Posts Tagged ‘3d printing’

nerd nite 19: masheeeens

Masheeeens, more commonly called ‘machines’, are widely used these days, in everything from this to, well, that.

Our three speakers will amaze and enthrall on subjects related to these remarkable man-made objects, on Monday November 18th, at the Hotel Bristol, 6pm*.

As always, nerd nite is a FREE event (with 2 for 1 meal specials, hooray!), so bring yourself, your loved ones and your nemeses.

See you there!

Note: speakers are not necessarily listed in order of appearance.

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As always, we want to hear from you if you would like to speak, hear a talk on a specific subject, or volunteer someone to speak.

* Speakers start at 6:30pm, but beware trying to find a table/seating if you cut it too fine!

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Click to enlarge to full, printable size (for your office, school etc

Click to enlarge to full, printable size (for your office, school etc

Sticky Buds And Bootsectors
Adam ‘metlstorm’ Boileau 

Just over 25 years ago, the most successful DOS era-virus started its rampage around the world’s IBM PC XTs via 5.25″ floppy disks. Stoned, the classic boot-sector infector virus, went global; shipping from the factory on Seagate hard disks as late as 2007, but from humble beginnings – right here on the corner of Cuba and Manners. This is the story of Stoned; perhaps Wellington’s most successful tech startup.

Bio: Adam ‘metlstorm’ Boileau is a security consultant with Insomnia Security, organiser of Kiwicon, and news pundit on award-winning podcast Risky.biz. In his spare time he owns and operates a unix beard.

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3d printing a 3d printer
Tim Rastall

3D Printing: You can print Guns (only a darwin award candidate would use). You can Print busts of Master Yoda. What the hell else is it good for? Well, it’s pretty good if you like designing and building 3d printers.

Tim Rastall is a Wellington based project manager, parent and tinkerer, he’s also got a bit of 3d printer obsession….. OK a lot of a 3d printer obsession. A year an a half ago, for reasons that are now quite vague, Tim embarked on a project to build a 3d printer. 6 months later he had one. Sadly it wasn’t quite as awesome as he expected, so he started making some upgrades. A Year later, he’s still making changes to this ever evolving device that prints it’s own upgrades. What’s more, along the way, Tim learned enough to start designing a new printer, using the original to produce parts for it’s successor.

Tim is going to bring one of his current printer projects in for a show and tell, and will talk about the thriving international community of makers contributing to the rapid evolution of open source 3d printing technology and provide some idle speculation on what the likely developments in the field will be over the next few years.

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The Art of Looping
Jacob Lister

Since the age of recorded music began there’s been the possibility of the loop – taking a slice of recorded sound and playing it back in repetition alongside and in time with the current performance. Loops can be built up layer upon layer to create a thick chorus of sound, from either a single instrument, or one person playing multiple different instruments.

The first modern loopers as we know them started appearing in the 1960s and 70s; magnetic tape recorders were modified to place record and playback heads a distance apart, with recording tape then literally ‘looped’ around reels. Nowadays the job is done with electronics, in stomp-box effects sitting at a musician’s feet, or with software running on laptop computers.

Jacob has been looping for years, and while not writing software for a livelihood, hacks away at his own software-based looper which runs on the linux operating system, and strums, picks, thrashes and shreds away on his various guitars. For nerd nite, he’ll explain and demonstrate the basics of looping in its various forms.

nerdnite 6: of taste, speech, sight and touch

UPDATE: VIDEOS AVAILABLE HERE http://vimeo.com/channels/224745, prezis from the talks are available here.

Hellz yeah! We have another nerdnite, coming straight to your geeky, geeky brains, on July 18th at Bar Bodega. From 6pm. And it’s gonna be _great_. A veritable feast for the senses.

Seriously – check out the lineup, and then ask yourself: why the hell would I _not_ be at this nerdnite?

So, and in an order that’s likely to be this one, but might change, let us present our speakers and their subjects:

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Alchemy In Your Glass
Allyn York (@allyn)

In its various forms beer has been with us for thousands of years. And for most sectors of most societies over that time it has been extremely popular.
A brief look at the history of beer, how it’s made, an overview of various styles, and specifically what’s in your glass right now… assuming that you’re partaking in this divine beverage.

Allyn York starting drinking beer when he was 6 and started brewing a couple of decades later. Allyn, and his partner in zymurgy, Chris Mills took the overall silver medal, and best in class (NZ pale ale) in the 2008 NZ homebrew championships.

 

Weep quietly and twitch
David Tossman (@obel)

Weep quietly and twitch will explore cryptic crosswords from both the solver’s and the setter’s point of view, showing how they not only test, but also amuse, entertain and stimulate the brain. And yes, geeks, although pen and paper or even, if you must, pencil and paper, are good, you can tackle them via mobile apps.

David Tossman is best known for his prodigious somnolence but is also widely reviled (think needles and wax effigies) for his work composing cryptic crosswords for the New Zealand Listener.

 

Film Editing: Another Version Of The Truth
Nick Swinglehurst (@nickscale)

Ever since we started recording people on film, another bunch of people have wanted to change that recording, to reframe and reinterpret its indelible truth into something that better serves the purpose of the filmmaker.

This process is film editing. Usually it’s a force for good – making complex arguments accessible, making protracted events succinct, or simply for making a dull story more compelling.

But the reversioning of the truth which is so intrinsic to editing, can be deceptive in the wrong hands. It started as a tool for propaganda and continues to manipulate audiences today.

In this talk, I will demonstrate and explain some common tricks of the editing room – and make examples of some of their most nefarious abusers…

 

3d printing, rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing: your own little factory
Patrick Herd (@patrickherd)

The ability for invidividuals to conduct their own 3d printing and rapid prototyping is relatively new – up until now, stunning material and infrastructure costs have prevented it. Now, however, things are changing, and Patrick will take us through what can be done, how, and why it’s considered to be some of the best fun one can have with one’s clothes on.

Patrick has worked with artists, engineers and computer scientists on projects that examine bleeding edge technologies ability to articulate contemporary ideas. He is particularly interested in eclectic mashups of technologies, ie what happens if you put this with this and that. Technologies that go bang and those that can activate interventionist situations. Other projects include music videos and feature film effects work.

Suggested prior reading:
www.makerbot.com
www.ultimaker.com
www.reprap.org
www.thingiverse.com

NOTE: Patrick will be bringing a 3d printer along for y’all to see running and get up close and personal with.

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A reminder. Nerdnite’s a free event, where we encourage conversation, the bringing along of people you know, and the serious drinking of beer (or other such liquids).

We hope to see you there đŸ™‚

 

FB event page here