DIY: Hipster traps

Appearing on city streets in New York and other major cities are art installations like the one pictured below.  They're simple to make, as you can see in this photo from Laughing Squid:
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Jeff Greenspan and Hunter Fine have been installing “Hipster Traps” around New York City which include sunglasses, a yellow bicycle chain, a Holga camera, a can of PBR and a pack of American Spirits as bait. Jeff is the same artist who came up with the idea for last Summer’s Improv Everywhere prank “The Tourist Lane”. Next up: Bridge & Tunnel Traps.

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I'm assuming that the trapping mechanism is disabled...?  You could use construction paper to simulate a saw-toothed trap. By the way, Laughing Squid is a "popular, award-winning blog featuring interesting items of art, culture, and technology" according to Wikipedia.

So, you ask, what is a hipster?  According to the most agreed-upon definition in the Urban Dictionary, 

Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. 

There's much more information on this topic at the web page.  As of today at 11:30A AkDT the votes for this definition are 120121 up, 29574 down.

Here's a video for further identification:
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Artists do have fun -- and, apparently, so do hipsters.

-- Marge

Taking it to the street

While watching a video about spray painting techniques the other day, I realized that the artist was working on the street somewhere in Asia and that doing artwork on the street has elements of theater.  Wanting to know more about this aspect of art, I turned to Google search.  However, a search on 'street art', yields graffiti (tagging).  Zeroing in on the term 'street performer', I go closer but still not quite there.

But I did find an interesting article, "5 Crazy Street Performers (Who Happened to be Geniuses)," at Cracked.com.  The 5 performers are shown below, but please be sure to read the article -- it's well-written and a hoot.  Here's a sample of the writing, this part about Moondog:

A lot of street performers start off with a hard luck story, and Thomas Louis Hardin, or Moondog, was no exception. He was blinded by dynamite at age 16 ... aaaaand that's where his hard luck ended. Because despite performing with made-up instruments and making his living on sidewalks, Moondog was apparently a really influential musician. And also a little bit of a genius.

These videos of the performers were found on YouTube.

The first is Charlie Barnett, a contemporary of Richard Prior and Eddie Murphy, and mentor of Dave Chappelle.  Here he's performing in New York's Washington Square Park.  (Alert: rough language.)
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Then there's Moondog, who had Benny Goodman testify on the quality of his musicianship and performed with Julie Andrews.
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The story of Guy Laliberte -- accordian player, stilt-walker, and fire-eater -- who originated Cirque du Soleil is, well, inspiring.  Here Barbara Walters interviews him.  (Note:  ABC is exerting its copyright claim, don't be alarmed.)
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Here's a visual report on what happened when a world-class violinist, Joshua Bell, played at a metro stop at rush hour as an experiment.  (Looks like the video went viral.)
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Then there's the guy with flaming whips, Adam Winrich. 
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Give a cheer for YouTube.

-- Marge

Cartoons: Boehner and fellow Republicans

A recent poll, sponsored by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, places House Speaker "John Boehner's Favorability Rating Just Above George Zimmerman's, Edward Snowden's" according to a report by Ariel Edwards-Levy in the Huffington Post.  According to NBC New's First Read the poll shows "Faith in DC hits a low; 83 percent disapprove of Congress."

According to Michael Grunwald, writing for Time Magazine, Republicans have become the "The Party of No."

Since it's hard to take such childishness seriously (even though what's done in the Capitol can be serious business), let's have a laugh on it.  What else is there to do?

From the Times-Tribune by John Cole, "Adult Supervision:"
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From Stuart Carlson's website, "On Immigration:"
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From The Week/cartoons by Mike Keefe, "John Boehner's Sob Story:"
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Also from The Week by Mike Luckovich, "A Grand Old Accusation:"
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Found in the Boston Globe archives by Mike Luckovich, "Herding Cats:"
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One last note: on July 17 the Washington Post reported "House to vote, yet again, on repealing Obamacare."  This will be the 38th vote.

-- Marge

DIY: nuts and bolts electronics

Geeky/nerdy content alert:  If you just yawn or go blank at the mention of capacitors, LEDs, breadboards, dead drops, and Raspberry Pi, this is not the post for you.

A while back I came across Make Magazine; today we're going to explore what it offers in the area of electronics.  (There are also many do-it-yourself projects that are not related to electronics.)  While looking around Make, I came across two topics that are particularly intriguing:  Arduino -- a type of circuit board with an 8-bit Atmel AVR microcontroller or a 32-bit Atmel ARM -- and Raspberry Pi -- credit-card-sized single-board computer.  Arduino's home site offers many boards and components for a sale, free download of the Arduino software, and a large community of enthusiasts.  Note that there is a selector for currency at the top of the store listings.  (Make Magazine has a section on projects related to Arduino, too.)  Raspberry Pi (love the name!) has its own site as well; you can also buy a starter kit at the Maker Shed.

Now, on to today's projects: The first one is "How to Make a Capacitor from Scrap Aluminum," posted by John Baichtal.  Be sure to read the comments on this project, too.
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Next we have "Weekend Projects – Hot/Cold LEDs."  This project uses an Arduino -- there's some nice technology here.  Calculating the resistance needed for an LED has tripped me up in the past, so try this nifty online calculator at Linear1.org.
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You might be surprised to learn there's such a thing as a USB dead drop.  Learn more about them and how they're used in the project "Create a USB Dead Drop in Nature," posted by Jason Poel Smith.  You can learn where there are other dead drops and register your own at deaddrops.com. Seems to me the drop should be placed somewhere relatively sheltered.
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Happy tinkering.

 -- Marge

Dancing, self-assembling robots and more

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Recently I discovered Gizmag and signed up for a subscription.  Today's email had this headline: "Self-assembling multi-copter demonstrates networked flight control." The article describes the self-assembling action thus:

The sequence starts with an arbitrary group of robots on the ground. Each robot has three omnidirectional wheels that allow it to rotate and drive in any direction. The robots are programmed to seek a common spot, for example, a brightly lit area. As the robots approach one another, one robot spins in a circle while the other drives around it in a pirouette. Interlocking tabs on the outside of the robots make a physical connection, while infrared light beams carry data between the modules.

Once all the modules in the area are connected, there is a brief calibration of sensors while nothing is moving, and then the entire group start their propellers in unison and take to the sky. Half the modules need to have clockwise propeller rotation, while the other half rotate counterclockwise, in order to cancel out torque.

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This illuminating statement was also in the article:

Professor D’Andrea has several similar groundbreaking projects on his very impressive resume. He is one of the founders of Kiva Robotics, the distributed mobile robots that help make Amazon.com warehouses efficient. A whole fleet of small robots go out into the warehouse and find product on shelves and bring it, shelf and all, to pickers – humans – who place items into boxes. The robots then take the shelves back to the warehouse. For efficiency, the most picked items are placed closest to the packers, making the warehouse self-organized for speed.

I was unable to find any information about the size of the self-assembling robots.  They look like 5-inch computer fans.

Another article asked "Could graphene switches lead to 100-times faster internet?." The answer is yes.  In the reading you'll get a nice description of  how a doped semiconductor works.
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And then there's the orange retro telephone -- "Retro telephone gets 21st century update."  It offers "rotating lights and sound effects during dialing."

No, I'm not an employee of Gizmag, just like to see innovative ideas.  The idea of self-assembling robots is a little scary, though....shades of Skynet!

-- Marge

Tracking the tracker

With Snowden, the federal government's current policy of hiring temporary contractors whenever possible essentially backfired.  According to an article at Bloomberg Businessweek, "Snowden's Access to NSA's Deepest Secrets Disputed."  Quoting from the article --

Snowden, who leaked a PowerPoint deck on the NSA’s secret Prism spying program and a trove of other classified information that he stole from the agency, has depicted himself as a highly skilled mole who exposed the NSA’s deepest secrets to the world. News coverage of the leaks has helped promote this storyline. Yet current and former intelligence officials familiar with his role within the agency present a different picture—one of a 30-year-old outsider with a talent for self-promotion, whose junior position kept him at a distance from the NSA’s most sensitive spy operations.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the fun editorial cartoonists are having with Snowden's current situation: he was last seen 'hiding out' at the Moscow airport.

From Jeremy Nell at Cagle, "Where's Snowden:"
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Jeremy Nell, cagle.com

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From Chip Bok, also at Cagle, "Snowden in Moscow:"
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Chip Bok, cagle.com

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From Christopher Weyant at politicalhumor.about.com, "NSA Like Me:"
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Christopher Weyant, politicalhumor.about.com

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From Scott Stantis at the Chicago Tribune, "With 'Friends' Like These:"
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Scott Stantis, Chicago Tribune

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And my personal favorite, from Walt Handelsman at USNews:
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Walt Handelsman, US News (July 19, 2013)

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According to Huffington Post, 38% of those polled at first said Snowden did the right thing, and later said it was wrong (not necessarily the same people, just the same percentage).

-- Marge

DIY worlds

Minecraft: King's Landing, Time.com

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Pixel block by pixel block you can build your own world in Minecraft.  Creativity is the keyword here, only possibly rivaled by building in Second Life.

Up close Minecraft looks like a "World of 8-bit LEGOs."  However, there are mods to change the appearance; the article "Adding Texture Mods" explains how they work and gives links to some sites that offer the mods and textures.  You can download the game and many addons and variations at Softpedia by searching on 'minecraft' in games. The game itself costs 26.24 USD and you buy directly from the creator.

But appearance isn't the appeal of Minecraft -- it's the creative potential.  As an article in Time (for subscribers only) -- "The Mystery of Minecraft" -- puts it:

Now, insanely addictive video games, it's fair to say, usually don't have fabulous reputations among the unaddicted. At best they may be regarded as irritating time sinks (Farmville), at worst as potential threats to society (any violent game allegedly played by someone who turns out to be a mass murderer). Minecraft is different. The deeper you get into it, the more it looks like a form of self-education masquerading as entertainment, which is why parents tend not to see it as a scourge and teachers are bringing it into the classroom. "It follows rules, just like the real world," says Mark Frauenfelder, the editor of Make magazine, the bible of the do-it-yourself hobbyists of all ages who make up the thriving maker movement. "You put together materials with varying properties. You have to be aware of physics. You have to understand levers and ramps and can even build electric circuits."

Time also has a section on Minecraft that is open to the public.  Be sure to take a look at the "15 Best Minecraft Creations." There I found this video of a Minecraft creation called "Razul Adventure Map," also available on YouTube and by Block Fortress.
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Time to start building a world...

-- Marge

Artists' studios online

The original idea for this post was offering information on webcams in artists' studios.  Apparently the idea is passé, since most of the links found were broken or hadn't been updated for a long time.  Ustream/art does offer some current live studio feeds.

Two exceptions to the lack of accessible webcams are Ai WeiweiCam (has an interesting back story) and Damien Hirst's site, which features timelapse videos taken in his studio.  I guess watching art being created realtime is as interesting as watching paint dry (if that's a pun, it was intended).  Here's a link to one of his works being created, "Monochromatic Sectors from Primary, Secondary & Tertiary Colour Ring, Dark Centre."

Weiwei's studio cam story goes like this: Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei Installs Webcams in Studio. Twenty-four hours later, China Pulls Plug on Artist's Webcams.  However, it looks like his cam page is still live (but slow) and it offers his twitter feed.

It seems the majority of artists have moved to YouTube.  While I was looking around, I found some interesting stuff about painting techniques.  You can take a look at what I found in this playlist.  Here's a sample, one by pdranitsin:

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-- Marge

Mel Brooks' on first

Today's funnies take a trip into the past with videos, namely clips of work done by Mel Brooks. This first one, posted by cujofriend, is the Unemployment Insurance scene from "History of the World, Part I."  Note that the clerk is played by Bea Arthur, one of the "Golden Girls."
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From the same movie comes this scene, centered on the time of the French Revolution and featuring Harvey Korman.  It was posted by AnasAbdinCreation.
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Then there's Madelaine Kahn as the Empress in "History of the World..."  Be warned: PC sensibilities about race were not as refined in 1981.  This was posted by TheCinemaVampire.
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And finally, because everyone should have the chance to see the original routine by Abbott and Costello, here's "Who's on 1st." This video was first recorded sometime between 1950 and 1955; it was uploaded by paulheston.  Wait for it -- let the dancers do their thing...
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Have a great weekend.

-- Marge

DIY: Brew beer at home

BillyBrew.com, beer ingredients

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Although brewing (Read this article to see a complete description of the process.) looks complicated, homebrewing is much simpler.  You can even brew beer in a bag, according to the Wikipedia article on homebrewing:

Brewing in a bag (BIAB) is a technique developed in Australia, which generally requires a single brewing vessel only, and a fine mesh bag to hold the grain. Adding the grain to the water is what defines the BIAB process. A fine mesh bag, usually made of nylon or fashioned out of a voile material, lines the brewing pot to which the grain is added. After the mashing period the grain bag, holding the spent grains, is removed and the brewing process proceeds as normal: boiling, cooling, pitching and fermenting. The brewer adds the total water volume to the brewing kettle at once, which differs from traditional mashing methods which use a specific water to grain ratio.

Unbeknownst to me, while I was depending on World of Warcraft for my virtual beer kick, homebrewing was booming, "Cheers! All 50 States Embrace the Home Brew Boom."  According to Jenna Woginrich in "Green Beer: Homebrewing," brewing beer at home is a green solution and it's simple.  My definition of 'green beer' comes from my college days and it means the batch hasn't been aged long enough -- it tastes raw and gives the drinker the runs.

This forum -- HomeBrewTalk -- has lots of information and gives some good advice.  It looks popular:  1,561,894 views of the topic "Show us your sculpture or brew rig." There's also the American Homebrewers Association for news and community activities.

Interesting that homebrewers call their brewing setups 'sculptures'.  For more pictures of sculptures, take a look at Popular Mechanics' "9 Serious DIY Beer-Brewing Rigs." Also from PM is this slideshow "How to Make Beer (Cheaply, Simply): Step-By-Step Guide."
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Popular Mechanics.com, gravity-fed beer-brewing rig

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There is also WII's Homebrew Channel, a self-updating homebrew (as is homebrewed software) application loader.

-- Marge

Coincidence?

Recently I've noticed the plots for TV shows using coincidence as a tool for plot resolution more often than in the past. While such devices seem contrived to me, as explained in this article at the blog TV Tropes, coincidences do happen.
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“Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.”
― Albert Einstein, The World as I See It

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In fact, one of my favorite TV shows, Strange Luck," used coincidence as the basis of its storyline.  Here's a video of the first episode:
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While researching this topic, I came across this article titled, "Lucky coincidence may have saved lives," published at Statesman.com in 2010.  Following up on the interesting statement in the article,

"Fire officials say the presence of the Travis County crews was particularly vital because several Austin fire engines in the area were already battling a blaze at the home of Andrew Joseph Stack III, accused of being the pilot."  [italics mine -- Marge],

I found an entry on Wikepedia that states the crash and house fire were deliberate.  However, the presence of the Travis County Hazardous Materials Team and its equipment appears to be coincidental. And thus we segue into synchronicity.
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“We often dream about people from whom we receive a letter by the next post. I have ascertained on several occasions that at the moment when the dream occurred the letter was already lying in the post-office of the addressee.”
― C.G. Jung, Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle

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The quotes on coincidence above were found at Goodreads. Oh, and by the way,  Cambridge University is collecting your coincidences.  Share them and read about those of others at Understanding Uncertainty.

 -- Marge

Today's cartoons: waving the flag

Today's selection of cartoons, found at The Week, is a sly tribute to America, the founding fathers, and the current state of liberty.

Rick McKee, "Those Fraudulent Forefathers:"
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Gary McCoy, "Betsy's First Go:"
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Mike Ramirez, "Checking In:"
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And this one by Gary Varvel, titled "Oh Beautiful," that could be seen as tongue-in-cheek.
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In my search for cartoons today, I came across the AEI (American Enterprise Institute) site and an article titled "What polls say about the state of American patriotism."  Follow the link to see what their polls say.

To me moving to Canada is looking more appealing by the day.

-- Marge
 

DIY: easy, affordable wall decor

Today we'll be venturing a little deeper into artwork via projects and techniques using acrylics.

Use gesso for this example of raised letter art. First published on Pinterest, the idea has been expanded by Kelly at View Along the Way.  Note that the appearance of the artwork will change with the angle and color of light in the room.
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With acrylic paints, painter's tape and a stretched canvas, you can achieve something like the following, depending on what colors you choose and patterns you tape.  You may also choose to distress the painting by sanding it, splattering it with a contrasting color, or using some other technique (YouTube is a great resource for acrylic painting techniques).  Refinery29 has a how-to on this; be sure to look at the comments for some good tips on how to work the painting.
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This third idea was found at Apartment Therapy, a site with many good suggestions for sprucing up your apartment or home.  Here's a link to Amazon for pricing the ceiling medallions; I've seen ones like them in local hardware stores.
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If you find yourself hungry to delve into painting effects deeper, here's a video by Mark W. of ExploreAcrylics showing us how to achieve the faux effect of marbling.  You'll probably want to tape the edges of the canvas on this one or finish them with strips of lath.
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Venture well, keeping in mind that 'mistakes' are O.K.

-- Marge

Hacking, cracking and just plain war

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Since hackers and hacking seem to be in the news more and more, I thought you might like a little information about the topic.

First of all, there are hackers and crackers, and an on-going controversy on which is which.  According to Wikipedia, in the computer security context, a hacker

...is someone who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a computer system or computer network. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, or challenge.

On the other hand there is cracking -- modifying software

to remove or disable features which are considered undesirable by the person cracking the software, usually related to protection methods: (copy protection, protection against the manipulation of software), trial/demo version, serial number, hardware key, date checks, CD check or software annoyances like nag screens and adware.

A while back hackers were considered helpful, and functioned like ex-officio beta testers for the computer community, while crackers were considered malign.  The quote below is from a Wikipedia article discussing this continuing controversy:

Currently, "hacker" is used in two main conflicting ways

1. as someone who is able to subvert computer security; if doing so for malicious purposes, the person can also be called a cracker.
2. a member of the Unix or the free and open source software programming subcultures, or one who uses such a style of software or hardware development.

China and Korea have recently been fingered chief instigators in waging cyber war against the U.S. and European nations, as reported in this article in the New York Times, "Chinese Army Unit Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S."  The U.S. is not entirely victim here, as reported by Foreign Policy, an online magazine, in the article "Inside the NSA's Ultra-Secret China Hacking Group."  (The reader comments on this article are most interesting.)

If you find this topic of interest, there's are detailed instructions on "How to Hack: 12 Steps" at wikiHow.  Udemy offers a number of hacking courses.
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I keep wondering if this post will qualify me for the NSA's watchlist.  No, wait...everyone is on that list.

-- Marge