Holiday for Squares.mov

Come See Me at Maker Faire - May 13, 2010

I'll be at Maker Faire next weekend teaching you how to make a rotational casting machine. Come see me!!!!

Messing With Banksy - May 5, 2010

So, as pretty much everyone in the universe knows by now, Banksy dropped some graffiti bombs in SF a couple of weeks ago. Woo hoo! Here's what I thought of them.

Pink Floyd Nintendo - April 1, 2010

Genius!

DIY SF - March 24, 2010

As a big fan of DIY projects, I really admire a local hands on shop that offers people a range of classes to teach people how to do stuff. It’s called Workshop SF, and will show you how to do anything from making Feather headpieces and headbands to Screenprinting to Glass jar terrariums. It's really nice that you don't have to rely on expensive colleges to reengage your creative side.

From what I understand it was partially founded (if not completely founded) by Kelly Malone, of Indie Mart fame.

I’d like to take a class there soon, perhaps Sewing 101.

I'm a MAKER - March 16, 2010

I got accepted to be a Maker at San Francisco’s Maker Faire, which takes place May 22^nd and 23^rd!!!

I’m extremely excited, because it’s basically the equivalent of a science fair for adults, so I get to act out all my geekiness with other geeks in one place. Granted, some of those geeks might be using flame throwers and tesla coils, I’ll be almost as cool.

I’ll be teaching people how to construct and use a rotational casting machine. This machine is very useful, as it allows people to cast hollow objects – which means you can make more things with less material. Also, they are light weight and hollow, so you can turn them into lights and other cool stuff.

I created an Instructable for how to make one almost two years ago, and I received an enormous amount of emails about it, so not I’m taking it up a notch and doing real-time demonstrations. I’m thinking about making hollow chocolate things…maybe unicorns, we’ll see!

So, come see me at the Maker Faire!!!

The Masked Rider - March 10, 2010

A good friend of mine, Ken, is getting ready to do a big bicycle race from San Francisco to Los Angeles (545 miles in 7 days) – to help raise money to stamp out AIDS.

Ken is apart of a bigger team who have united under the name Red Pencils, which also happens to be a group of people that all work in advertising. Because of their profession, the website they built to help raise money for this ride is pretty amazing. In their words, “We ride for all those we’ve lost, and all who will be lost before a cure is found. “

They outline why they are racing, who the riders are, and even reveal a character known as the Masked Rider. I think they did a fantastic job of making their cause engaging and entertaining. Consequently, I’m now donating .10 to every mile that they complete during their training for the race. I hope they make me a poor man ;)

Soul Mate on Roulette - March 9, 2010

Need I say more?

Secret SF Garden in the Making - February 22, 2010

Hayes Valley Farm is an urban farming project based in San Francisco, which is situated on a former freeway entrance. The property has been neglected for years, and it is highly encouraging that the city is willing to allow this organization to temporarily convert the space into something that will help unify neighbors and improve the space.

Their goal is to create a place where people come regularly to meet and connect with each other, and encourage the connection and understanding of the vital life systems that support human kind.

They will be holding a series of workshops and activities that will help truly bring this farm to life. So, in case you were ever curious about how to mulch properly or create your own greenhouse, Hayes Valley Farm is there to help guide you.

I’m very interested to see how this develops, and what sort of impact it has on the local neighborhood, especially since it has a much more visible presence than the Fort Mason Community Garden, another SF based agriculture project.

Mission Street Foods - February 9, 2010

I recently had the opportunity to dine at Mission Street Foods, which is a temporary restaurant in the Mission District that sets up shop inside a hole in the wall Chinese restaurant. MSF is only open two days a week, and as you can imagine it's a long wait to get some tasty grub. They feature guest chefs from around the world, making every night very different. It's been going on for a couple of years now, and is now raising funds to secure their own location. The cool part about MSF is that they donate all their proceeds to charity. If you're interested in donating money to their cause, click here.

Here's a documentary that covers founder, Andy Myint, and his reason for building this non-profit.

Mission Gourmet from The Quotidian on Vimeo.

Political Boundary Maps Too Dull? - February 8, 2010

If political boundary maps feel a bit monotonous, try WorldMapper on for size. It looks at how the size of countries would shift (proportionally of course, and based on the amount of land on earth to date) according to a specific condition. For example, you can look at anything from how land size would shift according to Peptic Ulcer related deaths, type of transport, amount of emigrants, etc.

Highly recommended, and very insightful.

Socially Awkward - February 4, 2010

Real world experiences are starting to become a thing of the past as the digital age continually encompasses us in its dark shadow. Catching up with an old friend over coffee has been replaced with a quick five minute conversation over gchat or Facebook. The value of sharing a story in person, is losing its worth almost as quickly as the American dollar.

Fortunately, a few people have managed to take the "always on" mentality and flush it down the web 2.0 toilet. While I still prefer to maintain a fun, stalker-esque awareness of my friends and their whereabouts, others have chosen to scale back and focus on the relationships that matter. Enter the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine.

Here's its self-description:

"This machine lets you delete all your energy sucking social-networking profiles, kill your fake virtual friends, and completely do away with your Web2.0 alterego. The machine is just a metaphor for the website which moddr_ is hosting; the belly of the beast where the web2.0 suicide scripts are maintained. Our service currently runs with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and LinkedIn! Commit NOW!"

I love the concept, but I'm not ready to sever my digital connection. As long as I remember that there is no substitute for the real deal, I'm certain I'll never have to commit web 2.0 suicide. How about you?