HacDC Wiki - User contributions [en]

Category:Ongoing Projects

2014-05-12T14:27:01Z

Rob: Added $7 cell phone

== Project Descriptions ==

* [[$7 cell phone]]: A member picked up an astoundingly cheap cell phone from China and donated one to the space for hacking.

* [[3D Printing]]: We've got a [[PrusaMendel]] extruding noodles of melted plastic on command. If you need a custom small plastic part, design it in a CAD program and come print it out. July 2013, a small 3DP build run has started: [[3DP Build Run 2013.07]]

* [[Sensor Network]]: Making hardware projects accessible over XMPP.

* [[HacDC Spaceblimp]]: Near space initiatives and Hackerspaces In Space contest.

* [[Machine Shop Classes]]: Classes on using the lathe, with possibilities for growth into other machines in the future. Beginners to advanced.

* [[LightningTalks]]: 12 speakers present 5 minutes talks on any topic that interests them! Monthly.

* [[WOPR]]: The HacDC IRC bot. Check out what WOPR can do for you and contribute modules for fame and fortune.

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

* [[Occupancy Sensor]]: PIR motion sensor with output embeddable in various webpages, so people could see when the space is occupied.

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

* [[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.

* [[Wanted Workshops]]: A means for the community to express its needs and desires.

* [[Byzantium | Project Byzantium]]: Mesh networking designed for rapid deployment in emergencies.

* [[Ws2811-LEDs]]: Ws2811 LEDs. Bright strips of lights that can be individually controlled, including switching color.

* [[F3-robot]]: F3 Robot at Chas Colburn's Maker Tech Tuesdays

 

[[Category:Projects]]

<categorytree mode=all>Ongoing_Projects</categorytree>

HacDC Wiki:$7 cell phone

2014-05-12T13:59:43Z

Rob: Added line offering phones for hacking.

'''The Story'''

In April 2014, on the way home from a business trip to Southeast Asia, I spent a few days in Shenzhen, China, to visit the [http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/04/19/global-geek-shenzhen-seg-market-mega-post/ famous electronics markets of Huaqiang Bei], catch [http://www.shenzhenmakerfaire.com/ Shenzhen Maker Faire], and spend a little time with the attendees of [http://dangerousprototypes.com/hackercampshenzhen/ Hacker Camp Shenzhen].

Having read [http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?page_id=3107 Bunnie Huang's blog post] about a $12 locally-manufactured phone he bought at Shenzhen's Mingtong Digital Communications Market (also known as the "Dodgy Cell Phone Market"), I was interested to check out that market and maybe get one myself. As it turns out, the invisible hand has pushed Bunnie's phone aside and replaced it with an even cheaper model.

[[File:mingtong2s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/a/a0/Mingtong2.jpg|The vendor on the right is assembling "Nokias".]]

Mingtong is crazy. Many floors of kiosks selling fake Samsung and Apple phones, phones shaped like cars or improbably blinged out. I asked a number of vendors for their cheapest phone, and they all showed me the same phone -- most all the other vendors carried it too -- a nondescript candybar phone that looked a bit like a classic Nokia, but with 3M adhesive backing around the screen (I have to wonder -- real 3M?). The asking price for these was about 45 RMB or a little more than US$7. I bought three. The vendor peeled off the adhesive backing on each and slapped on a Samsung faceplate, explaining that she was all out of Nokia faceplates and couldn't offer me a choice.

[[File:mingtong3s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/2/26/Mingtong3.jpg|Vendor putting faceplates on the phones]]

I left one of the phones at the space for inspection by the curious and/or for hacking. If people find cool stuff to do with it, I can donate the other two.

- [http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/User:Rob Rob]

----

'''The Phone'''
[[File:phone1s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/9/9c/Phone1.jpg|The phone looks a bit like a classic Nokia.]]

[[File:phone2s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/e/e3/Phone2.jpg]]

[[File:phone4s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/6/6d/Phone4.jpg|The display looks hand-soldered to me, though I have little experience with soldering work this fine.]]

[[File:phone3s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/e/e5/Phone3.jpg|Rear of PCB with ringer and camera.]]

[[File:phone5s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/a/a9/Phone5.jpg|Rear of the PCB with ringer and camera pulled aside.]]

[[File:phone6s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/e/ee/Phone6.jpg|This little IC seems to run the whole kit and kaboodle.]]

[[File:phone7.jpg|frame|center|These pads, placed I presume to facilitate testing, are intriguing.]]

$7 cell phone

2014-05-11T02:33:03Z

Rob: Rob moved page $7 cell phone to HacDC Wiki:$7 cell phone

#REDIRECT [[HacDC Wiki:$7 cell phone]]

HacDC Wiki:$7 cell phone

2014-05-11T02:33:02Z

Rob: Rob moved page $7 cell phone to HacDC Wiki:$7 cell phone

'''The Story'''

In April 2014, on the way home from a business trip to Southeast Asia, I spent a few days in Shenzhen, China, to visit the [http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/04/19/global-geek-shenzhen-seg-market-mega-post/ famous electronics markets of Huaqiang Bei], catch [http://www.shenzhenmakerfaire.com/ Shenzhen Maker Faire], and spend a little time with the attendees of [http://dangerousprototypes.com/hackercampshenzhen/ Hacker Camp Shenzhen].

Having read [http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?page_id=3107 Bunnie Huang's blog post] about a $12 locally-manufactured phone he bought at Shenzhen's Mingtong Digital Communications Market (also known as the "Dodgy Cell Phone Market"), I was interested to check out that market and maybe get one myself. As it turns out, the invisible hand has pushed Bunnie's phone aside and replaced it with an even cheaper model.

[[File:mingtong2s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/a/a0/Mingtong2.jpg|The vendor on the right is assembling "Nokias".]]

Mingtong is crazy. Many floors of kiosks selling fake Samsung and Apple phones, phones shaped like cars or improbably blinged out. I asked a number of vendors for their cheapest phone, and they all showed me the same phone -- most all the other vendors carried it too -- a nondescript candybar phone that looked a bit like a classic Nokia, but with 3M adhesive backing around the screen (I have to wonder -- real 3M?). The asking price for these was about 45 RMB or a little more than US$7. I bought three. The vendor peeled off the adhesive backing on each and slapped on a Samsung faceplate, explaining that she was all out of Nokia faceplates and couldn't offer me a choice.

[[File:mingtong3s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/2/26/Mingtong3.jpg|Vendor putting faceplates on the phones]]

- [http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/User:Rob Rob]

----

'''The Phone'''
[[File:phone1s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/9/9c/Phone1.jpg|The phone looks a bit like a classic Nokia.]]

[[File:phone2s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/e/e3/Phone2.jpg]]

[[File:phone4s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/6/6d/Phone4.jpg|The display looks hand-soldered to me, though I have little experience with soldering work this fine.]]

[[File:phone3s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/e/e5/Phone3.jpg|Rear of PCB with ringer and camera.]]

[[File:phone5s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/a/a9/Phone5.jpg|Rear of the PCB with ringer and camera pulled aside.]]

[[File:phone6s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/e/ee/Phone6.jpg|This little IC seems to run the whole kit and kaboodle.]]

[[File:phone7.jpg|frame|center|These pads, placed I presume to facilitate testing, are intriguing.]]

HacDC Wiki:$7 cell phone

2014-05-11T02:31:22Z

Rob: Finished writing the page

'''The Story'''

In April 2014, on the way home from a business trip to Southeast Asia, I spent a few days in Shenzhen, China, to visit the [http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/04/19/global-geek-shenzhen-seg-market-mega-post/ famous electronics markets of Huaqiang Bei], catch [http://www.shenzhenmakerfaire.com/ Shenzhen Maker Faire], and spend a little time with the attendees of [http://dangerousprototypes.com/hackercampshenzhen/ Hacker Camp Shenzhen].

Having read [http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?page_id=3107 Bunnie Huang's blog post] about a $12 locally-manufactured phone he bought at Shenzhen's Mingtong Digital Communications Market (also known as the "Dodgy Cell Phone Market"), I was interested to check out that market and maybe get one myself. As it turns out, the invisible hand has pushed Bunnie's phone aside and replaced it with an even cheaper model.

[[File:mingtong2s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/a/a0/Mingtong2.jpg|The vendor on the right is assembling "Nokias".]]

Mingtong is crazy. Many floors of kiosks selling fake Samsung and Apple phones, phones shaped like cars or improbably blinged out. I asked a number of vendors for their cheapest phone, and they all showed me the same phone -- most all the other vendors carried it too -- a nondescript candybar phone that looked a bit like a classic Nokia, but with 3M adhesive backing around the screen (I have to wonder -- real 3M?). The asking price for these was about 45 RMB or a little more than US$7. I bought three. The vendor peeled off the adhesive backing on each and slapped on a Samsung faceplate, explaining that she was all out of Nokia faceplates and couldn't offer me a choice.

[[File:mingtong3s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/2/26/Mingtong3.jpg|Vendor putting faceplates on the phones]]

- [http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/User:Rob Rob]

----

'''The Phone'''
[[File:phone1s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/9/9c/Phone1.jpg|The phone looks a bit like a classic Nokia.]]

[[File:phone2s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/e/e3/Phone2.jpg]]

[[File:phone4s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/6/6d/Phone4.jpg|The display looks hand-soldered to me, though I have little experience with soldering work this fine.]]

[[File:phone3s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/e/e5/Phone3.jpg|Rear of PCB with ringer and camera.]]

[[File:phone5s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/a/a9/Phone5.jpg|Rear of the PCB with ringer and camera pulled aside.]]

[[File:phone6s.jpg|frame|center|link=http://wiki.hacdc.org/images/e/ee/Phone6.jpg|This little IC seems to run the whole kit and kaboodle.]]

[[File:phone7.jpg|frame|center|These pads, placed I presume to facilitate testing, are intriguing.]]

File:Phone7.jpg

2014-05-11T02:29:10Z

Rob: Rob uploaded a new version of "File:Phone7.jpg"

File:Phone7.jpg

2014-05-11T02:18:15Z

Rob:

File:Phone6s.jpg

2014-05-11T02:17:52Z

Rob:

File:Phone6.jpg

2014-05-11T02:17:33Z

Rob:

File:Phone5s.jpg

2014-05-11T02:17:11Z

Rob:

File:Phone5.jpg

2014-05-11T02:16:45Z

Rob: Rob uploaded a new version of "File:Phone5.jpg"

File:Phone5.jpg

2014-05-11T02:15:23Z

Rob:

File:Phone4s.jpg

2014-05-11T02:00:31Z

Rob:

File:Phone3s.jpg

2014-05-11T02:00:11Z

Rob:

File:Phone2s.jpg

2014-05-11T01:59:52Z

Rob:

File:Phone1s.jpg

2014-05-11T01:58:41Z

Rob:

File:Mingtong3s.jpg

2014-05-09T20:32:49Z

Rob:

File:Mingtong2s.jpg

2014-05-09T20:32:31Z

Rob:

File:Mingtong1s.jpg

2014-05-09T20:32:08Z

Rob:

HacDC Wiki:$7 cell phone

2014-05-09T13:22:18Z

Rob: Created page with "'''The Story''' In April 2014, on the way home from a business trip to Southeast Asia, I spent a few days in Shenzhen, China, to visit the [http://dangerousprototypes.com/201..."

File:Phone4.jpg

2014-05-09T01:33:57Z

Rob:

File:Phone3.jpg

2014-05-09T01:33:15Z

Rob:

File:Phone2.jpg

2014-05-09T01:32:11Z

Rob:

File:Phone1.jpg

2014-05-09T01:29:06Z

Rob:

File:Mingtong3.jpg

2014-05-09T01:03:44Z

Rob: A vendor attaches faceplates to phones at Mingtong Digital Communications Market in Shenzhen, China.

A vendor attaches faceplates to phones at Mingtong Digital Communications Market in Shenzhen, China.

File:Mingtong2.jpg

2014-05-09T00:43:35Z

Rob: Mingtong Digital Communications Market in Shenzhen, China

Mingtong Digital Communications Market in Shenzhen, China

File:Mingtong1.jpg

2014-05-09T00:42:06Z

Rob: Mingtong Digital Communications Market in Shenzhen, China.

Mingtong Digital Communications Market in Shenzhen, China.

User:Rob

2013-12-30T01:45:28Z

Rob:

[[Image:rob.jpeg|right]]My first choice, Sidfoqbix, was taken, so I'm Rob. Hi.

By day I'm a mild-mannered USAID contractor. By night I'm a mild-mannered father of two living in Silver Spring. I'm pretty mild-mannered generally.

I have a lot of interests and focus is not my strong suit, so I tend to know just enough about a lot of things to be dangerous. With a class 3 laser, nozzles extruding hot plastic, and computer-controlled spinny cutty things, HacDC seemed like a good place to be dangerous.

I have been a platonic amateur radio operator since 2006 -- I know the PTT button but we aren't intimate. I dig bikes. And Japan. I recently counted my passport stamps and determined that I've been to Tokyo 17 times, each for about 24 hours, which is a weird way to get to know a place.

I follow North Korea like some people follow Star Trek. The conventions aren't very good, though.

(Did you know that when Kim Jong-Un was being groomed for the succession, there was a major propaganda campaign in the DPRK about CNC technology? The idea, never explicitly stated, was that Jong-Un's youth was actually an advantage, in that he had new ideas that were going to bring North Korea a technological edge. The result was some pretty extravagant material about CNC. To wit: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpupc4zxlTo video] )

I speak Arabic and just enough Japanese to get into trouble, but only if it's fairly formal trouble. I like to think that if I was parachuted into Central America for two weeks that enough Spanish would come back to me that I could talk my way out of the terrible situation I would have gotten into with a major gang and/or political faction by that time, but I am OK with that remaining a hypothesis.

I also speak fax, which has made it really difficult to edit this page.

My latest hacky-type project was building a [http://blog.safecast.org/2013/03/the-bgeigie-nano-kit/ bGeigie nano kit]. I'm currently working on an [http://openrov.org OpenROV].I'm intrigued by the [http://hlt.media.mit.edu/?p=2182 DIY cell phone] project, but I'm still very much at the window-shopping stage. I'm slowly trying to teach myself GNU Radio with an RTL-SDR dongle. I'm keen to get my [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mossmann/hackrf-an-open-source-sdr-platform?ref=search HackRF] so I have another thing to be totally over my head in.

There is still time to get in on the ground floor of [http://twitter.com/migugnom following me on Twitter].
[[Category:Members]]

Laser Cutter Operators Log

2013-10-23T18:59:36Z

Rob:

[[Category:LaserCutter]]

'''When you use the Laser Cutter, please add notes here. Newest at top.'''

* 18 Oct 2013: [[User: rob]] experimented with engraving some black-and-white images on acrylic and cut some acrylic for a project. The Full Spectrum LLC print driver just gave me error messages and I couldn't figure out the problem, so I just converted my images to BMP and that worked fine. It may be of interest that I have found that cutting 0.177" thick acrylic reliably takes 10-11 passes at 100% power, 100% speed. 10 passes leaves some small chads at the edges that are brushed off pretty easily; 11 generally cuts it clean.

* [[User:Haxwithaxe]] made acrylic PentaGo board parts. [https://github.com/haxwithaxe/pentago-flat design]. i forgot to record the time used.
** i used some of the red plastic that was next to the table and it made sort of a cotton candy like material when lased so we might want to figure out what it is exactly.

User:Rob

2013-08-18T03:10:59Z

Rob:

[[Image:rob.jpeg|right]]My first choice, Sidfoqbix, was taken, so I'm Rob. Hi.

By day I'm a mild-mannered USAID contractor. By night I'm a mild-mannered father of two living in Silver Spring. I'm pretty mild-mannered generally.

I have a lot of interests and focus is not my strong suit, so I tend to know just enough about a lot of things to be dangerous. With a class 4 laser, nozzles extruding hot plastic, and spinny cutty things, HacDC seemed like a good place to be dangerous.

I have been a platonic amateur radio operator since 2006. I know the PTT button but we aren't intimate. I dig bikes. And Japan. I recently counted my passport stamps and determined that I've been to Tokyo 17 times, each never for much more than 24 hours, which is a weird way to get to know a place. I follow North Korea like some people follow Star Trek. The conventions aren't much good, though.

I speak Arabic and just enough Japanese to get into trouble, but only if it's fairly formal trouble. I like to think that if I was parachuted into Central America for two weeks that enough Spanish would come back to me to talk my way out of the terrible situation I would have gotten into with a major gang and/or political faction by that time.

I also speak fax, which has made it really difficult to edit this page.

My latest hacky-type project was building a [http://blog.safecast.org/2013/03/the-bgeigie-nano-kit/ bGeigie nano kit]. I'm intrigued by the [http://hlt.media.mit.edu/?p=2182 DIY cell phone] project, but I'm still at the window-shopping stage (anybody want to go halfsies on a PCB batch for this?). I'm keen to get my [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mossmann/hackrf-an-open-source-sdr-platform?ref=search HackRF] so I have another thing to be totally over my head in.

There is still time to get in on the ground floor of [http://twitter.com/migugnom following me on Twitter].
[[Category:Members]]

User:Rob

2013-08-18T03:09:56Z

Rob:

[[Image:rob.jpeg|left]]My first choice, Sidfoqbix, was taken, so I'm Rob. Hi.

By day I'm a mild-mannered USAID contractor. By night I'm a mild-mannered father of two living in Silver Spring. I'm pretty mild-mannered generally.

I have a lot of interests and focus is not my strong suit, so I tend to know just enough about a lot of things to be dangerous. With a class 4 laser, nozzles extruding hot plastic, and spinny cutty things, HacDC seemed like a good place to be dangerous.

I have been a platonic amateur radio operator since 2006. I know the PTT button but we aren't intimate. I dig bikes. And Japan. I recently counted my passport stamps and determined that I've been to Tokyo 17 times, each never for much more than 24 hours, which is a weird way to get to know a place. I follow North Korea like some people follow Star Trek. The conventions aren't much good, though.

I speak Arabic and just enough Japanese to get into trouble, but only if it's fairly formal trouble. I like to think that if I was parachuted into Central America for two weeks that enough Spanish would come back to me to talk my way out of the terrible situation I would have gotten into with a major gang and/or political faction by that time.

My latest hacky-type project was building a [http://blog.safecast.org/2013/03/the-bgeigie-nano-kit/ bGeigie nano kit]. I'm intrigued by the [http://hlt.media.mit.edu/?p=2182 DIY cell phone] project, but I'm still at the window-shopping stage (anybody want to go halfsies on a PCB batch for this?). I'm keen to get my [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mossmann/hackrf-an-open-source-sdr-platform?ref=search HackRF] so I have another thing to be totally over my head in.

There is still time to get in on the ground floor of [http://twitter.com/migugnom following me on Twitter].
[[Category:Members]]

File:Rob.jpeg

2013-08-18T02:58:22Z

Rob: Rob

Rob

User:Rob

2013-08-17T13:26:17Z

Rob:

My first choice, Sidfoqbix, was taken, so I'm Rob. Hi.

By day I'm a mild-mannered USAID contractor. By night I'm a mild-mannered father of two living in Silver Spring. I'm pretty mild-mannered generally.

I have a lot of interests and focus is not my strong suit, so I tend to know just enough about a lot of things to be dangerous. With a class 4 laser, nozzles extruding hot plastic, and spinny cutty things, HacDC seemed like a really good place to be dangerous.

I have been a platonic amateur radio operator since 2006: I know the PTT button but we aren't intimate. I dig bikes. And Japan. I recently counted my passport stamps and determined that I've been to Tokyo 17 times, each never for much more than 24 hours, which is a weird way to get to know a place. I follow North Korea like some people follow Star Trek. The conventions aren't very good, though.

I speak Arabic and enough Japanese to confirm for Japanese people I speak to that foreigners are barbarians. Sorry about that. I also like to think that if I was dropped in Central America for two weeks enough Spanish would come back to me to be useful, and it might even be true.

There is still time to get in on the ground floor of [http://twitter.com/migugnom following me on Twitter].

[[Category:Members]]

User:Rob

2013-08-17T03:03:46Z

Rob:

My first choice, Sidfoqbix, was taken, so I'm Rob. Hi.

By day I'm a mild-mannered USAID contractor. By night I'm a mild-mannered father of two living in Silver Spring. I'm pretty mild-mannered generally.

I have a lot of interests and focus is not my strong suit, so I tend to know just enough about a lot of things to be dangerous. With a class 4 laser, nozzles extruding hot plastic, and spinny cutty things, HacDC seemed like a really good place to be dangerous.

I have been a platonic amateur radio operator since 2006: I know the PTT button but we aren't intimate. I dig bikes. And Japan. I recently counted my passport stamps and determined that I've been to Tokyo 17 times, each never for much more than 24 hours, which is a weird way to get to know a place.

I follow North Korea like some people follow Star Trek. When I post to Facebook about North Korea -- which is pretty frequently -- my friends don't tell me it's tedious; they don't have to. But that doesn't stop me, hence the Trekkie analogy.

I speak Arabic and enough Japanese to confirm for Japanese people I speak to that foreigners are barbarians. Sorry about that. I also like to think that if I was dropped in Central America for two weeks enough Spanish would come back to me to be useful, and it might even be true.

There is still time to get in on the ground floor of [http://twitter.com/migugnom following me on Twitter].

[[Category:Members]]

User:Rob

2013-08-17T03:02:48Z

Rob:

[[Category:Members]]

My first choice, Sidfoqbix, was taken, so I'm Rob. Hi.

By day I'm a mild-mannered USAID contractor. By night I'm a mild-mannered father of two living in Silver Spring. I'm pretty mild-mannered generally.

I have a lot of interests and focus is not my strong suit, so I tend to know just enough about a lot of things to be dangerous. With a class 4 laser, nozzles extruding hot plastic, and spinny cutty things, HacDC seemed like a really good place to be dangerous.

I have been a platonic amateur radio operator since 2006: I know the PTT button but we aren't intimate. I dig bikes. And Japan. I recently counted my passport stamps and determined that I've been to Tokyo 17 times, each never for much more than 24 hours, which is a weird way to get to know a place.

I follow North Korea like some people follow Star Trek. When I post to Facebook about North Korea -- which is pretty frequently -- my friends don't tell me it's tedious; they don't have to. But that doesn't stop me, hence the Trekkie analogy.

I speak Arabic and enough Japanese to confirm for Japanese people I speak to that foreigners are barbarians. Sorry about that. I also like to think that if I was dropped in Central America for two weeks enough Spanish would come back to me to be useful, and it might even be true.

There is still time to get in on the ground floor of [http://twitter.com/migugnom following me on Twitter].

User:Rob

2013-08-17T02:57:31Z

Rob: Created page with "My first choice, Sidfoqbix, was taken, so I'm Rob. Hi. By day I'm a mild-mannered USAID contractor. By night I'm a mild-mannered father of two living in Silver Spring. I'm p..."

My first choice, Sidfoqbix, was taken, so I'm Rob. Hi.

By day I'm a mild-mannered USAID contractor. By night I'm a mild-mannered father of two living in Silver Spring. I'm pretty mild-mannered generally.

I have a lot of interests and focus is not my strong suit, so I tend to know just enough about a lot of things to be dangerous. With a class 4 laser, nozzles extruding hot plastic, and spinny cutty things, HacDC seemed like a really good place to be dangerous.

I have been a platonic amateur radio operator since 2006: I know the PTT button but we aren't intimate. I dig bikes. And Japan. I recently counted my passport stamps and determined that I've been to Tokyo 17 times, each never for much more than 24 hours, which is a weird way to get to know a place.

I follow North Korea like some people follow Star Trek. When I post to Facebook about North Korea -- which is pretty frequently -- my friends don't tell me it's tedious; they don't have to. But that doesn't stop me, hence the Trekkie analogy.

I speak Arabic and enough Japanese to confirm for Japanese people I speak to that foreigners are barbarians. Sorry about that. I also like to think that if I was dropped in Central America for two weeks enough Spanish would come back to me to be useful, and it might even be true.

There is still time to get in on the ground floor of [http://twitter.com/migugnom following me on Twitter].