Context: Gas stoves pollute residential kitchens
Let’s start by saying the thing nobody who loves cooking wants to hear: Gas stoves are bad for the environment and for humans in the kitchen and we should stop using them. Yes, I know they are magic tools for controlling fire. For decades I’ve passed on renting an apartment or a house simply because […]
Interaction Design in the Environment
Starting a new category because I’m starting a new project and it needs a home. For several years I’ve been teaching “Making Things Interactive” at CMU’s IDeATe program with all assignments turned in on the class blog. It’s basically “Arduino 102” where we take what people learned in an intro to physical computing class and […]
Marlin 2.0 and E3D Bigbox Update
Finally had time to finish the port and doing some testing. If you want to help, here’s the link/branch: https://github.com/allartburns/Marlin/tree/bugfix-bigbox
Making Things Interactive, the 2020 Quarantine Variant
It’s that time! As I did in previous classes, I’m posting all my notes and students are posting all their assignments to the class blog.
Bouncing warifuru back in to development
One of the main features of warifuru is a set of tools to help people who use laser cutters for their job. Tools like optimizing layout for the fastest cuts (aka 2d bin-fitting) or patterns that determine the best power/speed for etching a given media by making a big-ass etch grid. Then I found deepnest […]
Joe Johnston owes someone a cookie…
…or maybe just a tip of the hat. EDIT: Johnston did give Mead credit! Syd Mead, 1960s art for US Steel promotional brochure.
New project in the development pipe
Preview of a new tool stand I’m developing. Still in the design iteration cycle, but I’m ready to start cutting more prototypes for testing.
Quarantine Planning for the Fall Semester
I’m scheduled to teach another semester of Making Things Interactive this fall, but teaching physical computing remotely? Without student access to a physical computing lab, laser cutters, and 3d printers? Hey, I’m a designer, let’s do some research! Which starts with Alton Brown’s and his wife Elizabeth’s “Quarantine Quitchen“, where they make dinner with whatever […]
Moog 60HP Eurorack update
One of the first lessons I learned in consumer electronics is that version 1.0 is the “can we?” release. Version 2.0 is effectively a do-over of 1.0, where we fix all the obvious problems we didn’t fix and the new obvious problems we didn’t predict. Design school has their own version that boils down to […]
Work-in-progress: multiple 60HP (Moog) eurorack
A few years ago when buying Moogfest tickets, I noticed that in addition to the “VIP” ticket option there was another choice, “Engineering/VIP”. Not only do you get VIP status, you get to do something nerdy and take home hardware so *of course* I go for that upgrade. The project turned out to be assembling […]