Summation: The Compiled Works

Open Source Techs for Disaster Response Demo Oct 4-7, 2011

For the fourth year in a row, public, private and military sector groups will gather on a field at the National Defence University in Washington D.C. to show off the latest in sustainable technologies that can be deployed during post-war or post-disaster humanitarian relief projects.  Solutions which address a variety of problems -- from energy and communications to shelter, potable water and sanitation -- will be on display from Tuesday, October 4 at 9am through Friday, October 7 at 2pm. 

Organized by Transformative Innovation for Development and Emergency Support (TIDES), this conference isnt only focused on the latest and greatest in sustainable disaster relief but also on communication and partnership between disaster relief groups, whether they are in the public, private, or military sector. The focus is on improving civ-mil cooperation, information sharing, and thinking about transformative ideas to encourage unity of action among diverse organizations where there is no unity of command.

Check out the video from last year's demo below and read more at http://star-tides.net/.  More information about the demo event and to register to attend or present here: http://tidesdemo2011.eventbrite.com/.

If you are planning on attending the demo, or are in the DC area and would like to chat with Willow while she's there, we'd love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment or send us an email.  We're also monitoring tweets mentioning @gwoborg if you'd like to contact us that way.  While you're at it, be sure to follow us on Twitter.

TIDES stands for Transformative Innovation for Development and Emergency Support. This research project is coordinated at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP) at the National Defense University (NDU), which is part of the Department of Defense. http://star-tides.net/

 

 

Building the New "Social Norms"

Our schools and workplaces routinely forbid us to have open honest communication with our peers.  Whether it's passing notes in class or using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, the basic rules have stayed the same, "Don't do it."  But a revolution is growing.   In the face of such communication restrictions, makerspaces are coming into their own as the backdrop for people to create new communities -- built on learning, teaching and open communication.

In James Carlson’s TEDxMadtown talk from April 27, 2011, he describes the cyclical mentoring relationships going on right now between three generations of makers, and why makerspaces are succeeding in building new communication practices where traditional schools and work enviroments are failing. 

"This is all being broadcast online.  If you want to see a healthy use of social media...just go on Flickr, Deviant Art, Facebook, Twitter. You'll find those stories all over the place," says James. "What I ask you to do is, go to [a local makerspace], spend a day there, and see this stuff in action."  

In the meantime, take a few minutes to enoy his TEDx talk, linked below.  In about 10 minutes, he gives the best overview I've seen of what makerspaces, hackerspaces and co-working spaces have to offer, for individual participants and the community at large.  

James Carlson is the founder of the School Factory, the makerspace Bucketworks and BarCampMilwaukee, among many other things.  When he's not traveling across the globe, spreading his vision of the new school and open learning methods, he can likely be found at Bucketworks in Milwaukee, WI.  Follow him on Twitter @hypnagogic.

Leave a comment: Tell us about an experience at a hacker-, maker- or co-working space that has changed how you communicate with those around you.

Multiple Maker Spaces: In Close Quarters

Chances are there’s already a hacker-, maker-, or coworking space near you.  But what happens when there’s more than one of these spaces within throwing distance?  During the Open UP forum in Seattle, WA on Aug 18, 2010, Willow Brugh explained why we should fling aside our competitive instincts in favor of cooperation – fostering new inter-space partnerships to build a stronger overall community and share all our resources, including human participation.

“We have this really weird sense of scarcity, especially when we view somebody that goes to a separate space as not being willing to come to our [space], “ commented Willow at the talk.   “Instead of becoming antagonistic towards other spaces, we should reach out to them.”  If we can make it easier for people to become members of multiple communities, this enhances the lives of our individual members and the community at large, so everyone wins! 

Willow Brugh is a co-founder of the makerspace Jigsaw Renaissance and the director of Geeks Without Bounds, a non-profit program of the School Factory dedicated to bringing together hackers to create applications and projects aimed at assisting humanitarian efforts around the globe.  She speaks at conferences and un-conferences across the US, and is passionate about empowering people to build community.   

Leave a Comment:  Tell us about the partnerships your space is forging and how you’re building a stronger community.

LED eyes for a toy rat

This squeaky rat obviously needed laser eyes, and I was happy to oblige. I cut out his old eyes, and wired two LEDs in series to a 3.6v lithium battery. It's hard wired, but should last a good while. The tinyish battery even fit inside the face, making everything tidy looking.

(24-Thing-2502) Knit Cuff Application

Revisiting that darned onesie just one more time, post-pajama party.  Knit cuffs to make it easier to push the sleeves up and keep them out of a syrupy breakfast.  Actually pretty easy, now that I've gotten the hang of working with stretching the knit to match it to the woven material.  Cut a piece of knit twice as tall as you want it to be on the sleeve, making sure the ribbing runs perpendicular to the sleeve edge.  Sew it into a tube, fold it in half wrong sides together, and press.  Turn the cuff upside down and place around the outside of the sleeve (garment should be right side out).  Sew or serge along the seams, stretching the knit as you go, making sure to sew through both thicknesses of the knit cuff.  fold the cuff right side up and you're done!  It helps if you line up the seams of the cuff and the sleeve and sew that part first, or they will never come close to lining up.

(23-Thing-2402) Sewing Table Lamp Repair

There are 2 industrial sewing machines at my craft-space, both with lamps that didnt work.  Using some spare electrical cords, a soldering iron, wire strippers and a screw driver, I was able to replace the wiring in the lamps and make them work.  This is very good for when the sun goes down and I want to see just how close my fingers get to the serger blade. 

(21-Thing-2202) Rag Soup

yummy rag soup! My dad makes this every Easter, filled with homemade mini meatballs. It can be made with chicken broth and beef, or with vegetable broth and meatless meatballs.

Rag Soup
2 boxes broth (chicken or veggie)
1 package mini meatballs (or meatless meatballs)
1 lb broccoli raab or okra or spinach
4 or 5 eggs
Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
cayenne pepper
salt
black pepper

Put broth in medium pot, add a handful of italian seasoning (rub it between your hands to crush it as its going in the pot), some cayenne pepper, and boil.
Brown meatballs (meatless meatballs) in a pan, set aside.
Add whatever greens you're putting in your soup to the broth. Cover and cook til done.
Add meatballs to soup, cover and simmer.
Beat eggs in a small bowl. Add to soup while stirring. It'll make strings of cooked eggs, like rags (hence name of soup).

Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Eat. The leftovers are great for lunch throughout the week.

(17-Thing-1702)through (20-Thing-2002) Flannel One-piece Pajama

In celebration of my completing my Master's Degree, I wanted to have a pajama party. So of course I wanted to have new schmancy pjs to host my party in! That didnt happen because I'm a slacker and was only able to complete one set of jammies, for Mint Hoagie of course!  He picked out the fabric, and to town i went! He's a bit longer in the legs n torso than regular patterns, so I made it up in muslin first, figured out how to alter the pattern, and then cut it and made it again.  I tried to draft a pattern for making a footie in the pajama, but in the end, I didnt put feet on these pjs. This garment also marks my first zipper insertion! Its nice and straight, and super duper for being my first zipper. The pattern is from McCall's 5956 for Halloween costumes. It's worked out pretty well in flannel instead of fake fur.  Here's a list and photos of my "things" for each day, starting Wednesday and finishing up Saturday before the party.

Wednesday: Footie pattern
Thursday: My first zipper!
Friday: Finished arms and leg hems
Saturday: Knit collar addition

(16-Thing-1602) Flower Bed

It was such a beautiful day on Tuesday, I wanted to get outside! I'd bought some seeds and bulbs with the intention of potting some of them for TAD or guerrilla gardening around our sometimes not-so-spiffy neighborhood. It's not so guerrilla, but I decided to spruce up the outside of our warehouse loft building by pulling the weeds in one of the tree spaces in the sidewalk.

It was kinda gross, since people just throw trash and leave dog poo everywhere. But once I got all the weeds and trash out, the dirt was really quite nice. I wasnt expecting there to be so many earthworms! There were also a lot of grubs which i threw into the road and the pigeons ate. I wore my heavy duty gloves, but I'm still glad I didnt find any hypodermics or anything too gross. (I did find an unopened can of tuna fish and half a pre-packaged cheese danish* though). 

The bulbs are planted, and the seeds sown, but it's not so impressive looking yet. I cant wait for the seeds and bulbs to start shooting up greens!  I am also bad at remembering to take "before" pictures.  But here is one of the tree next to the little plot I did.

*Just a thought: If half a pre-packaged cheese danish can sit in a flower bed for an undetermined amount of time under some weeds and pouring rains, and still be identifiable as a cheese danish (it was in almost perfect condition) why would we EVER want to put that in our bodies?

(15-Thing-1502) Friends

I spent the day playing games and goofing around with MH's brother's family, and his brother's wife's extended family from China.  I dont speak much Mandarin, which was ok because most of them didnt speak much English.  The pantomiming alone was super creative, so this totally counts ;)

Set and Ingenious are good games for playing with people who dont share a language.  There were pictures taken, but I dont have any of them yet :(  I'll update if I get them before the end of February.