If you’ve ever walked around West Oakland, farming probably doesn’t come to mind. That’s because it’s the fifth busiest shipping port in the United States. But that hasn’t stopped maker Eric Maundu from feeding himself with locally-grown food from his aquaponic gardens, a combination of fish farming and hydroponic planting. Frequently proclaiming, “I am not a farmer,” Eric has applied his robotics and software background to making gardens smart. "I feel knowledge of electronics and software programming makes me a better farmer than just having a hoe. Gardens that can communicate for themselves using the internet can lead to exchanging of ideas in ways that were not possible before. I can test, for instance, whether the same tomato grows better in Oakland or the Sahara Desert given the same conditions. Then I can share the same information with farmers in Iceland and China."
His company, Kijani Grows, sells kits, components, installs gardens throughout the Bay Area, and teaches classes on aquaponics. This inspiring video from fair companies gives an epic walkthrough (note the length of the video – how leet!) of his various indoor & outdoor systems and designs:  Filed under: Arduino, Home and Garden         
 Paper Marbling is the art of coloring on the surface of thickened water and creating patterns that are transferred to paper. It's an ancient art, often associated with Turkey where it is known as Ebru. On a recent trip to Kuwait, I saw a woman from Istanbul demonstrating paper marbling and was fascinated by the technique and the visual patterns created by it. I wanted to learn to do paper marbling, and as I learned more about it, I understood that it once was a technique used in making books.       You can find old books that used marbling to create decorative endpapers. In my library, I have a complete set of books written by George Elliot, and marbling was used to create a unique cover and matching endpapers. For tomorrow’s Maker Camp, I’ll be presenting four paper marbling projects, which can be considered variations on the basic technique. That is, we’re going to add paint to a surface, stir it around to form interesting patterns, and then transfer the paint to paper. What I like about these techniques is they are open-ended — once you learn the technique, you can create an endless number of patterns. It doesn't require any ability to draw, for instance. I’m partial to the idea that is art is fundamentally about learning to see. Paper marbling can help us appreciate very complex patterns. It's also an opportunity to do something creative and fun without worry too much about the results. The first technique is a black-and-white version of marbling using Sumi ink, an ink used in Japanese calligraphy, and we’ll allow it to spread over the surface of plain water before transferring it to plain paper. The second project makes me think of Soupy Sales, a TV host famous for getting a pie in the face. I’m not sure if his pies were made of shaving cream or whipped cream. However, we’re going to use a bed of shaving cream, add food coloring and see what kind of patterns emerge. The third type is called paste paper. We’ll be using acrylic paint but adding methylcellose to thicken it. We’ll apply the paint to paper and then use various odd objects to create patterns — bottle caps, sponges, netting, rakes, combs, and credit cards. (This technique thickens the paint, and keeps it from drying out immediately so you have time to create patterns.) However, we’re drawing on the paper itself, instead of transferring it. The fourth is the ebru technique. We’ll thicken water, using methylcellulose again, and then place drops of acrylic paint on the surface. We can use a variety of techniques to spread and swirl the paint to create a pattern and then we’ll transfer it off on paper. (You can also do this project with fabric instead of paper.) Each of these techniques produces a monotype print, a unique pattern that is created once. I like these patterns, both creating them and studying them. The human brain is wired to detect patterns and find meaning in them. Sometimes we create meaning even when the patterns don’t have any meaning. (Apophenia, according to Wikipedia, “is the experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.”) I heard a story recently that the famous physicist Richard Feynman, when a child, dropped a glass bottle of milk on the floor. As his mother heard the crash and approached, he expected her to scold him. Instead, she pointed out to him the swirling patterns of the milk on the floor. I’ll be posting the project tomorrow morning on the MAKE G+ page and I’ll be on the Hangout on Air at noon Pacific, 3pm Eastern. Just go to our MAKE+ page and hit the Follow button to “join” Maker Camp. Filed under: Art & Design         
 
You can use many types of tools to trim the small wires and component leads in your electronics projects. Scissors, side cutters, combination wire strippers, and even your favorite pocket knife can get the job done. Whether they produce clean and quick results is a different story. Back in late-2008, I had searching for new cutters that better suited small circuitry components. All I had in my toolbox at the time were large, bulky, and imprecise cutters primarily designed for household wiring tasks. I came across Xuron’s 170-II Micro-Shear flush cutter, and although I was unfamiliar with the brand, less than $10 for a USA-made cutter seemed like an acceptable risk.
 Simple spring-action mechanism. I mainly use these cutters for flush-cutting tasks, such as when trimming wires and component leads close to circuit boards after soldering them in place, but will often use them for other cutting tasks as well, such as trimming small nylon cable ties that are freshly installed inside a tight enclosure. The difference between this cutter and larger ones, such as the one built into the Klein wire stripper I previously reviewed, is night and day when working with small components. Since this micro-cutter, and others like it, is so small and precise, it can place a cut right where you want it. The cutter’s small size can also reach into confined spaces with greater ease and its angled blades trim components neatly against PCBs. 
With soft blue handles and a simple but effective spring mechanism, they are quite comfortable to hold and use. The blades trim thin wires and leads with ease, and even after many uses they feel as sharp as day-one. 
When I first received the cutters, I actually thought they were defective since the blades did not line up perfectly. But apparently this “bypass blade effect” is by design and is intended to reduce cutting effort and extend tool life. I mention this not because I agree or disagree with Xuron’s marketing claims, but because uninformed readers may erroneously mistake the feature for a defect as I did. 
This model can handle soft wires up to about 18-gauge, and don’t even think of using it to cut wire rope, piano wire, or other hardened or ferrous materials, as this will definitely damage the blades. Bottom line, Xuron’s 170-II miniature wire cutter are comfortable to use, well suited for electronics work, and produce clean results at a great value. Are there better cutters on the market? Of course, but not at the <$10 price point. If you shop carefully you can find these for about $5.50-$8.00 online. Xuron also makes a wide range of other mini pliers, cutters, and specialty tools. Some have ESD-safe grips, but the ones shown here do not. Stuart Deutsch is a tool enthusiast, critic, and collector, and writes more about tools at ToolGuyd. Filed under: Toolbox, Tools, Workshop & Tools         
 
Open Hardware Summit Tickets On Sale!. Dustyn writes - Have you seen our incredible lineup of speakers yet? We have a lot of fresh blood mixed in with a few names you'll probably recognize, and we are extremely excited to host such a diverse group. TICKETS
Please, purchase your tickets here. Tickets include breakfast, snacks, beer/wine, plus an amazing goodie bag from our fabulous sponsors. More about tickets on the Attend page.
Filed under: Events, Open source hardware         
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