Day 2 Highlights

Stopped by the Hackerspace Village for a chat with Mitch Altman  He is a very approachable, mellow guy.  He explained a little bit about the Brain Machines, how they work as well as a game he made (Mignonette) and a vibrating bug.  It is really impressive how he made all these different “toys” from the same kit that is used to create a tv-b-gone.  My favorite is the glasses, a display pair is available so you can try them out, and with the lights flickering and the sound turned up, it is a wild experience.  It is a little overwhelming, but is fun to try, and if I had an hour and a half (the approximate amount of time to build one) I would have walked away with a pair.  I am becoming more and more interested in hardware stuff, and once I find some free time I think a subscription to Make and a sunglass kit are in my near future. 

While killing time between lectures, I decided that I wanted to take a spin on a Segway.  It is amazing how well these things react to the slightest body movement.  They are silent, and give you the sensation  that you are floating a foot off the ground.   There is virtually no learning curve, and can be mastered in less than a minute.

Another area that caught my attention was a digital art project that created virtually shapes based on manipulation of a laser pointer.  I watched several people take turns draw random shapes into what looked like the Paint application.  These explorations into art have been a real treat and have helped to further the experience at HOPE.