There’s a lot of buzz on the popular, tech blogs about the new T-2 amplifier from Neuhaus Labs.  It’s built on vacuum tubes and hand-wound transformers.  I’ve got about 14 years [at the time of writing this post] in the Pro Audio and Video manufacturing industries, so naturally, I was very curious to look at the T-2.  Short answer:  It’s a WIN!  Here’s my opinion.

Escapement, by Jay Lake.  3 Omegas out of 5.  A novel set in a SteamPunk universe where the world is hollow and filled with gears, and a giant Wall dividing the world is guarded by mechanical Brass Men.  This is the sequel to Mainspring (maybe, it’s hard to tell if it’s actually a sequel).  The story follows a young girl from a tiny fishing village who wants to see more of the world, and as fate would have it, is compelled to do just that.  Soon into her journey, she learns of the great mechanical prowess of the British and sets out for England.  However, her skills in constructing the rare Gleam attract the attention of evil-doers, and her magnificent adventure ensues.

The book is a little slow to start, but by the end of the first chapter, I was into it.  The quality of the writing is slightly above average, and probably worth reading for the SteamPunk enthusiast.  However, compared to other respected works, such as those by Arthur C. Clarke, James Rollins, C.S. Lewis, or Anne Rice, it’s just not as good.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good story, and I wanted the story to continue; but for the non-SteamPunk’r, this book is a solid “maybe”.  It made me want to read Mainspring.  In defense of Jay Lake, this is my first SteamPunk book; I’ve read thousands of books, and somehow missed this genre until Dr. Warthan handed it to me.

It’s a SteamPunk, SteamPump, StinkPunk, some kind of comic or graphic novel…  Anyways, this guy’s trying his hand at making himself a SteamPunk style comic.  The website [is GONE] shows several panels, but the comic itself seems incomplete; it looks like an active work-in-progress.

However, I did enjoy watching the video below the panels that showed a time-lapse sequence of the creation process; quite amusing, especially when the artist changes his mind.  You can see a strong Anime influence as well, but what are we trying to say with “stinkpump”?  Somebody let me know when it’s done so I can do a proper WIN/FAIL review.  Good luck finding my e-mail address…

Greetings Professor…

This is cool no matter who you are.  Nice chess set with vacuum tubes that apparently light up when they are placed into the sockets on the board.  Very nice.  However, after a close look at the photos, it appears that LEDs are doing the actual illumination.  Well, I guess 20kV of filament voltage would burn the fingers.

This wonderful vacuum tube chess set, by maker Paul Fryer, actually has electricity running inside the board so that the tubes can draw power and glow as you move them from square to square. It is called, somewhat appropriately, Chess Set for Tesla, and Paul actually made seven sets last year.

From: WIRED

I’m open to allowing someone “special” to blog with me.  And by “special”, I don’t mean that you’re the Marine who rode the short-tank…

• Spend thousands of man-hours tearing your hair out looking for SteamPunk or other cool material to blog about.
• Enjoy vast disappointment as you realize you can’t make squat with Google AdSense.
• One-Up that Dr. Warthan idiot genius by showing us your superior intellect.
• Impress people of any gender or non-gender identity and get laid and/or respect.
• Freely use foul language, such as [expletive deleted] and [expletive deleted].
• Get even with that Geekologie bastard writer who didn’t want you on his team.
• Freely express yourself (freedom of expression subject to censorship).
• Get a BS title, such as Doctor, Professor, Mistress, or whatever toats your goat.
• Have a real hobby that contributes to the community so that you can finally stop playing World of Warcraft.

Since I mentioned AdSense.  The bone I will throw is this:  As the blogger, you can put your own ads into your own posts you can swallow sadness and work for no incentive; and as an added bonus, I’ll throw in an ad box for you on the side-bar.  I already have a thing in that works with AdSense for multiple contributors, and I can accommodate other stuff as well.

Interested?  Figure out how to send a message to me, because that’s the entry exam…

A more in-depth look at the upcoming must-see movie.

If 9 is unfamiliar to you, check my original post.

Bwa Ha, Haaah ha ha hehe heeeee…  I love it.  Who’d have thought you could embarrass yourself to such a degree that not only do you become a household phrase, but then you get immortalized in clockwork automation.  Sweet!

I especially like how it vibrates during the Tase phase.  Want to see the video?

This Victorian-era animation is clever, witty, and funny. Guaranteed satisfaction, or your money back. Hint: watch the credits.

Got $342,275 USD to blow on a clock?  Look no further than a wind-up clock that writes the time on a piece of paper.  Bleeding-edge Swiss watch-maker Jacquet Droz invested ten years in engineering and building “La Machine a Ecrire le Temps” (the machine that writes time).  Personally, I was thinking that when I staff my mansion in New Zealand after overthrowing its government and installing myself as a dictator, I could use this machine for punching employee time-cards.

By some coincidence, in the 18th century, Jacquet Droz’s founder used to build automaton dolls to help sell his watches. Manuel Emsch’s idea was to build a similar machine that would be useful for the new millennium.

There are more than 1,200 components, including 84 ball bearings, 50 cams and 9 belts inside the machine. Wind it up, press the button, and the time is written on a small pad using a stylus. Manuel Emsch, creative head of Montres Jacquet Droz, came up with the idea and passed it on to the engineers and artisans of the company. The mechanism is kept inside a case made of liquid crystal, so that you can conceal or reveal it whenever you want.

Via DVICE

[Narrator Voice-Over] In a time…  of post-apocalyptic destruction.  Mechanical ragdolls have risen from the ashes of the old world to replace mankind.  But in the darkness lies an evil robot monster that feeds on the souls of slain ragdolls.  Only ragdoll #9 is left to fight alone in a desperate attempt to save their dystopia, and free the undead.

This is now a big-budget film with Tim Burton’s name stamped on it.  It was based on a short film of the same name.  The little mechanical ragdolls are cool.  The big movie website, and the original short-film on YouTube.  The plot (Wiki) is compelling, and the movie trailer makes it look very interesting.  I’m certainly going to see this on the big screen.  Oh, and watch the above trailer all the way through, because there are two of them one after another.