RSSArchives: August 2007
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August 8, 2007
Chaos Communication Camp Day 1
Yesterday we arrived here at camp and got set up. Check out yesterday's photos to watch the journey and meet the US campers. - Link
We got stocked up before getting on the plane thanks to h1kari. Then on the plane, Dan got out his snakes. Within a short time Yotta had a network up on the plane with IRC and absurdly slow streaming video.
Upon arrival, our bus driver took us on a 10 hour tour from Dusseldorf to camp just North of Berlin. We were up all night getting things ready and I got a few shots just before sunrise like the one above.
Today there are some great talks that I can't wait to go see!
-Decoding laser printer tracking dots
-Hacking Space
-Geocaching and Alternate Reality Games
-Dungeons and Hyperlinks
-memes, memetics & netculture
Here's the list of all the presentations today. - Link
Update: They'll be streaming the presentations live! - Link
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Aug 8, 2007 12:05 AM
Events |
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Sketching in Hardware 07
The participants and presentations from Sketching in Hardware 07 are posted, it's worth spending the time to check'em all out! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 8, 2007 12:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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August 7, 2007
"The Astronaut Farmer" Lacks the Right Stuff
I recently rented the movie "The Astronaut Farmer" starring Billy Bob Thornton, thinking this movie about a guy who builds his own rocket in his backyard had the potential to be a good Maker movie. It had the making of a decent DIY setup, like "The World's Fastest Indian." Yet this movie turned out to be nothing but ridiculous, defining a new category for space junk. I should have known as much when the movie opened with a grown man (Thornton) riding a horse on a Texas ranch while wearing an astronaut suit. Hey, I walked around in a cowboy outfit when I was five, and I watched all the astronauts go into space on TV, and I can see how someone might be completely infatuated with being an astronaut. I wish the movie was a fantasy. It might have had some charm, like Edward Scissorhands, but it wants us to take this rancher named Charles Farmer seriously.
Because he's a dreamer. Farmer is ready to sacrifice everything for his dream. This former astronaut who left the program to be with his family is actually building the rocket to take him into space -- and he's doing it for them, his family. He's willing to bet the ranch. He has built an Atlas-class rocket in his barn, which is right next to his house. On top is a space capsule just like a Gemini capsule. He tells a government agency that he grew up believing he could do anything he dreamed of, and he's going to do it. All by himself.
Building and launching a rocket into space is hardly a DIY project but Farmer is doing it without seeking the help of friends or supporters or experts. He might have been an astronaut (and no monkey) but does he really have the right stuff to build a rocket himself? We're asked to give him the benefit of the doubt. His mission controller is his son, who is fifteen, and the equipment itself looks older than anything used in mission control. When Farmer finally does blast off, it should torch the barn and the house but it doesn't because it's CGI. He doesn't even tell anyone he's doing it, not even his son. The first launch ends up as a horrible mess with the rocket careening out of control. The crash should have killed him but he survives more like Wile E. Coyote than a human being. Once he wakes up in the hospital, he's completely healed. On his second attempt, in a new rocket named Dreamer, Farmer is successful but his son is so tired while Dad's in orbit that he has to take a nap. When Farmer lands the space capsule at the end -- after eight orbits of the earth, he parachutes to a hard landing on the Texas desert -- his family knows just where to find him with the Chevy Suburban and pick him up. It's contrived and preposterous. There's not a single serious technical detail in the movie, no pretense to making this story credible.
This kind of movie gives dreamers a bad name but it doesn't matter -- the makers of "The Astronaut Farmer" got it all wrong.
Posted by Dale Dougherty |
Aug 7, 2007 10:16 PM
Reviews |
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CRAFT: 04 Crazy for costumes - on newsstands today!
CRAFT: 04 is our Crazy for Costumes issue, where you'll learn about hula hoop couture, anime dress-up, and how to make a pirate costume for your pooch or a burlesque headdress for yourself. Beyond costumes, we'll show you how to knit a hay twine rug, work with natural dyes, carve your own crochet hooks, build a mod vinyl bench, macrame a suede curtain, create your own fabric designs, start your own craft business, and much more. A total of 29 projects! On newsstands now!
To subscribe to CRAFT Magazine and to get access to the Digital Edition, visit our subscription page. - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 7, 2007 08:00 PM
Announcements, Crafts |
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Hackers on a Plane - Defcon
This was my first time to Defcon and it was a great time. There are over 7000 people there and there are so many things to do you have to pretty much choose a path and go for it. You could spend all your time in the presentations or participate in the contests and compete for the glory and maybe even the esteemed black badge. There were a few that struck me. The hack the badge contest is for people to hack Joe Grand's badge. The team that won managed to turn their badge into a frequency analyzer and pump music through it! They sent off to a rapper and had Joe Grand's poem about the badge made into a rap that rocked. Video by Dan Kaminsky
For the robot contest, Team Octopi won for the second year in a row with their robot. In this contest you make a robot that can shoot 22 targets within two minutes. It's a head to head double elimination tournament. My team proudly won third place! The video above is a little snapshot of the event!
After Defcon, 38 other hackers and I took a 24 hour journey by plane and bus to go to CCC camp, a huge, once-every-four-years, hacker conference North of Berlin. I'll update you on that soon!
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Aug 7, 2007 07:07 PM
Events |
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MAKE:it - Electronic makers kit
Here's a new set of tools we have in the MAKE store - hand picked by our Makers this kit features everything you need to get started with electronic construction.
Features
- Soldering Iron
- PCB Vise Panavise "Jr"
- Small (7.8") DeSoldering Pump
- Soldering Stand with sponge
- 0.5lb 60/40 Solder
- Desoldering Braid
- Wire Cutters/Stripper
- Shear Cutters
- 7-Function 2000-Count Multimeter
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 7, 2007 07:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Kits, MAKE Store |
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Rubber-band sharpshooter
Popular Science 1946 -
How a North Carolina Sportsman Makes and Shoots His Slingshots. ONE OF boyhood's traditional toys has come of age. Jim Gasque, North Carolina sportsman, has proved that the ordinary slingshot, when properly made and used, can be an adult weapon of deadly accuracy at distances up to 30′--a range sufficient for stalking small game. He shoots regular No. 0 buckshot.Modern Mechanix » Rubber-Band Sharpshooter - Link.His slingshots are made as shown, the dogwood forks being dried in a slow oven overnight after tying. Instead of inner-tube strips, he uses two rubber bands 1/16″ thick, 5/8″ wide, and 7-1/2″or 8″ long.
When shooting, he takes a stance similar to that in archery, body at right angles to the target, feet apart, and weight balanced on both feet. Holding the shot cup at the right eye, he stretches the rubber by extending his left arm fully while aligning the target in the sights -Tom Cushing.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 7, 2007 06:00 PM
DIY Projects, Modern Mechanix, Retro |
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Earbud cord manager
Here's a simple Instructable for creating an earbud cord manager out of a hunk of credit card plastic, killing two birds with one stone: unruly 'phone cord *and* unruly spending.
Earbud cord wrapper in 5 minutes or less! - [via] Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 7, 2007 03:00 PM
DIY Projects, Gadgets, Instructables, Mobile, Portable Audio and Video, iPod |
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Sewing with night vision goggles
Nat @ CRAFT writes -
Audrey Penven is sewing with night vision goggles to experiement on a technique for sewing unexposed negatives together. Here's she's doing a practice round with the goggles before sewing on live film in the darkroom. This project is in collaboration with Mike Estee and Jake Appelbaum.Sewing with night vision goggles - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 7, 2007 02:00 PM
Crafts |
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MakePhilly water rockets highlights
Cyenobite writes -
Just thought I'd send you this link I just uploaded to youtube tonight. It's from our MakePhilly picnic/bar-b-q on Sunday (8/5) where several of us made some soda bottle water rockets. My rocket was the Black and Green one... I used your instructions from Issue 05, with a few minor tweaks of my own. I used foamcore for the fins and attached them with 5min epoxy. Much to my surprise they were pretty durable and light weight. Credit goes to Josh for the launch base.MakePhilly Water Rockets highlights - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 7, 2007 01:00 PM
Events |
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Computer use timeline
I really like this chart Todd made of his last 25 years of computing - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 7, 2007 12:00 PM
Computers, Retro |
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| Comments (1)
NES emulator for the iPhone
Jeez, that was quick! - Link.
It's slow, it's not ready for prime time - it's an excellent start!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 7, 2007 11:00 AM
Cellphones, Gadgets |
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| Comments (1)
Pump as you go air chair
If you ask me (and I know you didn't), there just aren't enough things being done with shoes that recycle the energy you generate as you walk. This project, done by designer JooYoun Paek, combines shoe power with inflatable furniture to create a chair you pump up as you walk. And *so* stylish, too. Does Bjork know about these?
Self-Sustainable Chair - [via] Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 7, 2007 11:00 AM
Arts, Green, Mobile |
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Ignite Seattle 4
Reminder, Ignite Seattle is a geek event that combines on-site geekery, sharing, and innovation (and drinking). The Ignite Contest will begin at 6:30; the Ignite talks will begin at 8:30 - Link & more info.
Pictured here, bridge building from the last Ignite!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 7, 2007 10:00 AM
Events |
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HOW TO - DIY acid stained concrete
How to acid stain concrete from start to finish. Great description of the process, lots of pictures, a few videos, and sense of humour included, too. Thanks Jason! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 7, 2007 10:00 AM
DIY Projects |
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August 6, 2007
Touch box
Craig writes -
Recently I have been exploring Physical Computing. I have always preferred learning new subjects by developing self-defined projects that use the topics, skills or components I want to understand. Here is my latest project that is helping me understand digital electronics.Touch Box - Link.This whatchamacallit uses an Arduino NG for the microcontroller and an LED Red/Green/Blue Serial Matrix from Spark Fun for the display. When left on its own the display randomly displays patterns and alphanumeric characters that dissolve by way of some random shenanigans. It also picks colors randomly from a set that I have deemed aesthetically pleasing. My first computer was an Atari 400 (1979). Its system font used an 8 X 8 matrix which just fits the RGB LED matrix. So for old-times-sake I found the font on the internet, and with a little massaging in Photoshop and Actionscript, encoded it in a form I could transfer to the Arduino for use on the LED Matrix display.
I like the fork.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 6, 2007 06:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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HOW TO - Sprinkler control with embedded linux
Dave writes -
Arek combines a wireless router, NAS, and a USB Bit Whacker to take control of his sprinkler system. Reflash the router and NAS with linux, add some PHP and USB controlled phototriacs to the sprinkler controller and control it all from the comfort of your PC.HOW TO - Sprinkler control with embedded linux - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 6, 2007 04:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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HOW TO - Make a Moleskine-like notebook
Here's another decent how to on rolling your own custom notebooks. By the time you're finished, you certainly won't save any money having made it yourself (if your time counts for anything), but bookbinding can be its own reward. And creating your own notebooks means you have total control over cover and internal designs, materials used, notebook sizes, etc.
Make Your Own Moleskine-Like Notebook - Link
Related:
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 6, 2007 03:00 PM
Arts, Crafts, DIY Projects, Paper Crafts |
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AVR based homemade robotic cat toy
Brad made a home-made automated cat toy...
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 6, 2007 02:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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| Comments (7)
DMX Coffee pot, Mark II
Wesley writes -
I was reading the entry on the computer controlled coffee maker and I thought of this- its a DMX controlled coffee maker. DMX is the standard control protocol for lighting in the theatre world. This company has build a few humorous devices that can be controlled by a lighting console. Anyway- I thought it was amusing.DMX Coffee pot, Mark II - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 6, 2007 12:00 PM
Electronics |
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Page 19 of 23 << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 >>
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