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Dorkbot SoCal 30 - Gentner, Kuno, Doar

Dorkbot SoCal 29 - Make:Way Team gets 33rd Place

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The purpose of Dorkbot SoCal is to:

• give artists/programmers/engineers an opportunity for informal peer review
• establish a forum for the presentation of new art works/technology/software/hardware
• help establish relationships and foster collaboration between people with various backgrounds and interests
• give us all a chance to see the cool things that our neighbors are working on

Imaginary presentation topics:

• a demo of the new motion tracking software you're writing
• playing a video you made
• an explanation of how you hacked your game boy to get it to make cool bleeping noises
• trouble shooting/brainstorming your remote-controlled sandwich making robot
• bringing in some dancers you're working with and having them demonstrate the interface used in your new mind-control ballet
• discussing your approach to electronic sculpture

Dorkbot SoCal meetings are free and open to the public. Space at some events may be limited, so you are encouraged to come a bit early.

You can also see photos of some past events on Flickr. Here are recent photos tagged with "dorkbotsocal", and here are some interesting ones. Some sets of specific events are also at Flickr: Dorkbot SoCal 15 (July 2006), Dorkbot SoCal 09 (May 2006), Dorkbot SoCal 08 (Dec 2005), Dorkbot SoCal 06 (Dec 2004), Dorkbot SoCal 05 (Nov 2004), Dorkbot SoCal 02 (June 2004), and Dorkbot SoCal 00 (April 2004).

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• brief intros, announcements, administrative details
• 20 minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of q & a
• 20 minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of q & a
• 20 minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of q & a
• final comments/debate/etc.

In other words, each meeting is about 2 hours long and features three presentations.

On the other hand, "open hack" events will be more free-form: just bring your stuff, work on it (or show it) and get feedback.

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• a slow Mac OS X laptop
• a data projector
• a fast network connection
• a small mixer and powered speakers

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Q: I want to present something at Dorkbot SoCal. is my project appropriate? what styles/genres/scenes does Dorkbot SoCal represent?
A: Dorkbot SoCal is (or tries to be) totally neutral in regard to style/genre/scene. An emphasis on the creative use of electricty is all that is required. See above for some examples of appropriate topics.

Q: What if I just want an audience for my new piece?
A: Short performances/demos are fine. However Dorkbot SoCal isn't really a good venue for presenting things like full performances or long-form recorded sound/video pieces. If there's enough interest we will probably organize some more formal performances/shows at some point. For now the meetings will be more informal chances to exchange ideas with other interested parties.

Q: I make cold, hard, intense, machine-robot-skull-hammer music, and am bent on the annihilation of the human species. Can I participate in Dorkbot SoCal meetings?
A: Yes, of course! however, you are not allowed to kill any human species at a Dorkbot SoCal meeting.

Q: I do soft, warm, dreamy, auto-electrolysis live performance video and founded a local PETA chapter. Can I participate in Dorkbot SoCal meetings?
A: Yes.

Q: Do I have to join something to participate in Dorkbot SoCal?
A: No. Although you might, at some point, be asked to contribute to the cash-sucking-machine.

Q: Why are Dorkbot SoCal meetings on the one day in the month i'm busy?
A: Because you are too busy.

Q: Well can you change the date? How about the first Tuesday of the month?
A: Probably not. This is Southern California -- there are jammed freeways every day of every month filled with people that think they have somewhere important to go.

Q: is Dorkbot SoCal run by a university?
A: No. Dorkbot SoCal is run by the participants in Dorkbot SoCal and is coordinated by Garnet Hertz. The meetings are free and open to the public. The locations of our meetings have been kind enough to sponsor Dorkbot SoCal and to donate the use of their facilities.

Q: Dorkbot is a stupid name.
A: "Dorkbot" was around for 4 years in NYC before Dorkbot SoCal... so I had nothing to do with this. If you have serious concerns about this, talk to Doug Repetto.