Blenster @Blenster@qoto.org

….and we’re lit! (maybe in more ways than one soon, as the beer tent is just outside). Come visit us at Maker Faire Bay Area this weekend! It’s already been awesome to meet people who have some of our kits! Remember, you’ll get a sticker if you show us something you made! We’re in the first building on your left after the entrance, at the far end near the photo booth.

Mostly because I want to watch all of them later, I've made this YouTube playlist with as many of the @hackaday prize finalists as I could. Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6SEx33cboI&list=PL7vF5w4jtsnfN-dVpka1sDPHsu_r4oDqG

Not every video was embeddable (or on YouTube) so I'm including these additional six as direct links:
https://vimeo.com/868102038
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoZpDkdbiGM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF7GfOxBPsE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yNnJE1OMMU
https://vimeo.com/851350552
https://vimeo.com/872940560

holy shit it's done. The Open Book submitted for the 2023 Hackaday Prize, with 45 minutes to spare. https://hackaday.io/project/192688-the-open-book/log/224217-the-hackaday-prize-video

OPEN BOOK OWNERS! A call for help. I'm putting together a video about the Open Book for the Hackaday Prize, and I'd love to include photos of your book wherever it is in the world. Can you post a photo of the Open Book with the backdrop of something interesting in your town? Or just a photo of the device on its own. I want to showcase what the community has already done with Open Book. THANK YOU!

This latest (as yet nameless) plush bot uses a small stepper to slowly and quietly turn its head back and forth. It doesn't do much besides look cute, but that's very appropriate for a sloth.

There it is! The Open Book is among the finalists for the 2023 Hackaday Prize. Which means the heat is on: I have just under six days to shoot a video about the Open Book (and publish BOMs and design files, which, whatever, that's table stakes regardless). The quest continues! https://hackaday.com/2023/10/04/hackaday-prize-2023-the-wildcard-finalists-are-here/

Better view at dusk, showing off the headlights!

More fun with plushies and electronics. This guy doesn't have a name yet. A capacitive touch sensor in each hand changes patterns/colors of the LEDs in the ears and antenna. The XIAO sense controller has a built in mic and accelerometer, so I plan to add some more interactive features in the #circuitpython code. I purchased the base sewing pattern on Etsy, and the designer has a great website where she makes many free plushie sewing patterns available (https://cholyknight.com/)

Maker Faire Bay Area is coming up fast! We’ll be there with the blinkiest booth ever the weekend of Oct 13-15! We’re bringing a few new things like these sweet bottle openers plus all of our soldering kits, Blobs!, the ever squishabke Blinky plushie and not squishabke Blinky box kit. We’ll have some stylin Bright Wearables by @geekmomprojects, lots of things powered by @wizard ‘s Pixelblaze, and a few little things by @oskitone . Hope to see you there!

@makemagazine
#makerfaire #mfba2023

From the sublime to the ridiculous. I decided Karma, my plush companion bot, needs fashion options beyond her basic training harness, so I made her a new blue, faux leather, rhinestone-studded harness. She's now ready for a fancy evening out!
🦎✨🎉

It's possible I spent a large chunk of today designing and sewing a harness for Karma, my plush companion bot, and am now turning to social media in hopes of being convinced it was a worthwhile use of my time.

Did you know that the ‘2222’ in 2N2222A is because people use too too too too many of this NPN Bipolar Junction Transistor? That and more as we go over the history of the 2N2222A transistor.

https://anchor.fm/datasheetdigest/episodes/2N2222A-NPN-Bipolar-Junction-Transistor-e28sbab