TED Talk - Massimo Banzi: How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination

By Gabriel Staples
Written: 20 April 2014
Last Updated: 20 April 2014

Related Articles:

• The Power of Arduino <-- be sure to check out the various really useful Arduino-related links at the bottom of this post!  They have helped me a ton.
• The Goal of a Lifetime
• Arduino micros() function with 0.5us precision - using my Timer2_Counter "Library"
• Arduino Power, Current, and Voltage Limitations
• Quick Tip: 4 Ways to Power an Arduino
• All articles on my blog with the label "Arduino" - http://electricrcaircraftguy.blogspot.com/search/label/Arduino

This Article:

Watch the talk!


Enough said. :)

Aim High

Aim high!  Shoot for the stars and you’ll land on the moon; shoot for the moon and you’ll land on the roof; shoot for the roof and you’ll land in the dumpster. Aim high!

I've heard quotes similar to this, and the other day (22 March 2014) I thought about this and wrote it on the top of a to-do list I had which pertains to Unmanned Aerial Systems-related projects I'm working on.  These are the types of things I try to remind myself regularly.  Aim high.

~Gabriel Staples

Related Article:

• The Goal of a Lifetime

The Goal of a Lifetime

What are My Limits?

"It should be the end goal of any professional to reach such a high level of skill at what you do that you are no longer limited by your abilities; but rather, you are limited only by your imagination."
~Gabriel Staples, 25 Feb. 2014

"Reach your true potential."
~Gabriel Staples, 20 July 2020

I was inspired with this thought tonight while listening to this song (Fear Not This Night (ft. Asja)), followed by this song (David Guetta - Titanium ft. Sia).  As the second song finished, I thought to myself, “did you hear any flaw in her voice?...are there any notes she cannot reach?...does she not have a perfect mastery of music?”  And then it hit me, musical artists at this level are not limited by their skillset, or the lack thereof; they are not limited by vocal control, or a sparse understanding of music, beat, rhythm, and notes.  Rather, singers like this are so skilled that they are limited, in what they will accomplish in their music, only by their imagination.  So it must be with engineers.  In the world of engineers, hobbyists, users and creators of electronics, RC pilots, systems and electronics integration experts and inventors, mathematicians, we must become so adept in our fields that the only limiting factor in what we can create in our areas of expertise is our imaginations.  Let us resolve to better learn our fields, and to make personal efforts to improve our skills on a daily basis, so that we can become doers and not just hearers in whatever we do.  "Be a Thinker, and Be a Doer," that is what drives me [1].

In regards to my professional interests, my goal is to become so skilled in Unmanned Aerial Systems, electronics, aviation, and computer programming, that nothing can hold me back from developing whatever I want to on the leading edge of technology, stretching the bounds of our world as we know it today.

By Gabriel Staples
25 Feb. 2014

References:
[1] - "Be a thinker, and be a doer" is a quote from Destin, on his "Smarter Every Day" series on YouTube.
--photo is a picture of me in Egypt, by the Red Sea, in June 2009, on a trip to study Arabic.

Other Articles to Check Out:

• Aim High - a solid quote to help guide one's life
• The Power of Arduino - what is Arduino, and what can it do? Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or expert Arduino user/programmer, I can almost guarantee you'll learn something new in this article.  Be sure to check out the links at the very end!
• The "Staples Stingray" Glider Sneak Peak! - fly this bungee-launched free flight glider up to 250 ft. high and 1/5 of a mile far in a single flight!
• Inspirational - links to a few videos or projects that I find to be rather awe-inspiring
• Parallel Charging Your LiPo Batteries
• Beginner RC Airplane Setup - get a great, economical setup to enter the fascinating world of radio control aircraft!

Update History:

1. 17 March 2014: added links & descriptions of other articles to check out
2. 20 July 2020: added "Reach your true potential" quote.