If you haven't heard the word via Twitter or elsewhere, here's the official plug: GeekDad has been invited to curate three "GeekDad Days" at the Wired Holiday Store in New York this year, and the first one is this coming Saturday from 1:00pm to 2:30pm local time. We'll be playing with LEGO Mindstorms NXT kits, doing build challenges with LEGO bricks, and even giving away some toys. And it'll all be led by yours truly! If you can make it and bring your kids, please leave a message in the comments so I'll know to say hello, thanks!

Wired Store
415 West 13th Street
New York, NY 10014

Open noon to 9pm.

Bildheinzer built this Video Circuit Bending Glitchbox, the "BGB-03" to control analog video with music -

Video Manipulation Unti reacting to incoming audio.The RGB colours are split and sent through 3 Effect ways which react to bass,mids or heights....you can choose by the patch cables which colours goes which way.. S-Video in/out RCA in/out

Related:


MAKE Interview: DIY video mixers and more with Karl Klomp

Over at Steampunk Workshop, Jake pays a visit to the home of Bruce and Melanie Rosenbaum, in Sharon, Mass. Bruce and Melanie run ModVic, a Victorian home restoration company. They've also embraced the steampunk aesthetic and do steampunk mods, as they've done in their own amazing home, seen here.

A Visit to a Steampunked Home

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Internet, DARPA has announced the DARPA Network Challenge, a competition that will explore the roles the Internet and social networking play in the timely communication, wide-area team-building, and urgent mobilization required to solve broad-scope, time-critical problems.

The challenge is to be the first to submit the locations of 10 moored, 8-foot, red, weather balloons at 10 fixed locations in the continental United States. The balloons will be in readily accessible locations and visible from nearby roads.

Sorta reminds me of a web 2.0 -ish crowdsourced happy version of the "Total Information Awareness System" that DARPA canceled. It's smart, DARPA has made more leaps and progress with their projects by offering prizes and having the public compete (DARPA challenges with autonomous cars, etc). Happy balloon hunting.

Already have every kind of clock imaginable? How about a human powered one? Well, then you might want to check out the REAL TIME project by designer Maarten Baas. Rather than using a motor to turn some dials, or a computer to blink LEDs on and off, his creations have a human inside of them who redraws the clock every minute or so. My only question is, how do the humans know what time it is? [via MoCo Loco]

In this segment from Fatman and Circuit Girl, "Ken" drops by Jeri's studio in Portland to demo some Wimshurst Machine experiments.

Fatman and Circuit Girl

From MAKE magazine:

Check out MAKE, Volume 17: The Lost Knowledge issue!

Buy your copy in the Maker Shed, Subscribe to MAKE, or Access the Digital Edition (if you're already a subscriber).

In Volume 17, MAKE goes really old school with the Lost Knowledge issue, featuring projects and articles covering the steampunk scene -- makers creating their own alternative Victorian world through modified computers, phones, cars, costumes, and other fantastic creations. Projects include an elegant Wimshurst Influence Machine (an electrostatic generator built entirely from Home Depot parts), a Florence Siphon coffee brewer, and a teacup-powered Stirling engine. This special section also covers watchmaking, letterpress printing, the early multimedia art of William Blake, and other wondrous and lost (or fading) pre-20th-century technologies.

This tutorial shows how to take apart a spent zinc-carbon dry cell of the common household type. Besides making for an interesting object lesson in electrochemistry, taking apart a spent D-cell, for instance, allows you to salvage many materials which can be of use to amateur chemists--materials which would otherwise probably end up in a landfill. Separated from their reactive components, the leftover parts of the battery can be safely added to most municipal recycling streams.

A zinc carbon cell (Wikipedia) contains manganese dioxide, which, among other things, is useful as a catalyst in the production of oxygen gas from hydrogen peroxide. It also contains metallic zinc, which can be used, for instance, as a reagent in the production of hydrogen gas from strong acid. Finally, it contains a carbon or graphite rod which can be used as an electrode in any of a number of electrochemical experiments, such as the electrolysis of water and the construction of an arc light or arc furnace.

Note that the battery in this tutorial is a zinc-carbon dry cell. This tutorial does not cover the dismantling of an alkaline-type cell. Alkaline cells are of slightly different internal construction and contain the strong base potassium hydroxide as an electrolyte, which is rather more dangerous to handle than the ammonium chloride/zinc chloride mixture used in zinc carbon cells. Zinc-carbon cells are commonly labelled "general purpose" or "heavy duty," and will not have the word "alkaline" on the case.

Tools

• Small flat blade screwdriver
• Hobby knife
• Scissors
• Hammer
• Mortar and pestle
• Stainless steel or plastic strainer to fit coffee filter
• Stainless steel or plastic tray to work in

Materials

• Spent zinc-carbon or zinc-chloride D cell
• Wax paper
• Coffee filter

Building a self-balancing robot too easy for you? Why not take an extra step and trick one out so that it can breakdance! Attributed to Dr. GIY and Okamoto-san, the MANOI GO is apparently built of a heavily modified MANOI AT01.

It's pretty awesome, however if I was a human breakdancer competing against it, I would be tempted to argue that using a built-in motor to do head spins is kind of like cheating. Of course, it's probably not a good idea to argue with a breakdancing robot, so maybe I would just let it win. [via technabob]

In an age ruled by information great emphasis is placed on processing speed, memory capacity and sensor sizes. The advancement of such hardware is tied directly to the accelerated development of integrated circuits and exponential improvements of the transistor. When news hits that researchers successfully built a working transistor the size of a single atom, the next generation of devices don't seem that far-fetched.

Researchers from Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), University of New South Wales (Australia), and University of Melbourne (Australia) have succeeded in building a working transistor, whose active region composes only of a single phosphorus atom in silicon.

"About half a year ago, I and one of the leaders of this research, Prof. Andrew Dzurak, were asked when we expect a single-atom transistor to be fabricated. We looked at each other, smiled, and said that we have already done that", tells Dr. Mikko Möttönen.

Last summer, after our Maker Faire in the Bay Area, I had a couple of speaking engagements in the Detroit area. One was at a Go Tech meeting in Ann Arbor, at the A2 MechShop. I had many people asking about a Maker Faire in Detroit and insisting that it would mean a lot to a region that was going through hard times. On the same trip, I met with curators at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn and they too were interested in seeing a Maker Farie happen. Walking through the museum, I saw not just the creations of American makers, but the workshops of people like Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers, not to mention Henry Ford. I couldn't help but think what inspiration today's makers would find in the 100-year old legacy of the Model T, along with so many other important examples of how technology has changed our lives.

I'm happy to announce today that we have partnered with The Henry Ford Museum to create a Maker Faire in 2010 in the Detroit area. The dates will be July 31-August 1, 2010.

I look at it as a wonderful opportunity to showcase the technical and creative talent of the region, which was once the most productive city in America. Detroit needs to retool and rethink its opportunities, and quite frankly, I find this an exciting opportunity to be part of. If the manufacturing skills and design prowess of Detroit can be married to the tools for communication and expression that the Internet provides, something big will come of it. Already today, you can see the seeds growing. There's the emergence of hackerspaces like I3 Detroit and All Hands Active, co-working spaces like A2 MechShop and the Tech Brewery, and a thriving craft scene around Handmade Detroit. Add to that initiatives such as the tech incubator known as TechTown at Wayne State University and the excellent higher education system in Michigan.

We have come up with a tagline for Maker Faire Detroit -- From Motor City to Maker City. (Thanks, Diana). We hope as part of this process of organizing Maker Faire to create a Maker City that is a year-round guide to the amazing resources and talents to be found in this region. In short, stay tuned for more.

To keep track of developments for Maker Faire Detroit, check out makerfaire.com. You can send mail to detroit@makerfaire.com to be added to our mailing list and to receive notices about our Call for Makers and other event details. Please let me know if you have suggestions and ideas for Maker Faire Detroit (dale at oreilly dot com). We'll need lots of help and support but I'm sure that makers across the Midwest will participate and we'll be able to create an amazing event.

Whether you live in Detroit or not, Detroit's problems are our problems and Detroit's opportunities are ours as well.

Over at CRAFT I posted up a guide to getting started in wearable technology for the techy crafter on your list!

The folks at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories are at it again, this time (get it?) with a kit version of the Bulbdial clock. We first saw the concept for this device over a year ago, when it was proposed by David Friedman of Ironic Sans. EMSL decided to take on the challenge of constructing it, and built a prototype. Now, just in time for the holidays, they have released it as an open source kit.

I was fortunate to see an early version of it in person, and can attest that it is quite beautiful.

If you're in Phoenix tonight or tomorrow, don't miss this awesome (and big) show at Bragg's Pie Factory. Pictured above is Kris Waid-Jones' "Cherry Bomb Pie" (cast entirely in aluminum, even the cherries), various carved soap objects by Ann Morton, and a piece by Andrew Hadle.

Grand Delusion
An Exhibition of Works by School or Art Students in Fibers and Sculpture
Bragg's Pie Factory
1301 NW Grand Avenue (enter on McKinley)
Phoenix, AZ

Opening Reception:
First Friday, December 4th, 2009 6:30pm - 10:30pm
Closing reception:
Saturday, December 5th, 2009 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Closure is a blog, by jeweler Joycelyn Merchant, about the restoration, reconstruction, and replication of vintage book clasps, hinges, and other hardware. And although it has not been updated since April, there's tons of cool photos and good info already there. [via Propnomicon]

"Security is mostly a superstition," wrote Helen Keller. "It does not exist in nature... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

If you know someone whose life is lacking excitement, perhaps you can kick start 2010 by giving them a few badly-needed thrills. But you don't want to go overboard, so we've developed the list to help you give gifts that fall somewhere between the tedious and the treacherous (with a distinct bias towards the latter).

Make Your Own Gunpowder
In my latest book Absinthe and Flamethrowers, I explain how adding the right mix of danger to your life can make you happier and better adjusted. Now, there are lots of ways of adding reasonable danger, but one frequent suggestion I give maker friends is to attempt making their own gun powder. Sound dangerous? Okay, maybe a little. But not overly so. The directions are in the book and the ingredients are in the Maker Shed's Science Room.

Potassium Nitrate (MakerShed, $2.99)

Sulfur (MakerShed, $2.99)

Charcoal (MakerShed, $4.50)

Really cool video, with great experimental footage, chronicling the development of the so-called ALICE (ALuminum and water ICE) solid rocket propellant by a team from Purdue and Penn State. The key to the process is that the metallic aluminum is present as a nano-scale powder, and its oxidation by water thus occurs over a huge surface area and therefore proceeds very quickly, releasing amazing amounts of energy. The video starts with the acoustic mixing of the nano-aluminum with water to make a gray paste which is frozen, in a mold, to make a tubular rocket motor. It then proceeds through various test-bench firings and culminates (at 4:00) in the launch of an actual rocket using the mixture.

Spotted over @ Matrixsynth, is this unusually fleshy-looking fingerboard synth known as the Imesco polifónico. Not much info aside from what the demo vids show us and some incidental descrips translated from YouTube-

this is the same instrument that was introduced some time ago, now a little over, also lack enough practice since the video was done in haste,
[…]
with a little practice you can play continuously, alternating between the surface and color sector

If you forget your lines in front of a camera, this may be the project for you. Using an iPhone, some coroplast, a cd case, and duct tape, maker Ben Eadie fashioned the hardware necessary for a DIY teleprompter. A trip to the App Store yielded the requisite software. Apparently if you're looking for software for a DIY teleprompter, there's an app for that. [Thanks, Dave!]

Here's a podcast Ben made that runs through the build process:

Here's a video of the Satpack code tracking a few satellites. Note that the tone of the cubesat drifts a bit. The keps were a bit old, but in a addition, I just got a letter from James Miller, the author of Plan 13 who recommends some constants that are more in keeping with the earth model used in today's GPS engines.

You can see the paper city come to life in this clever 30-second animated TV spot, which advertises what you can do once you have your own piece of paper -- that is, your diploma.

Keith Lo Bue is a found-objects artist living in Sydney, Australia. Among other things, he makes these really cool art specs out of everything from hot dog tongs to rulers and cuff links to old drafting tools and nautical instruments.

You can follow his projects as they come together on his blog. [via Boing Boing]

Keith Lo Bue's Homepage

Seven scientists and science-lovers—Dean Kamen, Helen Fisher, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and more—recommend their favorite science books, fiction and non, for you to wrap up and gift for the holidays (or maybe just read yourself).

Months ago, MAKE engineering intern Kris Magri designed and built Makey the Robot, one of our major projects that appeared in MAKE Volume 19. I remember the love and passion with which she crafted the little guy, getting him ready to present to the MAKE community. You never know what impact the things you create may have or how far the effects will ripple. Needless to say, she was thrilled when she was contacted by MAKE reader Joe Mayer, explaining how he was leading a group of 4 boys, ages 7 to 10, with the assistance of their parents, in building Makeys of their own. First let's introduce these fine young makers.

Pictured above is Tommy Acuna, age 7, who has an impressive time machine he built in his backyard. Below are brothers Joey Prather, age 10, and Nicko Prather, age 7. Joey is teaching himself Flash programming, and Nicko is an accomplished builder of original Lego creations. And pictured below them is Luke Hoffman, age 7, who has wanted to build his own robot for years.

I asked Joe Mayer to offer some background on how the group came to be and this is what he said:

"I had been searching for a way to have the kids at our local elementary school get involved in robotics, inventing, or just making something with their own two hands. Many times when this was discussed with other parents, Jr. FIRST Lego League, and FIRST Lego League robots were brought up. The Lego idea did not progress forward, as I could see a way that the opportunity to participate would be equal to all. The Lego league age groupings would split up my kids, and I could commit to only one more endeavor. That coupled with the fact that for all the time and expense involved, only one robot is built.

"I have long had a interest in learning some electronics. I have a career as a scientific instrument designer/builder, and have long seen that joining mechanical and electronic design has many advantages. I just needed a way to push myself into it. Makey has been that way! Makey is a difficult first robot project, but the learning of basic electronics, then applying that new knowledge to Makey makes it seem almost magical. The other parents have certainly pushed themselves out of their comfort zones as well. Learning to solder at a time in life when the old eyes are not quite what they used to be, can be humbling. It is great for kids to see their parents strive toward a goal.

"Then, the same day after having once again told a parent of my concerns, I was at the local bookstore and chanced upon MAKE magazine Volume 19 with Makey right there on the cover. Yes, there was an answer: we would gather some like kids and their parents and build copies of Makey. If this was successful, we would try to get Makey into a school setting.

"1) First, I made an estimate of the cost of building Makey.
2) Next, I made a mental list of which kids had been asking me to build a robot for them; Tommy and Luke came to mind.
3) Showed the Makey article to some parents.
4) Talked with John Banks, a friend and neighbor about helping with the programing part of the build (having support in various disciplines is very helpful).
5) Sent the letter below to possible participants:"

Hi [Parents' Names]

I have been gathering information in order to form a group composed of kids and parents to build small autonomous robots. [Child's Name], of course, came to mind. Learning while enjoying the company of fellow builders would be the measure of our success.

This is my thinking so far:

1. Each kid would end up with their own robot.
2. Kids would help the 3 to 4 other kids in building their robot as well.
3. Parent(s) would need to be present to help/guide the construction.
4. Support on many levels is likely to be key, as the construction is estimated at 2-3 weekends for an adult.
5. Kids will need fuel for building, so perhaps a potluck of simple (easy) food.
6. Cost of parts is estimated at $150 per robot. I would like to order them soon.
7. Location of "building" could vary between houses depending on what items are being built/assembled.
8. Sundays, for a few hours, has been put forth as the possible time.

Please let me know if this seems like something [Child's Name] could be part of. Questions, feel free to ask away.

Thanks,
Joe Mayer

"6) Ordered parts for 6 robots.
7) Parts in. Made CAD drawings by scaling the actual parts and pulling measurements off Kris' drawings.
8) Made 6 copies of sheet metal "base." John Banks starts playing with Arduino boards.
9) Final membership of group is set.
10) First meeting. We talked to kids about what looked to be involved, what Makey would be able to do as built and initially programed. Talked with them about what might be possible with other sensors and programming. We then asked what they would like Makey to be able to do. Nicko said he wanted his robot to be able to play "tag" with the other robots (we are still looking into just how to do that).

"I chose Nicko's robot to be the lead build, so it would act as a sample for the others to copy. Nicko and I would try to work about a week ahead of the other builders. John Banks did this as well with the programing side of things. Many ideas as to what we could do next seem to constantly emerge. Presently we are close to a test of a combined
color-sensing and line-following addition to add to Makey."

As for the progress so far, Mayer reports:

"One robot, Nicko's, is complete. The others are in various stages. Tommy's and Luke's are very close to a successful run under battery power. Joey has been a great helper to all, and he has been quite interested in the programing side of things. His robot shows the least progress, but he has learned a lot. He is becoming proficient at soldering. His robot will be running soon."

Needless to say, this story is truly inspirational. There is much value in seeing how this group came together and what they've accomplished so far. I suspect all 4 of the boys will always remember making Makey, and the knowledge they've gained will stay with them for years to come. Good work, makers!

Galen Raben of letsmakerobots decided to have some fun with a SpeakJet speech synthesizer and TTS256 text-to-speech processor, and designed this SpeakJet shield so that he could make his Arduino talk. The project schematic and code are available on the project page. Looks like a kit in the making!

The advantage of a hardware-based solution like this one is that it requires little CPU time to run, however it is also possible to directly synthesize speech on the Arduino. One promising candidate for this is the Cantarino project.

As you listen, you can actually hear the different air traffic communications of flights as they proceed through preparations to take off and land (clearance, ground, tower, and so on). Each step has a different frequency, after a flight finishes checking in at one level, the pilots tune the radio to the next frequency. After reading this tutorial, you'll be able to listen in and tune your radio to follow a flight as it passes through the different stages of landing or depart. Below is a description of the different levels, along with sample audio clips. A lot of communication is in special codes. You'll hear a lot of "alpha alpha one" or "delta five seventy-three." I'll explain what these mean as well. All you need is a scanner or handheld ham radio to listen. You can use these in the airport, and even on the plane, when use of electronics are approved.

Understanding Air Traffic Codes
Airline Name + Number: When you hear "Delta five seventy-three," or "Comair fifteen sixty-one," these are the names of different flights.
Letters: When you hear "alpha bravo kilo charlie echo lima," these are letters "A B K C E L." Sometimes, it's difficult to understand letters on the radio, so this spelling alphabet is used.

Frequencies and Procedure
You can find the frequencies for different airports and air traffic on this website. Following are the communication procedures for a departing and an arriving flight. After the pilot communicates with each, he tunes the radio to the frequency of the next.

Clearance/Delivery
Gives general directions for take off, including which runway to use, direction, and altitude, and transponder frequency ("squawk"). The transponder frequency helps radars to identify planes.

Here is what you will hear in the first communication on the audio clip:
1. CLEARANCE: asks FLIGHT LAN Chile 533 if they are ready to receive the flight route.
2. FLIGHT LAN CHILE 533: says they are ready.
3. CLEARANCE: tells FLIGHT LAN Chile 533 their flight route then tells them the transponder frequency is 1642 by saying "squawk 1642".
4. FLIGHT LAN CHILE 533: confirms the flight route by repeating it back to CLEARANCE

Ground
Tells flights where to taxi and which runway to use. While a plane is on the ground, you have probably looked out the window and seen signs with letters (such as "KK"). When ground tells planes where to taxi, they use these letters to explain the route like street names. Numbers are used name runway.

Here is what you will hear in the first communication on the audio clip:
GROUND: tells FLIGHT COMAIR 1496 to use runway 31. Taxi left at KK and left at B.
FLIGHT COMAIR 1496: confirms by repeating the directions

Tower
Controls the actual runway and gives clearance for take off. Once in the air, tower will say "radar contact" which means planes can be seen on the radar and should switch their frequency to Departure.

Departure
Gives planes initial directions in the air.

Approach
Makes sure planes are lined up to land.

Tower
Gives final clearance to land.

Ground
Tells planes how to navigate to the gate by assigning a gate and a taxi route.

In theory, licensed hams are also allowed to operate while on board a plane with the pilot's permission. In this case, you would append "/AM" to your call sign, short for "aeronautical mobile." In practice, this is only feasible on private planes. On commercial flights, if your airline permits it, you can use your radio or scanner in receive mode to listen to local repeaters as you fly over different cities. Pick up a copy of the ARRL Repeater Directory to find repeaters on your route. And once you're back on the ground, you can use it to program your radio with a few local repeater frequencies so you can chat with the locals.

For more information visit below:
http://scottsasha.com/aviation/plans/commshandout.html
http://scottsasha.com/aviation/airspace/operations.html
http://www.seattleflight.com/flyingvfrintoseatac.asp
http://www.westwingsinc.com/vfr.htm
http://www.ahart.com/newWeb/groundSchools/radio%20communications%20seminar.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_traffic_control
http://radio-scanner-guide.com/RadioScannerGuidePart3C-CivilAircraft.htm
http://www.qsl.net/n4jri/air_gen.htm
http://www.liveatc.net/search/?icao=kjfk
http://www.flightradio.com/frequencies/
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KJFK
http://www.atc-jfk.net/
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=1171
http://nycaviation.com/spotting-guides/jfk/jfk-radio-frequencies/

Although they could probably use some more exciting branding, Concrete Cloth from the UK's Concrete Canvas company is a pretty cool idea. The cloth, which is draped over forming members and then set by exposure to water (as, for instance, from rain), has a projected lifespan of 10 years.

Ask MAKE is a weekly column where we answer reader questions, like yours. Write them in to mattm@makezine.comor drop us a line on Twitter. We can't wait to tackle your conundrums!

Chris writes in:

I have been experimenting with my Arduino and piezo buzzers as simple speakers - noisy and fun. But one question has been bugging me, what on earth is the third blue lead for on some piezos? If I leave the blue lead disconnected, the piezo seems to behave identically to its two-lead cousins. Am I missing out on some noise making opportunities?

Aha, good question. The short answer is no- the third lead is most likely used for feedback in an oscillator circuit, so leaving it disconnected shouldn't affect your circuit. The long answer is, well, maybe, if want to make your piezo into a buzzer.

There are two kinds of piezoelectric devices that are commonly sold as piezos: buzzers and transducers. Though they both use the same kind of ceramic disc to make noise, the difference is in how they are controlled. A piezo buzzer already contains some circuitry to create a buzzing noise, so all you have to do to make it work is connect it to a power source. The buzz can range from a tolerable alert to signal that your clothes are dry, to the ear-splitting noise of a fire alarm. A piezo transducer works more like a speaker, where you have to feed it an audio signal to get it to make noise. This is what you are using if you are generating your own frequencies with your Arduino.

So what does this have to do with your question? Well, it turns out that a really simple way to make a piezo buzzer is to use the feedback electrode that you were talking about to make a Harley oscillator circuit. As an example, I found this schematic in Murata's (a piezo manufacturer) Piezo Electric Sound Components Applications Manual:

The circuit is a little advanced, however the basic idea is that a small amount of the energy fed into the piezo device is fed into the input of the transistor, which amplifies the signal and feeds it back into the piezo. If the component values are chosen correctly, the resonation can be very efficient and loud, perfect for that fire alarm!

[title photo by Flickr user Josh Kopel]

Related:

• HOW TO - make piezo crystals at home
• Hacking the Glade Wisp

Using TouchOSC on an iPhone alongside Processing and an Arduino, Chris Rojas made this awesome Xbee controlled tank that runs on solar power. He lists all of the parts required for the project on his site and even provides the code to get you up and running with your very own iPhone controlled tank!

Gary Watts built his Chumby Guts Kit into a hollowed-out book. Check out the other two photos at his Flickr.

More:

Build: Chumby Guts kit

In the Maker Shed:

Chumby Guts

What's a Chumby? Glad you asked! It's an amazing little piece of technology that lets you get what's best on the web and delivers it right to you on it's 3.5" touch screen LCD. You can play games, check the weather, twitter, news, music, and even watch YouTube videos. All of this is done via you home's wireless Internet connection.

Nerdy physics/astronomy humor FTW. If you don't get it (and it's OK if you don't, really), you might refer to Wikipedia's article on blue shift. You can buy variations of this bumper sticker all over the web, but I've no word, alas, on how to score one of these official APS versions. [via Neatorama]

MAKE's on a list of about 200 magazines rounded up by the Better Paper Project for using recycled paper in our print magazine. From the statement in the mag:

MAKE is printed on recycled, process-chlorine-free, acid-free paper with 30% post-consumer waste, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forest Initiative, with soy-based inks containing 22%-26% renewable raw materials.

In other words, we love trees and the planet, so you can feel good about subscribing.

From MAKE magazine:

Want to know how to build a hydrogen rocket? How about a laser light show in a lunchbox? Or a simple remote-controlled videocam car? Or maybe you want to go old-school and build a wooden mini sailboat or toy car launcher? All this and tons more, plus revealing photos of Adam Savage's maker childhood, can all be found in MAKE, Volume 20, "For Kids of All Ages." Get your individual copy in the Maker Shed, or subscribe now.

Another year, another profusion of robot kits, toys, and showy humanoids demo'd by entertainment conglomerates and big car companies. The more things change, the more they stay the same. It wasn't a huge leap year for the evolution of robokind, but there are definitely plenty of new tools and toys to play with, and plenty of perennial favorites, too. Let's have a look...

Fully-Assembled Robots

Roborover (WowWee Toys, $79)
Joebot (WowWee Toys, $99)
WowWee keeps cranking out the robot models, most variations on the theme of the Robosapien. This year, two of their bots included the Roborover and the Joebot. Both of these robots are clearly designed to act as synthetic "buddies" for kids, and have amiable personalities and programmed "can do" attitudes. Roborover is geared towards younger children, has a simple remote control interface, and tread mobility, so it can traverse low-lying objects. Joebot is the first WowWee robot that responds to voice commands. He's a lot more versatile than Roborover and can store up to 40 programmed steps in a playback sequence. Like his Robosapien forebots, Joe has a wacky personality and uses animated LED lights on his face to express various "emotions." And given his constant chattering, bad joke telling, and general mischief-making, it's comforting to know he comes with a volume control.

i-Sobot (Maker Shed, $126)
We got a bunch of these in the Maker Shed last year after TOMY discontinued them. We still have a few left and are selling them for half their original price. This is a very hackable little robot. It is a 6-1/2"-tall humanoid that uses 17 servomotors to somersault, stand on one leg, do push-ups, perform martial arts, and more. It has 180 pre-programmed movements, responds to verbal commands, and performs up to 240 movements in sequence, allowing you to design countless routines, such as programming him to say "hello," introduce himself, play air guitar, bow to an audience, and say "good night." Oh, and he farts, too. Using the included action chart as a guide, you simply enter the alphanumeric codes into the remote control and i-SOBOT reacts in earnest with acrobatics, verbal phrases, and greetings, or you can control his movements manually using the dual joysticks and trigger buttons on the remote. In voice recognition mode, the robot moves in response to ten verbal prompts, such as "Go forward" or "Back up," and acknowledges questions like "How are you?" with appropriate retorts.

Robots-Dreams.com has some links to i-SOBOT hacking-related resources here.

A group effort from the minds and hands of Alvaro Cassinelli, Daito Manabe, Kuribara Yusaku & Ishikawa Masatoshi - scoreLight (we covered an earlier demo prior) can be seen above fascinating visitor's to Tokyo's Miraikan science museum -

"scoreLight" is a prototype musical instrument capable of generating sound in real time from the lines of doodles as well as from the contours of three-dimensional objects nearby (hands, dancer's silhouette, architectural details, etc). There is no camera nor projector: a laser spot explores the shape as a pick-up head would search for sound over the surface of a vinyl record - with the significant difference that the groove is generated by the contours of the drawing itself. The light beam follows these countours in the very same way a blind person uses a white cane to stick to a guidance route on the street. Details of this tracking technique can be found here. Sound is produced and modulated according to the curvature of the lines being followed, their angle with respect to the vertical as well as their color and contrast. This means that "scoreLight" implements gesture, shape and color-to-sound artificial synesthesia [4]; abrupt changes in the direction of the lines produce trigger discrete sounds (percussion, glitches), thus creating a rhythmic base (the length of a closed path determines the overall tempo).

Mårten Bergkvist's elegantly simple sequencer installation -

The Water drop sequencer is an interactive sound installation. It creates sound by water drops falling on suspended iron bars with piezo elements attached. The viewer or performer can control which tones will be played by placing water bottles upside down in holes that are centred over the iron bars. It is also possible to control the speed of the dripping.

From YouTube user MechanicalSculptor comes this awesome gear-pr0n automaton, reminiscent of the work of Arthur Ganson. [via The Automata / Automaton Blog]

Sean_st shares pics of his homegrown Settlers of Catan boardgame. He even carved his own buildings and roads from soapstone & alabaster! Have a closer look at his work on Flickr.

Mobile gaming mastermind ZodTTD has updated his mame4iPhone app to use BTStack, allowing the use of a Wii remote as a controller. I could see using this with the iPhone app video out hack as a low-cost casual gaming console. It would be pretty cool to go from playing a mobile game directly to playing the same game on a large screen with a controller. It's no Xbox, but give it a few years.

Before you start building the kit, it's really helpful to assemble a bunch of the "rivets". In the picture above you can see the little pin that sits inside the groove of the rivet. I went ahead and made all the rivets, and then started building the dino-bot. It made the build a lot easier since I didn't have to stop and make more at each step.

The parts simply snap together via the little rivet system. It's a really strong connection and it allows for hinged movement when only (1) rivet is used.

When building the robot dinosaur be sure to keep the main drive wheels slightly away from the motor housing. This will make the walking a lot smoother. You can see the black axel and drive wheels in the picture above. Yes, the one of the robo-rear-end, sorry!

I had a great time with my kids building the dino-bot. Once you get familiar with the riveting system, it goes together fairly quickly. Looks like it's time to move onto the next build in the kit...but which one? I guess I'll let the kids decided.

The idea is that they make a small wing section that contains all the representative elements and steps required to make a larger wing. If you can make this one, you can make a big one, the only things we're leaving out are a) repetion - ours only has 6 ribs, not 26, and b) special shapes and fancy anything - all the pieces are cut from the same size balsa sticks, and if you mess one up, no problem, it's just a stick. There will eventually be a nominal charge for this thing, but for right now, the whole thing is free including all tools and materials to allow us to see how it goes and how good the instructions .No special knowledge or skill is required, but we are currently limiting it to adults, and reserve the right to exclude anybody who strikes as being unduly silly.

• The Web revolution is hitting the real world. “We are entering a new manufacturing age,” said Anderson. “I’ve been thinking about being analog and the world of manufacturing.”
• Manufacturing businesses are utilizing a lot of the techniques pioneered on the Web.
• Tools of production are being democratized. Exhibit A: 3D printers will now run you $750. Anderson has one in his basement. Laser cutters and circuit boards can all be designed in your basement using world class industrial technologies.
• If you want scale, a Chinese factory will work with you where ever you are. “I can click a button and make robots in a Chinese factory move,” said Anderson. “These factories want to work with smaller companies because there’s the flexibility to do so and higher margins. You have access to the same factory as Sony.”
• The list goes on. Anderson’s big point is that the barriers to manufacturing are falling away. In fact, we may all be manufacturers down the road. Consider it the long tail of physical stuff.

With MAKE Volume 20, the Kids Issue, on newsstands right now, I got to thinking about previous MAKE projects that would be fun to build with the bambinos over the holidays. The Recycled Kaleidoscope project from MAKE Volume 14 would be a super fun build. Got any plastic CD cases laying around? Put em to use, along with whatever little bits of your choosing you want to include for the inside. Tiny electronic components? Itty bitty screws? So pretty!

Recycled Kaleidoscope
Make a classic optics toy from an old CD case.
By Carolyn Bennett

The kaleidoscope was invented in 1816 by a Scottish physicist named Sir David Brewster, and it has intrigued people of all ages ever since. Through the years, kaleidoscopes have been made of nearly every possible material. Now it's time to take the kaleidoscope green. Here's a simple one you can create from recycled materials and common household items. For the mirror elements, we'll use pieces of an old "jewel box" CD case backed with black paper or neoprene.

Looking to take a break from tinkering on your latest project this weekend? Here are some fine maker events to check out, from The Maker Events Calendar. Wish your event was on the list? Add it to the calendar!

Coming up this week:

Doug Repetto's Walking Tables workshop
New York, NY
Friday, Dec 4th, 2009, 2pm - 6pm, Performance 7pm - 8pm

First Robotics Presentation/ FinishIT night
Pittsburgh, PA
Friday, Dec 4th, 2009, 7pm +

Beginning PHP @NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, Dec 5, 2009, 12pm - 2pm

DIY Paper Engineering @NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, Dec 5, 2009, 3pm - 5pm

Lock picking for Fun @i3Detroit
Royal Oak, MI
Saturday, Dec 5, 2009, 8pm - 10pm

Code Your Own Spam (or Awesome) Filter! @NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, Dec 6, 2009, 1pm - 3pm

Guitar Effects 101 @Hive 76
Philadelphia, PA
Monday, Dec 7, 2009, 7pm - 10pm

Designing with QCAD @NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Monday, Dec 7, 2009, 6:30pm - 8:00pm

GO-Tech (Ann Arbor, MI) December Meeting
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday, Dec 8, 2009, 7pm - 10pm

Make:SF at reMake Lounge
San Francisco, CA
Tuesday, Dec 8, 2009, 6:30pm +

Project Lab with Expert Included
Berkeley, CA
Tuesday, Dec 8, 2009, 3pm - 6pm

Drop-in Arduino and Electronics classes
Berkeley, CA
Tuesday, Dec 8, 2009, 7pm - 9pm

Sound Experiments and Experimental Sound @Bug Labs
New York, NY
Wednesday, Dec 9, 2009, 5:45pm - 7:30pm

Start planning for:

RjDj: New software release party!
New York, NY
Friday, Dec 11, 2009, 7pm - 10pm

Introduction to the AVR Micro Controller @Hive 76
Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, Dec 12, 2009, 5pm - 8pm

Bicycle Frame Welding - Beginning TIG @Willoughby and Baltic
Somerville, MA
Saturday, Dec 12 and Sunday, Dec 13, 2009, 10am - 4pm

Arduino 102: Sensors and Relays @NYC Resistor
Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, Dec 13, 2009, 1pm - 4pm

Introduction to Electronics Workshop @Metrix Create:Space
Seattle, WA
Sunday, Dec 13, 2009, 2pm - 4:30pm

Crystal Radio Building Workshop @Bug Labs
New York, NY
Wednesday, Dec 16, 2009, 5:45pm - 7:30pm

ITP Winter Show
New York, NY
Sunday, Dec 20, 2009, 2pm - 6pm and Monday, Dec 21, 2009, 5pm - 9pm

Classroom Arduino for Teachers @Willoughby and Baltic
Somerville, MA
Monday, Dec 28 - Wednesday, Dec 30, 2009, 10am - 4pm