Two organizations in Portland that I love! WOah, and I’m in the video. one thing- it says my balloons are in the gulf taking pictures. My balloons aren’t in the gulf, just my folding guides and plastics research. The balloons are collaborative. Most of the gulf folks are using Southern Balloon Works balloons, but we have good diy kits too.
Speaking at Cyborg Camp Portland 10/2
I’m going to be at Portland’s Cyborg Camp talking about waste management and human senses. There’ll be some good French sanitation history too! I’m back to back with Max Ogden- I’m practicing right now.
kite balloon construction ideas with boston folks
Sketch of an elliptical kite balloon like the Allsopp Helikite constructed with a rolling heat sealer (on left).
Jeffrey Warren and I discussed these kite balloon designs when I was at his studio. Southern Balloon Works, where a lot of spherical Grassroots Mapping balloons come from, makes a similar kite balloon with a drag rather than lift structure for stability. John Borden of Peace River Sudios loaned me the roller sealer. I showed Jeffrey, he found one for sale at retail, and Dan Beavers found an online store that sells roller sealers.
Open Hardware Summit Notes
Met and ran into fellow grassroots mapping folks Bonny Gregory and Cesar Harada, and my old roommate Isaac Ravishankara.
Bruce Perens & John Wilbanks echoed each other:
“IP is a disease, good open licensing and prior art databases can innoculate the future against it.
freedom doesn’t come from the barrel of a license. decide on the values underlying the license.
Nina Paley:
“Copyright is like kids, you don’t own ‘em.”
Business Forum
Successful Open hardware projects are awesome but their businesses are boring- 40% markup, good relationship with shipping, quality, trademark protection, insurance, accounting.
Had a great talk with Britta Riley, Jeffrey Lipton, and Chris from Netduino about licensing mechanical and analog devices. I’ve been thinking of a way to frame the problem, and I think I’ve got a helpful case-study, the miter box:
Designed to replicate exact and consistant angles, a new miter box can be cut using an existing miter box as a guide. It is also a simple enough object that whenever it’s used, it’s ability to copy itself is implied. Instructions can be written, but they really aren’t necessary. I think it can be said that the miter box contains it’s own instructions.
I don’t know what our open licenses should look like, but I think they aught to account for objects like a miter box.
Talked to Chris Anderson about flying safety and PET film. In Grassroots Mapping we’ve been discussing making to PET balloons, and we’re trying to decide between aluminized (less helium loss) and uncoated PET for balloons. Chris’s company DIY Drones sells a mylar UAV blimp kit. Chris’s advice: go with uncoated PET, aluminized balloons can short out power lines if they break free.