Unexpected Service Outage

Hi Lifehacker, Hackaday. Looking forward to seeing the Google analytics report tomorrow.

We’re experiencing an unexpected outage right now. We will be working on migrating all content to wordpress.com shortly.

Thank you for your patience,

Nathan

Makeup Class: Wounds and Contousions. This Saturday!

Want an extra-special detail added to your costume this year? I’m teaching a short series of classes on theatrical makeup starting this Saturday, the 8th, at 5pm-7pm [possibly shorter depending on the number of students]. The class will cost $10-20, based on the size of the class. the more people show up, the cheaper it’ll be, so bring your friends! The first class will be going over bruises, scrapes, and small superficial wounds. The second class will focus on deeper cuts, peeling skin, bites like the one pictured, and some serious gore. The third class will be focusing on embedded items, like pencils, knives, and so on, and will include a recipe for washable, edible theater blood and we’ll be making our own embeddable items!

Days: October 8th, 15th, 22nd
Times: 5-7pm
Cost: $10-20 based on attendance [the more the merrier cheaper]

A QR Code That Returns Your Keys

Have you ever lost your keys on the train or the street and had to give them up for lost? Some stores have keyfobs with a barcode connected to your store account, so the keys can be turned in at any of those chain stores, and the store will contact you or even send you the keys!

But what if that chain is no longer around, or you’re on vacation in another state and they don’t have the chain store there? Then what? This QR code keychain design will allow someone with a smartphone to take a picture of the fob and automatically send you a text that they found your keys, with their phone number so you can call them and arrange to get your keys back!

QR Code Keychain. Photo has been altered to protect the phone number encoded on the fob.

The code can be generated any number of places or you can have fun with URI schemes yourself. Much like the mailto protocol, sms format is

sms:5555555555?body=I%20found%20your%20keys!

Once the code was generated, I etched the acrylic on our laser cutter, going over the etching twice for extra depth, and filled the recessed areas with polymer clay [you can use fimo, sculpey, etc.], put it in the oven to set and covered with a clear layer of nail polish for added protection.

The Power Racing Series Has Launched a Kickstarter

 

Hello everyone! Power Racing needs you! Hackerspaces from across the Midwest have joined together to race children’s toys. At first we did this because it was fun, but we continue to do this because it helps send a message to the public: making is fun. It is a SoapBox Derby for the 21st Century; a race that is amusing yet enlightening. The pressures of competitions are removed with the open nature of team sharing. Teams get together to celebrate their creations and race for fun. No monetary prizes are given, just the pride of building something, setting it out in the real world and working with others who tackled the same project.

Our Kickstarter intends to raise $20,000 so we can rent or develop a digital Timing & Scoring System because our current one is very rudimentary (hand counted) and has not scaled well to the number of cars and races we have (from 6 in 2010 to 20 in 2011 ). We also wish to host new race locations for more teams who have desired to race (Maker Faire New York, Maker Faire San Mateo). Finally, we wish to allow more teams to participate and sign up by expanding our series to other regions.

Many rewards are offered (including a yearbook!) for supporting PPPRS in 2012. We wish to use the community to support the series, so we don’t have to rely solely on sponsors to keep us afloat. We also wish to help support hackerspaces and teams by showing the public that their community is full of Makers who are excited to show them a whole slew of new skills and ability.

So tell a friend, tell your family and help spread the word! PPPRS has been a hackerspace community event since its inception, and now we wish for you to be a part of this maker community!

Hope to see you at the races.

DIY CNC Night #3: 9/14 at 7pm

The third installment of DIY CNC night will be Wednesday, September 14th at 7pm!

DIY CNC night is a monthly (second Wednesday of each month) event held at Pumping Station: One, 3354 N Elston Ave, for hobbyists, enthusiasts, and professionals to celebrate and explore Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) tools such as laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC mills, lathes, plotters, and more!  Attendees are encouraged to bring along any machines or work examples they wish to show off.

The usual schedule is as follows:

• 7-7:15 introductions / show off stuff you brought along
• 7:15-7:45 brief presentation
• 7:45-9-ish mingling, discussion, tour of Pumping Station: One, general schmoozing, and machine repair/assembly/upgrade

This month Bart Dring of MakeSlide and buildlog will be talking about his projects.

Miniature Taj Mahal designed and printed by thingiverse user tc_fea.

Craft Night!

Tomorrow night we’ll be bringing talented Chicago craft makers and artists together to share current projects and discuss the creative process.

It will be held:
August 27 Saturday
5 pm – 9:00pm
3354 n Elston- PS:One 

(look for the red door — there’s plenty of street parking and we’re pretty close to the Blue Line Belmont stop, too)

Please bring a project to work on or some materials to work with. I would like this to be a opportunity for you to create and share your current projects, talk about the process of art and craft with others and meet new people.

This event is open to the public so stop on by!

Wooooo partyyyyyyyyy

A general LAN/Gaming night will be held,  starting friday afternoon and depending on attendance may run till sunday morning if there are a ton of people, or untill sat night if there are only a few.

This may turn into a monthly thing, currently there will be

Board/ Tabletop games: Monopoly, Risk, Warhammer 40k

Some type of either documentary or TV series marathon (probably Invader Zim)

and PC games, there are a few extra PCs around, but we ask that as many people bring PCs as possible. There will be some linux compatible games (woo DOSbox) like:

Blood, Quake, Quake 2, Redneck Rampage, Shattered Steel, The Incredible Machine, A ton of Apogee games, Mario

And for the windows gamers ( installers available locally):

Duke Nukem Forever, Dungeon Keeper 2, Flatout 2, Quake 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, Battle Chess, Tron 2.0,  R.U.S.E, Team Fortress 2,  Supreme Commander, Burnout Paradise, Dead Rising 2,  Homeworld, C&C Generals +mods, 

and games you would need to bring to play:

Any of the Warhammer series, Portal 2, Starcraft 2

And lastly random Xbox 360 games.  If there are enough people there will even be a tournament.

I almost forgot to mention, you do not need to be a member of PS1 ! This is open to everyone.

 

 

 

The Gentle(wo)man Hacker’s RC Airplane

If you’re like me, the RC aviation hobby is as fascinating as it is costly.  In the two videos below that we produced for element14 though, we cover how to convert a $10 foam glider into a great training flier and then get even more bleeding edge with a cheap-but-good-for-the-price setup for flying UAV style with a pistol grip camcorder mounted to the plane that transmits to a screen on the ground.  Dan Meyer with the help of Ken Zinnen walk you through some of the many exciting  facets of radio controlled airplanes.

Solar Charged RC Airplanes from Pumping Station: One on Vimeo.

First Person Remote Control Flying from Pumping Station: One on Vimeo.

What’s infrared and white and smells like burning?

Pumping Station: One is now the proud new owner of an 30 Watt Epilog Mini 24 laser cutter!  If you aren’t familiar, a laser cutter can cut detailed parts out of wood, acrylic, and other materials, and it can engrave images onto even more.  We’ve already been busy cutting our logo into everything that isn’t nailed down (and doesn’t contain pvc), but we also have certification process ready for any member who wants to fire the lazzzor themselves.  Ask about it on the mailing list or come to a meeting to see it in action!

* Ok, it’s not exactly white. Wordplay is hard.

DIY CNC night, volume 2

The second edition of PS1′s DIY CNC night (Automation Station: One) is this Wednesday, August 10 at 7pm.  All 3D printing, CNC mill, laser cutting, and any other CAD/CAM tool enthusiasts are welcome (members and non-members alike).

Feel free to bring things to show off.

Image by Thingiverse user rotoscan.