HacDC Wiki - User contributions [en]

HacDC Spaceblimp

2010-09-01T12:58:28Z

Rmadams: /* Email from Heather Goss (8/25/10) */

[[Category:Ongoing_Projects]]

A collection of stuff about HacDC's near space initiatives, including the ''Hackerspaces In Space'' Contest entry (2010).

==Documentation==

'''Spaceblimp-2'''

Flight date: 8/21/10

Time of liftoff: 10:47 (All times are GMT-5)

Time of touchdown: 11:49

Time of recovery: 12:20

Total flight time: 1:02 (62 minutes)

Liftoff to recovery time: 1:33 (93 minutes)

Touchdown to recovery time: 0:31 (31 minutes)

Weight of payload/chute: 1lb 13oz

Total cost of launch:

'''Airframe & Rigging''':

Balloon: 800g Kaymont/Totex latex weather balloon cost: $69

Parachute Cord: 250-lb test Dacron line

Balloon Cord: 50-lb test Dacron line

Fill: 180 cubic-feet Helium - cost: $90

Chute: Rocketchutes flat 24" - cost: $9

Capsule: Insulated lunch pail (free, valued at ~$7)

'''Payload''':

Canon model PowerShot SD300 running CHDK (Canon Hack Development Kit) intervalometer script - cost: $20

Canon Li battery cost: $3.25

Canon 2GB SD card: $6

Falcom (uBlox based) GPS receiver + Serantel Antenna module - cost $47

Radiometrix VHF Narrow Band 300mW transmitter - cost $38

Ultralife U9VL-X Lithium-Manganese Dioxide non-rechargable battery cost: $7

Flight computer/Terminal Node Controller (TNC) - cost $19

[http://www.flickr.com/groups/spaceblimp/pool/with/4922202931/ HacDC Spaceblimp Flickr Group Pool]

[http://aprs.fi/?call=w3hac-11&dt=1282348800&mt=roadmap&z=11&timerange=3600 / aprs.fi Flight Map]

'''Some details on the avionics''':

Our balloon carried a minimalist avionics package consisting of a custom built APRS tracker and a Canon PowerShot SD300 digital camera.

The camera is configured to take pictures every 20 seconds using CHDK (http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK) and one of the stock intervalometer scripts. It is powered by its own rechargeable lithium battery and operates independently of the tracker.

The tracker is based around an atmega328p AVR microcontroller, running code derived from an open source AVR based APRS tracker called the WhereAVR (http://garydion.com/projects/whereavr/). By updating the sine wave generation code to use filtered 7-bit pulse width modulation in place of the 4-bit resistor network, we were able to improve tone quality with a reduced part count. A few additional components were added, including an I2C eeprom for local backup of flight data, external and internal I2C temperature sensors, and a cutdown MOSFET for switching power to a short strip of nichrome wire coiled around the balloon line (the cutdown system was not used in our final flight because we were apprehensive about the complications it added to the balloon rigging).

To keep things light, compact, and simple, we designed a surface mount circuit board to integrate all of the trackers components with a Falcom FSA03 GPS module and a 300mW Radiometrix HX-1 144.39 MHz transmitter. The board was fabricated using the toner transfer method and hand soldered.

For an antenna we used the common 300 ohm twinlead j-pole design (http://www.qsl.net/wb3gck/jpole.htm), tuned as close as possible for use on our frequency (144.39 MHz) and fed with a short length of 50 ohm coax cable for routing/strain relief.

The tracker is powered by a single lithium 9v battery, and regulated down to 5v and 3.3v by linear regulators on the board. The typically undesirable loss of power to heat with these regulators is useful in this case for warming the electronics in the extreme cold temperatures encountered during the flight.

Each chase vehicle had a radio tuned to 146.415 for simplex communication between the vehicles, and another radio tuned to 144.390 for receiving packets from the balloon. For packet decoding we used radios with built in TNCs or laptops with external modems/soundcard modems and TNC software (Soundmodem and Xastir for Linux, AGWPE and UI-View for Windows).

==Press==

===Email from Heather Goss (8/25/10)===
(DCist, http://dcist.com/profile/dcist_heather/posts)

"I'll probably run most of this as a straight interview -- if it helps, answer lengths of a sentence or two, to a paragraph are usually good, unless it requires a more detailed answer. Can't wait to hear more!

*Can you tell me a little about HacDC? How did you get involved? What kinds of other big projects have you done?

The official description of what we are can be found at http://hacdc.org/about/. The shorter version is that HacDC is a member-supported space dedicated to making things by inventing, extending and repurposing new and junked stuff. We also research common interests by forming working groups and building projects, and building associations with like minded communities of interest, in DC and beyond. The general public is welcome to all events and is encouraged to join the hacker space.

I [Alberto] came to HacDC via DorkbotDC, the DC chapter of the international group of ''people to doing strange things with electricity.'' Two of our members, Nick Farr and Adam Koeppel were DorkbotDC regulars and they germinated the idea to form a hacker space on DC. Parallel to their efforts to raise enough charter members to rent a space, a joint DorkbotDC and HacDC build-a-thon event was planned at the Koshland Museum of Science, spearheaded by DorkbotDC regular Mark Adams. The first friends and members of HacDC came from that community.

HacDC is a relatively young organization but has organized several workshops aimed at teaching the basic skills necessary to be able to approach present and past technology with the creative mindset to mutate it in an innovative or idiosyncratic way. HacDC maintains a wiki with much of the organization's history (in progress) including ongoing and past projects: http://wiki.hacdc.org/

*Tell me about Hackerspaces in Space. What was the goal? How many groups were involved?

The Hackerspaces in space contest was initiated by Workshop 88 (http://www.workshop88.com/), a hackerspace in Chicago. According to their website, 19 groups are involved from as far away as Thailand. The contest officially ended on August 31st. The rules are here: http://www.workshop88.com/space/assets/download2.php and include rules on cost, launch and recovery team size. Scoring criteria include retrieval time, weight of package, and cost. Our working group was code named the '''Spaceblimp Project''' because '''Near-Space Balloon Project''' didn't have the same ring to it; besides, Spaceblimp has a certain 70s disaster movie feel to it and this whole thing could have turned out to be so much pie in the sky. The team included a small core group of very talented and motivated people who dedicated many, many hours of planning, design, experimentation/prototyping, fabrication, funding, and good ol'sweat. It was their commitment and dedication that made this happen.

*What was your experience building the spaceblimp? Did you have any interesting challenges to overcome? How long did it take to build the blimp?

The rules were pretty limiting and we're still not sure where we rank. We learned that it's quite difficult to get a balloon into near space cheaply. There are also regional differences in materials/supplies pricing that give a relative advantage to some groups. We lost one balloon the week before the successful launch and that was traumatic and demoralizing. We had to weigh the desire to add redundant systems and more sensors—both of which would have allowed us to account for more contingencies—against the need to keep the payload light. As with most projects, the highly motivated few who drove the process had the most to lose so they were more nervous than the bystanders on launch day.

*What was launch day like? (I'm curious more about everyone's feelings/reactions than a blow-by-blow of the day. Also can you give me the nitty gitty -- time, location, how long did it run.) Did anything surprising or crazy happen?

The final launch took place on August 21, at Camp Spring, MD. The jet stream was acting crazy so the balloon deviated from the original prediction. The team was divided into launch and recovery subgroups. They both became parts of the chase team once the balloon was aloft. The stats on the launch can be found on the wiki: http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/HacDC_Spaceblimp#Documentation

<blockquote>"My feeling, at least, was excitement mingled with extreme dread; we'd lost the last capsule pretty badly, and if this one didn't make it we would completely miss the competition deadline. I really wanted to see it all go well, and it's really thrilling to do that countdown and release it into the sky," recalls Tom Cohlmia.</blockquote>

The package descended a short distance from a private residence's pool, just beyond reach from outside the fence. Nobody was home and we were faced with a dilemma, jump the low fence and grab the package, or wait until the owners arrive? The decision was made for us as the owners' car pulled up. Our efforts turned to explaining to them why a group of people were congregated at the edge of their relatively rural property. They were amenable and allowed us to retrieve the package and go on our way. We gathered at a church up the road and converged there with the rest of the chasers. We cracked the "launch box" open and let it warm up a bit before pulling the SD card and transferring the images: without a photograph of the curvature of the planet, we would have nothing except a fun chase. As the images of blackness the of space appeared on the laptop, there was a great cheer.

*What were the results of HacDC's launch in particular? Was it successful? How high did it go? And were you able to recover your payload? Did any other blimps achieve something spectacular?

<blockquote>"Ours was a big success! The payload went to 60,000 feet, and then parachuted back to the ground. The payload was found in someone's backyard, a few feet from their swimming pool. Everything was intact, though, and the pictures turned out great. Total time from launch to recovery, 1 hr 33 mins, traveling 27 miles as the crow flies."</blockquote>

*What are the applications of the spaceblimp project? (What kinds of research can be done with blimps, and/or can even the process of developing new near-spacecraft like this help us in other ways?)

We look forward to launching another balloon without having to worry about meeting contest criteria. We're talking about adding an accelerometer, several cameras with faceted mirror array to get many angles at once, and perhaps including video.

There are a wide range of applications to this kind of technology, all of which have the potential of engaging communities at the grass roots level in the observation and analysis of the kind of scientific data collected from (near)space. Given the controversies over issues like global warming, land use, environmental disaster (yes, BP and Exxon, we are looking at you,) having a means for communities to monitor and record their own world and the changes in it is increasingly important. This technology greatly democratizes access to most of the value of a space program (satellites, etc.) without the cost. A relatively small group can monitor air quality, haze, temperature, radiation, and many other factors live and near-real time from 60,000 to 120,000 feet for very little money- without dependence on large government agencies or commercial organizations.

In addition, the project provides a really exciting platform for a range of educational opportunities- all of which include the excitement of seeing the student's own work go into (near)space! We have had both school-age kids and teachers participate in our activities, and everyone went away excited about participating, along with being very interested in perhaps doing their own near-space balloon launch in the future! One thing is for certain- kids really "get it" about the fun and potential of high-altitude balloon launches!

"If there's anything else you want to add, please let me know! Also, please send along any helpful links (I've got the ones to HacDC, Hackerspace, and the Flickr page), as well as a short bio describing you and anyone else who responds. Thanks!"

===Some quotes from the number crunching and some links, in no particular order===

From an email dated 8/21/10:
<blockquote>Woot! And because I just can't look at the raw numbers without my
graphing fingers getting all itchy....

[http://www.jerkpile.com/spaceblimp/altitude_time.pdf] is the rise/fall
profile. Kinda boring. For more fun, have a look at
[http://www.jerkpile.com/spaceblimp/riseSpeed_time.pdf], which is
calculated by differencing altitude and time, and dividing. Nice
freefall until the chute opens!

Many graphs just confirm stuff was working. gpsSatellites_time.pdf
and gpsHeading_time.pdf, for instance.

The two temperature graphs, temp_time.pdf and temp_altitude.pdf give a
good idea of how cold it is up there (-50C Brrr...) and an test of
our improved insulation -- we bottomed out at a positively summery 6C.

The neatest (IMO) is
[http://www.jerkpile.com/spaceblimp/windspeed_altitude.pdf] which shows
the balloon's lateral travel as a function of its altitude, which is a
good guess at windspeed. There's four points, one each for the GPS's
speed variable and a calculated speed (from differencing location and
time) and one each for rising and falling. Overall, a decent profile of
winds aloft.

All files are hosted up on a bazaar repo at
[http://www.jerkpile.com/spaceblimp/]. You can browse it directly.
blimp2_eeprom_log.txt has a copy of the raw data (thanks Nick), and
analyseBlimp.R has my R code for all the graphs. (apt-get install
r-base or just google "R"). — Elliot Williams</blockquote>

GPS visualizations of balloon trajectory by Nick Beauregard:

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/79273063@N00/4946912327/ Google Earth GPS trajectory visualization] and
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/79273063@N00/4947501800/ Google Maps GPS trajectory visualization]

Category:Hacker Travel

2009-11-27T02:06:00Z

Rmadams: Created Page

This is a page all about Hacker Travel- with guides, suggestions and links to all kinds of interesting things to do while you are away from DC. Suggestions thanks to the hacdc.org mailing lists.

== Boston ==

----
baghaii:

I am not sure if you are limited to public transportation or not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Museum

http://www.larzanderson.org/Topics/Topic.cfm?TopicName=Home&CFID=536300&CFTOKEN=51791476
http://www.hammondcastle.org/common/index.php?com=HAMM&div=AA&nav=AA&page=A91
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marconi_Wireless_Station_Site

The BU Photonics Center has some interesting sculptures that involve light.
There is a really cool sculpture on the 7th floor. There is the thing by
the elevator. I forget what it is supposed to do. Understand commands? I
don't remember what it did or if it ever quite worked.

Not relevant but I have always wanted to go.
http://www.museumofbadart.org/

----
rmadams:

Wow! Too cool! I loved _loved_ living in Boston/Cambridge. There are
lots of great geek things to do and see in Boston. Here are a few of
my favorites:

1. See the amazing hacks in the "Nightwork" exhibit at the MIT Museum-
geeks at MIT have been performing amazing hacks for _decades_.
Besides, the MIT museum is just plain cool. See it at:
http://web.mit.edu/museum/ It is cool, and kind of offbeat, and a lot
of fun.

2. You can also check out the MIT campus, which is right nearby- it is
a lot of fun to walk around there, and see the Media Lab, the AI Lab,
etc. etc. Plus, if your timing is good, you can check out such sights
as the famous "Infinite Corridor," etc. in the buildings. You might
even run into folks like Marvin Minsky hanging around. If you read
Levy's "Hackers"
(http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Steven-Levy/dp/0141000511)
before you go, you will get some of the history and local color.

3. While you are there in Cambridge, have lunch/dinner at the amazing
"Miracle of Science" bar/grill. All of their tables are laboratory
soapstone, and the menus is chalked up on a chalkboard in "periodic
table" form. Very amusing. They don't serve their drinks in
laboratory glassware, but the food good and the place is fun. You can
overhear some very interesting tech/science conversations there.
(http://www.miracleofscience.us/)

4. After lunch/dinner, grab drinks (and maybe catch some
music/dancing) at the Enormous Room, one T stop up in Central Square:
http://www.enormous.tv/ENORMOUS_2004/main1.html

5. Across the River (almost) you can visit the Boston Museum of
Science, which has a lot of really fun stuff, but don't miss the
electricity show, using some of the original "atom smashers" giant Van
de Graaff generators. Very, very cool. And loud. Also check out the
scale model of the solar system. To get to Pluto, you need to take
the T (Green Line) all the way out to the end of the line in
Riverside... (http://www.mos.org/)

6. Check out Willoughby and Baltic at their new digs in Union Square:
http://willoughbybaltic.ning.com/. They might have some fun
hacker-type stuff going on while you are there. Totally cool
tech/arts collective.

Sheesh. I could go on forever. Hope this gives you a start- contact
me if you want more of the same!

Everyone's suggestions are great! I completely forgot about the
atrium at the Broad (pronounced to rhyme with "road" in case you have
to ask around to find it.) I spend so much time that there that I
forgot about the displays in the atrium. It is really neat. If you
are down that road, you can walk through the atrium at Draper Labs,
where a bunch of the hardware they designed for the lunar landings is
displayed. It is actually very cool.
http://www.draper.com/Apollo/apollo_at_draper.html

If you take the Red Line "T" the rest of the way up to Harvard Square,
you can check out my personal favorite comic book store, "Million Year
Picnic" (http://themillionyearpicnic.com/) My brother ran into Ben
Affleck there- apparently it is his favorite comic book store, too.
As for bookstores, check out the Harvard Coop, right around the
corner there- they have a pretty remarkable selection of stuff
academic and otherwise.

Okay- I promised that I would not go on and on- I am making myself homesick!

----
mml:

These are slightly adjacent to the topic directly at hand (already well covered)

If you are in to bookstores. (I was so excited when I found out about
Reiter's here in DC).
- MIT Press book store is cool
- Schoenhof's, the most amazing foreign language store anywhere, with
tons of useful stuff for learners. http://www.schoenhofs.com/

I enjoyed The Computer Museum, but it's gone now. I hear the Museum
of Science is good, though.

Um, if bikes appeal at all, Broadway Bicycle School is cool and has a
nice DIY angle. http://www.broadwaybicycleschool.com/

----
curiouslee:

Adding to all the great suggestions (I'm at the Media Lab this coming
Tue-Thu)...

Not far from MIT Press are:

*The DNAtrium*
http://www.broadinstitute.org/outreach/dnatrium/dnatrium
This is a lobby museum on genome mapping with huge curved interactive video
walls.

*Stata Center*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stata_Center
Amazing Frank Gehry building if you're into crazy architecture. There's an
elevated central courtyard. During day hours, you should be able to get
inside.

*The Media Lab*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Media_Lab
Access to the lab spaces is controlled, but you can walk the upper atrium
where there is the List Visual Arts Center http://listart.mit.edu/ and the
lower atrium where you can press your nose up against the Lifelong
Kindergarten Lab or even step inside if you are nice to one of the lab staff
that might be inside. The Media Lab is also nearing completion of a
new expansion out back http://www.media.mit.edu/about/building

I'd offer up a peek into the offices of One Laptop per Child (and Nicholas
Negroponte's office), but I know they are swamped this weekend with visiting
students.

----
dcmk1mr2:

While in Harvard Sq, check out the sign in one of the corner windows for the
law firm DEWEY, CHEETHAM & HOWE. They're the lawyers for NPR's Car Talk.

----

Welcome to the HacDC Wiki

2009-11-27T01:56:21Z

Rmadams: /* Top Links */ (added hacker travel page)

<span style="font-size:large; line-height:1.5em; color:#222">Welcome to HacDC. We are a hacker space located in Washington, DC. HacDC members improve the world by creatively rethinking technology. We break, build, and occasionally abuse technology in the pursuit of greater knowledge about how it works and repurposing it to build new things. Our shop is located in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Heights%2C_Washington%2C_D.C. Columbia Heights] neighborhood of DC.</span>

If you're new here, you should start by looking at our public web site at [http://www.hacdc.org/ hacdc.org]. Our Wiki is mostly for internal organization, but you're welcome to look through to get a sense of what we work on (and consider joining yourself!). We invite you to subscribe to our [http://www.hacdc.org/mailman/listinfo/announce announcement] (weekly e-mail) and [http://www.hacdc.org/mailman/listinfo/blabber blabber] (high traffic) mailing lists.

<div style="float:left; width:48%;">
=== Top Links ===
Themes and threads that span across the other categories in the Wiki. This is also where we keep things that don't easily fit in other categories:
* '''[[FPGA Workshop]]'''
* [[:Category:Meeting Minutes | Meeting Minutes]]
* [[:Category:Financial Reports | Financial Reports]]
* [[:Category:Meeting Agendas | Meeting Agendas]]
* [[:Category:Hacker Travel | Hacker Travel]]

=== [[:Category:Projects]] ===
Where our projects collaborate and document their research and progress. They are generally classified as:
* [[:Category:Ongoing Projects | Ongoing Projects]]
* [[:Category:Proposed Projects | Proposed Projects]]
* [[:Category:Abandoned Projects | Abandoned Projects]]

=== [[:Category:In the Space | Records]] ===
Entries relating to the space including layout and events and classes we hold
* [[:SpaceSearch | Space Search: the search for a new space]]
* [[:Category:Space Configuration | Configuration]]
* [[:Category:Event Planning | Event Planning]]
* [[:Category:Classes | Classes]]
* [[Wishlist]]
* [[:Category:What_I_Stole | What I Stole]]
* [[Human_Resources | Workspace Access]]
* [[Central_Services | HacDC Leadership]]
* [[Inventory | Inventory]]
* [[Procurement | Procurement]]
* [[Suppliers | Suppliers]]

</div>

<div style="float:right; width:48%;"> 
== HacDC's [[Live Status]] ==

We're working on providing [[Live Status]] information here; <br> please bear with us.<br>
See [http://twitter.com/hacdcdoorman the hacdoorman twitter feed].<br>
Or get your status straight from the source: [http://hacdc.org/sites/default/files/last_occsensor.txt last_occsensor.txt].

== Events ==

<googlecalendar>?showTitle=0&showPrint=0&showCalendars=0&mode=AGENDA&height=250&wkst=1&bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&src=sb8mh1d332pbvnb2g4iob2p728%40group.calendar.google.com&color=%2328754E&ctz=America%2FNew_York" style=" border-width:0 " width="500" height="250" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></googlecalendar>

=== [[:Category:Community]] ===
Pages on people in our community :
* [[:Category:Members | Member User Pages]]
* [[:Category:Friends | Friends of HacDC]]
* [[:Category:Heroes | Heroes and people who inspire us]]

=== [[:Category:Policy]] ===
Our Policy Manual is divided into the following subcategories:
* [[Articles_of_Incorporation|Articles of Incorporation]]
* [[Bylaws]]
* [[MIBS_Simplified_Rules_of_Coordinated_Consensus_through_Chaos | Meeting Rules]]
* [[Privacy_Policy | Privacy Policy]]
* [[Resource_Use_Policy | Resource Use Policy]]
* [[Resource_Disposal | Resource Disposal Policy]]
* [[:Category:Communications Policy | Communications Policy]]
* [[Licensing_Policy | Licensing Policy]]

</div>

Website Feedback

2009-04-11T17:32:45Z

Rmadams: added permalinks comment

==Website Feedback==

Please update this page with details of any broken links, errors or requested content

A quick scan using linkchecker (http://linkchecker.sourceforge.net) identified hundreds of bad links. Most of them were due to the wordpress permalink configuration problem that will be addressed on the new server.

Broken permalinks are the key problem for the Wordpress installation. Putting in a vote for keeping the "archive" content when we change servers - is it possible?

= Requested content=
...
= Errors, typos=
...
= Broken links=
* Next / previous buttons on front page are broken

RepRap Build-a-Thon

2008-12-18T14:59:56Z

Rmadams:

== Concept ==

Join the HacDC and and the Baltimore/Maryland RepRap User’s Group (RUG) for a weekend of RepRap fun! Save the weekend of January 24/25 for our RepRap Build-a-Thon. Initial plans include a range of activities, including hands-on group construction a RepRap Darwin from the ground up starting with laser-cut acrylic parts. We are also planning on having several local RepRap builders on hand with their machines, and hopefully able to demonstrate them in operation, making stuff!

We would also like to invite some of the local technology media/blogosphere folks, and take the opportunity to not only demonstrate what these machines can do, but also to talk in general about the implications of readily-available (and self-replicating) rapid prototyping machines. Certainly a great opportunity to chat with some RepRap pioneers, have a chance to participate in a hands-on build, and to generally have a good time with some local hackers.

More information coming as the plans develop- watch this space! If you are interested in helping out, please let us know via the mailing list. If you have contacts in the local technology media, or know someone in the trade who would be interested in this kind of event, please let us know! See the movie post below for a time-compressed version of RepRap construction by one of the original designers- the time represented by the video is about four hours. Given enough participants, we should be able to do something similar in our two days!

== Project Plan ==

In order to get this project under way, it will be important to have a
schedule that is workable, given that we have a month and a half or so
to plan and execute the event. Thanks to Nick for this first cut at
what needs to be done. Over the following week or so, we will identify
folks to take these action items and give them a due date.

0) Ensure the venue is sufficient

1) Solidify the schedule for the event:
* We have the Auditorium from 08:00 Saturday Morning to roughly 09:00 Sunday Morning
* Due to church activities, we'll have to shift quietly into the HacDC space or our Workshop until roughly 13:00 Sunday afternoon, when we move down to the Dining Room.
* Then we have the Dining Room until Monday morning.
* Do we need to schedule time on Friday night?
* Are we going to have classes, mini events, talks, etc? If so, what? We should try to make the event something that people can come check out for an hour, as well as have specific talks, classes, events, demos that people need to be there for at a specific time. (Otherwise, some people might not show up!)

2) Solidify the budget
* This event should be free and open to the public, like all HacDC events
* What are we going to realistically need/want to provide? Food? A machine for HacDC? Etc.

3) Publicity/Future
* How frequently do we want to blog about it on hacdc.org, possibly cross-promote on nycresistor.com, or other sites? Thingiverse?
* When do we want to really start hitting make, etc.
* What are we calling the event? Are we committing to doing something like this annually? Quarterly?

== Proposed (DRAFT) Agenda ==

The draft agenda is available as a Google Docs spreadsheet- you can see the current version here.
[http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=piOmqdyV_dfMs7tN92xx-Ow Current DRAFT Agenda]

[[Category:Ongoing Projects]]

RepRap Build-a-Thon

2008-12-12T19:15:56Z

Rmadams:

RepRap Build-a-Thon

2008-12-12T19:14:13Z

Rmadams:

== Project Plan ==

In order to get this project under way, it will be important to have a
schedule that is workable, given that we have a month and a half or so
to plan and execute the event. Thanks to Nick for this first cut at
what needs to be done. Over the following week or so, we will identify
folks to take these action items and give them a due date.

0) Ensure the venue is sufficient

1) Solidify the schedule for the event:
* We have the Auditorium from 08:00 Saturday Morning to roughly 09:00 Sunday Morning
* Due to church activities, we'll have to shift quietly into the HacDC space or our Workshop until roughly 13:00 Sunday afternoon, when we move down to the Dining Room.
* Then we have the Dining Room until Monday morning.
* Do we need to schedule time on Friday night?
* Are we going to have classes, mini events, talks, etc? If so, what? We should try to make the event something that people can come check out for an hour, as well as have specific talks, classes, events, demos that people need to be there for at a specific time. (Otherwise, some people might not show up!)

2) Solidify the budget
* This event should be free and open to the public, like all HacDC events
* What are we going to realistically need/want to provide? Food? A machine for HacDC? Etc.

3) Publicity/Future
* How frequently do we want to blog about it on hacdc.org, possibly cross-promote on nycresistor.com, or other sites? Thingiverse?
* When do we want to really start hitting make, etc.
* What are we calling the event? Are we committing to doing something like this annually? Quarterly?

RepRap Build-a-Thon

2008-12-12T19:13:16Z

Rmadams: New page: == Project Plan == In order to get this project under way, it will be important to have a schedule that is workable, given that we have a month and a half or so to plan and execute the ev...

== Project Plan ==

In order to get this project under way, it will be important to have a
schedule that is workable, given that we have a month and a half or so
to plan and execute the event. Thanks to Nick for this first cut at
what needs to be done. Over the following week or so, we will identify
folks to take these action items and give them a due date.

0) Ensure the venue is sufficient

1) Solidify the schedule for the event:
-> We have the Auditorium from 08:00 Saturday Morning to roughly 09:00 Sunday Morning
-> Due to church activities, we'll have to shift quietly into the HacDC space or our Workshop until roughly 13:00 Sunday afternoon, when we move down to the Dining Room.
-> Then we have the Dining Room until Monday morning.

-> Do we need to schedule time on Friday night?
-> Are we going to have classes, mini events, talks, etc? If so, what? We should try to make the event something that people can come check out for an hour, as well as have specific talks, classes, events, demos that people need to be there for at a specific time. (Otherwise, some people might not show up!)

2) Solidify the budget
-> This event should be free and open to the public, like all HacDC events
-> What are we going to realistically need/want to provide? Food? A machine for HacDC? Etc.

3) Publicity/Future
-> How frequently do we want to blog about it on hacdc.org, possibly cross-promote on nycresistor.com, or other sites? Thingiverse?
-> When do we want to really start hitting make, etc.
-> What are we calling the event? Are we committing to doing something like this annually? Quarterly?

Category:Ongoing Projects

2008-12-12T18:51:16Z

Rmadams: /* Project Descriptions */

== Project Responsibilities ==

Note that according to HacDC's [[:Category:Communications Policy]]:
:Each ongoing project must have an e-mail address associated with it. The e-mail address may be an alias for the project coordinator, a discussion list for the project as a whole or an alias to info@ so The Ministers may be able to send project inquiries to the correct relevant parties. In any case, the status of each project contact e-mail must be documented [[:Category:Communications Policy|here]].

Also, from [[:Category:Projects]]:
:Ongoing projects will be expected to submit a weekly report for the weekly meeting. Failure to submit reports for a certain period of time will result in an Ongoing Project being classified as an Abandoned Project.

== Project Descriptions ==

* [[HacDC Intranet Server]]: An Intranet server provides an on-site platform for interfacing HacDC-specific devices or scripts or files.

* [[HacDC Multi-touch device]]: Build a multi-touch display interface so that it can become a user interface for future HacDC project

* [[Physical Access Control Project]]: Doors, Locks, and their Control

* [[Python Sprint Project]]:

* [[Stuff]]: HacDC has lots of stuff. More stuff is always coming in. HacDC has a limited amount of space. Some stuff has to go out.

* [[Components Store]]: Since the honor-system soda stock in the fridge is working so well, we now have a stock of electronic components that works the same way.

* [[Vast VU Meter]]: Take a row of windows in the building and place lamps in them to form a vertical bar VU meter showing the volume of the radio station's broadcast.

* [[RepRap Build-a-Thon]]: An event where members of the public get an opportunity to learn about RepRap technology.

[[Category:Projects]]

Category:Ongoing Projects

2008-12-12T18:50:17Z

Rmadams:

Category:Heroes

2008-12-12T18:15:52Z

Rmadams: Added first name to Mandelbrot

== Hackers ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Torvalds Linus Torvalds]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman Richard Stallman]
* [http://www.ladyada.net/ Limor "Ladyada" Fried]
* [http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~buechley/ Leah Buchley]
* [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/story-of-mel.html Mel]
* [http://www.wall.org/~larry/ Larry Wall]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Conway Lynn Conway]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_Computer_Club The Chaos Computer Club]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Gunmen The Lone Gunmen]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper Grace Hopper]

== Engineers ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie_Hancock Herbie Hancock]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller Buckminster Fuller]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Kamen Dean Kamen]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla Nikola Tesla]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radia_Perlman Radia Perlman]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak Steve Wozniak]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong Neil Armstrong]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Brothers Wright Brothers]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace Ada Lovelace]

== Artists ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_vinci Leonardo daVinci]
* [http://www.arthurganson.com/ Arthur Ganson]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_Jansen Theo Jansen]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magritte Magritte]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.C._Escher M.C. Escher]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos_de_Mey Jos De Mey]

== Authors ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley Aldous Huxley]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Walker Alice Walker]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams Douglas Adams]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Stephenson Neal Stephenson]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan Carl Sagan]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Kelly_(editor) Kevin Kelly]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Brand Stewart Brand]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick Philip K. Dick]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaw_Lem Stanislaw Lem]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Doctorow Cory Doctorow] (Urgh, this guy can drive me nuts - [[User:Bjorn|Bjorn]] 01:24, 12 June 2008 (UTC))
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Goodkind Terry Goodkind]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Sterling Bruce Sterling]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gershenfeld Neil Gershenfeld]
* Horowitz and Hill ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Electronics The Art of Electronics])
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_Vinge Vernor Vinge]

== Composers/Musicians ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iannis_Xenakis Iannis Xenakis]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_flash Grandmaster Flash]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Glass Phillip Glass]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraftwerk Kraftwerk]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno Brian Eno]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlheinz_Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer Tom Lehrer]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Tubby King Tubby]

== Philosophers ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_de_Beauvoir Simone de Beauvoir]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russel Bertrand Russel]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLuhan Marshall McLuhan]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Stang Rev. Stang]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_leary Timothy Leary]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper Karl Popper]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhartha_Guatama Siddhartha Guatama]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Ray Gene Ray]

== Scientists ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issac_Newton Issac Newton]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday Michael Faraday]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clerk_Maxwell Jame Clerk Maxwell]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes Archimedes]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver George Washington Carver]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein Albert Einstein]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman '''Richard Feynman''']
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Greene Brian Greene]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Sacks Oliver Sacks]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_vinci Leonardo da Vinci]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Archibald_Wheeler John Archibald Wheeler]
* Moses (yes, that Moses!)
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall Jane Goodall]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Tarter Jill Tarter]

== Mathematicians ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler Euler]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erdos Paul Erdos]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing Alan Turing]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lorenz Edward Lorenz]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beno%C3%AEt_Mandelbrot Benoît Mandelbrot]

User:Rmadams

2008-07-31T12:18:37Z

Rmadams: New page: Some members of HacDC wonder if Mark actually exists. Although his crazy schedule makes it appear that he is merely a semi-intelligent AI SpamBot firing emails at the HacDC list, he does ...

Some members of HacDC wonder if Mark actually exists. Although his crazy schedule makes it appear that he is merely a semi-intelligent AI SpamBot firing emails at the HacDC list, he does in fact exist. His primary interests are computer simulation, nanotechology, autonomous cooperative robotics and electronics. He would love to be a better skateboarder, which is mostly incompatible with wearing a suit all the time...

Conferences

2008-07-31T12:12:30Z

Rmadams:

{|border="1"
|+ Upcoming Conferences of Interest
! What !! When !! Where !! Who's going !! Running a [[Hackersmart]]?
|-
| [http://www.dragoncon.org/ dragon*con]
| Aug 29th - Sept 1st, 2008
| Atlanta, GA
|
|
|-
| [http://www.toorcon.org/ ToorCon]
| late September 2008
| San Diego, CA
| Nick?
|
|-
| [http://makerfaire.com/austin/2008/ Maker Faire Austin]
| October 18th and 19th, 2008
| Austin, TX
| [[User:Ben|Ben]]?, [[User:rmadams|Mark]]?
| [[User:rmadams|Mark]]
|-
| [http://phreaknic.info Phreaknic 12]
| October 24th - 25th, 2008
| Nashville, TN
| [[User:Timball|timball]], rattle (at least)
|
|-
| [http://www.ccc.de/congress/ Chaos Communication Congress]
| December 27-30, 2008
| Berlin, Germany
|
|
|-
| [http://www.shmoocon.org/ ShmooCon]
| 2009
| Washington, DC
| [[User:Katie|Katie]], [[User:Timball|timball]], ...
|
|-
| [http://www.notacon.org/ Notacon]
| April 16th - 19th, 2009
| Cleveland, OH
| Nate
|
|-
| [http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2009/ National Educational Computing Conference]
| June 28 - July 1, 2009
| Washington, DC
| Kevin?
|
|-
| [http://www.defcon.org/ Defcon]
| 2009
| Las Vegas, NV
|
|
|-
| [http://linuxsymposium.org/ Ottawa Linux Symposium]
| summer 2009
| Ottawa, Ontario
| [[User:timball|timball]]
|
|-
| [http://www.summercon.org/ summercon]
| summer 2009
| ???
| [[User:timball|timball]]
|
|}

Hacriculum

2008-07-31T00:53:16Z

Rmadams:

Hacriculum is a collaborative effort to develop a comprehensive "hacker curriculum" that can help to shape well-rounded, imaginative, curious, and bright people into the hackers of tomorrow by focusing on key concepts that hackers, makers, and inventors value; Concepts like those codified in Stephen Levy's Hacker Ethic: sharing, openness, world improvement, and the technological creation of art and beauty. The hacriculum will eventually include material appropriate for all levels, including K-12, as well as higher education and adult students. The project is wide in scope and initially is being considered in several stages.

= Expected Timeline =
=== Phase 1: Development ===

During the development phase, contributors will establish an infrastructure for collaboration and begin to brainstorm thoughts about how to approach the project. Broad overviews of grade and subject matter will begin to be prepared, and some initial courses will be pilot tested.

=== Phase 2: After school and weekend short courses for teens and adults ===

=== Phase 3: Home schooling and Independent Study Lessons ===

=== Phase 4: Charter School ===

=== Phase 5: Expansion ===

= Funding =

Avenues of funding will be explored, including grants from educational foundations. Funding could also come from income from tution from short courses and home schooling lesson sales. A more formal budget will be put together soon.

= Participants =

* [[User:Ben|Ben Stanfield]]
* Tino Dai

= History =

The specific idea of a "hacker curriculum" isn't terribly unique, I've found. It seems to be on the tip of a lot of minds, but not something anyone has actually moved from concept to completion. As I've mentioned the idea over the past few weeks, each time it seems like the response is "ooh, I've been thinking about things like that," or "I've got a great idea for how to do that."

For me, it started several years ago when a friend asked me why there wasn't more science fiction in high school and college English classes. After an extended discussion on the idea, it was left to percolate in my brain for quite awhile, until a casual discussion at HacDC turned to schooling experiences as another member and I swapped stories of our different paths in K-12 schools. That led to a discussion of the Hacriculum idea, and the initial plan presented above. Several weeks later, in a discussion with an NYC Resistor member, the topic of a hacker's booklist came up again, and I got a chance to share some of the ideas for the Hacriculum.

And then, on July 29, 2008, other HacDC members began to discuss rudimentary programming technique classes for kids (and adults), and on the same day Hacriculum.org was registered and this wiki began.

= Interesting References =

There are many really interesting discussions about what it takes to become a hacker. One of the ones that I have shared with many interested kids is from Eric Raymond: [http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html] It is very good, covers the range of what it takes to be a software/systems hacker, and is radical enough to have some street cred. I also really like "Teach Yourself Programming in only 10 years" at [http://www.norvig.com/21-days.html] but it is a little much for someone who wants to start hacking today. My current personal favorite comes in the form of a recent juvenile novel by Cory Doctorow, "Little Brother" available for a free download at [http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/] or in hardcopy from Amazon.com at [http://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765319853/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217465350&sr=8-1] Pretty amazing that a book available for free online is currently Amazon #1944 in books overall and #1 in Computer Books for kids. It goes to show you how fast the world is changing... The cool thing about the book is that it gets the tech right, and includes some of what makes being a hacker important and worthwhile, far beyond just technology.

[[Category:Proposed_Projects]]