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Video Maker Joe is a 'Maker' Sculptor (Video) 16

Posted by Roblimo from the I-sculpt,-therefore-I-am dept.
Joe Gilmore was showing some of his work at Maker Faire Atlanta when Timothy Lord pointed his camera at him. Joe may never create a Mars colony or build the tallest skyscraper in North America, but what he does is fun to the point of whimsy, and seems to bring smiles to a lot of faces. (Alternate Video Link)

Comment Wikipedia the vector (Score 1) 61

by Bruce Perens (#48386659) Attached to: Researchers Forecast the Spread of Diseases Using Wikipedia

Like others I found the headline confusing. I read it as "Researchers are predicting the use of Wikipedia as a vector for the spread of disease". This may mean that:

  • Disinformation and ignorance are diseases.
  • Memes and computer viruses are diseases.
  • Wilipedia contains information that leads to depression.
  • Instructions on Wikipedia lead to substance abuse.
  • This is getting entertaining, fill in your own reason here.

Comment Let's sing! (Score 3, Interesting) 47

Two boosters for every boy!

I bought a 67 Soyuz and we call it a capsule
(Space City, here we come)
You know it's not very cherry, it's an oldie but a goody
(Space City, here we come)
Well, it ain't got a back seat or a rear window
But it gets me in orbit where I wanna go
And we're goin' to Space City, 'cause it's two to one
You know we're goin' to Space City, gonna have some fun
Ya, we're goin' to Space City, 'cause it's two to one
You know we're goin' to Space City, gonna have some fun, now
SpaceX is hiring every girl and boy...

And if my Soyuz breaks down on me somewhere out in orbit
(Space City, here we come)
I'll strap my oxy tanks to my back and hitch a ride in my spacesuit
(Space City, here we come)
And when I get to Space City I'll be shootin' the horizon
And checkin' out the parties for a surfer girl
And we're goin' to Space City, 'cause it's two to one
You know we're goin' to Space City, gonna have some fun
Ya, we're goin' to Space City, 'cause it's two to one
Ya, we're goin' to Space City, gonna have some fun, now
Two boosters for every
Two SpaceX launches for every girl and boy...

Tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Ignore the lyrics on that one. They're WRONG!
Build

Video HYREL 3-D Printers Were Developed by 3-D Printer Users (Video) 55

Posted by Roblimo from the we-aren't-going-to-excited-by-a-printer-again-until-we-see-a-4d-one dept.
HYREL 3-D had a display Timothy spotted at last month's Maker Faire Atlanta. They're not trying to hustle Kickstarter donors; they exceeded their $50,000 goal by over $100,000. Their main pitch was (and still is) that they are making high-reliability 3-D printers that can run many hours without breaking. Project spokesperson Daniel Hutchison says he and other people he knows who were making prototypes and short-run parts in the Atlanta area were continually disappointed by the poor reliability of available 3-D printers, which is why they decided to make their own. Open Source? Somewhat, partially, kind of... but they have a bunch of proprietary secret sauce in their software, too. Daniel goes into this in more detail in the video, so there's no need for us to repeat his words when you can hear them (or read them in the transcript) for yourself. (Alternate Video Link)
The Internet

Video LibraryBox is an Open Source Server That Runs on Low-Cost Hardware (Video) 47

Posted by Roblimo from the share-thousands-of-books-no-matter-how-far-you-are-out-in-the-boonies dept.
The world is full of wireless servers -- or at least some of it is. There are still many places, including parts of the United States, where you can have all the laptops, smart phones, and other wireless-capable devices you want, but there's no server that caters to them. Enter LibraryBox. It's open source and it runs on a variety of low-cost, low-power hardware. The project's website calls it "portable private digital distribution."

A lot of people obviously like this project and wish it well. LibraryBox ran a Kickstarter campaign in 2013, hoping for $3000, and raised $33,119. But today's interviewee, Jason Griffey, can explain his project better than we can, so please watch the video (or read the transcript) if you want to learn more about LibraryBox -- including the story behind the project's name. (Alternate Video Link)

Comment Re: Well (Score 1) 594

by Roblimo (#48320925) Attached to: Space Tourism Isn't Worth Dying For

Think of a Formula One race car. It's a toy for the rich, not useful in the sense that a car should be. But developments that start in race cars often find their way into passenger cars. Like the rear view mirror. And the seat belt. And practical fuel injection. This list could be hundreds of items long.
Sci-Fi

Video Michelle Sleeper Creates 'Gaming, Comics, and Pop Culture Based Props' 35

Posted by Roblimo from the add-one-part-3-d-printing-to-three-parts-imagination-and-you're-good-to-go dept.
If you go to a sci-fi or gaming convention you'll see people in exotic "character" costumes, often holding exotic props, with some of the most popular being futuristic firearm mockups of one sort or another. Who makes all these cool fannish items? A whole bunch of artists and artisans, including Michelle Sleeper (who says she got tired of jokes about her name many years ago). She's not only one of these artisans, but is also a committed 3-D printer user, since 3-D printing is how she forms a high percentage of her props (with the word "props" being used here in the theatrical rather than the nautical sense). To keep up with what Michelle is making, you should check her blog. One of her most interesting posts, titled Atlanta Mini Maker Faire: On missing deadlines, failure, and triage, is about preparing for the event where Timothy Lord met and interviewed Michelle.

Even if gamer gatherings and SF conventions aren't your thing, the interview (along with the links above) gives a nice glimpse into the life of an independent artisan who uses technology to create a lot of her art. (Alternate Video Link)

Comment Re:Not a good week... (Score 1) 445

by Bruce Perens (#48298059) Attached to: Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Crashes

One of the definitions I found was:

One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.

I am sure that fits. While SpaceShip II is mainly intended for a non-exploration purpose, the program has resulted in some significant advances in rocketry and White Knight II has significant non-tourism use. These pilots have been involved in other space efforts, I remember the one who was injured from the Rotary Rocket test flights. There are lots of safer ways for these folks to make as much money as a test pilot is paid. They do what they do to advance our progress in aeronautics and space.
Technology

Video Remote Vision Through a Virtual Reality Headset (Video) 44

Posted by Roblimo from the it-looks-much-better-over-there-than-it-does-here dept.
Add some material-handling devices and you'd have software-controlled Waldos, first described by Robert A. Heinlein in the 1942 short story titled Waldo. So while the idea of a pair of artificial eyes you control by moving your head (while looking at the area around the artificial eyes, even if it's in orbit), sounds like futuristic fun, especially if you use an Oculus Virtual Reality device instead of an LED screen, it not only hasn't caught up with science fiction, but is a fair ways behind science fact. Still, the idea of being able to control a vision system deep under the sea or in orbit around Saturn is certainly interesting in and of itself. (Alternate Video Link)
Build

Video A Low Cost, Open Source Geiger Counter (Video) 46

Posted by Roblimo from the be-sure-to-take-one-of-these-on-your-next-trip-to-chernobyl dept.
Sawaiz Syed's LinkedIn page says he's a "Hardware Developer at GSU [Georgia State University], Department of Physics." That's a great workplace for someone who designs low cost radiation detectors that can be air-dropped into an area where there has been a nuclear accident (or a nuclear attack; or a nuclear terrorist act) and read remotely by a flying drone or a robot ground vehicle. This isn't Sawaiz's only project; it's just the one Timothy asked him about most at the recent Maker Faire Atlanta. (Alternate Video Link)

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