Srsly, don’t try this at home. Unless you want to replace your OS with Linux (which is what you should want). And if that’s the case, mix this game with sapphire and tonic! Apply liberally.
We learned how how to make your internetz better with awesome blinky LEDs all over your internetz, like this:
This is what ya’ll missed at the plug-in firefox workshop, btw.
First, take this code:
http://wiki.artzilla.org/nycresistor_background_blinking_lights_using_jquery
and copy it. Then make it funky. Or not, you can just copy the code.
Then, paste it in here:
http://arantius.com/misc/greasemonkey/script-compiler
in the user script part. Next hit ‘Compile!’ and it will generate you a .xpi file.
You can open that file and your firefox add-ons window will pop-up asking you to install it. for god sakes people, install it!
Restart your browser and when you open it again you will find led blinky goodness.
You’ll have these EVERYWHERE:
I learned it from Jamie and Tobi of http://fffff.at
The amazing animated gif was drawn by Bre,and the code was written LIVE during class by Jamie.
And I had these blinky LEDs in my browser the entire time while writing this blog post, which has made my life so much better.
Thursday nights are open to the public from 6-9pm for Craft/Hack night!
Bring your projects people!
Craft/Hack nights happen every Thursday with the exceptions of the following:
Thanksgiving: Nov. 27th
Xmas: Dec. 25th
New Years: Jan 1st
We’ve been getting excited about teletypes and making machines talk to each other. But nothing quite describes the 1930s beauty (that Matt got for $1 on Ebay…. plus $100 for shipping) quite like the pictures. Behold the Teletype:
We spent about 4 hours tonight cleaning it up and figuring out how it worked before we downloaded the manual for assurance that our conjunctures were correct. This machine is electro-mechanical with a big emphasis on the mechanical. It has a relay, a massive lightbulb looking fuse, a solenoid, massive AC motor, and more mechanical parts that any of us have seen on a communicatory device in a long time. It’s peices have been banged up a bit, but having figured out the mecanics of it, we’re pretty sure we can get it up and running with some possible minor welding.
The clicks and sounds and gears were quite satisfying! And we did get the motor powered up tonight – here’s a video of it:
More glorius pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/littlegreenfroggy/sets/72157607651690722/
Hey folks, here’s the long of the short of it, Bre Pettis has a pilot of his very own TV show coming out!! Whether his show will air for a whole season depends on the Neilsen ratings, which is the TV equivalent of a little black box watching what you’re watching! His Neilsen ratings depend on you to watch the pilot. Here’s the info:
History Channel
9/26
9pm
http://brepettis.com/blog/2008/09/04/history-hacker-history-channel/
If you’re not home, Tivo it. But ok, maybe you’re reading this saying, what’s in it for me? Consider the gasps you’ve heard from people who are uneducated about hacking when you utter the word. The concept of hacking in this country is highly unfavorable due to the fact that most people don’t have a clue what hacking means and haven’t read about the ethics and manifestos behind it. Airing a show like this on national television brings an educational background and understanding for hacking and hackers to the masses. And besides, knowing Bre, you’ll probably see how to make some really cool stuff!
This decade is ours – 2000s belong to the geeks! Let’s take it all the way to the top!
A few weeks ago I taught a cupcake hacking class. This class was primarily based on how to electrify your cake without poisoning your friends. The first rule of thumb is to use lead-free solder. We all know soldering with it is a bitch, but piece of mind that you won’t fill your friends with toxins is well worth it. Lead free solder is mostly tin (approximately 95ish%). Other elements in lead-free solder are not exactly healthy to consume, but we take other measures to ensure it doesn’t touch the cake anyhow. The elements found in lead-free solder are as follows: tin, copper, bismuth, zinc, antimony, and indium. The Los Alamos Chemistry Laboratory gives a good overview of elements and their everyday uses. After you have your LEDs, motors, peizos, and other electronic parts soldered together, you’ll want to coat any exposed wires and solder with wax, regular parafin wax, because having wax touch your cake is safer than metal! I like to take extra measures with my cakes and also line the electronics with saran wrap and parchment paper. The battery should always be outside the cake. If you notice the battery leaking acid, for god sakes don’t eat the cake!! Niki, a student in my class made the LED pi cupcake shown above; a cupcake with an identity crisis.
Some resources to learn more about lead free solder and chemical properties of solder are:
More geek-filled electronic cakes can be found on my flickr!
Girls Night @ NYCR!
Another brilliant success! Don’t worry ladies, we’ll have another in a few months! Here’s a link to my pictures if you want to see what all the hoopla is about.
I’d write more about it but we were all sworn to secrecy. Sorry boys.
NYCResistor Girls Night
Friday, Aug. 22
7pm-10pm.
$15 if you want to do the project, $0 if you just want to come hang out: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/150173172
Girls Only!
The last girls night was such a blast, this one is back by popular demand! Come hang out with the girls of NYCR, hack some things, paint some nails, talk some gossip…. After 10pm we’ll meet the guys out for drinks nearby.
There is a $15 ticket if you want to do a blinky hardware project that we’ll help you with. If you’ve signed up for the $15 ticket, we need your shoe size – Please email your shoe size to [email protected]
There is a free ticket ($0) if you want to just come hang out, chat and whatnot. You’ll also be able to buy a kit for $15 once you get here if you decide the project is something you want to do, however your shoe size will not be guaranteed.
Sign up at: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/150173172
Hope to see you there!
plllleeez!