tlockney's blog

Fun DorkbotPDX evening at Someday Lounge... TONIGHT!!!

tlockney — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:55:49 -0500

Come join us this evening at Someday Lounge. We've been invited to bring our particular brand of dorkiness and geekdom and show it off. This will be much like our usual meetings (so bring your toys!) but we'll also be giving folks the opportunity to make a lot of noise and get up on the stage.

The fun begins at 9PM and among the activities will be:

Don, performing on the computer-enhanced bass guitar
Jason and Jared, aka CRM114 Discriminator, performing an avant/noise piece originally premiered at ToorCamp
Simran, with the feedback organ
Peter, with his suitcase of mystery
You!

Seriously, if you have something you'd like to show off, let us know and we'll get you some time on the mic. Preferrably, ping Jason, Don or me beforehand so we have some idea of what to expect, but don't worry if it's all last minute. We'll be setting up at 8, so feel free to come down early and to help out or just hang out and keep us company.

Here's a map if you don't know where it is -- but if you've been to one of the Monday night meetups, it's just around the corner.

My, What a Busy Week!

tlockney — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:20:50 -0500

For those who didn't notice (like me, this was actually pointed out in our IRC channel by breedx), the Mercury choose our very own little meeting next week for their Monday pick:

MONDAY, JUNE 8

Some of the most hardcore tech tinkerers in town gather at the semi-monthly DorkbotPDX meeting, showing off their newest creations and interfacing in the optimum environment for efficient socialization. Bring your own toys, too, but theirs are probably better. WR

Success of a sort...

tlockney — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 23:10:56 -0600

So, this last Sunday I finally had time to attend one of the open lab workshops Don has been hosting for a while now. I went hoping to either finish putting together the Benito kit I had been sitting on for months now or to build a Lo-fi Arduino guitar pedal.

Sadly, I wasn't able to get very far on either of these. The capacitors I had for the Benito were mostly unlabeled and I soon found out that trying to test small value SMT caps with a meter was pretty much a losing battle without building some shorter custom leads. Eventually I just asked Don to supply me with a prebuilt Benito. Turns out he had one on him. So my plan of leaving with a working Benito actually did work out in a sense.

It turned out I also hadn't brought all the parts I needed for the Arduino pedal, so finally I just decided to spend my time looking around at what others were doing. Thankfully I had my camera and got a few pics. Here's what things looked like:

Mailing list issues

tlockney — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:07:24 -0600

It appears that at least a few people might be having issues sending email to the blabber list. If you're one of these people, please email me directly (tlockney AT gmail DOT com) and let me know the details. I'll contact the folks running the dorkbot.org servers and try to get it all straightened out.

DorkbotPDX Meeting: Monday, May 12th, 7PM @ NW Lucky Lab

tlockney — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:55:45 -0500

Ok, I just realized I haven't sent anything out yet... but there WILL be a meeting tomorrow at the NW Lucky Lab. I'm too damn tired to think of anything witty to say, just show up, bring something interesting if you've got anything new to show off, or maybe bring a friend!

Anyway, here's the deal if you haven't been before. We meet at 7PM at the NW Lucky Lab (**NOT** the Hawthorne location). We should be easy to find -- just look for the geeks with all the crazy stuff lying on the table. If I remember, I'll even bring my DorkbotPDX banner. Anyway, come join us -- we don't bite.

DorkbotPDX Meeting: Monday, April 28th, 7PM at Lucky Lab NW

tlockney — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:26:55 -0500

You know you've been sitting there thinking "why don't those two weeks go by faster? I *NEED* my DorkbotPDX fix, now!"

Well, I'm here to tell you that your wait is nearly over. In just 4 days time you can satisfy that need to hang out and socialize (a frightening concent, I know) with other freaks and geeks. Of course, I know there's a lot of newcomers out there, so don't be afraid -- we don't bite (well, Don might, but I'll leave that one for you to find out).

Bring your toys, your ideas and most of all your ability to have fun. We take all kinds and we don't turn anyone away.

When: Monday, April 28th, 7pm
Where: Lucky Lab NW (not SE!)
Who: Dorkbot PDX and *you*

DorkbotPDX meeting monday, april 14th, 7PM @ NW Lucky Lab

tlockney — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:10:52 -0500

Ok, sorry if this spiel sounds familiar... I'm going on fumes at the moment and just wanted to get this out:

It's time again to break out the breadboards, shine up the solder joints and light up the LEDs with your good friends in DorkbotPDX. We'll be meeting once again to mull over strange ideas (involving electricity, of course), hash out plans for world domination and, as always, drink beer. Come join us, bring along a project if you have one and can fit it in your preferred mode of transport, and make yourself known to your fellow Portland dorks.

When: Monday, April 14th, 7pm

Where: Lucky Lab NW (not SE!)

Who: Dorkbot PDX and *you*

See you on Monday. Whoever is there first gets to make a grab for the outlets! ;~)

Videos from DorkbotPDX 0x01

tlockney — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:30:45 -0500

Thanks to the wonderful efforts of Mark, Jason and Jared, we now have videos up of the proceedings from DorkbotPDX 0x01. Check them out here: http://www.vimeo.com/album/10961

Also, there's now a Vimeo channel for DorkbotPDX, too, which will be the place to see all sorts of videos from the various goings on of our fine group: http://www.vimeo.com/dorkbotpdx

Meeting Thursday, Jan. 3rd, 7PM @ Backspace

tlockney — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:12:55 -0600

Ok, so here's the scoop: tomorrow night (that's Thursday for those who aren't keeping count) we're going to be getting down for some tried and true geekery at everyone's favorite downtown hacker hangout, Backspace.

So, bring yourself and your hacked gear down and show off your 1337 skills. We'll be sitting around staring at our monitors until you show up. Be there at 7PM if you want the good seats! Bring a friend or two for bonus points. ;~)

TechShop is coming to Portland!

tlockney — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:10:29 -0600

So, it's come to my attention (thanks to Audrey and Mark) that TechShop is going to be opening a Portland facility sometime in the middle of 2008. For those of you who don't know about it, TechShop is pure geek heaven. It's a DIY facility that stocks the tools to build pretty much anything. You can become a member at various levels and have access to everything from machine tools to laser cutters and probably any sort of woodworking device you can imagine. Guy Kawasaki did a great walk through of the original Menlo Park location. You can find out more about the Portland facility here.

Yes, we WILL be meeting Wednesday at Vendetta

tlockney — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 20:28:39 -0600

Despite the oncoming of Turkey day, DorkbotPDX will not be put down. Come join us for full on geekery and weirdness. Bring your toys and your sense of adventure, but more importantly bring yourself.

Jarod's Chronulator makes the big time!

tlockney — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:49:13 -0500

While doing a quick look-see through my morning feeds, I saw a picture that looked quite familiar. Well, turns out it _is_ familiar: I do believe that's Alexis' rendering of Jarod's Chronulator. Congrats to both!

DorkbotPDX named "Best Place to Act Like a Dork" by Willamette Week

tlockney — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 20:31:09 -0500

So, Junior Scientist, you've just discovered a flaw in an on-chip dynamically recalibrated delay line for embedded self-timed systems? Maybe your flux capacitor reached 1.21 gigawatts (finally—God!) and you're dying to show off the DeLorean's stylish 2606 paint job? Don't deny it: Geekdom is your kingdom and you yearn to mingle freely with your own kind. Never fear: Dorkbot PDX is here ! A self-proclaimed group of "people doing strange things with electricity," Dorkbot PDX (dorkbotpdx.org) encourages members to discover, create and introduce cutting-edge technology to the world. Or, as they put it: "Show and tell warrants mega ultra bonus points!" A verifiable, un-secret society ("Open to the public!" they generously proclaim) for techie geniuses and gadget geeks, Dorkbot PDX meets periodically at ever-changing locations (perhaps to avoid those pesky plutonium-smuggling Lybians), so check out the site for rendezvous info.

Willamette Week, July 25th, Best of Portland issue

To blog or not to blog

tlockney — Tue, 01 May 2007 23:29:32 -0500

I feel like I should set a good example here and start blogging to the new site, but, on the other hand, I already have a much neglected blog. So... do I start posting things here, too? Do I cross post (damn, wouldn't that get confusing)? Need to get that aggregator to pul content into the front page... that would solve some problems.