dorkbot->Dorkbot SoCal
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people doing strange things with electricity, mostly in Los Angeles


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UPCOMING EVENT - APRIL 2012

Dorkbot SoCal 49

***** Sundary, April 22, 2012
***** 2:00pm
***** ATX Stage (near ATX Kitchen)
***** Atwater Crossing
***** 3245 Casitas Ave
***** Los Angeles, CA 90039

Jay Yan
http://www.jay-yan.com

Jay Yan is an artist from Los Angeles focusing mostly on interactive projections in relations to architectural form. He did his studies at UCLA's Design|Media Art and his work has been shown all over the world from Den Haag to Sao Paulo. He will talk about his current and past works involving interactive projections and projection art in relations to architecture.



Rob Ray
http://robray.net

Electronic artist and fabricator Rob Ray has spent the last nine years integrating and maintaining alternative energy technologies for electronic artworks in the extreme climate of the militarized salt flats of Wendover, Utah. His projects have included the circuitry and power generation of a radio tower designed and built by Deborah Stratman, a push-button system for film projection and viewing, and interpretive audio kiosks for the Center for Land Use Interpretation, in addition to his own artworks. Rob will present his experiences and research from these projects. Rob will also explore the technical, fiscal, and creative implications of alternative energy technologies on sound, video, and interactive artworks.



Chris Reilly
http://www.chris-reilly.org/

Chris Reilly is a Los Angeles-based artist, writer, hacker and teacher. He received his BFA with a focus on New Media from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. Chris is currently employed as a mobile game developer at 3CD, an author at Lynda.com and a teaching and research assistant at UCLA's Design| Media Art department. Since 2003, Chris has shown work in several solo and group art exhibitions in the US and Europe; he works with modded video games, virtual/augmented reality, scripting/programming and kinetic sculpture. Chris wears many hats professionally: mobile game developer; web programmer; digital fabrication specialist; small business owner; open-source hardware/ software developer. He is the co-creator of the DIYLILCNC project, a free and open-source set of plans for an inexpensive, fully functional 3-axis CNC mill that can be built by an individual with basic shop skills and tool access.




Previous Events...


DORKBOT SOCAL 48 - EXCURSION TO NORTON SALES - This Saturday (March 31st 2012) 11am

[ S P E C S ]

*** March 31st 2012, 11am

*** Norton Sales inc.
*** 7429 Laurel Canyon Blvd
*** North Hollywood, CA 91605
*** http://www.nortonsalesinc.com




[ D E T A I L S ]
This is an impromptu event - come on up to Norton Sales! We did this as a Dorkbot excursion in May 2007, and was a lot of fun. Here are some pics of the last event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/youraccount/sets/72157600183546485/

Here's some info on Norton Sales:

"Norton Sales has been a leading supplier of Aerospace and Industrial supplies since 1962. Our customers tend to be small shops and individuals who are looking for very specific, and often hard to find, parts for rocketry, stunt equipment, movie props and old school hydraulics."

Long story short: it's an aerospace junk / surplus dealer that is completely surreal. Norton Sales may be of interest to hackers, people interested in aerospace technologies, STS folk, nerds, etc. or just people looking for something random and interesting to do. Unlike many junkyards, there is also no age restriction (like bringing kids) to the place - so feel free to bring kids along if you like.

Come on out, bring some money, your friends and some dirty clothes.

URLs:
Norton: http://www.nortonsalesinc.com
More photos of Norton Sales: http://flickr.com/photos/tags/nortonsales/show/
Map: http://g.co/maps/4xb56

Hope to see you there at 11am on Saturday!

Garnet




Previous Events...


Dorkbot SoCal 47

***** Saturday, December 3, 2011
***** 4:00pm
***** SCI-Arc hosts Dorkbot in the Robotics & Simulation Lab
***** 960 East 3rd Street
***** Los Angeles, CA 90013

Introduction by Peter Testa / Devyn Weiser
Demonstration by Brandon Kruysman / Jonathan Proto

SCI-Arc Robotics and Simulation Lab (SRSL), initiated and designed by faculty members Peter Testa and Devyn Weiser, builds upon the school's strengths to create a next generation platform for experimentation and speculation on the future of architecture. Situated conceptually and physically between studio and shop, school and industry, SRSL is more than simply a logical progression in digital tooling. The lab offers the opportunity to develop a unique, institute specific position in the emerging field of robotics in architecture.



The 1,000 square-foot double height robot cell focuses on multi-robot collaboration and multi-media simulation using 5 state-of-the-art Staubli robot systems: (2) RX160, (2) TX90, and (1) TX90L. The relatively lightweight, six-axis robotic arms are in a range of positions (floor and ceiling mounted) to create a reconfigurable 3D work space with many possible applications. The adjacent simulation lab houses the Staubli TX40 robot where students, along with their instructors, conduct hands-on training and testing.

For more information, see http://www.machinators.org.



Dorkbot SoCal 46

***** Sunday, October 16, 2011
***** 1:00pm-3:00pm
***** Machine Project
***** 1200 D North Alvarado Street
***** Los Angeles, CA 90026
***** Google map of Machine Project

Sean Bonner - Safecast.org
http://www.safecast.org/

Sean Bonner will present Safecast, a global project working to empower people with data, primarily by mapping radiation levels and building a sensor network, enabling people to both contribute and freely use the data collected. Created 1 week after the 3/11 Japan earthquake, Safecast has deployed 25 mobile, 50 handheld, and 50 static radiation sensors.



Carlyn Maw - Store Front Music
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/07/store-front-music-the-diy-edition.html

Carlyn Maw is a co-founder of Crash Space, a hackerspace in Culver City, CA. Carlyn will describe the Crash Space group project "Store Front Music", which allows people who walk past the hackerspace to interact with a music making machine.


Jim Jenkins
http://www.jimjenkins.net/

Part sculptor, part engineer, and part choreographer, Jim Jenkins' work primarily features the animation of text and objects to represent a situation or an observation. Inspirations also come from simple movements often found in nature, such as the rhythmic flapping of a bird's wings to the hypnotic swaying of a cat's tail.



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Dorkbot SoCal is a monthly meeting of artists (sound/image/movement/whatever), designers, engineers, students and other interested parties from the Los Angeles / Southern California area who are involved in the creation of electronic art (in the broadest sense of the term.)

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
Demos of commercial software are not appropriate, unless you wrote the software or you are making it do something particularly novel or interesting. On the other hand, presenting a piece that was created using commercial software is fine.

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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Dorkbot SoCal meetings have been hosted in several different locations around the Southern California area, but are currently being held in Los Angeles (Echo Park) for the next while. They are coordinated by Garnet Hertz. Co-curation is also done by Thomas Edwards.

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Dorkot SoCal meetings occur at least every other month. There is no "fixed schedule", but they tend to be at 1PM on Saturdays or Sundays.

The dorkbotsocal-announce mailing list is used to send out meeting announcement reminders and other pertinent information. Please subscribe to the list if you'd like to receive such information.

In addition to this, you can also subscribe to the "blabber" list, in which we discuss new ideas, where to get gear, other related local events, and all sorts of other stuff. If you want to keep in touch with what is going on, you're encouraged to subscribe to both.

There is also a Facebook group for Dorkbot SoCal.
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Dorkbot SoCal meetings have taken place in different locations around Southern California. Currently, we're going to be meeting at Machine Project gallery in Echo Park (Los Angeles) for the next while. Meeting locations and directions will be posted at this website about one week before the event, http://www.dorkbot.org/dorkbotsocal/


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To attend a Dorkbot SoCal meeting, just show up and hope there's room. To give a presentation at a meeting please email Garnet at garnethertz *-at-* gmail *-dot-* com. please see below for details on giving presentations.


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Dorkbot SoCal meetings are largely informal, but to save everyone time and energy a certain amount of planning will go into each meeting. The current structure for presentation/demo events is:

  • 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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You are encouraged to provide most of the resources needed for your presentation. However, some equipment may be available for your use. Please be prepared to give your presentation with only the resources you bring with you. Available resources may - by some chance - include:

  • a Mac OS X laptop, PowerPoint
  • a data projector (but works best with Macs)
  • a wireless broadband 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.


FOR MORE INFO ON DORKBOTSOCAL, CONTACT GARNET HERTZ AT garnethertz *-at-* gmail *-dot-* com


www.flickr.com
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