Strolling, Sandwiches, Maker Faire

Like the relentless ravages of time on my once childlike skin, May is ending. There is little that can be done about it other than walk through Golden gate Park, eat sandwiches, and cry nightly.

A lone duck in the woods is foreboding.

The massive seed cone of chilean rhubarb.

Junk yard.

A pinch of ruggedness, a dash of Jeep.

Open for something.

Masked with purple.

Pastramiscuro.

When you really want a crab sandwich, you really want a crab sandwich.

The lakeside path.

Fungus.

Pride of Madeira, one of the coolest flowers to watch this season.

You can always tell the quality of a restaurant by the size of the cabbage sculpture in the doorway.

On Saturday, J and I took the scooter 35 miles down the coast to Half Moon Bay, then cut across the hills to San Mateo. Our destination was Maker Faire, an event created by Make Magazine to celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the DIY mindset.

In San Mateo, I was pulled over by a stoic motorcycle cop and given a ticket for an unspecified amount. Apparently, it’s illegal to cross a divided highway even if the coast is clear and you need to go to the ATM.

I’m curious to find out what the damage will be, but I suspect it will be at least two Benjamins.

The faire was an even blending of hackers, nerds, kids, Burning Man types, carnival food, and exhibits. The exhibits were spread out over the vast San Mateo Community Event Center, both indoor and out. It was packed.

LEGO-encrusted Jeep.

Flutter barbs.

Light bright for giants.

The future of art.

Giraffe 2.0

My Little Soldering Iron.

External combustion engine.

Waiting for Patrick Swayze.

Retrofitted battery car.

Standing room only for the 1:40 scale remote controlled ship battle.

Steam punk.

The slowest way of drawing a doe.

Dot com bubbles.

The Muffin Man talks to Chesty LeRue.

Circuit making for all!

Spew.

Acoustically modulated thunder courtesy of a Tesla coil.

A few highlights included the Tesla coil powered music performance, a variety of kinetic sculptures, the miniature naval battle, and a working steam engine.

Overall, I found the day more stressful than fun. But seeing kids enthusiastic about science, elbow deep in chips and solder, gives me hope. It’s these kids that will grow up to build the next generation of autonomous drones that enslave humanity.

One dozen roses: free.

YOU > KISS FROM A ROSE ON THE GRAY.

Sunday was a day of roses, violent feather kicks, pizza, Pixel Junk, and dreaming of June.