Several items of note

[Sam Harmon]

1) We moved some of the benches around last night- thanks for all the help from everyone that made it out. We're getting closer to the configuration we want. We also made some progress on the laser cutter, but it's still not quite up & running.

2) If you're a member of the Meetup Group, we have an interesting new membership perk - a 15% discount at ESI in Mentor!

Full details at http://www.meetup.com/MakersAlliance/ - check the 'Sponsors' tab.

3) If someone else wants to host open hours on Saturday, go for it. I can't this Saturday. Be sure to notify the list.

4) We have taken on a bit of water with the weather. It's noticeable, but moppable/shop-vacable at present.  No cardboard boxes on the floor if you can avoid it...

5) Our friends and new neighbors at LaunchHouse, Tesla Orchestra, will be doing a performance this Sunday at 7:30pm, weather permitting. Full details from them:

Hi neighbor!  

We are a high-tech performance group composed mostly of engineers from Case Western Reserve University. Our performance involves musical lightning bolts, which are very large sparks of electricity that we have tuned to make music.  They are produced by two giant Tesla Coils, which we built ourselves. We have done two tours of Europe, and a number of shows here in the USA.  With our most recent upgrades complete, and a move to a new location, we're doing another one!

Recently, we moved into the Shaker LaunchHouse, located at 3558 Lee Road (the former Oldsmobile dealership), and we thought we would do a free show for those involved with LaunchHouse, nearby residents and other friends. If you would like to attend, please join us at 7:30pm on Sunday, November 4th at the Shaker LaunchHouse. In the case that it is raining that day, we will be rescheduling the performance for 7:30pm on Saturday, November 10th.

Hope to see you there!  

That's everything I can think of right now.

Sam

[Joe O'Donnell]

That's incredible that the Tesla Orchestra is doing a performance. Their machines are monstrous, very sci-fi in effect, and this is a pretty rare thing to experience. If your on the list and haven't visited the LaunchHouse yet, this is the perfect opportunity. It's a big place and very friendly with a lot going on, not the least of which is the activities of our club.  As we have been discussing on the list, cars are on the verge of becoming fully integrated with smart phone like devices, which will result in a flood of new 'apps' and capabilities for cars. Both the car and smart phone/carrier industries are preparing for this, such as with conferences like this one: http://usa.mvnoindustrysummit.com/connected-cars-agenda-at-a-glance/  It's notable that the above conference seems to focus on entertainment applications, with a minor mention of some GPS possibilities. As shown by our discussion, the possibilities for car programming are much larger than entertainment. The future car app developer will have simulataneous software control and monitoring of all of the following available to him or her: -Internet, texting and phone connection -GPS -Software Radio/scanner -5 Channel amplifier with acoustical signal feedback -OBDII monitoring and some level of control of the cars systems -Robotic driving systems that are in development now -Wifi and bluetooth connections to other devices, such as other nearby cars -GPIO for direct control of other electronic devices. This could for example allow an app which is informed by other cars of icy roads, which then lowers the stereo and warns the driver, and perhaps also adjusts braking parameters. The first widespread programmable general robot platform may end up being the car. --- On Wed, 10/31/12, Sam Harmon <samuel...@gmail.com> wrote:

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