to share on this topic.
Written 11/12/05
Some of you know of the BubbleCam, a remotely activated bubble making device in the back yard of Andie and Mike, down in FL. When you go to AndieAndMike.org, go to their bubblecam area and click on the "make bubbles" link. When you do, if it's daytime, you will see for 30 seconds ~ bubbles blowing through their back garden on warm Florida breezes. You might even see Andie or Mike puttering about. This is the time of year I start visiting their site regularly. As I live in New England, I need help remembering all the world is not chilly.
Anyhow, for the past couple of weeks, their bubblecam page has been down. Finally yesterday it was back up. I wrote to ask what was going on and see if they were alright and to invite them to the 2006 National Gathering of Soap~Bubble Enthusiasts. Here's a snip of Mike's reply:
>Hi Keith,
>
>I doubt we'll be able to make it. We're so busy remodeling our house
>and with the recent hurricane, it has been one setback after another.
>March seems like a long ways off so we might be able to make it but I
>really doubt it. If you think of it, send us some info as it becomes
>available.
>
>Thanks again.
>
>Mike of AndieAndMike.org
Visit if you've been there before and remember the deep looking backyard with patio and plants and flags blowing in the breeze. The view on offer now is an edge line of fencing with some sort of palm-tree backdrop. The best they have for us at the moment, but we're welcome to it. Andie & Mike have Moxie!
In case you're wondering, they use Miracle Bubbles these days, and there's plenty of "back story" on AndieAndMike.org to tell you more about their project.
I love the fact that in the midst of all this, they are willing to keep the bubblecam up and running for the good of all humanity.
Now that's dedication.
More about this amazing project, used with permission, of course (from this page).
Bubbles are filled from a 7 gallon jug fitted with a "bottling spigot" and picnic tap which are all leftover home brewing supplies from our home brewed beer phase. This allows us to pre-mix two or three weeks worth of water and bubble solution. We found we needed to cut the bubble solution with water using two parts bubble solution to one part water. This keeps the bubble solution from getting too thick due to evaporation on hot summer days. It also allows us to make a supply of bubble solution last longer.
The camera is a D-Link DCS-1000 Ethernet camera. This camera contains its own web server responsible for serving up the video stream. The camera plugs directly into our computer network hub through an Ethernet cable with lightning protection on both ends. We've tried several less expensive camera solutions and you generally get what you pay for. This camera has been the least trouble and is going on its third year.
The bubble machines are controlled by a custom program Mike wrote. The software is triggered each time the "Bubbles" button is clicked. When the program runs, it first looks at the clock on the server to get the current time. It then computes the sunrise and sunset times based on the date and our exact latitude and longitude. If the program determines the bubbles button was pressed during nighttime hours, it will tell the user to come back during daylight hours. If the bubbles button is pressed during daylight hours, the server turns on one of the bubble machines.
The bubble machines are turned on by another custom program Mike wrote using the Smarthome PowerLink computer interface. The PowerLink product is designed to allow hobbyists to write software for controlling lights and appliances using X10 modules. The interface broadcasts commands into the house's electrical wiring which are picked up by X10 modules. The bubble machines are plugged into the X10 modules and when the module supplies power, the garden is filled with bubbles. The server lets each machine run for 30 seconds before sending an "off" signal to the machine's X10 module.
The server program alternates between each of the two bubble machines each time the bubble button is pressed. This has several advantages over a single bubble machine. First, it allows us to go twice as long between refills. It also provides some redundancy in the event of a machine failure. Should we need to do maintenance on one of the machines, we can quickly tell the server to stop alternating and use a specific machine.
Thank you, Mike, for allowing me to use this content.