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Open Knowledge
May. 12th, 2008
11:19 pm - Houseboats, boatsheds
Beautiful Indian (?) houseboats
Northumberland, England boatsheds
Original: craschworks - comments
01:10 pm - Recuperating from a nerd-bender last night…
nerd-bender - noun, staying up all night researching some fool project that has little to do with your true long term goals, but which is exceeding cool in it’s own right. For example, designing a recumbent diesel/electric hybrid motorcycle. Or a seaworthy ferrocement skullship. Or a tele-operated robotic teddy bear who rides around on a robotic lady bug.
Original: craschworks - comments
01:53 am - TechShop, Iron Man
On Friday, I went to a “Member Appreciation” party at the TechShop in Menlo Park. Got to talk for a long time with Jim Newton, the founder of the company. He came across as you might expect — geeky, enthusiastic, and smart. He showed me his 1971 M35A2 Military Troop/Cargo Truck “Deuce and a Half”, with a 478 CID Turbo-Diesel Multi-Fuel Engine. He said that the engine could burn almost any fuel, including gasoline that had been sitting for 10 years.
We talked about the growing pains that TechShop was having. Tech Shop is getting so big that he can no longer have direct control over its operations. So he wants to be able to grow the company, while maintaining quality, without introducing a heavy hierarchical structure. I pointed him to Paul Graham’s Y Combinator, and Gore and Associates, as companies that he might want to look into as models for his company.
On Saturday, I met for dinner with Razib of Gene Expression, and Eric Boyd of X Prize Cars at Shalimar’s in San Francisco. Shalimar’s turned out to be pretty sketchy (garbage on the floor, dirty tables), so we regrouped at a nearby Moroccan restaurant called Tajine. Tajine’s food was tasty (I had the DAJAJ MEQUALLI), and the restaurant had a nice ambiance (if a bit crowded). I would definitely eat there again.
Afterward, we walked to the AMC Van Ness 14, for the 9:15 showing of Iron Man. We met up with Kim P. and James. H., and Marek. I didn’t get to talk to Kim and James much, unfortunately, but I was able to catch up with Marek a little bit after the company. His company has developed a pen that can write on any surface and transmit what it writes back to a computer. They’ve finished several prototypes, and now they’re looking for the best way to introduce it into the market.
Iron Man was a lot of fun! Best comic book adaptation I’ve seen so far. Jeff Bridges and Robert Downey, Jr. in particular really nailed their roles. I hope Downey, Jr. can stay off the drugs — I’m looking forward to seeing him in more roles.
Original: craschworks - comments
May. 11th, 2008
May. 9th, 2008
12:31 pm - Dale Would Go
Dale Webster has been surfing, every day, for the last 32 years.
Original: craschworks - comments
May. 2nd, 2008
01:44 pm - Iron Man outing?
Anyone want to go see Iron Man? This weekend will probably be a nightmare, so I’m thinking next weekend, Friday or Saturday night. Let me know if you’re interested, and the dates that work best for you.
Original: craschworks - comments
May. 1st, 2008
12:46 am - Maker Faire this weekend!
Just an FYI, the Maker Faire is this weekend, in San Mateo:
“…Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It’s for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things…”
Last year, I saw a robotic giraffe, a flame throwing fire engine, the Neverwas Haul (a steam punk house on wheels), and the Cycle-cide bicycle powered carnival rides, among many other things. It’s great fun. You can see some of my pictures from last year here:
http://crasch.livejournal.com/574331.htm
I’m planning to go Saturday afternoon, and maybe Sunday. If you’d like to go, let me know, and perhaps we can arrange to meet sometime over the weekend
Original: craschworks - comments
Apr. 28th, 2008
11:03 pm - The Seasteading Institute launches
There’s been a lot of seasteading related news recently:
* patrissimo and co. formed a nascent non-profit called The Seasteading Institute and launched a spiffy new website.
* Peter Thiel kicked off the the Seasteading Institute’s fundraising efforts with a $500 K grant.
* TSI has received a healthy amount of coverage, including a blog post at Marginal Revolution, and a long article in Reason magazine.
* NPR aired a news story about Paul van de Camp a Dutch architect who moved to Dubai to pitch his ideas for floating towers and condominiums.
Kudos to Patri and Wayne on their progress!
Original: craschworks - comments
03:40 am - Don’t mess with…
…Machine Girl! (Not Safe For Work or the Squeamish)
Original: craschworks - comments
Apr. 26th, 2008
01:40 pm - Blackmail diet update — I made it!
On February 1st, 2008, I weighed 198.6 lbs. I had a 40 inch waist.
As of yesterday, I weighed 180.0 lbs. I now have a 36.5 inch waist.
Which means, that I met the target for my blackmail diet!
Here’s some pictures I took today:
Apr. 22nd, 2008
12:56 pm - Why Liberals Should Love The Second Amendment
Why Liberals Should Love The Second Amendment
We do not quibble about the methods by which we practice our First Amendment rights because that is not the point. And red herring arguments about types of ammunition or handguns versus rifles (even scary looking ones) are just that — red herrings. They distract us from what is at the true meaning of the Second Amendment. And that brings me to my final point.
No. 5: The Second Amendment is about revolution.
In no other country, at no other time, has such a right existed. It is not the right to hunt. It is not the right to shoot at soda cans in an empty field. It is not even the right to shoot at a home invader in the middle of the night.
It is the right of revolution.
Let me say that again: It is the right of revolution.
…
This is an appeal to you, my fellow liberals. Not merely to tolerate the Second Amendment, but to embrace it. To love it and defend it and guard it as carefully as you do all the others.Because we are liberals. And fighting for our rights — for all of our rights, for all people — is what we do.
Because we are revolutionaries.
Via guns
Original: craschworks - comments
07:48 am - Anthony Bourdain meets Uwe Bolle
Original: craschworks - comments
Apr. 20th, 2008
07:57 pm - He’s dead, Jim
Apr. 16th, 2008
07:13 pm - Kiss Me - Six Pence None the Richer
Apr. 9th, 2008
01:02 am - Recent searches…
aquatic ants
underwater chainsaw
slipform ferrocement
Original: craschworks - comments
Apr. 8th, 2008
04:06 am - Edward James: Builder of Dreams
Via madammayo
Las Pozas (the pools), was once home to the eccentric, English aristocrat, Edward James, poet, patron, collector, and architect of this spectacular mountainside monument to surrealist art. A veritable enchanted garden, where some thirty-six enormous, brightly coloured concrete structures vie for space with the lush jungle vegetation that surrounds and threatens to absorb them, located on the outskirts of the town of Xilitla, in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi.
…
A frustrated artist and poet, although he did publish some very passable verse and a bizarre novel, Edward James was finally able to realise his artistic desires by creating Las Pozas — a work twenty years in the making and still unfinished.
Documentary about his life: Edward James, Builder of Dreams by Avery Danziger
Youtube video. Song is “Witness” by Sarah McLachlan, from her album Surfacing.
Original: craschworks - comments
Apr. 7th, 2008
04:47 am - Revelation II: Windmill powered boat
Via Treehugger
“The 36 foot catamaran, Revelation II, is powered by 3 20-foot long carbon fiber propellers on a 30 foot rotating mast. The windmill transmits power to a 6 blade propeller underwater, with the net result that the boat can make way even directly into the wind.”
The boat was apparently built by Jim Wilkinson who is a member of the AYRS or Amateur Yacht Research Society.
Original: craschworks - comments
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