I am just speechless.  More here und here via Burnlab

My good friends HUMANWINE are playing tomorrow, June 27th, 2009 at The Paradise in Boston.  Alas, I will not be able to attend but if you'd like to go for free all you need do is find a hidden Golden Ticket!

There's just over twenty-four hours left to find the hidden tickets for HUMANWINE's show tomorrow. Here are some links to get started...

http://www.humanwine.org/TheGoldenTicketHunt
http://vinland.ning.com/
http://www.humanwine.org/POBox/postcard2.png

Longtime visitors will recall meeting HUMANWINE in Make:TV Episode 103 - just skip ahead to 8:10 to see Holly and Matt and the band, no need to sit through that other guy.

You may recall Patrick Johnson's marvelous short film Granite Copper Motor from earlier this year. Recently Patrick spent some time with my friends David, Dennis, and Brady, while they designed and constructed a steam boiler dubbed 'Ignatius the Firepig.'  I do so love Patrick's calm and peaceful treatment which is the antithesis of todays frenetic, falsely dramatic, cable television style.

Enjoy!

Modern Alchemy from Patrick Johnson on Vimeo.

A short documentary featuring artists David Dowling, Dennis Svoronos and Brady Scott as they design and construct their steam boiler, Ignatius.

Directed by:
Patrick Johnson - www.journeymanstudios.com

Featuring:
David Dowling 
Dennis Svoronos
Brady Scott

Music by:
John Murphree - www.johnmurphree.com

Camera by:
Patrick Johnson
Ben Hartman - www.who-is-sure.com

Part two in my foundry furnace project, click through for more details.

[Yes, I do have a Persian rug in my workshop. What of it?]

Oh this looks like all kinds of fun!

Cirque Berzerk was born at Burning Man and has been described as a “circus on acid,” “French burlesque meets ‘Sweeney Todd’ meets Cirque du Soliel” and “P.T. Barnum’s worst nightmare,” Cirque Berzerk returns to the Los Angeles State Historic Park June 18th-July 5th with a bigger, more twisted adult big top experience. It’s a show that’ll tickle your innards with a psychotically-tinged sultry evening filled with sinewy acrobats, sensual aerialists, fiery burlesque dancers and a host of evil clowns. For tickets and more info on this wild, sexy, decadent and demented alternative circus, call 866-55-TICKETS or visit cirqueberzerk.com.

More here!
http://www.myspace.com/cirqueberzerk
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31839071165
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cirqueberzerk/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuDMOGfXHSc

Today's road finds, a #2 Phillips screwdriver with tip in excellent condition and a partial roll of electrical tape. Electrical tape is a very common find, I think they must fall of off linemen's and phone company worker's trucks.  

BTW: You should really throw out your worn Phillips drivers, they will only cause you aggravation and damage screw heads - better yet, grind them into a nice set of awls!

This past Monday I finally got started on my foundry project!  I've been collecting material for some time so I was ready to roll once Maker Faire '09 concluded.  The goal is to built a foundry furnace capable of melting brass and perhape iron, if I'm lucky.  

I'm using Dave Gingery's Building a Gas Fired Crucible Furnace as a general guide, but I intend to fuel my furnace with gasoline and waste oil (both veggie and motor) rather than propane (that would be far too easy!).  The main reason for the use of this dangerous fuel is to gain experience with petrol burners for application in a future steam car project.

More after the cut . . . 

I found this at the town dump last week, I'm speculating that it's a roofer's tool for bending flanges on to sheets of copper.  It's about 4 feet long, the hinges are brass and there is a steel blade edge on both side of the central slot.  It is clearly for bender rather than cutting.

Let me know if you recognize what this tool is for!

When I bike to work I always keep a weather-eye on the road surface. Here in New England you must always be prepared to bunny-hop the odd pot-hole (yes, you can hop a recumbent, just not very high) but I also find some very nice tools on my rides.  Sparkplug wrenches are the most common, they get lost in engine compartments and fall out on the road.  Box wrenches and screwdrivers are next, but I've also found vise-grips, channel locks, and specialty wire crimpers too, not to mention inumerable carpet knives, and a machete.

This one is particularly timely as I am beginning work on a foundry furnace and will shortly be mixing refractory cement.

I spotted this trowel at the roadside in an upscale neighborhood, I almost didn't take it because it had been so obviously mistreated.  This is not the tool of a professional mason, this is the tool of a hack.  I imagined that it would take a great deal of effort to remove the hardened cement and mortar.  As it turned out, a bit of a soak in Muriatic acid cleaned it up with very little effort on my part!

It's really quit a nice trowel and I will be putting it to work very soon now!

Growing up near a lake, there were two types of boat people: speed-boat people and patio-boat people. As I sipped drinks from the comfort of a floating drunk-tank, I never really understood the appeal of speed-boats (especially on a lake without, you know, outlets).

Edison Marine, however, makes a damn sexy wooden speedboat. Not only that, but they make a damn sexy electric wooden speedboat. If you've never been out on a lake before, boats- especially speed boats and sea-doos- create a truly obnoxious amount of emisions. It's great to see an EV done so beautifully, and for the pocket-friendly price of $120k.