[SATLUG] OT - Maker Faire in Austin - Oct 20-21

[Mitch Thompson]

Robert Pearson wrote:
> FYI...  From another mailing list...
>
> For those unaware of the nearby event and those I've mumbled to about it, I'm
> driving down to Austin for this and it'd be great to see you there as well.
> The topics sound suitable to the people I know and a lot of fun.
>
> "Maker Faire: two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates arts, crafts,
> engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset, including
> Swap-O-Rama-Rama, the King of Fling Catapult Competition, and Edible Austin's
> DIY Food."
>
> http://www.makerfaire.com/
>
> Tickets are sold ($25) for either Saturday or Sunday and are cheaper ($20) if
> bought at the website before Oct 10.  Or  you can get a Weekend pass for $40,
> in advance, which I'm going for due to the number of exhibits.
>
> The displays are not just for us engineers - there are hundreds of exhibits
> for arts, crafts, engineering, eco-green, music, science among which are:
>
>  * An altered reality laser-tag game built on modified Meraki mesh routers.
>  * A Rube Goldberg miniature golf course.
>  * Electric vehicles like plug-in Priuses.
>  * Build your own CNC machine.
>  * blues-in-a-cave musical experience
>  * MIDI-controlled musical Teslas coils
>  * Various robot combat events.
>  * Kinetic sculptures, inflatable speakers
>  * Flamethrowers - forced air, articulated and big fireball.
>  * open-hardware laptops
>  * and what we've been waiting for, the flying car we were promised long ago.
>   
Did anyone go? I went, and had a great time.  My 10-year old daughter 
loved it, too.  The human-sized mouse trap and the Diet Coke and Mentos 
were her favorites, naturally.



I also had a deeper appreciation and understanding of the "Keep Austin 
Wierd" bumper stickers I occasionally see...