Makers

James Alguire writes "Anyone who's tinkered with LEGOs, Lincoln Logs, or an Erector Set knows the thrill of turning ideas into something tangible. Even if all you've ever done is assemble IKEA furniture, you've felt the satisfaction of turning a collection of parts into a functional object with your own two hands. Makers: All Kinds of People Making Amazing Things In Garages, Basements, and Backyards by Bob Parks, and published by O'Reilly, celebrates the basic human desire to create, to nail together two things that have never been nailed together before and see what it does. While I have worked in construction, built computers from scratch and done my share of soldering, I still felt a sense of wonder after reading about the 76 projects outlined in this book." Read the rest of James's review. Makers: All Kinds of People Making Amazing Things In Their Backyard, Basement or Garage author Bob Parks pages 184 publisher O'Reilly rating 8/10 reviewer James Alguire ISBN 0-596-10188-0 summary

Makers profiles 91 people from around the planet, from high school students to dedicated scientists who have cobbled together a remarkable array of home built devices. Some are answers specific needs, like Zach Radding's automated parts dispenser powered by a personal computer; or to further scientific discovery, like Dan Bowen and Mike Coffey's low cost high-altitude weather balloon and tracking package. Some, like Bathsheba Grossman's sculptures, printed from digital CAD files to metal, and Owen White's computer controlled laser cutter, bridge art and science. Others, including Tom Chudleigh's spherical wooden treehouses, or Matty Sallin's alarm clock, that wakes the sleeper by cooking bacon, merely fulfill some puckish desire. All the projects reveal the ingenuity, skill, foolishness, risk and passion humans are capable of in pursuit of their dreams.

Each profile identifies the "Maker", their profession, geographic location, the cost of the project being profiled, the amount of time the project took to complete and a web site where more information about the project can be found, followed by a description of the project, the process of creation, the technology used, the reasons for doing it, including pithy comments from the makers themselves. Bob Parks' writing is fresh and crisp and each vignette provides insight into how to think a little sideways about technology.

The concept for Makers grew out of the success of O'reilly's quarterly do-it-yourself (DIY) magazine, Make: Technology on Your Time. The publication provides recipes for modding, tweaking or reworking personal technology, and profiles of DIY people and their clever contraptions.

The book provides an interesting mix of cool gadgets to consider; from Douglas Repetto's motorized table that emulates the movements of a baby horse, and Kelly Dobson's voice activated blenders, that respond to their own language, to several "don't try this at home" devices like Richard Flanagan's jet engine powered go-kart (up to 60 miles per hour), Matthew Stiger's washtub Tesla coil (it shoots 7-foot sparks), or Richard Hull's homemade nuclear fusor (that's right your neighbor could be experimenting with nuclear fusion in his garage). I was surprised by the number of projects that were constructed from recycled components, many scrounged from devices on hand, purchased cheaply on eBay, or dug out of dumpsters.

Two of my favorites from the book are a machine that solves Rubik's Cubes (in about 10-minutes) built entirely from LEGOs by J.P. Brown, and probably the most poignant profile in the book, Sathya Jeganathan, a physician in India, improvised baby warmers, built using standard light bulbs for about $100 replacing expensive modern warmers costing $4000 that are difficult to maintain. Using the improvised warmers has cut infant mortality in Sathya's hospital by 50%.

Makers: All Kinds of People Making Amazing Things In Garages, Basements, and Backyards is a compact hardcover book that would be at home on any geek's coffee table. The profiles are brief but thought provoking, and the whole effect provides a new view into the serious and whimsical aspects of technology. After reading this book you will definitely look at old appliances and electronics with a different eye. Personally, I would like to have seen more step-by-step photos for many of the projects, but the included images and diagrams are high quality and give you a good impression of the gadgets. I also had problems with the text in the maker summaries, at the top of each profile. It was printed in a smaller typeface than may be comfortable for some and the light blue ink was difficult to read in some lighting situations. One of the best features is the URL listed in each profile where the reader can get even more information about the projects. If you like to tinker with technology then definitely check this book out. and if you can't get enough go to the Make Magazine's online site for even more do-it-yourself techno-hacking.

You can purchase Makers: All Kinds of People Making Amazing Things In Their Backyard, Basement or Garage from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

Comments

No mention?

[drewzhrodague]

No mention of teledildonics, hombuilt jet engines, or hombrewing, but still looks neat nonetheless.

Re:No mention?

[TheRealMindChild]

teledildonics

... the study of using communications devices to masterbate?

Re:No mention?

[slizz]

teledildonics

Re:No mention?

[Anonymous Coward]

Brings new meaning to the word phone sex, now doesnt it?

Re:No mention?

[Anonymous Coward]

Teledildonics- I know this is offtopic, but in all my years of reading slashdot, that is teh first post that made me laugh out loud. Someone who sits outside my office door just asked if I am okay. Teledildonics. What a great word.

Re:No mention?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. Your point?

Re:No mention?

[Anonymous Coward]

...Or new meaning to "Reach out and touch someone"...

Re:No mention?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think wikipedia has one of the largest sex sections I've seen. Now what does that say about the online community.

Re:No mention?

[AXNJAXN]

No mention of Shai-halud?

Re:No mention?

[Oldsmobile]

What do you mean? Are you implying, that people online would somehow be interested in sexually implicit material?

I say: DOWN WITH YOUR CRAZY IDEAS!

As we all know, the internet community is closely affiliated with the Catholic Church and it's uwavering fight against all kinds of perversion (including pedofilia, which no member of this church would ever engage in, ever).

Re:No mention?

[tylernt]

Indeed. Dune was the first thing I thought of when I read the headline too.

For the record

[nocomment]

I get no satisfaction out of building that shitty IKEA furniture. 5 hours to of tinkering to get destroyed the first time you move...stupid desk.

Re:For the record

[RedNovember]

Well, that's why we build stuff. Hopefully the more experience you get, the better it gets. Plus you can't duplicate the feeling that *you* made whatever you happen to be using at the moment.

Re:For the record

[Dachannien]

Those Swedes really know how to put in almost everything you need.

- Philip J. Fry

Re:For the record

[melonman]

Probably a bad plan if you move every other week. But buying a new Ikea desk every 5 to 10 years is probably cheaper than buying a solid oak one every 30 years. Makes moving easier too.

Re: For the record

[it0]

That is a feature ;)

Re:For the record

[drinkypoo]

No help on the moving front, but if you buy a solid oak desk, you can resurface it instead of replacing it, because it is still intact. When the desktop starts to get thin, you just drop another layer of oak on top and refinish it. None of this is very difficult to do well (mostly you need clamps, and a router is nice but not required) and it's a lot cheaper than constantly buying that ikea bullshit.

Re:For the record

[bleckywelcky]

And if you do any serious amount of work on your desk, lots of IKEA stuff feels like a wobbly piece of shit. Nothing is worse than trying to scribble aggresively when you get a really good idea, and having the table wobble all over the place. I say, if you can't jump up and down on the desk without it wobbling ... then it's not worth my time. I've got a thick pine desk (much cheaper than oak), and it's quite stable. And the legs can detach from the desk surface so it's easy to move, even by myself.

Re:For the record

[geekoid]

exactly why I have a 1960's metal desk at home.
It is rock solid.

I am hoping to get it repainted parakeet yellow, with cherry red handles, and flames on the side.

Re:For the record

[object88]

...shitty IKEA furniture. 5 hours to of tinkering...

It takes you 5 hours to build an IKEA furnature? I could see that if they left parts out of the box, maybe. But 5 hours just to build it? Or are you doing some custom hackjob?

Re:For the record

[drinkypoo]

You can repaint it yourself. Go to the paint store and get some auto paint rattlecans including a clear coat, and some 500 and 1000 grit sandpaper. Wet-sand every surface to be painted with 500 and then 1000. You don't need to take all the paint off, just kill all the finish. Then spray it with the paint. Lacquer is easiest, acrylic will probably last longer. Try to get 50% overlap and put it on thin enough to do several coats, 10-15 minutes apart. Remove the handles and paint them separately. The flames are harder but you can mask them off, then you spray right on the edge of the flame to get the fade effect. Getting it painted at an auto shop would cost you a hojillion dollars.

Re:For the record

[geekoid]

But the oak will look nicer, and if it is of decent quality, can be handed down from generation to generation.

Re:For the record

[SB5]

No help on the moving front, but if you buy a solid oak desk, you can resurface it instead of replacing it, because it is still intact. When the desktop starts to get thin, you just drop another layer of oak on top and refinish it. None of this is very difficult to do well (mostly you need clamps, and a router is nice but not required) and it's a lot cheaper than constantly buying that ikea bullshit.

Will a wireless router running Linux work?

Re:For the record

[geekoid]

I don't do one thing: Paint.

I'll fix pipes, rewire, poor concreate, build shelves, whatever. I do not paint.

I tried for a long time to paint well, but somethinf elludes me. It is always uneven, streaks or is thin. Somehow most of this only shows up when it dries.
I have even painted under the guidence of people who are good at it. Aftrwords they look at the wall scratch their heads, and then repaint it.

"...hojillion dollars"
Are you saying that I just need to get a ho for the guy at the paint shop? cause When I am ready(many project at my house) Im going to barter. Maybe I can do some computer work, or set up a network. I've done it before. 30 minutes of computer work landed me 10 8'x1'x1/2" pieces of poplar once.
I know ir was a good deal, because with both considered each other a sucker!

Re:For the record

[heinousjay]

Not everyone can withstand the pressure of following clear directions with pictures.

Re:For the record

[drinkypoo]

Actually, you might be able to throw a paint guy fifty bucks or something, if you can find someone who works for a shop where they don't mind if they do side work. You should do all the prep, which is what painters hate and what they will definitely charge you for. Mask off anything that needs masking with the green 3M masking tape (easiest to remove later, and still removable after a week or two unlike the beige shit) and so on. Buy the paint and clearcoat; you'll need one or two quarts of each for coverage. If you want longetivity, it's probably a good idea to buy a 2K epoxy sealer to go under the paint.

Re: For the record

[TadZimas]

No, it's just the Ikea ARM (Analog Rights Management). It prevents the user from ilicitly tranfering the product from one system to another. It helps prevent piracy... somehow...

Re:For the record

[imthesponge]

Especially when the parts don't quite fit together.

Re:For the record

[brontus3927]

I've built some bigger (non-IKEA, granted) DIY furniture kits, like a wardrobe and an entertainment center, and they both well over 10 manhours to complete. The simple fact of the matter is that the large stuff needs space to work on easily, and the stuff usually gets put places where there isn't a lot of room.

Re:For the record

[AuMatar]

Do you really care about the second part? I know I don't want any of my parent's furniture- waaay different tastes. Anything that lasts for more than a decade is overkill. Who knows what your life will be like in 10 years (wife, kids, bigger house, smaller house), why buy for decades when its not necessary and more expensive?

Re:For the record

[nocomment]

Not usually, but that desk.....grrrrr

Re:For the record

[RonMcMahon]

Ikea - Sweedish for particle board

Re:For the record

[DarkVader]

Wow. I don't own any furniture that's newer than 10 years old, most of it is 50 years or older.

I've got the bed my grandmother was born in, and I'm told it was old then (no, I don't have the mattress). I've got my father's cabinet stereo from the '50s, the speakers work well as my center channel. I've got a corner cabinet my grandfather built. I've got a few older pieces that I've bought. And it all fits in perfectly in my 1920 Victorian-style house.

If a piece of furniture isn't going to last a hundred years, I'm not interested. And if it's already lasted that long, there's a much better chance I'll like it.

That being said, the '50s Steelcase desks are classics. I wouldn't hesitate to put one in my computer room if I needed another desk, but I think I'd keep it the classic gray.

Re:For the record

[dulridge]

Depends...

Here you could buy several new desks for the price of the oak to resurface.

Not to mention my total ineptitude with wood - if you can't use an angle grinder on it I don't want to know.

Well you can do that to wood, but remember to shut all windows and doors first. It is also a good idea to cut wood with an angle grinder outside.

How do I know this?

Re:For the record

[m-wielgo]

hahaha, the only good thing Ikea is good for is for college students who don't need the furniture afterwords. The only thing I really do like is the Jerker desk, nice and roomy... but I have no idea how long it'll last. It's sturdy though at least

Re:For the record

[ibbey]

Porter Cable's wireless router would work great, but to the best of my knowledge, it doesn't run Linux.

Re:For the record

[conureman]

I have a steel desk for building computers on. It's wired to earth for esd protection. still grey too.

Re:For the record

[mildgift]

I was a lousy painter too, but learned the trick: paint thin layers and build up, and make each layer's strokes perpendicular. For a regular wall, two coats should do it. Also, don't paint "up and down"; paint Xs and Ws with a roller. The randomness hides imperfections. When you use a brush, remember that you're just loading it up with paint, and trying to flow the paint onto the surface. Don't try to spread it around a lot or try to pull the brush forever. Think of the brush as a spoon for paint, not as a butter knife.

The other thing I learned about walls is to spend a lot of time going over the surface, removing bits of tape, pulling staples, filling in holes, caulking caps, and sanding down old blobs of paint. Getting the surface "perfect" before painting will make the wall look better. All you're doing is reducing the "noise" or "information" you can see on the wall... the paint goes on and evens out colors.

At some level, it's all about patience.

Re:For the record

[mildgift]

It's not really more expensive to get good furniture, if you have the money on hand. Something that costs $1,500 and lasts 100 years or more is better than something that costs $300 and won't last more than 10, and cannot really be repaired. If you have to sell it, the depreciation on the expensive item isn't so bad -- you lose a lot up front, but, at some point, the price hits bottom, and then rises. The depreciation on 5 year old particle board is basically the total value of the item. I fixed up a messed up 50+ year old desk with some danish oil finish and sandpaper. It looks pretty good, and feels solid. This desk was a cheapie back in the day, and nothing special, but it'll go another 50 years or more. The only reason to get cheap furniture is a lack of money. If you don't have the $$$, there's not much you can do about that.

Re:For the record

[Tobias42]

If you consider the opportunity costs for the expensive desk, buying Ikea desks is much cheaper.

Re:For the record

[AuMatar]

Except for a few things you're missing

1)I won't live for 100 years. I'll get far less use out of it. Likely 50. I don't really care if it gets more use after that or not.
2)Opportunity costs. I could spend the 1200 on other things now. Or invest it. The doubling time if you get 10% is 7 years. Do the math, and you see that by not buying the $1500 now, you can buy the $300 now AND the $1500 in 10 years. Or buy another $300 and save even more. If the $300 is really even junked by then- sofas and chairs junk fast, desks don't really.
3)I'm cheap. I wouldn't even go for the $300 desk- I'd find the $50 factory second. I still have 3 end tables and a cofee table of those seconds that have lasted half a decade, not bad for $50.

Re:For the record

[mildgift]

If you're going to count opportunity costs, then you should also factor in transaction overhead (shopping, selecting, and shipping) and the cost to construct the object. I'll grant that some people like to shop and build Ikea furniture, so there's some subjectivity involved -- but, I'm not one of those people.

Come on...

[RedNovember]

If you're going to do a book review, at least title it as such!
aka: "Book Review: Makers"

Those of us who use RSS would like to know.

Re:Come on...

[Ninjy]

Seconded. I saw "Makers" show up and wondered 'what the hell is that supposed to be', only to be followed by a book review I really don't care about. Please prepend with Book Review next time, eds. Cheers.

Re:Come on...

[metlin]

Muad'dib! It's a huge Maker! :O

Re:Come on...

[TCM]

Why should the category be duplicated in the title? I sounds like either you or Slashdot need to fix something RSS-related so that the category gets prefixed to the title. On the front page it looks OK via HTML.

Re:Come on...

[m50d]

That's never the way it's been. Game reviews are the same - just the name as the title. It was pretty obviously not a news story.

Re:Come on...

[Anonymous Coward]

hear hear! I saw "Makers" at the top of my RSS and thought my proxy server failed *again*

Re:Come on...

[geekoid]

it is in the category. How many time do you needed said? Seriously, this is your failing.

Re:Come on...

[Pneuma ROCKS]

True

Re:Come on...

[Ztream]

Bless the maker and his water.
Bless the coming and the going of him.
May his passage cleanse the world.
May he keep the world for his people.

Re:Come on...

[Armadni General]

In the RSS feed, all you get for the subject (or title) is "Makers." The link to the story is not http://books.slashdot..../ but instead, http://rss.slashdot.../

So, no. It's not our failing.

Re:Come on...

[Ninjy]

Maybe, but it's unfortunate that the category is in no way visible from Google Home, which is what I tend to use. The link sends me to http://rss.slashdot.org/Slashdot/slashdot?m=2776, so I can't look at the link either. Rather than tossing blames, adding the Book Review part would have prevented this issue altogether.

I wonder if...

[JPamplin]

I wonder if you have to assemble the pages into an entire book before you read it. ;-)

Re:I wonder if...

[Alex P Keaton in da]

Like a coffee table book about coffee tables, that actually is a coffee table?

Make your own blast furnace

[NutMan]

Here is a site with many books that tell you how make all kinds of fun gadgets.

Oblig quote

[joincamp]

"Interesting! Where you going with this IKEA boy?"

Re:Make your own blast furnace, huh?

[RedNovember]

I'd like to see how that one turns out.

Next on Slashdot: Make your own nuclear reactor!

I like working with Power Tools...

[IAAP]

and tools: period. You know what's funny, if you're smart and like working with your hands the careers that pop up on the SIGI (sp?)an other career programs are: Surgeon, Dentist, and something else that I can't remember.

I have a VET who says that surgeons love to work with their hands, that's why their hobbies include woodworking. Which now makes sense. Here in Atlanta, in one of the most upscale neighborhoods, is a shop that sells - you guessed it - woodworking tools and machines.

How this applies: building stuff doesn't necessarily mean that your kid is going to be laying pipe for a living. (Considering the off-shoring issues, that may not be a bad career - just wait, there'll be a renaissance in the trades for a career) but it may lead him to develop his motor skills to become a surgeon, vet, etc....

Accurate Spellign is purly by accident.

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[ottothecow]

just wait, there'll be a renaissance in the trades for a career

Many plumbers and electricians already make damn good money with nothing more than an apprenticeship/trad school. They are in heavy demand in many areas in part due to suburban sprawl (new buildings) and in part do to modernization of homes people buy in preexisting areas. Sure their job is regarded as low-class but they are in demand and payed well for it. I knew a plumber who has a Poli-Sci major from an excellent university but he decided to become a plumber since the Poli-Sci degree certainly wasnt bringing in six figures. These jobs area also fairly secure from being outsourced as they require physical presense and licensing/local knowledge.

Now if only the same were true of auto-techs who are in many ways very similar to mechanics and plumbers but get payed a pittance.

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[wattersa]

> How this applies: building stuff doesn't necessarily mean that your kid is going to be laying pipe for a living.

He should be so lucky! But this is slashdot, and future porn stars don't really hang out here :)

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[IAAP]

These jobs area also fairly secure from being outsourced as they require physical presense and licensing/local knowledge.

I see many Mexicans doing that kind of work. I don't know if they're licensed or not, but they are taking many of the jobs. Maybe, you have to be an American (US) citizen to get a license. Anyway, it sure beats having an MBA! Yeah, I have one. Documented proof of my stupiditiy!

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[superpulpsicle]

Plumbers are really no different than your hi-tech consultants who travel and show up on customer sites for some sort of repair and billable hours.

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[geekoid]

"Anyway, it sure beats having an MBA! Yeah, I have one. Documented proof of my stupiditiy!"

as if your post wasn't enough proof!

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[IAAP]

See parent

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[Anonymous Coward]

But this is slashdot, and future porn stars don't really hang out here :)

no, but plenty of w*nkers do.

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[rebelcool]

except plumbers actually do things, often reliably for years with little afterthought - like make water come out of your faucets, working drains etc...

most consultants dont manage that trick.

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[Dun Malg]

I knew a plumber who has a Poli-Sci major from an excellent university but he decided to become a plumber since the Poli-Sci degree certainly wasnt bringing in six figures. These jobs area also fairly secure from being outsourced as they require physical presense and licensing/local knowledge.

Indeed. I was an intelligence analyst and russian linguist in the Army and have an engineering degree, but currently I'm a self-employed electrician/telecom tech. My former boss, from whom I purchased the business, had a masters degree in chemistry. I can't imagine being a wage slave at this point. A college friend of mine with a mech engr degree works for the Navy. He's stuck overseeing CIWS testing on the USS Eisenhower (aka "Ike-a-traz") for weeks at a time for a measly $60K. I work maybe 30 hours a week and make three times what he does. Abandoning my college education is the smartest thing I've ever done!

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[khallow]

most consultants dont manage that trick.

I imagine part of the problem is that most consultanrs aren't paid to do that. For example, some consultants are effectively hired to create business for themselves (ie, look over your business and get paid to come up with rationalizations on why you need to continue to pay the consultant to assist your clueless employees).

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[khallow]

This is slashdot. It is very difficult to provide too much proof.

Re:I like working with Power Tools...

[ottothecow]

And the electrician/telecom work isnt even that bad and is often interesting to anyone with a degree in something like engineering.

To Glue...

[Tablizer]

celebrates the basic human desire to create, to nail together two things that have never been nailed together before and see what it does.

This comes to mind in a Shatner voice: "To glue.....what.....no man.....has....glued.....before!"

Re:To Glue...

[brontus3927]

shouldn't that be "to boldly glue what no man has glued before" ?

Re:To Glue...

[Tablizer]

He's gettin' old, so he skips adverbs sometimes.

Re:To Glue...

[value_added]

shouldn't that be "to boldly glue what no man has glued before" ?

Must ... resist ... grammar ... !!!

Correctly, it should be to glue boldy what no man has glued before.

Or is splitting an infinitive just splitting hairs?

Re:To Glue...

[timster]

The rule against splitting infinitives was invented out of whole cloth by someone who liked Latin better. There has never legitimately been any such rule in English.

That being said, it is not advisable to pointlessly, carelessly, verbosely, and excessively, causing people to start wondering where the verb is, split an infinitive.

Re:To Glue...

[Tablizer]

Correctly, it should be to glue boldy what no man has glued before.

You mean 250 years into the future, they *still* will say it wrong?

Re:To Glue...

[Anonymous Coward]

or, in a Cpt. Picard voice:

"to BALDLY glue, where no man has ..."

Re:To Glue...

[value_added]

The rule against splitting infinitives was invented out of whole cloth by someone who liked Latin better. There has never legitimately been any such rule in English.

That being said, it is not advisable to ...

Sigh. It was supposed to be a f*ng joke. But since you asked ...

This may be /. where ignorance of both history, tradition, and stuff found imprinted on aging and dusty remnants of dead trees are held in such contempt as to merit mod points or badge of some sort (or, perhaps more appropriately, a T-shirt festooned with the word "evolved"), but your characterisation of "by someone who liked Latin better" betrays a knowledge and understanding the breadth of which would fit into a short Wikipedia article with plenty of room to spare.

In fairness to you, allow me to quote from the same article:

Although most English speakers do use split infinitives, it should be noted that some do not, not because they follow a prescriptivist rule but simply because it is not part of the language as they acquired it as children.

You see, your bite-sized editorialising may have some merit: that those of us who did grow up with prescriptive rules a la Fowler's, and who were force-fed Latin and writings by all those Dead English Guys with weird names that few have even heard of but are prominently cited in the article perhaps do insist on continuing The Tradition, unwittingly or otherwise. More importantly, because it was part of the curriculum since Grade 7 for many of us, we can lay claim to knowing a bit more than is summarised in clicky links intended for mass consumption.

Put another way, our disagreement may simply be generational thing. I'm right and you're perhaps too young and unschooled to know the difference. Be happy with that. Many of those Dead English Guys weren't worth reading.

If that doesn't make you feel better, I'll offer to buy you a T-Shirt. Even one that says "To boldly go ..."

Re:To Glue...

[AlphaJoe]

Actually, I think it is "To boldly glue where no man has glued before..."

Re:To Glue...

[Anonymous Coward]

Now that sounds downright kinky.

Re:To Glue...

[timster]

Here I feel constrained by moderation, which has raised my words up on high as if they had some particular merit. I really only wrote the post for the joke in the last sentence (which was not actually all that funny, and I didn't even get a Funny mod).

In response to your serious objection, though, I think there are two answers here. In a Grade 7 sense, I think we need to teach some brand of strictness and prescriptivism to create passable writers from the massive stock of naturally terrible ones. On the other hand, prescriptivism is at best an incomplete tool for helping us understand the difference between clear and unclear writing.

So it is with Dead English Guys -- there's not so much of a reason why we would study that particular tiny subset of literature, but that doesn't mean it was all a waste. At one time I understand that the English-speaking educated had a kind of cultural unity that could only be realized by having that common background. I fear, though, that the modern world simply makes cultural unity a completely false hope.

Re:To Glue...

[CptNerd]

Don't forget the Carlin Correlary:

"Nail together two things that have never been nailed together before, and some schmuck will buy it."

Words to make money by...

dumpsters, huh...

[RedNovember]

I was surprised by the number of projects that were constructed from recycled components, many scrounged from devices on hand, purchased cheaply on eBay, or dug out of dumpsters.

Any faithful /. reader would know the benefits of dumpster diving...

Whaaa?

[big_groo]

Another Slashvertisement?

While we're at it, let's pimp the website too. http://www.makezine.com/

Re:Whaaa?

[RedNovember]

I see no link between MAKE and this book, besides the similarity of the names. Then again, "make" is a pretty common word. I think you've got your wires crossed on this one.

Re:Whaaa?

[brontus3927]

From TFA: ".The concept for Makers grew out of the success of O'reilly's quarterly do-it-yourself (DIY) magazine, Make: Technology on Your Time."

The book is a spinoff of the magazine published by the same publisher. Of course, when Microsoft sells a book about Windows, that could just be a coincidence too.

Re:Whaaa?

[Anonymous Coward]

from now on Slashvertisement is not to post any articles relating to products, companies that produce products, ideas that may become products or individuals who may conceive of ideas that may become products. which leaves goatse until someone makes a plush toy of that to sell.

Re:Whaaa?

[lordkuri]

top of their page

"James Alguire has a review of our new book Makers on Slashdot"

emphasis mine

you were saying? =)

Usually by now ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone would have posted a 'It is not Legos, it is LEGO, no S' post.

So why hasn't this happened?

Anyway I want to build a small woodworking/carpentry area in my garage sometime. Got to replace those Ikea desks and shit someday...

My favorite maker is Mark Tilden

[Anonymous Coward]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Tilden

Mark used to work at the University of Waterloo before they stupidly managed to lose him. Pathetic. Anyway, Mark used to build his robots entirely out of recycled parts. His work definately inspired my own efforts. For instance, he could re-program the chips in musical greeting cards and use them as processors in his robots. My favorite story has him presenting at a conference. He took one of his little robots, crumpled it up in his hands and put it on an overhead projector. It then unfolded itself and walked away. There aren't a lot of people I'm completely in awe of but he's definitely one.

He was very generous with his time. I wonder how many kids got their start in robotics because of him.

I have only one hand...

[Anonymous Coward]

...you insensitive clod!

So when?

[thaerin]

So when do we get to meet the Maker(s)?

Here is an even better review

[Anonymous Coward]

Google: A Patriot's Letter

recycle my joke

[BushCheney08]

...celebrates the basic human desire to create, to nail together two things that have never been nailed together before...

That's what I tried telling the twins, but would they listen?

Re:recycle my joke

[will_hough]

~ tries to remember to use that line on New Years

Re:recycle my joke

[KFW]

Damn, where are my mod points when I need them. I nearly passed out from laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.
/K

Humanity portrayed positively.

[stimpleton]

If this book is a metaphor for man striding forward, in all his/her creativeness, and glowing potential, then TV reality shows provide the lactic acid and procrastination.

What about bomb?

[IAAP]

How to make a replica of "Fat Man" or "Little Boy".

Hey, I did that!!

[El_Smack]

"the basic human desire to create, to nail together two things that have never been nailed together before and see what it does."

I put together two things that looked like they fit, sometimes refered to as "nailing", to see what would happen. What happened was a third thing running around the house that took up all my spare resources. Totally worth it though, 'cause I've made 2 more things since then.

Re:Hey, I did that!!

[BluBrick]

This is indeed a Red Letter Day (TM). Not only have we discovered one of the few slashdotters who have had sex, we have discovered the one who has had sex more than once.

Bask in your glory, El_Smack, for it is truly short-lived.

Re:Make your own blast furnace, huh?

[CrazedWalrus]

Heh. I see someone else reads Hack-a-Day. :-)

I just got done reading about the Radioactive Boy Scout about 15 minutes ago. Pretty wild. Sometimes I wish I had that kind of ambition.

What about Patents?

[argoff]

After all, the story that we've all been spoon-feed is that "noone has an incentive to invent without patents", and that "all the inventors would be dying and starving in the streets" without them? Hmmmm.

Re:What about Patents?

[NixieBunny]

Good question. I don't believe in them for mom-n-pop inventions. They take too much time, cost too much money, and then you have to go to court, spending way more money, to defend them. What's more, they are vehicles of abuse, as I found out many years ago with the Cadtrak bitmap exclusive-OR patent.

That said, my name is on a couple patents, but others did the filing for me. [Note: I'm profiled in the Makers book.]

Re:What about Patents?

[geekoid]

patents for individules are not that expensive, or time consuming.

While they have been abused, I would hadly call the vehicals of abuse any more that I would call a computer a vehical of abuse.

My grandfather held many patents, and they helped him from time to time.

Patents can hel protect an inventor against corporations.
What needs to happen is end software watents, business model patents, and have a board thar reviews prior art clamis made by the public.

Re:What about Patents?

[Bob_Robertson]

You might find the discussions over on http://www.mises.org/ to be interesting in this regard, since several of the featured writers on that site, including Murray Rothbard and Stephen Kinsella, argue persuasively that IP laws (copywrite, patent) have turned out to be actively destructive to innovation.

One thing to note is that IP laws are relatively recent developments.

musical instruments

[fifedrum]

I made my own drums (rope tension snare drum/bass drum for "Ancient Fife and Drum" and reenacting stuff). I also sew pieces of uniforms, fix the children's torn or damaged clothing and do my own ironing. The best fitting shirt I own, I made myself.

And I don't live in my parent's basement, am married, and get laid on a regular basis.

Had to throw that last part to differentiate me from, ah, nevermind.

Cheaper too.

[Anonymous Coward]

I bought some very expensive solid hardwood furniture. Really heavy since for some reason they used 1/2" paneling instead of the usual 1/4". So way too heavy to move it myself even with help, and I'll have to pay almost as much as I paid for it to have it moved. And it will probably get pretty banged up by the movers since it's not their stuff they're moving. So cheap stuff you can thow out instead of move, or if you do move it don't care if it gets damaged.

Baby Warmer?

[Deanasc]

Mmmmm fresh baby from my Easy Bake Oven. 40 Watts of cake like goodness.

OT: What is the name of the shop?

[johnny cashed]

The wood working shop. I'm only 2 hours from Atlanta. I visit often.

Re:OT: What is the name of the shop?

[IAAP]

I wish I had the money to buy from there.

Re:OT: What is the name of the shop?

[johnny cashed]

As they say, If you have to ask, it costs too much. They probably wouldn't want me to visit anyway. I would just stare and oogle.

My take on Make

[Anonymous Coward]

So far I've received 2 issues and I'm a little disappointed. The first issue was much better but the latest seesm to lack substance. Too much time is spent profiling elite "makers" in their high castles and not on cool crazy projects. I find far more interesting things online than in their magazine. At least it's easier to take a copy of Make into the can with you.

Re:My take on Make

[Anonymous Coward]

For a magazine that publishes quarterly, they could do much better.

Oh joy.

[seanmeister]

If it's anything like the MAKE:Blog, there will be 30 profiles of people who wrapped their iPods in duct tape, another 30 who crocheted little socks for their iPods, another 30 who stuck USB thumbdrives into Altoids cans, and one who actually pulled off a cool hack.

And 40 of these profiles will be duplicated in another book called "Boingers".

Re:Oh joy.

[ptorrone]

i'm always looking to improve the MAKE blog, if you could tell me what type of stories you do like, i'll gladly seek out more of them. you can also send in stories that you'd like to share too.

Re:Oh joy.

[seanmeister]

Well, when I see the tagline "technology on your time", I'm not expecting to see postings about little crocheted socks, regardless of what you stick in them. And $USB_DEVICE in an Altoid can/matchbox car/whatever might be a decent hack the first time, but multiple followup postings hardly qualify, IMO

It's been a while since I looked at Make:blog, mainly because of what I griped about in my OP, but I just scanned the front page, and it appears things have improved. Carry on. :-D

Re:Oh joy.

[ptorrone]

yah, we got a little crafty pre-holiday time, we're back to hacky now :-]

Related Quote

[SoundGuyNoise]

"Nail together two things that haven't been nailed together before, and some schmuck will buy it from you!"
- George Carlin

Computer from scratch...

[Karma Farmer]

While I have worked in construction, built computers from scratch and done my share of soldering,

Making a computer from scratch has always sounded like fun.

I'm assuming there are now inexpensive ways to print a multi-layer circuit board, and people no longer wire-wrap chips to a breadboard. However, I've always wondered about firmware and peripherals and compilers and operating systems and the like -- how long does it take to write the software to even get something that will boot off media?

Re:Computer from scratch...

[ParisTG]

Check out the guy at http://homebrewcpu.com/. He's still working on his, some 5 years and counting :). Serously though, the software side of his project wasn't the most time consuming, it would seem.

Re:Computer from scratch...

[tomjen]

Slashdot ran a story about a guy who did create his computer from scratch - he spend two or three years to make a 3Mhz computer.

As for the OS, i suspect by the time you have made your own computer it will be no problem to write the OS.

Re:Computer from scratch...

[reynhout]

You left out the steps where you:

• refine petroleum to make plastic for IC bodies
• mine metal ores to make IC legs and board traces
• grow SiO2 crystals to etch into IC dies
• etc.

Given that the manufacturing of a pencil is this complicated, the phrase "from scratch" ceases to have much meaning for anything more complex than, say, fruit salad.

(And the Sun, birds, and bees might have a thing or two to say about that...)

Re:Computer from scratch...

[Dun Malg]

As for the OS, i suspect by the time you have made your own computer it will be no problem to write the OS.

From what I've seen (friend built a Z80 based system from scratch 20 years ago) usually by the time they get the hardware working, the most they've managed is a crude command line for loading, saving, and running their hand-hacked code. Real hardware nuts seem to then go on to hack in even more sophisticated hardware, with greater capabilities-- that still only has a crude command line. Hardware guys are funny that way. As my friend said (paraphrasing the old coding saying) "If it was hard to build, it should be hard to use!"

I never got trough philosophy, i got stuck at Zenos paradox

wouldn't that be "stuck halfway through Zeno's paradox?"... Hmmm...that's not quite right either I guess...

To Glue...

[Anonymous Coward]

Given Shatner's propensity to bag alien chicks, I think the original phrasing is more accurate: "To boldly nail what no man has nailed before."

Mark

[Anonymous Coward]

This close to new years eve I thought this was going to be about Makers Mark.

Save THREE bucks!

[Anonymous Coward]

Save yourself about $3 by buying the book here: Makers. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!

STOP CALLING THEM "LEGOS" ALREADY, IT'S "LEGO"

[electrichamster]

And I quote:

"The word LEGO® is a brand name and is very special to all of us in the LEGO Group Companies. We would sincerely like your help in keeping it special. Please always refer to our bricks as 'LEGO Bricks or Toys' and not 'LEGOS.' By doing so, you will be helping to protect and preserve a brand of which we are very proud and that stands for quality the world over. Thank you! Susan Williams, Consumer Services."

</pethate>

Re:STOP CALLING THEM "LEGOS" ALREADY, IT'S "LEGO"

[rocketsled]

As in LEGOS of my EGOS.

Re:STOP CALLING THEM "LEGOS" ALREADY, IT'S "LEGO"

[KylePflug]

And also they aren't Mouses nor Mice, but "Mouse Input Devices."

Seriously, what pedantery.

Hehehe best quote from the book

[technoextreme]

It's a group that's united by a love of offbeat science and technology; of underdog inventors like Fuller, Farnsworth, and Tesla; and certainly of arcane facts

I was having this same discussion with my mother about this too. Of course for some weird reason the discussion involved poison. I think she pointed out the fact that animals die from drinking antifreeze and then I pointed out that someone was poisioned with antifreeze recently in Boston. Then I also pointed out that people who are poisioned with cyanide usually smell of almonds when people preform an autopsy. Then I said," Wait a second why the hell do I know that?" My mom said,"You wanted to be a forensic scientist and you read that in one of your books."

Nope but you can fold your own steam engine

[technoextreme]

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~eellbee/steam2.html

No you're wrong

[weierstrass]

it's only the Legos people who care.

The Lego people know they're right.