Gen Y, Gen Why? Gen WTF?

Once again there’s talk of the generations, the struggle to understand the cultural shifts. With vast generalising brushstrokes millions are judged, nicely clumped together in a simple descriptor that gives some comfort of understanding. Yes there are trends, yes there are tendencies. But do you really think the so called “entitled” millenials are the same […]

DIY Dynamo Charger – Charge your mobile with a Bicycle Dynamo

My little project of this weekend, was to get this Dynamo Charger up and running. Firstly here’s proof of concept – yes it works. Now for the finishing touches The instructions for the switch can be found below. Simple DIY Switch a micro guide by Jay Cousins on HowDo If anyone wants me to create […]

Experiments in Autonomy: Reflections on The Makerplatz

Photo: Kay Strasser One could view everything in our world as a collection of prototypes available to be changed. In these interesting times, we have all the tools in the world, all that is needed is a conversation to start the (re)making. Welcome to Berlin’s Makerplatz. By Jay Cousins Our dominant cultural paradigm has been, […]

Consume less energy you must – Energy Saving Yoda and the joy of making stuff up as you go.

Energyhack – Yoda from Christian Jacob on Vimeo. We’re last up, the tension has been building, last minute hacking and scrambling as the tension builds. The Yoda Head completed it’s 3d print (big thanks to FabLab Berlin) as the first presentation started, I drilled out it’s eyes with a “for the camera” psycho glare (I […]

Documentation 101: Guidelines for Maker Documentation

Inspire Start with Motivation – “Why I’ve done this and you should want to copy me” Keep it fun, keep it awesome Make it Accessible No geek speak/Jargon/TMFA ( Too many fucking acronyms) Easy to understand language Specify regional measurement systems Communicate what parts do – so people can switch for local components Make all […]

Copy, Adapt, Reproduce (AKA solving problems without creativity)

Evolution has allowed life to adapt and survive in the harshest of environments. The copy, paste, randomly change model allows for life to continue evolve and succeed in incredibly hostile conditions. Survival of the Best Adapted. Yet with our own culture, rather than emulate the success of this model, we have pursued the God Model. […]