igargoyle

An Info-Gargoyle Meta-Moment

Although our name was inspired by Snow Crash, in Neuromancer, "The Panther Modern leader, who introduced himself as Lupus Yonderboy, wore a polycarbon suit with a recording feature that allowed him to replay backgrounds at will. Perched on the edge of Case's worktable like some sort of state of the art gargoyle", I also found read about his Mimetic Polycarbon Suit here while searching around for artists' concepts of him.

Technovelgy.com describes the its namesake as: "Creative ideas and inventions of science fiction writers". This definition was enough to make me think about my concept of 'invention'. The first link also provides a link to one of many projects working on wearable chameleon technology.

Tissue Culture & Art (TC&A) this weekend

Here's a brief blast of some of this weekend's LA haps, with details below:

Saturday-
1pm: Dorkbot SoCal @ Machine Project
8pm: The Tissue Culture & Art project (TC&A) talk @ Machine Project
8pm-1am: Censor This Show @ Basswerks [I'm exhibiting a video installation there!]

Sunday-
11am to 5pm - Mini Tissue Engineering workshop and lecture @ Machine Project

From Machine:
"
Dear friends,

We have an ambitious weekend planned. Saturday night at 8pm, tissue culturing pioneers SymbioticA will be on hand to discuss how to grow ears, minature leather jackets, and other fascinating biological experiments. Sunday afternoon they will be leading a workshop in tissue culturing (or meat cloning as we like to call it). Saturday afternoon we are hosting a meeting of Dorkbot, featuring HDR photography, self organizing robots and super efficient vehicles. Details below.

Love,

Machine

-------------------------
Saturday Dec 1st 8pm - Oron Catts & Ionat Zurr, SymbioticA, University of Western Australia:
Free

The talk covers the work of The Tissue Culture & Art project (TC&A) that began in 1996 as an R&D project into the use of tissue technologies as a medium for artistic expression. Some of TC&A’s projects include the Pig Wings, Semi-living Worry Dolls, Disembodied Cuisine (the first time that tissue engineered meat have been grown and eaten), victimless Leather, Extra Ear 1/4 Scale (in collaboration with Stelarc) and NoArk. The talk will also discuss SymbioticA, A unique laboratory dedicated to the research and critic of the life sciences form an artistic perspective, located at the School of Anatomy & Human Biology, University of Western Australia.

more information > http://machineproject.com/2007/11/25/symbiotica/

———————–
Sunday Dec 2nd 11am to 5pm - Mini Tissue Engineering workshop and lecture
Oron Catts & Ionat Zurr, SymbioticA, University of Western Australia:
$55 materials included, space limited. Registration now open

Tissue engineering enables researchers to grow three dimensional living tissues constructs of varying sizes, shapes and tissue types. This half-day hands on intensive workshop will introduce artists and other interested people to basic principals of animal tissue culture and tissue engineering, including its history and the different artistic projects working with TC and TE. The workshop will involve a demonstration for how to extract and cultivate stem cells from bones bought at the butcher. These advanced techniques can be done with homemade equipment and kitchen gear.

registration > http://machineproject.com/2007/11/25/tissue-engineering-workshop-and-lecture/

---------------------
Dorkbot SoCal 25 - Bullock (HDR Photography), Hoetzlein (Intelligent Things), Hertz Sr. (Supermileage Vehicles)
Saturday, December 1st 2007, 1pm
Free

Three awesomely diverse and diversly awesome presenters for Dorkbot's triumphant return to Machine Project.

1. Today's digital cameras have a limited dynamic range compared to film. If you shoot a photo of a landscape with a beautiful cloudy sky, your landscape will be properly exposed, but your clouds will be washed out or vice-versa. High-Dynamic Range photography allows you to circumvent your sensor's limitations by taking multiple photos with different exposures and combining them on your computer. All you need is a camera capable of manual exposure settings, a tripod and a computer and you'll be on your way to HDR mastery. Presented by Dave Bullock.

2. Rama Hoetzlein will present a range of projects, including videos of mechnical and robotic sculptures, self-organizing systems and systems for knowledge organization. Themes will include the relationship between physical (embodied) and non-physical (mental) activity, knowledge representation, and systems of belief. The relationship of these projects to the interdisciplinary questions raised by intelligent systems will be introduced with the intention of engaging in an open discussion.

3. Professor Barry Hertz will be presenting on the development of ultra-fuel-efficient vehicles developed from 1980 to 1988 at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. The distinctions held by the U of S engineers include winning every SAE Supermileage event entered during nine successive years, breaking three amateur world records, and shattering the absolute world fuel economy record on May 29, 1986 with a vehicle that got 4,738 miles per US gallon (5691 MPIG, 49.6 mL/100 km).

For more information > http://dorkbot.org/dorkbotsocal/

Machine Project
1200 D North Alvarado
Los Angeles, CA, 90026
213-483-8761

[via Machine Project Events list]

Censor This Show!
29 artists, 3 bands, a comic, and no cover
Saturday, December 1 8pm-1am
Basswerks Gallery
5411 W. Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
http://www.basswerks.net

Steam House 11/30 in Brooklyn

FM Sygnals DJs Starvin Marvin and Master Flynn present a night of themed dress and cavorting to the very best in underground house, BreakBeat, Hard Floor, and Progressive dance music - STEAM PUNK STYLE!

ART LAND
9pm-4am
no cover

"
FM SYGNALS PRESENTS - STEAM HOUSE,
This Friday Nov 30th, 9pm to 4am

Steam Punk: Denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.

House Music: A style of electronic dance music strongly influenced by elements of the late 1970s soul- and the funk-infused dance music style of disco.

STEAM HOUSE is just that. FM Sygnals DJs Starvin Marvin and Master Flynn present a night of themed dress and cavorting to the very best in underground house, BreakBeat, Hard Floor, and Progressive dance music - STEAM PUNK STYLE!

We invite you to come dressed in your best Steam Punk fashion as you groove into 4am with your hosts from FM Sygnals at;

ART LAND
609 Grand Street, Broolkyn, NY
Subway L Train to Lorimer Street, walk down 3 blocks to Grand Street and make a left to ART LAND.
No cover, good PBRs!

Driving directions will be posted soon for those that require it.

Steampunk/Victorian attire highly encouraged but not required.
(images coming soon... along with fmsygnals.com)
"

Metallicat

Apparently, cats do land on their feet. Sometimes. "Baby" has also apparently fallen on her back, but she's proven to be quite a resilient kitty. But does she have a life counter?
[link via boingboing]

Animatronic Animal Masks with Sensory Enhancers

Lion Of The Sun's custom creations are literally fantastic! Some masks include color and infrared vision systems, articulated ears and jaws, and boosted hearing to simulate the senses and movements of the animals they model. It's also practical, since foam and faux fur materials tend to inhibit the wearers' senses already. From standalone ears and tails, to headpieces and full body suits, expression through play as real-life avatars is by design. Lionel's site has oodles of animals and plenty of pictures, so crawl around!

Happy Thanksgiving

[via aquateencentral]

Stem Cells, Hold the Huevos

An end to the embryonic stem cell controversy is now increasingly likely. Although further such research may need to continue for now, scientists just announced a promising alternative. The successful reprogramming of human skin cells towards various human tissue types implies a major step towards a slew of therapies genetically matched to patients with a wide range of conditions.

At last week's LA Life Extension Workshop, the upcoming challenge of initial breakthroughs, followed by the Law of Accelerating returns, was gospel. Days later, it seems we are on our way to transitional research that can leave major ethical debate behind for a while, and catalyze funding and treatment that will prolong and save lives.

[MSNBC links via Propeller, and a sidebar of related articles]

Life Extension Workshop datablast

In this quick digest about my attendance of the Life Extension Workshop yesterday, I will drop a lot of names and links on you while I attempt to digest the profound content of the day. Thanks to everyone whom I met for being so cool and sharing your passion for your interests; even when you could not talk about certain things for various reasons.

The presenters and panelists included Doctors Stephen Coles, Aubrey de Grey, and Michael Rose, followed by David Kekich and Peter Voss. I will be helping Dr. Coles post video online; I'll post when and where that will be available.

Gerontology Research Group
Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS)
M Prize
Methuselah Foundation
Benford & Rose
Gregory Benford
Persona Foundation
GTCbio
Mediox

There were various plugs for books, which will reach you through links, slides, and video of the workshop. I want to mention a book that was not part of the day's official proceedings, which I learned of when I met Gregory Benford. He and Elisabeth Malarte have authored Beyond Human: Living with Robots and Cyborgs, and I'm excited to check it out.

Mixed Reality Cartography Corset

A wearable device for Gordan Savicic's "Constraint City: The Pain of Everyday Life", includes: "A chest strap (corset) with high torque servo motors and a WIFI-enabled game-console are worn as fetish object. The higher the wireless signal strength of close encrypted networks, the tighter the corset becomes." Whether it is meant to be painful or pleasurable seems unclear.

I suggest exploring the link below to glean the project's conceptual background. I find its discourse reminiscent of Stelarc's. I do share the artist's interest in sensing the electromagentic waves permeating our environment; even to the extent of mapping it to haptic feedback. However, regarding the restriction of the public through normally undetectable information layers, I do not share his tenet that secure WiFi networks are as actively constrictive as this project asserts. Perhaps wireless security cameras and traffic lights are even more controling than secure WiFi, since private citizens should have the right to encrypt their networks from the public without suspicion of conspiracy.

[Link via Make:]

Life Extension Workshop- new schedule

Now beginning at 2PM:

2:00-2:30 Steve Coles
2:30-3:30 Aubrey de Grey
4:00-4:30 Michael Rose
4:30-5:30 Coles, de Grey, Rose (moderator: David Kekich)

location unchanged
seats are still available
[internal link]

Not Your Average Phone Ring

I guess you could wear your cellphone on your finger if you wanted to. Why not get a few of these stick-ons and make a multi-fing bling ring and look ka-ching?

link

Glog On

Well, despite error messages I had received while trying to Glog from my Treo 650, it turns out my images did indeed get posted. These are from BarCamp LA-3 from March.

MobileCamp LA was a complete blast, and I won a Nokia N95, which will be much easier to Glog from. I am running the Glogger application, rather than using MMS, but I will be relying on WiFi until I transfer my service over from Sprint. I have several hacks in mind for my N95, as hinted at in the my Maker Square post, and I will get into that later. I look forward to Glogging about my future hacks, and more. Some of them will be Meta-Glogs, since they will help document my wearable technology work.

I am also going to be checking out the application included with my N95 called Lifeblogger. It will be interesting to share my comparisons of Lifeblogger and Glogger and playing with ways to use each application to do so.

Meet me at Makers' Square

"The Maker Faire team is joining forces with Felt Club for the upcoming
Felt Club XL Holiday event - Sunday, November 18 th from 11am-6pm on
the Los Angeles City College campus (855 N Vermont Ave, LA CA 90029)..."

[via BarCamp LA mailing list]

Here's my abstract:
"My contribution to Maker Square will be wearable computing hacks for PDAs. My focus will be on two devices I am hacking right now that can be used as independent wearable computing platforms that can also be combined together. The two devices are more than just PDAs. One is an Archos PMA-430 PVR with A/V I/O, and the other is a Nokia N95 Smartphone with A/V I/O and Video output. I will mostly discuss hardware hacks for interfacing with the devices' I/O capabilities to create wearable computing configurations. This includes reverse engineering, custom connector kit-bashing and cloning, body mounts, on-body networks, and video connections for HMDs and cameras. I will bring a wearable harness I created for the Archos, a custom connector adaptor I created, documentation of iterative hacks, my OATH (Obligatory Altoids Tin Hack) USB Hub/Ethernet/antenae array interface, and will be conspiring live against my Nokia. I will also discuss the shift in approach between the hacks of the two devices, and how it relates to user interface design and software."

They're still accepting proposals; information below:

"This family-friendly event will feature 70+ amazing crafters,
delicious food and great music, plus an all-new section called MAKER
SQUARE, a miniature version of Maker Faire ! (Felt Club is a twice-
yearly indie craft fair featuring the best and brightest of the SoCal
craft scene. Our carefully juried shows highlight a wide variety of
handmade goods, including handbags and jewelry, baby gifts and paper
products, clothing and housewares, one-of-a-kind plushies and original
artwork. In between shows, we host a variety of craft-related events
around the city, including how-to workshops, craft supply swaps, and
more - www.feltclub.com ).

Maker Square is organized by the staff of Make and Craft magazines and
is a mini-fair that brings together science, art, craft and
engineering in a fun, energized and exciting public forum. The aim is
to inspire people of all ages to roll up their sleeves and become
makers. We will showcase the amazing work of all kinds of makers--
anyone who is embracing DIY and wants to share their accomplishments
with an appreciative audience.

We encourage you to join the fun and enter a project to exhibit. You
can submit you entry by sending an email to sherry@oreilly.com. In
your Maker Square entry request, please tell us about yourself and
your project. Entries can be submitted from individuals as well as
from groups such as hobbyist clubs and schools. Please provide a short
description of what you make and what you will actually bring to Maker
Square. Please provide links to photographs or videos of what you
make. Maker exhibits should be non-commercial. We particularly
encourage exhibits that are interactive and that highlight the process
of making things. Please remember that our space is outdoors and we
do not have access to electricity.

Here's some suggested ideas for topics that we're looking for:
Things Made From Recycled Items
Microcontrollers
Robotics
Making Musical Instruments
Bicycle Hacks
Ham Radio
Puzzles, Games and Toys
Cars (hot rods, custom vans, electric vehicles)
Airplanes and Aeronautics (models, etc)
Biology/Biotech
Chemistry
Cool RC Toys & Mods
Video Games (retro, home arcade and more)
Model Trains and Planes
Weaving/Looms (historical or unusual)
Kites
Temporary Structures (Tents, Domes, etc.)
Unusual Tools or Machines
How to Fix Things or Take them Apart (Vacuums, Clocks, Washing
Machines, etc.)

Maker Square Space: Our standard setup for each Maker is roughly a
10x10 space. Use this space to display your work and/or demonstrate
how you make something. You will need to bring your own tables and
chairs.

NOTE: Makers whose entries are accepted will receive free admission to
Felt Club/Maker Square. However, we cannot pay for transportation and
accommodations. Makers do not pay a fee to exhibit at Felt Club/Maker
Square and maker exhibits are non-commercial.

If you have any questions about participating in Maker Faire, please
contact us by email: sherry@oreilly.com

We look forward to seeing you at Felt Club XL Holiday/Maker Square on
November 18th in Los Angeles!

Best,

Sherry Huss
Director
707-827-7074
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jenny Ryan
FELT CLUB
e: info@feltclub.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
web: http://www.feltclub.com
blog: http://www.feltclub.com/news/index.php
myspace: http://myspace.com/feltclub
flickr: http://flickr.com/groups/feltclub/
"

Life Extension Workshop in LA 11/16

"Aubrey de Grey will be giving a Life Extension Workshop on Friday Nov
16th from 3pm to 5:30pm. Specifically, he will be giving an update on
SENS and the MPrize (more on that below).

Aubrey is a computer scientist, biomedical gerontologist, editor of
Rejuvenation Research and author the book "Ending Aging'..."
RSVP

[via Chuck Esterbrook on the BarCampLA mailing list]

Yes, you read that correctly: "Ending Aging"

Amazon lists it as #1 in some categories, including Physiology.

Location:
Embassy Suites LA - Int. Airport/South
1440 E. Imperial Ave, El Segundo, CA 90245
310-640-3600

*** To reserve a seat, forward this message to bruce@novamente.net
with your name and the names of any guests.

Adapted from the book description and Wikipedia pages:

MUST WE AGE?

A long life in a healthy, vigorous, youthful body has always been one
of humanity's greatest dreams. Recent progress in genetic
manipulations and calorie-restricted diets in laboratory animals hold
forth the promise that someday science will enable us to exert total
control over our own biological aging.

Nearly all scientists who study the biology of aging agree that we
will someday be able to substantially slow down the aging process,
extending our productive, youthful lives. Dr. Aubrey de Grey is
perhaps the most bullish of all such researchers. As has been reported
in media outlets ranging from 60 Minutes to The New York Times, Dr. de
Grey believes that the key biomedical technology required to eliminate
aging-derived debilitation and death entirely—technology that would
not only slow but periodically reverse age-related physiological
decay, leaving us biologically young into an indefinite future—is now
within reach.

Aubrey has created a detailed plan called Strategies for Engineered
Negligible Senescence (SENS) which is aimed at preventing age-related
physical and cognitive decline. He is also the co-founder (with David
Gobel) and chief scientist of the Methuselah Foundation, a ...
nonprofit organization. A major activity of the Methuselah Foundation
is the Methuselah Mouse Prize, a prize designed to accelerate research
into effective life extension interventions by awarding monetary
prizes to researchers who extend the lifespan of mice to unprecedented
lengths.

Regarding this, de Grey stated in March 2005 "if we are to bring about
real regenerative therapies that will benefit not just future
generations, but those of us who are alive today, we must encourage
scientists to work on the problem of aging". The prize reached US$4.2
million in February 2007. de Grey believes that once dramatic life
extension of already middle-aged mice has been achieved, a large
amount of funding will be diverted to this kind of research, which
would accelerate progress in doing the same for humans.

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, pledged $3.5 Million to the
Methuselah Foundation for SENS research. Justin Bonomo, professional
poker player, has pledged 5% of his tournament winnings for SENS
research.

There is more at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_de_Grey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategies_for_Engineered_Negligible_Senescence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mprize

Again, it's on Friday Nov 16th from 3pm to 5:30pm.

*** To reserve a seat, forward this message to bruce@novamente.net
with your name and the names of any guests.

Hope to see some of you there,
-Chuck

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
BarcampLA Wiki: http://barcamp.org/BarCampLosAngeles
BarcampLA Blog: http://www.barcampla.org/
BarcampLA Group: http://groups.google.com/group/BarcampLA?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

SEAMLESS 2008 CFP

"We are looking for fashion design which pushes the boundaries of technology — computational & conceptual couture & wearables, fashion with a social agenda concerning technology (although may not have embedded technology), and fashion produced using algorithmic fabrication or innovative manufacturing techniques. Because of the exhibition format, it will also be possible to show architectural textile installations"

CFP at twenty1F and past years

BarCamp LA-4 Nov. 3-4

FooD, Friends, and Phun
related global events listing
[roll your own] 'Camp