Futel Project Presentation @ i3Detroit, Oct 15th, 4 pm

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chickens

Please attend the presentation by Karl Anderson describing the Futel project.

Location: i3Detroit
Saturday October 15th, 4 pm

Public welcome
Futel: An Immobile Phone Company
Description:

Futel appears to be nothing more than a collection of payphones installed in public locations, no different than the phones found on any street corner. Except these ones are being installed, not removed. And they work, usually, and they’re free. And if the caller doesn’t have a human to interact with, one might be provided.

Find out what we hope to achieve by starting a free telephone network. In addition to discussing the struggles of putting phones on the street, we will describe our spiritual ancestry from phone phreaks to mail artists to fare evaders, and our reasons for creating useful and nonuseful devices out of discarded junk.
Speaker bio:

Karl Anderson is an experimenter who is good at thinking up projects but bad at predicting whether or not they will be practical. With C.H.U.N.K. 666, he has constructed amphibious human-powered vehicles out of trash. With the Church of Robotron, he has built a skill testing and training facility, indoctrination center, and reading room to reinforce the post-apocalyptic survival tenets of a coin-operated video game.

More Info:

http://futel.net

Art Workshop at i3 – Intro to Painting & Acrylic Basics

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Description:
Ever wanted to get into painting or learn some new techniques? Join me, Aaron Greenwell, for an introductory to Acrylic Painting and Painting basics at i3.

Aaron Greenwell has a BFA in Sculpture from Wayne State and has spent a lot of studio time learning various painting and art processes. You will have a fun and inspiring time working with his eccentric attitude as he guides you in exploring fundamental uses of painting tools as well as learning to explore your own methods of creativity.

Acrylic is a great medium to start with, not too different from Watercolor. It dries fast which allows you to explore different techniques and fix mistakes fast. I still prefer working in Acrylic over Oil a lot of the time!

Weather pending, I may try to setup for us to paint outdoors. I find fresh air makes everything better.

This event is for Wednesday, August 5th from 7pm – 9:30pm

Who is allowed to join?: Anyone 18+ is welcome! Experienced and inexperienced artists, crafters, and curious minds of all type are welcome to this workshop.

The goals of the workshop:

  • Give people the essential tools to start painting in Acrylic themselves
  • Inspire and teach attendees how to develop techniques and explore
  • Motivate us all to create great pieces using this fantastic artistic pursuit.
  • To provide a piece to take home either finished or almost there.

The workshop will start by covering:

  • Basic brush and paint maintenance
  • How to mix powerful vibrant colors & problem solving color issues
  • Different brushes and how they can be useful

After the basics we will explore:

  • How to problem solve in Art and Painting
  • How to explore your own techniques!
  • A group study/painting
  • A group Critique
Required supplies:
  • Your lovely self!
  • Bring any painting or Acrylic supplies you may have (easle, canvas, etc.)
  • If you do not have supplies, I will have supplies on hand for people to play around with
  • In spirit of my own philosophy, I prefer people get to learn and become comfortable with there own materials when possible, however I will be providing supplies for those who have no experience or supplies.
Bonus!:
  • As thanks to helping support me in running these workshops, you will have your choice of a paint brush to take home.
  • We will also be creating a piece for you to take home as well.
  • One lucky individual will earn an additional prize in the form of Art Supplies to take home with them.
If you need to contact me for questions or concerns, you can reach me by e-mailing agrnwll@gmail.com

You can purchase seating through EventBrite at $19.00 per seat. If you cannot or do not want to use EvenBrite for reservation, please contact me directly. Seating is limited to 15 for this first class.

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Would you like to play a game?

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IMG_0462A few days ago, Arduino co-inventor Massimo Banzi spoke at the University of Michigan, as part of a lecture series sponsored by the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design.  In addition to throngs of art students, there were indeed a few die-hard electronics nerds in the audience. It seemed like the perfect time to do two things:

1: Give away a bunch of little laser-cut Arduino protectors. Attached to the bottom of the otherwise-bare Arduino board, this is a cheap-and-cheerful way to avoid short circuits when absentmindedly setting the board down.

2: Tease some of the clever folks in the audience into playing a little puzzle, which was previously hinted at. The reward for the first to finish is a month of membership at i3Detroit.

Here’s where you come in: Even with a free month of membership on the line, nobody’s solved all of the steps yet! So it’s time to officially open it up to players who weren’t at the lecture.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • The puzzle is open to any non-member, no purchase or anything necessary, but you’ll need to be local and 18+ to claim the prize. If not, feel free to play for fun anyway!
  • If you want to co-solve with a physical friend, that’s cool, but please don’t share solutions over the internet. (Let ’em work for it!)
  • You’ll probably need to get your hands on an Arduino to solve one of the steps. If you don’t own one, perhaps you could use one at a nearby hackerspace….

[updated 4/21 to reflect that current i3detroit members can play for fun but not claim the prize.]

TEDx Detroit was a rousing success!

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We’d like to thank everyone who came out and supported TEDx Detroit. The attendance was phenomenal this year, the speakers were insprational and forward-thinking, and the networking and collaboration environment is providing lift to the rise of Detroit across the nation and around the world. In addition to the traditional TED-style talks, participants were also taken on tour to view the rework-in-progress on the Grand Army of the Republic building: one of Detroit’s oldest and most historically impactful structures. On display in the TEDx Labs this year were several hacker- and maker-spaces including i3 Detroit, many with interactive and exciting crafts and hands-on items.

We ended up having about 120 people stop by at various points throughout the day and talk with us about i3 Detroit and what makes it different from other hackerspaces around the Metro area. Interest in tours and membership was high, and we’re thrilled to have the possibility to show new visitors what the space is all about in person! Many of the projects we brought along were a great hit, including the ammo-can speakers, ChronoTune, Racing PowerWheels, and the Giant Connect 4.

In addition to spending time with the attendees, we also spent quite a bit of time talking with and getting to know the organizers, staff, and volunteers of TEDx Detroit. Contratulations on a great conference, and we are looking forward to next year!