One of my Christmas presents this year was a Raspberry Pi! A Raspberry Pi (also referred to as a RasPi) is a credit card-sized computer that costs around $35. It’s intended to inspire people around the world to learn programming, which I think is a great mission. The possibilities with computers like these are truly endless.
For the technical folks, here’s a diagram of the parts (from the official RasPi website).
I’m not sure exactly what I want to make with it yet. People have made some amazing projects. In fact, Wired just posted an article the other day about some new cool RasPi projects, including a musical instrument (using beets!), a voice-activated coffee maker and a media center, among other things. I’m thinking about making a really awesome mobile hackerbox, using my materials from my PirateBox, and getting a USB monitor and a wireless keyboard/mouse. I’d love to build it all into a cyberpunk book or something just to make it really 1337.
First, I’ll be putting Linux on it (the Raspbian distro seems like a logical first step). I need to make a prototype of my hackerbox before I start putting everything together. I’m looking forward to embarking on a new project!
I can’t stop thinking about Mars. After last night’s Curiosity landing, it’s incredible to me that scientists are able to make things like this happen. I mean, they just landed a robot, on Mars, with a freaking parachute. I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that we’ve been able to get multiple rovers to another planet. I know they’re just robots, but I get a little sad thinking about them all alone up there. Space is lonely.
It just makes day to day life seem so mundane.
This quote from Discover Magazine helps solidify how special this all is, and how amazing science can be in uniting people around the world:
“The news these days is filled with polarization, with hate, with fear, with ignorance. But while these feelings are a part of us, and always will be, they neither dominate nor define us. Not if we don’t let them. When we reach, when we explore, when we’re curious–that’s when we’re at our best. We can learn about the world around us, the Universe around us. It doesn’t divide us, or separate us, or create artificial and wholly made-up barriers between us. As we saw on Twitter, at New York Times Square where hundreds of people watched the landing live, and all over the world: science and exploration bind us together. Science makes the world a better place, and it makes us better people. It’s what we can do, and what we must do.”
I never shared pictures of the solar powered phone charger I made a while ago. I had been wanting to use solar panels on a project for a while because I think they’re cool, and solar power is awesome, but I couldn’t think of anything very interesting… so I made another phone charger, because chargers are useful, and it would be handy in the event of the apocalypse. Which, of course, is the reasoning behind most things I do.
I usually get my project cases from Radio Shack, and that’s also where I got this solar panel, all for less than $10.
Drilled a few holes for lights and switches.
I picked a pink LED for the indicator light since I don’t usually do much with pink electronics.
Test it all out on the breadboard… always a good idea before soldering things in place.
Hastily spray painted it silver, with a pink pattern on the side.
Inserted the lights, switches and USB port for power. Not pictured, but I glued the solar panel to the top. Not the slickest solution, but it works well enough.
Shine some light on it–it works!
Charging in action. (See the date? Told you I did this a while ago.)
That’s pretty much it! I often carry it around with me as part of my EDC but I haven’t had tons of opportunities to use it yet. Maybe during the summer.
I’m subscribed to more than 100 gardening blogs, and succulents seem to be all the rage this year. As a Nevada dweller, it seemed only natural to introduce some to my household. Despite being an environmental writer, I’m actually pretty awful at growing things and keeping them alive. Apparently, a green pen does not equal a green thumb. Who knew? Nevada’s landscape and weather are also unpredictable, so that doesn’t help much.
So I ran out yesterday and grabbed myself a handful of succulents (although I wouldn’t actually hold them in your hands because they can be prickly little buggers.) I kinda went nuts over them since they are so freakin’ cute. I about died over the little pink cactus.
A while ago I got a few old ammo containers from the army surplus store that I was intending to use to hold office supplies in my new office. But I knew one would be the perfect size for my mini succulent garden. (I didn’t spray paint it, the red was on them when we got it.)
Here are the “babies,” as we’ve been calling them.
I filled the ammo container with some old soil I had sitting around from when I planted garlic, but usually you’re supposed to use cacti soil. I think they will be okay though.
Here’s the finished result!
Now I can’t decide if I want to put this in my office at work or keep it at home… I might have to make a few more… plus, the whole project cost less than $30. Not a bad way to lighten up your work space for cheap.
I was getting caught up on the world’s environmental news for work, and I stumbled across photographs of the Fukushima fuel pools. Aside from the serious implications Fukushima has had on the environment after Japan’s earthquake, on a superficial level, I was struck by how much these pictures reminded me of Mirror’s Edge.
I had a hard time finding sources for the actual photographs, so click here to see more. All screenshots are from Mirror’s Edge.
I really like this article because it’s something I think about often. As an academic whose research is primarily on science and technology, and also as an environmental journalist, I am constantly trying to ensure that the science I report on and write about is accurate. But as a journo, it’s also part of my job to convey ideas to a general readership who are probably not all experts in science. However, I think that if journos can approach their work with a researcher’s mentality—since I consider journalism to be another facet of research anyway… hence how I found myself as a journalist…—we can ultimately hold our readership to higher standards, and have more in-depth conversations about science.
This is so awesome. Good job, Etsy! I really think that these kinds of projects are going to help balance the gender gap in programming and computer science. I would kill to go toHackerSchoolfor three months; alas, I don’t get that much time off of work.
Thinking about setting this up at home. Do you have a system like this? The setup seems pretty straightforward. I’m totally lazy when it comes to web security so it’s probably time that I step my game up a bit.
Count me in as an Instagram fangirl. I really do enjoy this app, but we’ll see what happens now that it’s in Facebook’s hands. Is anyone else getting really tired of Facebook? I want to stay connected to people, but the interface of Facebook feels so outdated compared to much snazzier apps and social networking sites available.
Another oil spill off the coast of the coast of Scotland. While I agree that the spills are not equal, it’s always good to remind people of the disastrous consequences for relying on oil.
I just watched the interview with Mohamed Nasheed on The Daily Show last week. His story is pretty fascinating, and he makes some important points about how climate change is impacting communities around the world. I also liked this quote: “To switch from this old technology, fossil fuel… it’s a very, very old technology. I mean, you know, come on. It’s as old as the 1800s, and it’s such a surprise that the United States would think this is technology that is viable now.”
My boyfriend works with algae biofuels at the Desert Research Institute (which we call Black Mesa, as Half-Life fans) so I’m interested to see in how feasible of an option this is to help solve our energy crisis.
Ahh, two of my loves: hacking and sustainability. Andrew (my bf as previously mentioned) and I would like to build our own home someday, and I would love to be able to function off grid.
All of my attempts to grow anything have been disastrous. I kill everything. I forget to water, I water too much, I leave the plants outside in a windstorm, etc. etc. But since I’m moving soon, I’m determined to grow at least one or two things at my new place. I’m thinking about just growing herbs to start. These are some good tips for noob gardeners like me.
I really, really like this article. I’ve been thinking a lot about public transportation. I grew up in the Bay area so taking BART was a regular thing. Then I moved toNevadawhere you have to drive to get anywhere, except for inReno, where there are things within walking distance and there is a bus route. I would use the bus more except that my schedule is generally pretty spontaneous, and I sometimes have to drive pretty far to cover stories. But I think it’s important for us to start reimagining transportation based on our priorities as a society. I would much rather spend an hour reading on the subway, talking to friends, listening to music and relaxing, etc. while getting to work every day than having to drive. Luckily I live pretty close to where I work and go to school, but I sincerely hope thatNorthern Nevadamakes more public transpo a bigger priority.
Not exclusively “environmental,” but since we are part of the universe, it’s nice to see the beauty of it beyond the earth. Amazing photography as only National Geographic can deliver.
Have a great week!
Oh, and if you stopped by because of my PirateBox post, welcome! Feel free to drop me a line on the Contact page.
I’ve been wanting to make a PirateBox ever since I heard about them a while back. Essentially, a PirateBox is an independent, wireless file sharing device. Which means that in the event of an apocalypse, we could still transfer files and communicate through chat.
Here’s a video from the official PirateBox website that demonstrates how it works:
The process is pretty simple. I chose the MR3020 router since it is small and very portable, and it has a USB port built into it. And it’s kind of stylish.
Other parts:
USB drive
Toggle switch
USB port
LED (optional, but I like using indicator lights to test if things are working. Plus lights make everything cooler.)
Wires, soldering equipment, etc.
The first thing I did was program the router and install the PirateBox software. This entails telnetting into the device and doing a bit of recoding so that all of the networks are open. It uses a program called OpenWrt.
Following the directions on the website, it’s pretty straightforward. The only thing I had an issue with was changing the SSID to PirateBox – Share Freely. Right now it is stuck on OpenWrt, but I can connect to it just fine. I might change the name of the SSID all together like, “Connect here for a good time.”
Next came setting up the box. I had gone to the military surplus store and a thrift store to find a cool case to build it in, but didn’t find much. I just got a black project box instead and spray painted it a matte white. I then sprayed the official PirateBox logo on the top in black, with red eyes, just for some contrast.
Wiring the inside didn’t take very long. I wanted it to be powered by both USB cable and battery with the option to switch back and forth, so I installed a toggle switch with two options. I chose a red LED to match the red eyes on the front, and I crudely installed a USB port (they really need holders for USB ports, mine always look rough around the edges — literally.)
Here’s what it looks like on the inside:
And here it is all finished on the outside:
And here’s what it looks like when it’s connected (on my HTC EVO smartphone):
I have plans to add an antenna and replace the USB drive with a larger external harddrive since I have the space. I also may add a solar panel on it but that’s not really a priority now. I also have to add files to the USB drive. What kinds of cool stuff should I exchange with others? I think I might put my favorite manifestos on it, including the hacker manifesto, the cyberfeminist manifeso, and the open source way. I will probably also put some custom ezines on there, maybe cyberpunk themed. And maybe music? Or tutorials? I’ll have to think about that for a while.
Anyway, this is a really fun project, and I think everyone should make one so we can have a better independent network to exchange information.
in a
balance
between a
blinding, searing
light and the
cimmerian night
I levitate,
holding close
atoms that
circle my core
Within me a core
is composed of
normal Human Things
like blood
and bones
and a heart with holes
and there is a piece
missing and yet it
still exists
In this orbiting
tea cup there are
leaves that look
like the plants
from which they came
like a
stellar wallpaper
these patterns
mock & mimic
how else would
we understand
structures of
clusters? it is
not a coincidence
that our veins
look like tree roots
or cracks in the earthen
bed of the desert
or the lines
connecting the
intervals of cassiopeia
the loosely
woven tendrils of a web,
the distance
between my fingers -
a true hunter knows that
