Dorkbot Xmas Gathering

The word Xmas may be misleading, since a kind of techno people / Dork seems to have nothing to do with a religion. Nevertheless, they had a gathering last night.

London/SE “people doing strange things with electricity…” since 2001:
When:  19:30-22:30, Thu Dec 8 2016
Where: The Boxing Club, Limehouse Town Hall, 646 Commercial Road, E14 7HA
(directions below)

Free entry, no registration required
Talks start 7.30pm, doors open from 6.45pm…

Don’t forget – you can also follow us on Twitter:
http://dorkbotlondon.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c64ae7bbb8eb1249be8ca8fa6&id=ea282147e5&e=0c7441a498
See who’s coming via the Facebook event:
http://dorkbotlondon.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c64ae7bbb8eb1249be8ca8fa6&id=2d313544d5&e=0c7441a498

With speakers including – but not restricted to…

==== Hadeel Ayoub ====
twitter: @HadeelAyoub
http://dorkbotlondon.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c64ae7bbb8eb1249be8ca8fa6&id=b961a31fba&e=0c7441a498
Hadeel has developed a “smart glove” that translates sign language
from hand gestures
to visual text on a screen and audible dialogue. She’s now working on
an app to enable
real-time translation of the text into other languages.

==== James Larsson ====
twitter: @JamesLarsson
http://dorkbotlondon.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c64ae7bbb8eb1249be8ca8fa6&id=388f08ed24&e=0c7441a498
The inventor, techno-humorist and Dorkbot London regular returns to
launch his all-new
“Flashing Light Prize”.

==== Laura Dekker ====
twitter: @LauraDekker_io
http://dorkbotlondon.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c64ae7bbb8eb1249be8ca8fa6&id=d17cc3de89&e=0c7441a498
Laura’s installation, “Some Small Robots Perform Recent News Media
Output Concerning AI”, can be seen in the “Technology is not neutral”
touring exhibition at Watermans Arts Centre until 8th Jan 2017.

==== Dr Kate Devlin ====
twitter: @drkatedevlin/
http://dorkbotlondon.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c64ae7bbb8eb1249be8ca8fa6&id=a5d9b5721d&e=0c7441a498
For mature audiences: Dr Devlin is organising this December’s Love and
Sex with Robots conference in London to bring together academics,
industry professionals and anyone else interested in sex robots.

==== Open dorks/demos: ====
Fresh from this year’s “CruftFest”:
Jon Pigrem’s @ObliqueResponse Phone
Giacomo Lepri’s Cembalo Scrivano .1 (CS1) augmented typewriter
(&…perhaps you?)

Our old friend Ian Morrison passionately talked about howling wolf though, I missed to catch the point how it was connected to the technology.

—– ?  But that is what Dorkbot is.   😀

For me, it is an occasion not only to see a kind of technical fun but also to see the old friends. — anyway, if anybody was a serious techno person, he / she wouldn’t come to Dorkbot.   Dorkbot is a jokey spot to see a fun.  😀   

(Those photos were taken by a junk Canon EFS 18~55 Zoom or Toy lens on Sony A7R)

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Thinking process

Sorry, it’s about that bellows again.  — behind the apparent shape and its function, that Sony Tilt attachment has many hidden structures and the stories, such as the bottom of A7R camera, additional plate was screwed. Because the device’s constant adjustment = rotation, the plate protect the camera bottom scratched.  And the hard alumium plate has anodized hard surface, which would prevent the two aluminium parts stack together.

You may not able to guess how the bag bellows was made and attached to the mount of both side.  Imagine, if the leather bag was made separately, how you can attach it to the mount (Body side was a camera body cap and the lens side was the back of the front panel with Canon EF mount attached.)  = In order to have the precise position of the mount, a length of black leather was first glued to each mount ring.  Then the leather was folded to the position and stitched together to make a closed bag.  (Because the tilt movement is only one side, the bag was made wedged shape.)

When we make (design) something, there are two different approach.     One is to imagine the final piece in the brain first. And cut the material in each size and shape then assemble altogether.   And the other is, bring the major material to the place and find the size and shape etc on the spot while giving many considerations.  So that the making process is step by step.

(Sound somewhat out of context, you may think though)  The Buddhist’s approach is the later.  Lord Buddha loathe to rely on the imagination, hence he didn’t teach notions, even not rely on the words.  Because  he taught the Karma = everything exists and moves following the Karma.   The sign or agent of the Karma are on front of us and they are keep changing moment to moment.  Perceive all those Karma and intuitively follow them will be the least troublesome life we can have. (Intuitive mean, without having “thinking” self = Selfless = be in the Void = with Dharma)    This is the reason why we have to deal with the things on front of us.  If not on there, its mean, it exists in the thinking or imagination.   So, to make a thing on the spot, while finding the precise dimension and the requirement is the right approach to do.   (It’s not against the nuclear scientists designing particle collider — we may not able to see the particles or tela gauss magnetic force by our eyes still, they are there. = Scientists intuitively count its effect in.) —– In this world, there is no ideal remedy or solution (which was a product of imagination or fantasy) but only practical measure applied on the spot, moment to moment. (You might have seen or remember that all the so-called  “ology / ism” has been bankrupted leaving immeasurable destruction behind ! )

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Sony Tilt

This is a photo taken by a homemade tilting device for my Sony A7R with Canon EFS zoom, while giving 20° tilt to the lens. 

I wouldn’t proclaim this photo was anything typical or special, still it might be pretty unique to this device.  Since the lens has been heavily tilted, focused area was only in the center and the both end was out of focus.  —– you may say “So what” I would say “Nothing, it was just a character of this device” that all. (Since broken EFS lens has no F-aperture control = it was fully open — still Zoom from about 24mm to 55mm and the manual focus was perfectly usable = not too bad for the lens of £5 from a junk box of a camera shop.

So the device or tilting attachment (which I’ve shown you the work piece on the previous post) was now usable state (though, I’m going to add a semi-automatic iris control for Nikon lens).  The lens mount was Canon EF even though Canon lens has no iris control, but its mount IS to attach Nikon, Pentax, Contax etc mount adapter.  With this device, up to 30° tilt is possible though, how useful is the another matter. Still, when opportunity was there, why not try.  It’s a fun.  😀

(The effect of extreme lens tilt IS, —> think IF one side was extended 15mm more, it’s mean for 15mm wide-angle  lens, it IS an extension for a life-size close-up, while keeping other end of picture still focused to infinity.)

In fact, I planed to make a tilting DSLR device using Canon 5D Mk-II, so that I bought one more Mk-II body to be hacksawed. (and 5D original body for research / test disassemble = so, I end-up to have x4  5D body — then, as I got Sony A7 body able to use it without hacksaw work ===> so, here is Sony Tilt !    🙂

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How silly !

Nik-DD

While checking my own post (I need = notorious trouble of mis-speling), I realized “Wait a moment, why did I need to make a screen shot of Aster flower, while having such fuzzy pinhole — How silly”

Whether you believe or not, I’ve completely forgotten the existence of Double Density Pinhole.  I should insist, this was not a demented memory but the Zen No-mind.   🙂   —– Zen only deals with the things on front = if not on front, it is not exists, since the mind is not clinging the No-existent things.

Anyway, to find the “Pinhole Machine” for Sony A7  and  For Nikon (+ adapter), and had the shot of Aster with ISO 25600 setting.  (More artefact noise would appear with longer exposure = dark evening)

The left photo was a Double density Pinhole. — Nikon type Pinhole machine has Multiple Pinhole as well. (Photo right)

They are the compalison = Pinhole machine for Sony A7 —– As the pinhole is much closer to the sensor, the images are much wider and the color on the edge is sifted to magenta. (Left is DD, and the right was mono-pinhole though, not much present fuzzy effect.

Nik-DD

Pinhole sounds simple and easy to make though, — because it IS such small, very difficult to controle = very difficult to replicate the same effect.

Nik-DD

So, I have to be contented to have this fuzziness on Autumn Color.  🙂

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Exploding Cinema or Firework

Last night was a so called Bonfire night and may be to coincide with it, a cinema session “Exploding Cinema” was held in south London.

I popped out carring A7R camera with a homemade “Mag lens” attached on it.   But as I saw the fireworks over a park,  soon I realized that I put a wrong lens. 

Mag lens makes the largest halation among my homemade lens = bright spot like firework become just a big blob.  Still, that’s what I got then, — never mind, it won’t kill me in any way.

Exploding Cinema has been running by the volunteers, film enthusiasts for the past 25 years.  (And I know the current figurehead, Matt for 20 odd years.  When I met him, he was a visual media technician and I was an almost a dancer in residents of the Fridge Club in Brixton.)  Exploding Cinema is showing all the films submitted without selecting, and running totally independent. (so that, the waiting list said to be more than one year to be shown there)

So, the films shown there were from short comical Anime to professionally made quite serious one. (A film produced by Chris R’s “Drone Strike” was a heavy staff good enough for the big screen.)

And MMM    🙂

When I popped out, the fireworks exploded over my head, —– I found, the lens character of big blob is quite pretty in deed.  Ha ha ha,   😀

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Battery Charger

I’ve got numerous number of Battery Chargers and I made quite a few by myself, since I’m buying many Battery type tools etc. = its own charger comes with.  On top of it, I’m using many photo flashlight, LED ring light etc etc. so that, I’m a big user of the battery and its chargers.

But here I’ll talk only about the Chargers came from Lidl. — (As far as I know, Lidl sold 2 battery chargers (Ni-Cd, N-MH single type battery) in the past 10 years or so, and I’ve bought and used both of them. 

Lidl sells the things really cheap = it’s no doubt but the reputation is

“Half of the goods we bought, may not be used and the rest of the half would break down within 6 months”. —– Still we may not bother to claim a money back, because they are anyway so cheap and we may not bother to keep and find the receipt.

Their larger, universal type charger could show “Start fine” — but one of the charging post had stopped to function. (Photo right)

And the more compact type charger (only for AA and AAA) started to make a big noise from its cooling fan and one post stop to charge, then burning smell came out!  

(Incidentally, the photo right showed the plastic cover of the battery shrunk and exposed the metal can = because of the heat-up with a rapid charge = it could cause a short-circuit and a fire)

I check the inside circuit and found one transistor has been burnt out.  Its small SMD transistor  HJ31 was a common PNP transistor though, it’s not easy to replace it = we can not buy just one, but may be 100,  if not 1000 in one lot.  

Still, common PNP, SMD transistor could be replaced by an old common PNP transistor. (50V, 10~50Mhz type though, it was not in a critical Hi-frequency circuit but simple on-off) —– So, I replaced it with an old transistor. = It’s worked perfect.   😀

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PS :   When I talked about this repair work to the computer geeks at the WW meeting, they responded with rather typical view, saying that normally the people do not think to repair the equipment using such old style transistor. — Then, I realized that this repair work was the Zen response.  With normal thinking, people wouldn’t conceive such idea to repair without having an identical component.  Yet still, completely open Zen mind could say Why not ! = Why we needed to be confined to one idea.  As there may not to be any idea to restrict us.  All those idea, restrictions are our own making in the mind. — unless we try, we never see a possibility, even if it might be only one in million.   (If you think, the Zen is to twist the leg and the enlightenment is How to giveup.   YOU were wrong.   Zen and Buddhism IS the matter, How to OPEN the eyes)

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Aster — (Secondly Photo)

Aster (Aster amellus) must be one of the most common flower here.Its name Aster came from its star shape (why the round shaped star was sheen by such astric * shape  is the other problem ! )  😀

Leave such problem to a neuro scientist to argue.   I did some screen shot of its Aster’s image and created the secondly images.

In my policy, I reject the use of Photoshop or in-camera “Effects” kind, because they were the creations of somebody else. Not mine.

So, whether the artefact of “Hi-ISO noise” is a Digital process or a Character of the hardware is a point of the argument.

On process, the screen shot was made with ISO 25600 setting and during the exposure, the focus was shifted to give a blurring effect.

(Originals were shot by a homemade Mag Lens and the copy was made by Gaudy Lens on Sony A7R)

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Sow Bread (Cyclamen) — (Secondly Photo)

(Top photo was in fact a screen shot of the second photo. — Second =

original photo was taken by a homemade Mag Lens and the

screen shot was done by even fuzzier  Gaudy Lens)   😀

Sow Bread (Cyclamen) was introduced to the Japan about 150

years ago.  Botanist then, Saburo Okubo named it as a direct

translation of the English name Saw Bread to  Buta-no-Manju !

(How beautiful ! ! !)

Most of us think, Cyclamen as a potted flower associated with

Christmas. — As a matter of fact, they are the best-selling plant 

in the winter.   So that, to find its flowers in a shady ground of a

public park was a rather surprise to me. (I have no knowledge or 

a proper reference book to distinguish whether this one was a

wild one or just humble but a tough type for an outside garden.)

.

Biggest selling plant mean, it has a very competitive big market

= how to attract the customer, so to find a good sale’s point is a

serious business.  So that, adding a nice smell to the normally

smell-less Cyclamen having a fierce battle. —– On the end a

Japanese scientist has succeeded to develop a nice smelled

variety by manipulating / tampering its chromosome.  =

Made a cross bleed between C.persicum (2n=48) and the

C.pupurascens (2n=34) with scent, to (2n=41) then by the 

use of  Colchicine alkaloid from Saffron, made it to (2n=82). 

(And further process by exposing to Ion-beam to change its

DNA to create nice color with nice smell.)

The whole process sound very complicated and awful. 

Somebody, a kind of  “Activists” may start a fuss, still others may

say it was not actually tampered the Gene but only the change of its

container (Chromosome) which technique has been used to creates

many Seedless fruits such as  the seedless grape, water melon etc.

(When the number of chromosome set was changed to x2, x3 …

such irregularity obstructs the normal development of the seeds

= hence seedless fruits.) 

Although, the plant can produce the fruits, its plant was fertile =

even a cross-pollination couldn’t produce next generation = no

possibility of its spread of an abnormality = safe to the Nature.

—– ?  is it ?        

(As a matter of the fact, our Nature has been bombarded by the

cosmic ray, nuclear particles etc. which is causing the damage /

change of the Gene.

(Which may have contributed to the evolution of many species.)

—– Even on the worst analogy, an Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima,

must be caused millions of genetic mutations if not just burnt to

the death, didn’t create a single Super cockroach nor Giant man.

Genetic mutation might cause the abnormal development or

abnormal growth of the cell or organ (which was called Cancer)

if not die straight, but to have a chance to create any distinctive

new feature to the species is a rare rare occurrence.

To see what is natural and which is not, or how far we can go is a

very difficult question (unlike Activists are shouting) = may be

our useless ideological imagination (and a want of nice smell) is

creating more trouble.  😀

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Hop

A  plant Hop (Humulus lupuls) is a very peculiar plant, which

belong to a small family of Cannabaceae.  From its family name,

you might have guessed, yes, Hop is a cousin of Cannabis.  But

they two looks so different — How botanist found that they

were related ? ? ?    And you might have heard that a stronger

kind of Cannabis, Skunk was created by a crossbreed with Hop. 

(Though, it was unlikely the cross-pollination, nor grafting, so 

some said even a genetic engineering — how it was done

was still in a mystery.)

But, in generall, Hop was only

associated with a beer.

As a matter of fact, me to see

this plant, it was only the third 

time on my life.

First time was on a farm hedge

in the Hertford Shire.

Second time was in a fringe of

a park in the south London.

Then this time, it was a hedge of a

non assuming ordinary hose in south London. = It seems

she always appeared in the most unlikely place. (Of course,

as I didn’t go to see it “likely place” = Hop garden of Kent

or Hop yard of a west country.) — So, the question was,

how this plant or its seed came here ?      And my biggest

question IS how Hop was added to a beer in the first place.

— Has people got a habit to chew it to fleshen the mouth ? 

Then got an idea to put it into a drink ? 

Otherwise, it was the most inventive / creative idea the

mankind got.   (Though, I don’t drink beer.)   😀

(Those photos were taken by Tamron SP 90mm F2.5  on

Sony A7R)

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Pen-F Zuiko 38mm F1,8 Lens on Sony A7R

I don’t remember why this lens was still here.  This Olympus Lens

has been in the end of shelf many years.  It was a Olympus Pen-F’s

standard lens though, Pen-F was a half frame camera (24×16) and its

flange-back was 28.95mm, the lens couldn’t have a focus other than

a macro use, I might have had a test of close-up photo on Canon 5D.  

— The funny history of this lens was, on late 80s, one of my friend

photographer who wanted to experiment, “To get a rough-grain soft

image, using a Push development on a Cross-process” = In order to get

rough Grain, he wanted to use even smaller original = hence Half-size. 

—– So, he asked me to make an adapter to use Nikon Lens on a

Pen-F body.  =  I made it out of Nikon close-up ring and a Pen-F

mount from this 38mm lens = So that, this lens lost bottom mount.

= in normal sense, it is an utterly useless junk

—– though, while Googling the Net, I found the people using Pen-F

lens on the Full-frame Sony camera !    (Unlike the lenses for the

Cropped size senser DSLR camera, those Olympus Lenses has

been made to cover (well almost) the full-frame image circle !) 

To modify this lens for a Sony E-mount camera, I found a M-39

Leica lens to E-mount adapter has the almost a right size. 

So, I screwed  M-39 ring to the back of Pen-F lens (+ some

adjustment for infinity focus) = = = Voila, Pen-F lens on A7R.

The test shot on general

distance was usable but

not bliliant.

(The lens might have 

sold as a spre parts =

damaged goods)

Still, Close-up photo

was pretty good.

(Photo below, middle)

Though, there isn’t much soft texture (It may be because

the Sony A7R camera or its image process.) (Photo right)

Olympus Pen-F Lens is very small, (In comparison to such as

Nikon lens + adapter on Sony) pretty nice match to the A7R,

so that, I’m quite happy to have this  F1.8  wide-angle lens.

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