Author: Steph Alarcon

Dear Hive76 community,

With appreciation for the last year and a half with great people and projects, as of yesterday, I’ve resigned from Hive76’s Board of Directors. There are some amazing things in the works for the group, and I look forward to watching it grow and helping out from time to time. The organization has grown so much since I first heard about it, and there is a strong core of smart people making it run. I am confident that even more positive changes are on the way for Hive76 and the Philly science/tech community.

Recently, I’ve had a lot of demands placed on my time, and I feel that I can do more for DIY, science education, and technology for social change, from a different context. I’ve picked up some other tech/ed projects around the city (like Random Hacks of Kindness), so while I’m moving out of the building, I’ll still be in the neighborhood. You can keep an eye on what I’m up to and get in touch over here.

Don’t be a stranger…any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Thanks again, it’s been a blast. And stay tuned for the exciting results of Hive’s next round of elections!

Stephanie Alarcon

There’s a great new comic about how to solder by Mitch Altman, Andie Nordgren and Jeff “Mightyohm” Keyzer . It’s based on a one-pager that Andie and Mitch made last year, and it’s totally cute and informative. It’s a fantastic example of friendly tech ed, and it’s shareable under a Creative Commons license. Apparently the comic will be part of a book on microcontrollers for beginners that Mitch and Jeff are publishing through No Starch Press later this year.

Here’s the pdf, and check out Jeff’s site for copies in other formats and languages, and even a no-text version if you want to make your own translation.

Achtung, plant nerds: This Sunday, Indy Hall and Emerald Street Urban Farm are getting together to teach container gardening and worm composting. You’ll learn how to garden in tough spots, and the resulting planters will live on Indy Hall’s balcony. Plus, brunch! Check out the event here and RSVP here.

Now, if we can just drum up some interest for a fully monitored honeybee mansion with a Twitter feed…

I want to try oragami patternmaking:

More patternmaking puzzles at the Fashion Incubator.

Check out some crazy pattern hacking here. Anyone have a dress form or mannequin lying around? Or we can make some in different body types.

Our favorite chums at The Hacktory have a cool laser graffiti event tonight, featuring art projections and a chance for the audience to play with light graffiti. It sounds awesome:

Tonight’s our big night as part of DesignPhiladelphia’s Kick-Off. Join us in the Design Lot on South Broad Street across from the Kimmel Center to explore space and time, video and graffiti, technology and art, and play with laser graffiti. More details can be found in city paper’s article.