Saw this unintentional robot trying to get out of a dumpster behind the animation building.
We just got a couple of boxes of these rivets. They are used to construct forts, rockets, ships and other structures out of cardboard boxes. I haven’t tried them yet, but I sure love the label graphic.
We’ll be using them to make a giant robot for my son’s fifth birthday party.
I got some Maker’s Notebooks in and they are fantastic. They’re a cross between lab notebook, pocket reference (there are conversion charts, lists of which glues bond what materials, resistor codes, and so on), and moleskine. How didi this come to be? Editor Gareth Branwyn says:
We’ve been kicking around the idea of doing a Maker’s Notebook for a while. We figured the MAKE audience was likely big on blank journals and thought it’d be fun to do a project notebook optimized for the readers of Make and Craft. There seems to be a significant spike of interest in analog notebooks, journaling, Moleskines, and the like. People seem nostalgic for “analog” writing technologies, such as fountain pens, mechanical pencils, high-quality journals, and vintage stationary supplies. And, of course, the DIY/Maker Movement only seems to be getting bigger, perhaps in part to the state of the economy - people are looking to do-it-themselves. These two interests converge in the Maker’s Notebook
In typical Maker fashion, they’re meant to be modified to suit you. Some people have built pockets into the back, added pen holders, and more. They’ve even got their own webpage to see what people are doing with them.
I’m not sure how exactly I’m going to modify mine, but I’m interested in cutting out some of those rectangles on the front, since they’ve got a raised “perforation” to them, they’re just begging for it. I’d also like to electrify one, and do something with magnets…
I’m using this one to do sketches and note taking for Make Magazine projects, appropriately. I’m very proud of my kustom pinstripe lettering. OK, it’s actually stickers from a Mini Cooper ad, but doesn’t it look neat-o?!
My buddy Rocco has been working on an impressive cocktail robot project. This is his laser cut bottle holder. It’s built on rails to slide in and out of the refrigerator. Each bottle will be hooked to a nitrogen pressure tube and a liquid output tube.
This will all be controlled from a touch screen interface that can mix a proper Gimlet (or most other drinks known to man) at the touch of an icon.
gitaneDirty 008, originally uploaded by JohnEdgarPark.
I stripped most of the parts down to this beautiful thing last night. Seems like the header bearings could use some grease, the stuff in there right now is more glue-like than anything else.
gitaneDirty 003, originally uploaded by JohnEdgarPark.
I just picked up this old bike for $40. It’s an entry level French road bike from the 70s. I’m planning to turn it into a minimalist single speed (and part time fixie, by using a “flip-flop” hub).
Here’s a link about it’s history on the Gitane site.
The WDSFD logo is excellent. Unfortunately, whenever I see one of these trucks it means the field behind the animation building is on fire.
Our beloved Burbank neighborhood got a writeup in today’s LA Times. There’s also a slide show accompanying the article. These are some of the photos, by Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times. From the article:
ANTIQUE STORES and thrift shops rule Magnolia Boulevard — the main artery of Burbank’s Magnolia Park neighborhood — but that doesn’t mean the area is stuck in a dusty past. Founded in 1923, the quarter roughly bounded by Hollywood Way on the west and Buena Vista Street on the east still has Eisenhower-era storefronts, ranch-style homes dating to the 1940s and a small-town feel unblemished by chains and big-box stores. Yet Magnolia Park has found a way to parlay this into retro cool without sacrificing its independent spirit. Idiosyncratic boutiques and restaurants with a focus on nostalgic Americana are making the old new again. It might not be the next Silver Lake, but a new outpost of that area’s trendy Vietnamese eatery, Gingergrass, is coming soon, another step toward making Magnolia Park a gathering spot for the iPhone-and-Dwell-magazine crowd.
Coco’s poster, originally uploaded by JohnEdgarPark.
I visited with Mister Jalopy yesterday at his command center and came away with a few pearls of wisdom and this beautiful Coco’s Variety poster.
There was an art gallery at SIGGRAPH 2008 that contained this incredible worm-hole looking piece created entirely out of zip ties. Does anyone know who the artist is?
