Pumping Station: One

Click Link for an updated map: Network Map Link

When you connect to the network at Pumping Station: One by plugging in or via wireless, you are joining a very special network.

We’re one of the first networks to join with Agora Link.  Agora is the North American arm of a global Research network that is linking hackerspaces’ internal networks together into one awesome collaborative mesh.   We’re tied in with the ChaosVPN in Germany, and as of this past weekend we have 50 registered end points.  If interested, you can read more here:

• Agora Link Homepage
• ChaosVPN Wiki
• Periodically updated network map

What’s the payoff?  First up is a plan to host an international CTF competition using hackerspaces and other labs as the meeting points for teams. So look for more details on that in the near future.

More developments on this will be popping up throughout the next year.

This was co-posted from Matt’s “Openfly” blog post at NYC Resistor

Twitter: @agoralink

It’s that time again…the Unusual Musical Instrument Jam is this Friday, May 14, at 7pm, at Pumping Station: One.

Come to the space with all of your loud things. We’d love to see your circuit bent toys, electronic contraptions, loud computer programs, microcontroller gadgets, MIDI controllers, absolutely anything–whether it was intended to make noises or not. If you’d like to be a little offbeat and bring your “usual” musical instruments, those are welcome, too.

It’s free and open to members and nonmembers alike, so bring your friends. See you there this Friday night!

(Picture licensed Creative Commons BY-NC-SA, by MrAtrocity on Flickr.)

Photo by greenchartreuse on Flickr

Fire starters are an easy and convenient way to get a fire going without messing with loose newsprint or dry tinder only for it to go out when somebody breathes on it.  There as many recipes out there for these things as there are BBQ sauces. This one is my tried and true favorite of many.

Ingredients:

• Paper-based egg cartons (the classic kind, no plastic)
• Old candles (can be found for next to nothing at thrift stores)
• Sawdust (for flavor)

Instructions:

Melt the candles down in a pot/pan that you never want to cook in again.  This can be very dangerous so do use some common sense.  While the candles are melting, cut the bottom of your egg cartons out removing the lid and the flap on the opposite edge that holds the lid closed.

Once the wax has melted entirely so there are no solids left CAREFULLY pour them into your egg carton trays.  If you have a funnel, this would be a lot safer. (safety = 1 / fun)  While the wax is still in liquid form, sprinkle a generous amount of sawdust over the tops of each and let them dry all the way until they are room temperature again.

After they are all dry cut each individual pod (12 per carton) out with the peaks of the carton split equally.  This will make for an easy wick come lighting time.

Thats it!

Now you’re ready to start your charcoal grill, backyard foundry, etc. with minimal set up time and the best part is it can cost you nothing!  As with any open flame, it’s a good idea to have a fire extinguisher around too.

Here is the what I spent my weekend doing:

Friday: cut my new window blinds to size using the PS:One bandsaw

Saturday: filled, sanded, painted my window frames, hung the new blinds

Sunday: finished everything I didn’t complete on Saturday, and I made three batches of jam: I made orange marmalade, lemon-ginger marmalade, and apple-lemon jam.

Leave your weekend projects in the comments!

On May 5th, At 7pm

Pumping Station: One will be hosting Mitch Altman, the inventor of the TV B Gone and Brain Machine, and many others,  will be leading an electronics workshop on May 5th  that will teach complete beginners in less than 3 hours how to assemble, solder, and complete a TV B Gone.

After the class we may find the nearest electronics retailer and do a demonstration.

The cost of the class covers materials:

This includes one kit per participant

Members: 30$

Non-Members/Starving Hackers: 35$

Kits Available:

TV-B-Gone

Trippy RGB

Mignonette

Brain Machine

Plus many others, including a few of the Jimmie P. Rodgers line of kits.

Here’s the TV B Gone in action:

Confessions: The Meanest Thing Gizmodo Did at CES

Dr. Michael Sternberg of Argonne National Laboratory and the Carbon Super Computer will be presenting the talk:

Everything You Wanted To Know About Super Computers But Didn’t know Who to Ask.

If you’ve ever wondered what makes some computer so super, or just wanted to know how to start building your own, this would be the talk to attend, and bring questions. Why should I go with a AMD chipset or not? What’s a beowulf cluster? Why might I want to go with PlayStation 3′s. Plus much much more.

This talk is open to the public, seating is limited so show up early. This presentation will start right after the weekly meeting and is tentatively scheduled start at 8:30pm this Tuesday.