Doctor Who, Cali style...
May 23, 2011 5:11 AM   Subscribe

The Doctor Who theme, Adam Savage of Mythbusters, and tesla coils! (SLYT) ... just a part of this weekend's S.F. Bay Area Maker Faire.
posted by markkraft (28 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
...and then Adam accidentally touched the walls of the Faraday cage while he was dancing...
posted by crunchland at 5:19 AM on May 23, 2011


non-crappy audio
posted by jeffburdges at 5:20 AM on May 23, 2011 [2 favorites]


Shockingly fun!
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:21 AM on May 23, 2011


dork. fucking. tastic.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:31 AM on May 23, 2011


Is this post parody? Are you making fun of us? I don't know about the rest of you, but I was born this way.
posted by MarshallPoe at 5:35 AM on May 23, 2011 [5 favorites]


This makes my plan for an asavage Halloween costume that much harder to pull off. Thanks a lot man.
posted by Apoch at 5:36 AM on May 23, 2011


Adam is a big name celebrity and I think he's awesome for many reasons, but I think on the whole I'd rather meet Grant.
posted by DU at 5:41 AM on May 23, 2011


Perfect opportunity to make something look like a dalek squandered... also needed more EXTERMINATE!
posted by Nanukthedog at 5:42 AM on May 23, 2011 [1 favorite]


Adam Savage of Mythbusters

I'm sure you mean: Mefi's own Adam Savage
posted by charles kaapjes at 5:53 AM on May 23, 2011


As someone who grew up around the S.F. Bay Area, it's hard to think of Adam Savage as being a "big name celebrity", even though Mythbusters is basically an established fact-of-life. They *still* do lots of regular geektastic appearances around here, oftentimes for free or a very reasonable sum.

It's hard to take people seriously as being big name celebrities, when they pop into the local sex store to buy a rubber body suit, or something to fist a shark with.
posted by markkraft at 5:53 AM on May 23, 2011


Sorry, but it has to be done:

Metafilter: something to fist a shark with.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:56 AM on May 23, 2011 [5 favorites]


Mike Rowe was there, too, and he told the crowd he's trying to pitch a new series about maker geeks.
posted by briank at 6:00 AM on May 23, 2011


Mythbusters producers said they wanted to introduce character arcs this season. Adam responds appropriately.
posted by ShutterBun at 6:00 AM on May 23, 2011 [1 favorite]


So much cool tech and not a decent video rig to capture it.
posted by pashdown at 6:07 AM on May 23, 2011


I didn't see Adam, but I was at the faire all weekend, ostensibly working. My wife was there wandering the floor too.

It was hands down one of the coolest things I've ever been to. Every turn had something utterly awesome.

It wasn't a big convention of people selling you things, but instead a huge group of people dedicated to the ethos that in this day and age you really can Make Stuff.

In a lot of a ways I genuinely believe that it's a glimpse at the future. The 3d printer making more 3d printers, the 8 year old kids engrossed by the shaperbot CNC making giant blcks, the toddler walking over to a projection screen and trying to touch it like an ipad...

Next year everyone should go. Bring your kids, go by yourself, but at least go for a day. It's a sight to behold.
posted by Lord_Pall at 6:14 AM on May 23, 2011 [3 favorites]


Electrifying performance.
posted by JtJ at 6:17 AM on May 23, 2011


"Next year everyone should go."

...as if things weren't already crowded enough *this* year?!
posted by markkraft at 6:18 AM on May 23, 2011


Next year everyone should go.

As soon as they have (a real, not "mini") one fewer than 2000 miles away, I'm on it.
posted by DU at 6:25 AM on May 23, 2011


Next year everyone should go. Bring your kids, go by yourself, but at least go for a day.

At $25 per-adult, and $10 per child (over 4), I think my wallet will pass.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:54 AM on May 23, 2011


MataFilter: something to fist a shark with
posted by erniepan at 7:35 AM on May 23, 2011


Dammit, kinnakeet!
posted by erniepan at 7:36 AM on May 23, 2011


For a second there (at about 1:2), I thought he was going to moon the audience. That would have made it perfect.
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:14 AM on May 23, 2011


At $25 per-adult, and $10 per child (over 4), I think my wallet will pass.

Everyone's entitled to their own financial priorities but $25 for up to two day's activities seems exceptionally reasonable to me. It's certainly comparable to most museum entrance prices & movie ticket rates. Someplace like Seattle's Pacific Science Center charges $15 for entrance, separate from special entertainment stuff like IMAX.
posted by phearlez at 9:36 AM on May 23, 2011 [1 favorite]


This year I decided to not go to Maker Faire after going 4 years in a row. It seemed like it was just getting too crowded, and there wasn't enough new stuff each year, so it didn't seem worth going yet again. This post is like the 5th thing I've read that makes me wish I went. Dammit.
posted by zsazsa at 10:10 AM on May 23, 2011


In a lot of a ways I genuinely believe that it's a glimpse at the future.

The future's open wide.
posted by homunculus at 12:07 PM on May 23, 2011


At $25 per-adult, and $10 per child (over 4), I think my wallet will pass.

If you buy your tickets in advance or at Whole Foods the day of, it's $20 per adult, $10 for ages 13-21, and $5 for under 13.

Pretty good deal! The rip off is the food.

I almost didn't go because I hated last years. This years was as big but seemed more organized with less blatant shilling, though there was still shilling a-plenty.

Also, as it gets more organized, it's seemed to be more accessible to people who aren't already in the scene, which is annoying to the folks who used to have it to themselves. I noticed a few people who still seemed uncomfortable with the contradiction- how to show off their work without having to have their things pawed at and without having to explain it in terms adapted to the meanest understanding. They sequested themselves away with layers of folding table between them and the public. It's still an awkward alliance.

I completely understand that this added accessibility changes the game in ways that aren't 100% to the good. There's a lot to be said about watching a bunch of creative people fool around with fire, robots, power tool drag races, etc.. The safety requirements these days are so extreme as to make the whole thing seem neutered. However, there are other places to do those things- those kind of events are easier to set up than the Maker Faire as it is right now. The Dorkbots have not gone away because of the Maker Faire, so far as I can tell.

However, having (the often lambasted) pre-made kits and then tutors and places for an 8 year old girl to learn to solder something functional is... awesome. Having toys that teach binary thinking to kids who normally wouldn't have exposure to it is potentially world shaping. Finally, anything that counters this ubiquitous trend to turn Americans into observers and not doers is great.

The Maker Faire has a lot of faults though many of them I'm not sure could be fixed without it turning into an Exploratorium type of experience, which to me feels contrived and sort of force fed, and too clearly (the dreaded adjective) educational. Despite its faults, possibly even because of them, I think the Maker Faire is a huge step forward.
posted by small_ruminant at 2:11 PM on May 23, 2011 [2 favorites]


I haven't been to a Maker Faire, but I've certainly seen a weird nerd culture thing happening with diy culture vs DIY Culture (tm), and "real" hacker types vs Makers as a marketing thing. Some of it is a measure of "it was difficult for us to learn this stuff, so it should be hard for you, too" from some folks, and some of it is "hey, who are all these uncool people (ie who don't culturally mesh with us) who are in here dicking around with our stuff?" I haven't actually thought much of this through to have a coherent thesis about this, but it's just a thing i've noticed that small_ruminant's comment reminded me of.
posted by rmd1023 at 2:43 PM on May 23, 2011


I caught only 5 minutes of the speech which was titled something like "Inspiration" but was knocked out. Supposedly Adam mentioned at the end he'd be posting a bibliography somewhere but he hasn't done it yet on Twitter or his home page.

If you saw it & remember any of the authors he quoted, please post here. I imagine it might take Mr. Busypants a while.
posted by morganw at 3:49 PM on May 24, 2011


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