CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-03-26 06:17:57 (3 comments, 7 reshares, 12 +1s)

Play leads to work and work leads to a job.  That 's one of the topics of conversation at summit focused on Innovation and Jobs.

http://blog.makezine.com/2013/03/25/making-jobs/

2013-02-25 16:06:20 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 13 +1s)

I want to share our site as a resource for educators.  

2013-02-25 15:26:17 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

SESSION 3 LIVE VIDEO > (Starts in 3 min) Learning Creative Learning - Session 3 - Making & Constructionism

2013-02-25 08:16:49 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Finished "Bring Up the Bodies" by Hilary Mantel, a historical novel based on the life of Thomas Cromwell during the reign of King Henry VIII and his second marriage to Anne Boleyn.   It's even better than "Wolf Hall", the first book in the series.   This is not one of those padded costume dramas.   It's taut and extremely forceful.  Mantel enters the mind of Cromwell, a man of independent action and court intrigue, and she creates a compelling story that is paced like a thriller but is introspective like a modernist novel.    

http://resources.macmillanusa.com/jackets/186W/9780805090031.jpg

2013-02-04 19:05:59 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Added photos to How to Make a Makerspace Workshop.

2013-02-03 07:02:21 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 69 +1s)

I came across this multi-faceted workspace at Artisan's Asylum featuring a drum kit and a Makerbot.   

2013-02-02 19:07:08 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

Andrea Foertsch on space and real estate at How to Make a makerspace workshop. Makerspaces are not traditional incubators, they are more flexible and multidisciplinary.

2013-01-30 02:27:05 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 21 +1s)

i just finished documenting my DIY factory: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Factory/ . hope you find it interesting!

2013-01-27 01:35:05 (19 comments, 2 reshares, 24 +1s)

If you can't unlock it, you don't own it.

If you want to break US law on Sunday, just unlock your cellphone.  

2013-01-26 22:21:13 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

The 3D Printing Revolution and the Right to Bear Arms

What are your thoughts on this article from Andrew Leonard in Salon?  As Cory Doctorow says in the article, the possibilities are "scary."   I comment that revolutions typically have positive and negative outcomes.  

3D printers may one day make it possible for almost anyone to make a gun, which makes gun control more and more difficult.   I'm not sure I buy the argument -- or the concern.   We can make weapons out of ordinary materials and the recipes to do so are found on the Internet. A knife can be used to cut up a steak but it can be pointed at someone in a threatening fashion and do a lot of damage.   An assault weapon is a different beast, however. 

Regulating the manufacture and sale of guns are two main approaches for implementing gun control and 3D printing does route around them.  

2013-01-25 02:04:59 (13 comments, 13 reshares, 46 +1s)

I’m excited by the opportunity for Maker Media and its team, as MAKE spins out of O'Reilly as its own company.  I look forward to developing this new edition of MAKE, and expanding the reach of MAKE as a global brand that brings makers together.  See the blog post below for some of the background.

+MAKE 

2013-01-23 06:30:07 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 18 +1s)

Wow. Nearly 800 backers. Pretty incredible. I'm thoroughly convinced of two things:

1) People are eager to get into the maker movement. And...
2) I have a lot of great friends. 

Thank you for pledging and/or sharing!

2013-01-23 06:18:07 (3 comments, 5 reshares, 12 +1s)

Teacher Nick Provenzano stopped giving tests and had his students do projects to demonstrate what they learned. He writes this remarkable paragraph:

"Students are yearning to show their teachers their talent and knowledge. They are bursting at the seams to show the world what they can do. The traditional classroom of lecture and test does not allow them to do that though. The minute I started to let my students choose their projects and express their knowledge in different ways, engagement and the overall energy of the students went through the room. They felt part of the process and that investment is critical for engagement and learning. They no longer felt like just another body in a seat being told what was important, they were active participants in their learning. High-school students are eager to participate. They are looking for chances to show off their talents. By moving to a... more »

2013-01-20 01:30:03 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 18 +1s)

I feel like diversity in the Maker world is a challenge...not that minority Makers or Maker Mentors do not exist, but sometimes they are tough to find. Here's a solid resource started by Kipp Bradford http://black-makers.com/

2013-01-13 22:01:39 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 37 +1s)

Open Make was held at the SJ Tech Museum on Saturday.    The theme was robots.    Kids made spinbots in a workshop organized by Chris Meyer and Ann Mayoral.  (Spinbot kits are available in MakerShed at http://www.makershed.com/Make_Spin_Bot_Kit_p/msrspin.htm).  it was great to see the spinbots in action drawing on paper inside a large playfield.   As more robots were added, color and chaos contributed to the creation of a collaborative artwork.   At the end, the large sheets of paper were cut into strips so the kids could take them home.

The build session was followed by a Meet the Makers session, which featured several makers of different ages and interests who build robots.   It was nice to see +Karl Wendt showing his new robots made from discarded parts.

+Tony DeRose also led a Young Makers meeting, explaining how to participate in this year's program.   Parents canform local c... more »

2013-02-05 19:19:31 (28 comments, 5 reshares, 16 +1s)

Artisan's Asylum and MAKE are teaming up to put on a weekend of presentations and discussions about how to make a makerspace. The goal of this event is to give attendees a roadmap and the resources needed to start the process of creating sustainable makerspaces of their own, while also introducing everyone to each other and forming a support network for the long and arduous process of space development and creation. 

The workshop will be held at Artisan's Asylum in Somerville, MA, which is one of the most interesting and well-developed makerspaces in the country.  Gui Cavalcanti of Artisan's Asylum and I are organizing a program so that others can learn more about the process of building a successful makerspace and developing a community of users and supporters.   The cost is $125 and space is limited.

http://makeamakerspace.eventbrite.com/

2013-01-03 21:36:42 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 19 +1s)

Please join fellow makers and share your projects, tips and tools in the Make: Forum, a G+ community.

2012-12-30 05:30:38 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Plenty of persimmons.

2012-12-29 20:16:34 (4 comments, 6 reshares, 27 +1s)

Public.Resource.Org released today 10,062 international public safety standards accompanied by 12 tables documenting the release. These standards cover 24 countries and 6 regional organizations. The focus has been on mandated public safety specifications, such as the European Union's Eurocode.

Over 700 of these documents have been rekeyed reset into HTML and that process of transformative use will continue in 2013. A large number of images have been rekeyed into SVG graphics and mathematical formulas have been rekeyed into MML.

This law is your law.

2012-12-28 23:48:39 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Free as in ...

Hey, how hard is it to give things away in this country?  Nathan Seidle gives an interesting explanation of a SparkFun Free Day promotion that ended up fitting the definition of a lottery.   Good news is that the promotion dollars will instead go to fund education programs.   

2012-12-21 04:51:09 (9 comments, 3 reshares, 18 +1s)

Pretty cool how they tracked down the fragments of a fireball.

"Jenniskens, who led the scientific search, described the search for the few fragments, explaining that they instigated a search of weather radar data to pinpoint the exact landing site. He also worked to collect photographs and video from a few bystanders in the High Sierra, some of whom captured stills of the fireball. The team of scientists also employed the use of seismic equipment at international nuclear weapons detection sites in an effort to better pinpoint the size of the meteorite when it struck Earth."

2012-12-21 01:51:45 (1 comments, 5 reshares, 12 +1s)

Interesting insights on the challenges of developing and delivering a lecture for an online course.

2012-12-12 01:50:19 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 12 +1s)

This is a really good, short video that captures the excitement of kids in their own words at World Maker Faire in NY.   Produced by "Seen in NY."

2012-12-04 08:12:28 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

Good article introducing the Rascal micro board ("Small computers for art and science), which is somewhere in between Arduino and Raspberry PI.  

2012-12-04 07:24:48 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

“Lettering is like jazz,” says signwriter Robin Abbey. “You’ve got commons themes and tunes, you do them over and over again but they’re always slightly different. And then sometimes you get a really good performance.”

2012-12-03 17:00:03 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 9 +1s)

Community-based grants for programs reaching young makers

Just 12 more days for community organizations to get your grant applications in for Cognizant’s 2013 Making The Future After-school and summer program grants!  Community organizations wishing to run a program to inspire Young Makers should apply before December 15.  
 

2012-12-03 07:54:26 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

*We Drink All We Can.  The Rest We Sell." 

I saw this on a Williams Selyem Winery label, a winery developed by two wine enthusiasts in Forestville, CA.   Burt Williams was featured in this movie on Russian River Valley pinot noir, which we saw Saturday night.     

http://www.russian-river-valley.com/

I don't think the funny line is original but Burt said that they developed the wine they wanted to drink themselves, gave a lot of it away and eventually started to sell some and win a few awards.   Burt worked at the SF Chronicle as a typesetter.   His partner Selyem worked at the local market (Speers).  They worked the winery as a side-job for ten years before being able to make it a business that could afford to pay them salaries.    It's a great story, and the interview with Burt Williams is the best thing about the movie. 

2012-12-03 01:13:40 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Good to see all the photos from Maker Faire Tokyo.

2012-12-01 17:57:02 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

Join me at the Drone Games today.  

2012-11-30 22:52:33 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 18 +1s)

QuadCop enthusiast Dad sounds like a mad inventor always improving life for his family.  Unexpected results soon to follow.  Haven't I seen that movie?

#make  

2012-11-29 17:52:40 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Fascinating area.

#make #3dprinting

2012-11-29 01:50:31 (5 comments, 16 reshares, 27 +1s)

Arduinos in Space

I met with Peter Platzer of Nano Satisfi, a company that is putting Arduinos in a CubeSat form factor -- a small satellite full of Arduinos, sensors and cameras.   (It's 10x10x10) Imagine that you can write code to control the satellite, interact with the sensors or take pictures; upload the code to the satellite and get back your results, followed by a Twitter notification that the satellite did its job.   Peter is developing this platform for educational uses.  I'm excited to see what creative and unexpected uses makers of all ages can come up with.   It might be interesting science or it might just something crazy that nobody has ever thought of doing before.   Now it's possible.  

Here's a photo from one of the test launches earlier this year.

#make  

http://www.nanosatisfi.com

2012-11-28 16:06:21 (4 comments, 9 reshares, 22 +1s)

Those robots can really creep up on you.

#CoolRobots  

2012-11-28 06:09:24 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 14 +1s)

I thought this was an interesting conclusion in this piece on the funding of LIFT, a collaborative self-help app, that gamification added unnecessary complexity without accompanying real benefits.   Keep it simple.

"Initially, the co-founders added a bunch of gamification elements to the apps, but they quickly learned that users weren’t interested in badges or prizes. They just wanted simplicity. So, the team stuck to its guns, focusing on the creation of a simple, portable support community that can help you reach your goals by consistently reinforcing your most productive habits."

Congratulations to +Tony Stubblebine, a co-founder of LIFT, who used to work with me at O'Reilly.  

2012-11-27 23:12:00 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Open Source Solar project from Steve Nelson (via Tim O'Brien).

2012-11-27 18:46:01 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Phil Torrone tackles the dispute over the smARtduino project on Kickstarter.

2012-11-23 21:59:19 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 24 +1s)

We took our first trip in our Airstream a few weeks ago, about three hours north into Humboldt County in California.   We stayed at the Benbow RV Resort near Garberville and then took a day-trip through the Avenue of the Giants.   These forests have the largest collection of the largest trees (over 300 feet) in the world.  

2012-11-23 18:21:30 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 22 +1s)

Dale Dougherty was tagged in Dale Dougherty's album.

2012-11-22 19:13:01 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

An old children's book reminds us of the value of giving more and more children the opportunity to make.

2012-11-21 16:40:02 (3 comments, 11 reshares, 14 +1s)

Great feedback on the 3D printer issue:

"I read and re-read the 3D Printer Review issue, Great Job!"  Andrew Filo, 3D printing expert.

"The 3d printing guide ...is awesome.  Nicely done." Phil Torrone, Adafruit.

"Your (3D printer) shootout has really helped set the standard and challenged us to do better for our users."  Espen Sivertsen, Type A Machines.

Plus, we've even had email and calls from a few 3D printer makers who were unhappy with their review, which really is a positive sign.

2012-11-21 05:24:24 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 12 +1s)

You can't help but be impressed by young Schuyler St. Leger's Arduino 101 presentation.  

2012-11-20 23:00:13 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 16 +1s)

The UK Government releases its Digital Design Principles. These are simple, clear, empowering and beautiful.

https://www.gov.uk/designprinciples

2012-11-19 16:50:52 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

A new flavor of makerspace: the Community Micro-Manufacturer. 

I like it. More mainstreet retail than small-batch manufacturing, but I think there is space in the ecosystem. In the same way that Noisebridge and TechShop are compliments, this could be a perfect gateway for new makers. 

This is a place my mom would go.

via +Nick Pinkston  

2012-11-19 00:33:01 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 11 +1s)

What You Can Find Hiding in Chico

"Made in 1928, (the poster) is considered the earliest known surviving movie poster of Mickey Mouse.".

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/17/4992783/1928-movie-poster-of-mickey-mouse.html#storylink=cpy

2012-11-18 17:59:32 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

I'd Like to see Geoff McGann's Watch

"(Nelson) said (McGann's) shoes were two sizes too big, while the watch - which was set to the wrong time - had fuses and wires coming out of it, a circuit board and a toggle switch. Nelson, who is on his agency's bomb squad, said, "He had everything to make a triggering device for an IED, so that's a concern."

McGann said his watch was an art project. 

"When you add it all up, it just doesn't add up," Sgt Nelson (of Alameda County Sheriff) said. "What reasonable person would take those items into an airport in this day and age?"

2012-11-17 00:51:41 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

Maker Smart

From Doug Stowe on his blog, Wisdom of The Hands.

"The next thing of course for Harvard might be for Howard Gardner to discover a new form of human intelligence we can call, Maker Smart. The only thing is, however, maker smarts is  not really a separate form any more than any of the others are, but rather, the summation of all other forms of human intelligence.

There is a simple solution to the problem of education and the recognition of all forms of human intellect. Ask our students and teachers to do real things. Making things in a wood shop may be the best place to start."

+MAKE 

2012-11-16 19:56:34 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 10 +1s)

Last night, the Analy Community Makerspace hosted an open house at Analy HIgh School in Sebastopol, CA to welcome students, parents, friends, mentors and supporters to the makerspace where Project Make classes are taught by Analy teacher Casey Shea.     There was a great turnout for the open house and lots of things to do and make.

In January, the makerspace will begin opening its doors to community members, which is really exciting to see.  It will create more opportunities for collaboration between community members, students and faculty.

These photos were taken by Gregory Hayes of MAKE.

#makerspace  

2012-11-15 17:18:37 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Nice work, +Shawn Wallace 

2012-11-14 23:44:52 (5 comments, 5 reshares, 19 +1s)

I think this quote really nails what making in education is all about:
"It’s not a lesson plan; it’s not a curriculum; it’s a way to look at the world.”  Moreover, it's a way to change the world.

2012-11-11 02:15:54 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 42 +1s)

Airstreaming Weekend

My wife and I are taking our first trip in our Airstream. It was a three-hour drive - my first towing experience other than a horse trailer. We are staying in Humboldt County. Tomorrow is a trip along the Avenue of Giants to hike among the giant redwoods.