Dorkbot

Zolie and I got a chance to see Dorkbot last Wednesday at:
Polly Harrold’s Sometime Gallery
4701 San Leandro, #15c
Oakland CA 94601

Thanks Karen

dorkbot

Jeremy Bornstein – Introduction to Soapmaking

He gave us a no nonsense demo of the basics of soap making which included scaring his volunteer with a caustic solution of lye that they had to hold out an open window. Now I know just enough we might have to make some at our next craft night. Zolie enjoyed trying out her new word “Soap!”

http://soap.ramified.org/
http://jeremy.org

Jeff Wishnie – Harsh Computing: Designing Computing and Communications System for Way Out There

Jeff had some great stories of setting up communications systems and computer labs in very remote places. I enjoyed his story of finding a bee hive in one of the communication towers after the system had stopped working. Zolie started to get sleepy, so we packed it up for the night and went home.

http://inveneo.org/

DV Rogers – Parkfield Interventional EQ Fieldwork (PIEQF)

I got to meet DV again, but missed his talk. Next time!

The Parkfield Interventional EQ Fieldwork (PIEQF) is a geologically interactive, kinetic earthwork that will take place in the township of Parkfield, Central California between the 28th June and 28th September 2008. This machine controlled installation converges a USGS reported Californian earthquake list with the near real time control of a hydraulically actuated earthquake shake table. Each time an earthquake occurs, an array of 1/2 inch and 5/8 inch steel rods attached to the shake table will oscillate and resonate, reflecting the dynamic nature of the Californian landscapeBorn in New Zealand and raised on earthquakes, D.V.Rogers has spent a a good part of the past ten years re-engineering an earthquake shake table. Collaborating with seismologist Andy Michael of the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, this summer the shake table will be installed on the San Andreas Fault in the remote central Californian township of Parkfield.

http://blog.allshookup.org