Madagascar Institute » Hackett

Dueling Mechanical Bulls, Maker Faire edition

Hackett — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:39:26 +0000

Small, barefooted people prepare to be humiliated. On the right, MB does an ancient dance of Canadian nerd rage. In the center we have Townsend: stunned; Leif showing his ability to slouch and lean on an invisible wall; Dale Dougherty and Philly, eyes asparkle, documenting. In the background are mocking reminders that we once had a space program. (Photo by gluetree on Flickr)

After a frenzied week of work the Bulls and all that was required to make The Show (costumes, signs, t-shirts, scheduling, kicky little neckerchiefs) got made and done, we got the things set up and running.

I WORE MY PLAID SHIRT JUST TO RIDE THE BULLS WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO TAKE OFF MY COWBOY BOOTS?
Photo by (Andrew Kelly for New York Hall of Science)

They did not work for more than a half an hour at a time, and were getting repaired more than they were running, but it is “Maker Faire”, not “Works every time right out of the box without a hitch Faire”, and we got a nice demonstration on the whole concept of weakest link.

The controls are just for show. Colin waves his hand, people fly off. That is how it works. He can do the same trick with your hat or your head. Do not piss off Colin. (Photo by Andrew Kelly for New York Hall of Science)

Cleaning the shirts you find in the trash is such a hassle, and kind of bougie sell-out. We just leave them encrusted with the hobo vomit and garbage juice, slap a silkscreen on, and call it “Dirty Merch”. You cannot complain about the smell if we warned you.

Vending table. We should have had a bar.

This is the shot of the kid wiping out. Notice the can’t look must look expressions of glee and horror on the faces of the crowd. Young bones heal fast.

Bouncy bouncy mat in its flaccid state

Jim and Colin remount the welded plate and axle. They did not notice that the top plate was bent down from the stresses of running, leaving another repair for later.

A part would break or shear or bind up- we would fix it, and then the next weakest bit would fail. Pins sheared, steel plates bent, welds broke, universal joints seized- the Bulls would work perfectly for a good twenty minutes, then start laboring and acting wonky. We would run increasingly unthrilling rides until the over-stressed motors would cause the electrical system to burst into flames, then we would shut down, repair. Repeat with new problem. With that said we got some great runs out of the thing, were one of the cooler things at Maker Faire, and made a child cry. Even better than making the kid cry was his mom, who berated him for being such a wuss.

This might look like a shot of Jim welding, but he is just pointing to the spot for Becky Stern to focus her laser beam eyes. Gingers have powers.

If you look closely, you can see that this bull mask still has a child’s head in it.

MB removes rainwater from the mat with the power of bouncy bouncy.

I am sure this photo looks a lot better if you biggerize it.

Meanwhile, the Bulls are barely working, at best. The big problem(s) was with the complicated moving parts we made from scratch- steel wheels on a steel plate, rocker arms and drive shafts. For some reason (and this is especially embarrassing to me, as I have devoted a good portion of my life to ripping off and reusing) none of us ever stopped to think “why the fuck are we re-inventing the wheel” (and in this case the metaphor is the literal thing. That is a rare enough phenomenon I am not sure there is a word for it. In this case, we were literally reinventing wheels, with crappier, less-round wheels.), and instead got bogged down in the turd-polishing of a complicated system where corners we did not even know existed (anyone think about case-hardening the wheels, or tempering the plate? Neither did I. I barely even know what that means.) got cut. Slow collapse ensued.

Becky included this photo just because she looks cute. (Photo by John De Cristofaro)

The guy in the middle spent days working on his costume, then took three hours of public transportation to get to Maker Faire. He was pissed at first that his was not the only bull-themed thing, but he came around quickly.

This rider does not know what he is getting in to. Colin does, and it amuses him.

Colin’s Powers dismount another rider.

Gaylen had the “well, duh” moment, but not until we were humping the Bull base into the back yard- why didn’t we use a truck hub and axle instead of making a complicated, breaky one from scratch? A finished, rated, road-tested axle, a part that rests on millions of dollars of R&D and thousands of hours of work from trained engineers, a part that is backed by the whole of industrial civilization and the constant threat of lawsuits, a part that is designed to withstand stresses we will never encounter (fat dude on the bull vs two thousand pound truck turning a corner at forty miles an hour) every day, all day, for years and years. That part that does the job so much better than the thing we sunk tons of money and time into costs $50, and I have a pick of different styles. Amusingly, it is a solution we have used numerous times, a solution that never occurred to me.

More photos in Becky’s Flickr set, Colin’s Flickr set, and add yours in the comments below.

Dueling Mechanical Bulls at Google I/O 2012

Hackett — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 01:18:57 +0000

Bull-riding is considered a super tough-guy activity, a chance for cowboys, rodeo queens, and wannabees to prove that they have what it takes to triumph in this quintessentially American pastime.

In our minds, all mechanical bulls fall short of being truly American in that they lack competition, the opportunity to directly humiliate another person. To elevate yourself at the expense of another– that is the real American way, and this ride will provide what the usual (suspiciously non-competitive in an almost Canadian kind of way) bulls fail to deliver.

These two bulls require two riders (one rider on each bull, just to be clear) to function, facing each other, Mano-a-Mano, Taurus-a-Taurus. They start off slow, and the difficulty mounts, bucking and spinning faster and faster, the motion of one mirrored in the other.

The bulls are built as near to identical as we could manage: same motors, same gearing, same motion, and are both controlled by one set of controls– what happens to one bull happens to the other, maintaining the same level of difficulty. The ride lasts until one rider flies off, leaving the other rider victorious.

In case there is any doubt in the mind of the riders or audience as to who has won (and who has lost), there is a big sign above it all, saying “LOSER”. A blinking arrow flashes towards the loser so everyone knows who is the lesser man.

The bulls spin on steel wheels.

The riders become the bulls by donning foam bull heads.

The riders are stuck with foam spears thrown by the Madadors and members of the crowd.

The motion of both bulls is controlled by a single joystick. Arcade buttons control the two LED arrows on the sign.

Would you like to taste pure awesome? Please contact us about running the bulls at your event.

An Adafruit MENTA board animates the LED pixels on the sign when a button is pressed. The code is open source and you can download it from Github.

In June Madagascar Institute presented the new Dueling Mechanical Bulls ride at the Google I|O After Hours party.

It’s our third year at Google I|O.

Tracy and Mary Beth flew to California with the in-progress bull heads.

They met up with Danielle who was up to some crafty fun making costumes.

The rest of us packed up the bulls in Brooklyn and headed west ourselves.

New artstar Colin received his first (of many) artscar. The grinder leaped out of his hands and went for blood, gouging a charred path in the flesh of his thigh.

Disdainful of the dangerous nature of the work required, Mark Krawczuk made some snazzy patches to commemorate the experience.

Classes!

Hackett — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:41:32 +0000

Classes are back, finally, after years and years of exile in fake idea land. Right now, classes include leatherwork, absinthe making, sewing, electrochemical etching of brass and steel using household ingredients, and, (of course) two types of welding (easy and ugly/ hard and elegant) taught by Artstars with a disturbing range of personalities. Check back every now and then, as the list of offered classes will grow and grow as people get their shit together and commit to teaching.

Go to http://madagascarinstitute.com/classes/ to see what we have to offer, and sign up quickly at classes (at) madagascarinstitute (dot) com, as space is limited.

To get all fancy and Web 2.0 (are we still on 2.0? I am old, and ten years out of the tech world) use the comments to let us know what kind of classes you wish we gave, and if the desire seems to be out there and the ideas aren’t too laughable (like: no fire spinning. No creepy dude magnets, or any classes that involve touching other people. No improv. Nothing even remotely “spiritual” or containing the word “feelings”. The word “potential” should only be used in the EE sense.) we will try and make a class happen. In exchange for giving us a great idea we can use to profit, you get nothing, but you will get the opportunity to pay to learn stuff. Which is good. For us, at least.

Fireless Fireworks, going into a crazed frenzy of production starting Sunday

Hackett — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 07:10:05 +0000

One of the first slogans of the Madagascar Institute was “A fine mix of obscure history and blowing shit up” and Fireless Fireworks combines the two, along with sexy pirates, lasers, and Shane Gross in wet, clingy clothing that leaves nothing to the imagination (except for confusion as to what, exactly, that is supposed to be a tattoo of).

In only a week we will be blowing shit up in Washington Square Park, and WE WILL GET AWAY WITH IT- we have permits, permission, and even a budget. There will be rockets and geysers and a guy screaming in German while cracking a bull whip, strobes and balloons and lasers, did we mention the lasers?

It will be the best event ever, with good intentions and dangerously misguided sincerity that goes horribly, horribly wrong, with awesome tech hacks, clever work used to subvert gravity, and Diet Coke used for evil.

Or, it will be Mark and Ben wet, crying and alone, and the event the coolest thing that could have been but did not come off because YOU did not step up and help. A ton of people have been working like Japanese mules for weeks but the event will not happen unless you step up and get to work. It will be fun, rewarding work with almost instant results, both in the week leading up to the event and esp. on Friday night when it all goes down.Fireless fireworks needs monkeys skilled and not so-skilled to build props, assemble cannons, rig lighting, and run the show on Friday night.

Also, we need a ton of people to document it.

Following is Mark’s exacting lists of tasks (before and during) and
things the project needs.

Before the event, people are needed to :

– Wire solenoids and switches
– Put together PVC for launchers
– Art up the fake rocket
– Make flags
– Help do some experiments with the diet coke fountains and concussions
– Help us scavenge some soda bottles
– make some platforms and stands for the rocket, lasers and photo board
– set up lighting and lasers
– pull a gig bag
– twist a – small marching band / noise band / accordion players –
collective arm into playing during the show…
– make biting and sarcastic remarks

We also need

– soda bottles and water bottles
– high pressure containers: broken compressors, long dead fire
extinguishers, out of date
– canvas bags or sacks

DURING THE EVENT
– People to load and fire the rockets
– People to fire the water cannons
– People to help with the concussions
– People to unleash the awesome power of Soda
– Flag people
– People to do laser effects

Danger Blender, Irish Festival Update

Hackett — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 20:10:45 +0000

So Saturday at the shop was a frenzy of concentrated Danger Blender activity in true Madagascar style- people who just stopped by for other reasons or to lend a quick hand doing heroic amounts of crucial labor (thanks, Jason), the thing getting done right at the last minute, things going horribly wrong at the party on a test run (blender blades flattening out from centrifugal force cutting thru the trash can blender body at high speed, this throwing the axle out of true) and a miraculous save from the usual dark horse heroes (Angle Grinder, Shane Gross). Danger blender was well and truly dangerous, reducing fruit and ice to their component atoms REALLY REALLY LOUDLY. At one point I turned to Jason(after lovely bartenders wearing face shields, gloves, and hearing protectors were tossing unlucky oranges and ice into the spinning maw of razor-edged Hurting while the ravers on acid tried to run in horror, only to be blocked by the ravers on speed crowding in for a closer look), and said “You know- this is pretty stupid, but far from the stupidest thing I have ever done at a party and he concurred. It was pretty stupid, but made us a few hundred bucks, and with four hours of work can actually be upgraded into a useful industrial drink maker. (If you want to help out on that let me know.)Thanks to all that helped, including the poor Apex Tech welding student who had never built anything before and who panicked when she realized that we needed the thing that night.

Blender work,combined with lateness, short notice, crippling hangovers, and general lack of interest kind of crippled the Ireland meeting. If you have a good, fleshed out idea (no time for fake ones of any kind) e-mail it to me, and we will try and do the design-off online, as time is tight. I am going to try and bullshit our way into an invite and 10 plane tickets now, idea and plan later, but if you run an Irish festival you have to be good at dealing with bullshit from pros, so I am not hopeful.

This Week at the Madagascar Institute

Hackett — Wed, 16 May 2001 21:02:35 +0000

So- it has been months (has it been months? It seems like it, as least
to me, who cares, and maybe to the others that do as well.) since you
ungrateful bastards have been blessed with another missive of sweetness
and light from me, and oh what those months have contained- amazing
events, radical leaps in technology, the dawn of tank-top season and oh
so much more (some of it detailed below, most not) but you will all be
pleased to know that I am still more or less crippled by rage, no matter

how pleasant the weather is. My valuable work time has been spent
actually slaving away doing what I am paid for (as long as I am being
paid to think of ways to get fired that will include severance pay and
qualifying for unemployment payments) and not sending e-mail to the
likes of you, but so much is happening and about to happen at the
Madagascar Institute that it must be shared.

So, without further delay and with only a few (minor) tangents and
bile-choked rants:

This week at the Madagascar Institute

What you missed:

First and foremost I want to underscore that e-mail announce or not, the

Madagascar Institute is open every Thursday and Saturday, (which you
should have known) and Tuesday as well (which you might not have known).

A select few artstars have been showing up regularly and doing, and oh
what they have created. There are 8 kinds of art bikes rolling around,
bikes so bad ass that people have actually been crippled on them (sadly
enough, I am not joking), machines of “amusement” whose only purpose
seems to be to maim, and spectacular events both past and future that
will be or were (tense depending on the event, of course) the best thing

ever.
We are not fucking around, and if you come down you will not be either.
For example:

Remember how I used to recommend that after an evening of welding at the

Institute you could strut into Rubulad or wherever the kids go these
days to pose and drip with irony and flirt and drink and brutally shove
whoever was in your way? Well, no need to get your artstar mitts filthy
with hipster sweat or blood- after several weeks of intense work at the

Institute, artstar Jeff S. discovered he could COMPLETELY VAPORIZE
anything/anyone he wanted to, just with a focused thought. Soon, other
Madagascar Institute regulars reported the same, or similar powers.
It is so cool.

Enough of the past. Well, except for this:

If you have footage or photos or vaguely expressionist drawings of the
latest Madagascar Institute event (The Feast of Saint Madagascar) send
it to me. We need it, and you will never never use it except to clumsily
project at some suck ass party where people will really not enjoy it
because they will too busy drinking or cruising or waiting to pee.
Unless, of course, it is one of our parties, where they will be
quivering in amazement and awe. (or is that fear?), and along those
lines we need the services of a crack video editor, quick like a bunny
now, so if you are one of those let me know.

Also, there was a touch of , uh, unpleasantness as a result of that
event, that led to some of our comrades in the beloved Hungry Marching
Band getting led off in chains. They can use your letters of support for
their court date. To quote HMB spokessiren Ms. Tara Ball:

————————————————————————

Hello Citizens and Comrades,

We, the Hungry March Band, need your kind and urgent assistance.

I know this is late notice but we are in need of your support! Five of
us we arrested after an event on Friday April the 13th. Our court date
is
Friday morning, so please hurry! See Story Below.

Please quickly write an email and send it out extolling and exclaiming
all
the good we do for the world, the community, the individual, the human
spirit, you and even the furry little creatures. Any thing at all so we
can show we are community minded, virtuous, helpful, professional,
wonderful, caring, kind, good citizens that just want to do the right
thing. If you have witnessed one of our shows, if we have played at an
event for you, anything at all, please send an email. If you are a
bigwig
w/a fancy title or just some person who knows love when he/she hears it,

send out your words now.

We want to show the Judge we are not a bunch of lowlifes just trying to
make trouble or something like that.

PLEASE SEND TO:

HungryMarchBand@usa.net

This way I can print them out at work as my printer in broken and it
will
be good if they are going to bands email addy instead of mine.

The Story in Brief…
We were doing what we always do, making music for the people. This time
it was for the Good Friday Poets Parade after one of our bandmates shows

in the same LES neighborhood, around 9/9:30pmish. It was a simple parade

but a lot of people came and that made the police nervous we think.
Some
kids made a religious icon statue/float that was quite nice and carried
it around for the parade. It had attached to it a somewhat spectacular
sparkler/light/smoke show. We were just playing music, never were we
asked to stop or move on or anything. They just nabbed a few of us, well

after the event was over. I think mostly because they were confused and
just wanted somebody to use as an example. Nothing was broken, no one
was
hurt, everyone seemed to be having a good time and enjoying the
festivities until the police arrived. They just blocked traffic and
scared everyone away. I think they were upset over the icon float, but
we
did not make that, only music and it wasn’t even late. We all ended up
in cuffs and jail. We got out relatively quickly. We were charged with
Disorderly Conduct.

We just want to prove that we do this sort of public event all the time
with no ill intent. We do our part in the community. So please help us.

A simple letter will do.

thanks and love,
xxxT the jailbird
————————————————————————

Let us move forward.

Several big Madagascar Institute events are coming up, in what looks to
be the busiest and best spring ever. There are a number of opportunities

for you to take a part in the creation of these events, and if you can’t

do that then you can show up and still out cool everyone else in this
fair city. In addition, there are a number of events in the near and not

so near future that are not Madagascar Institute events per se, but are
endorsed by the Institute or involve a number of Institute people and
efforts, or both.
All of these things are listed below with varying levels of detail, in
something approaching chronological order.
For those of you that are not strong readers this is the skinny:

May 19th – Madagascar Institute toys on display at Blackkatt party in
Dumbo
– Also, special advanced welding class at the Institute
May 20th- Million Chenguin march, 3pm, Astor Place
May 26th- Madagascar Institute Fundraiser, at the Institute, so we can
buy a truck
June 9th Running of the Bulls, Brooklyn
August, sometime: Madagascar Institute Luau

Lastly, we need obtanium, as usual. Please note that
“obtanium” is not the same as “trash” . Specifically, we need scrap
metal, working (at least partially working) electronics, motors, power
tools, shop and lab equipment, art supplies, fabric, engines, and shiny
things.

On to the events:
Blackkatt: THE CIRCUS B4
Saturday MAY 19
D Space in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass)
27 Bridge St, F train to York, walk 3 blocks towards the water.
Brooklyn, NYC

multimedia madness and midway
in a 7,000 sq foot warehouse complex with a huge, 3,000 sq ft. outdoor
courtyard, DUMBO, Brooklyn NYC

This will be a big crazy party featuring DJs, booths, and performances
that I am betting you will dig and that I don’t feel like listing here,
and, as the invite promises:
“Apocalyptic circus toys from the MADAGASCAR INSTITUTE”
It will be good. We will be demoing some of our new creations. You will
like them.

We need all the lively monkey hands (not literally, but if you have
actual monkeys or monkey hands please do bring them by- that would be so
punk rock) possible to help us finish some of the creations. No
experience needed. Also, Ms Tara Ball has the following specific request
for help:

————————————————————————

Can you post to see if there is enough interest to help me man the peep
show, to set up and break down for Saturday night. I need people to…
_ “perform” some “art act”, rude is okay, sexy is okay. They will be on
the other side of a Plexiglas partition. There will be a slot for tips
that they can keep but must give me a part for bringing the fucking
thing

_ people to help be set up and break down, not to hard but I can not do
by myself

-People to barker outside…draw them to booth and then drag them out
when turn if over.

All easy and fun. But I need help.
xxxT
————————————————————————

In addition, Saturday at the Institute master welder Garth Heck will be
teaching an advanced welding session and telling stories of smacking
Gavin around when he was little (yeah- I find it hard to believe that he
was ever little too) and life as a welder in the Coast Guard.

Sunday, May 20th- Million Chenguin March
Chenguin fucking rocks. While this is not a Madagascar Institute event,
it has our full support and we lent our expertise to some of their
special effects. Go.
Be at Astor Place at 3pm on Sunday and follow the 9 foot tall
Chicken/penguin hybrid. All will become clear shortly. For those of you
who like internet, they have some sort of “page” at www.chenguin.com

Madagascar Institute Fundraiser:
Saturday, May 26th, at the Institute
You will be bombarded with clever invite text shortly. Stay in NYC
Memorial Day weekend and enjoy the uncrowded streets and bring all your
friends to the Institute so we can make money so we can buy a truck.
There will be DJs, art, and maybe a performance or two in the style you
have come to expect from the Institute. It will be glorious, and
reasonably priced.
If you would like to volunteer to help set up, clean up, decorate, or do
other things contact ryanoconnor9@hotmail.com.

Running of the bulls- June 9th
This is the next big Madagascar Institute event. In the professional
quality words of Jeff Stark:

————————————————————————-

1. the running of the bulls is a madagascar institute street event on
june 9. the event will start at the corner of carroll and nevins, in
gowanus, brooklyn, near a lovely little retractable bridge. we should
expect 200-300 guests, most of whom should be wearing white-and-red
outfits. we will line up 40 bulls — puppet bulls, costume bulls, art
bike bulls, car bulls, skating bulls, chinese dragon bulls,
sound-sculpture bulls, etc. — and chase everyone down the street for
several blocks. afterward, there will be a party at madagascar, with
sangria, bad flamenco dancing, good music (dj and otherwise), a bull
fight, and a boxing match between an old hemmingway and a young
hemmingway, and anything theme-appropriate you might be able to dream
up. it’ll be ridiculous fun.

2. we need bulls! youre on this list because we’re pretty sure that
youre going to make a bull, but please let us know, just so we can be
positive. (yes, right now is fine.) there’s already some activity and
much planning. i’ve got four different bulls in progress right now,
and i’ve seen some other stuff coming together around the institute.
basically, your bull can be as elaborate or as half-assed as your ego
will allow. i will not mock anyone’s involvement. (note: i speak for
myself, and not your peers.)

we could actually use more bulls from strangers or people who might
not be on this list. please feel free to recruit your friends to make
bulls. there are only two rules: one, the thing has to invoke or at
least hint at bullness; two, it must move. please do any recruiting
on an individual basis; dont just broadcast this message to an
external list. this event does allow for a lot of participation from
others outside of our core group, and those people should be
encouraged. at the same time, we don’t plan on counting on most of
them just in case they slack off and dont come through.

3. again, the bulls are really individual projects. there is a lot of
junk for you to use around the madagascar institute. you can also
find some pictures and examples of bulls hanging out on the walls and
such. plus, there’s often free labor if you want someone to help you
and attractive people to flirt with. youre of course welcome to work
at home or in your studio if you want, but know that if you need
something, hackett probably has it. come on by. the institute will be
open tuesdays, thursdays, and saturdays, and then every day the week
prior to the event. email me if you need directions.

in addition to the personal project commitments, we need some help
with the party afterward. some people have expressed interest in
certain parts of the planning, but feel free to send us an email and
say that you want to join that group or work on that section of the
party. there’s plenty of work to go around, and as always, roles and
fiefdoms are pretty fluid: the best thing you can do is to show up on
a tuesday, thursday, or saturday and prepare to work.

special question: does anyone know how to play flamenco guitar? do
your friends?
———————————————————————-

Contact me or Jeff (jstark@salon.com) if you want to help, or just show
up at the Institute.

Ok- that is it for now. Is that enough for you? If you are looking for
direction to nurture that budding artstar deep inside you that has been
stifled by television and bad cocaine (is there any other kind) then
show up and you will be put to work on making something that you can be
proud of, and what feeling is better than that?

To be removed from this list eat glass.

The Madagascar Institute is located at 217 Butler Street, between Nevins

and Bond, ground floor.

Directions:
Take the F or G train to the Bergen Street stop (3rd stop in Brooklyn on
the F) Exit at Bergen and Smith Street. Walk up Bergen, against the flow
of traffic, 2 blocks to Bond. Take a right on Bond, walk 4 or so blocks
to Butler. Take a left on Butler, walk 1/2 block to 217. Ring buzzer
#1.You can get there from the N/R train at Union (about 8 blocks) and
the Atlantic/Pacific street stop for everything, but I don’t know how to
do that.

Car/cab from Manhattan:
Go over the Manhattan Bridge. Once on the Brooklyn side, you will be on
Flatbush. Follow Flatbush a few (like 6) blocks and take a right on
Nevins (right after Fulton, with its bright lights and disturbing amount
of wig shops). Go down Nevins like 6 blocks, watching the neighborhood
get progressively more industrial, until you get to Butler. Take a right
on Butler. 217 is halfway down the block.

Car/cab from Williamsburg (Thanks to Tara Ball)
easy driving directions to Madagascar Inst by Tara

get off BQE Manhattan bridge exit, drive down very big street of
Flushing Ave. Make right on Nevins which is just after Juniors (stop buy
me cheese cake for doing you this favor) 2 or 3 blocks. Drive a little
ways keep eyes open and brain working look for BUTLER. then find 217
Butler (btwn Nevins & Bond.) If you see 3rd Ave you are going wrong way,
turn around. Across street from brick structure.
Easy and remember cheese cake.

This Thursday at the Madagascar Institute

Hackett — Thu, 14 Dec 2000 03:59:01 +0000

-Welding with Fire: Using the new Oxy-Acetylene torch; or:
New ways to horribly maim yourself, just in time for the holidays.
-Practice, practice, practice.
-Cheap and crappy but very hazardous holiday gifts, part whatever.

Last Saturday saw the first steps of the Madagascar Institute volcano,
the centerpiece of the upcoming luau to take place Jan 13th. So far, it
stands fourteen feet high, looming over the rosebushes and spent crack
vials in the back yard. It is impressive. I’m not sure how high it will
eventually be, but if anyone knows the specs for aircraft warning lights
let me know. Personally, I want the fucking thing to be so big that when
it is ignited astronauts on the space shuttle will scream like little
girls and soil their space suits. I want a plume of home made lava to
punch right through the ozone layer and surgically obliterate San
Francisco when it lands. I want massive climatic destruction, tetonic
plate shifts, left-handed people gaining superpowers and monkeys driving
mopeds, and after all this happens you can turn to your cowering loved
ones and say: “Hey- I helped out on that.” So, if you want the type of
bragging rights that come with building a really big volcano please show
up at the Madagascar Institute or e-mail me.

Note: This list goes out to like 100 people now, and like the same two
dozen keep showing up. If you have not shown up don’t be shy. Last week
had a good number of new people show up, and their skills and enthusiasm
were appreciated. If you have always wanted to come but feel like you
have missed the boat don’t worry- you haven’t. The Madagascar Institute
is always looking for good (or at least good-looking) people.
Note2: The Surveillance camera project is postponed. It will happen in
January. You will be informed.
Note3: The Madagascar Institute is looking for web geeks and Flash-heads
of all skill levels to work on the Madagascar Institute web site, which
has like directions for an event we did a year and a half ago. We have
shitloads of text, video, and pictures that need to be put together into
a good site. After all, how can you tell if something is fun unless it
has a web site?
If you want to work on www.madagascarinstitute.com contact me.

Anyway- this week we bid good-bye to Hans, our master welder and
coverall enthusiast, who is off for a few month sojourn to Notamerica.
He will be missed, but he will be back. Until then we can content
ourselves with his Oxy/Acetylene torch. Good bye Hans, and take
advantage of those liberal foreign prescription drug laws for us.

-Welding with Fire: Using the new Oxy-Acetylene torch; or:
New ways to horribly maim yourself, just in time for the holidays.

As stated above, Hans donated his fancy gas welder to the Madagascar
Institute. (Or long-term loaned it- whatever. It is ours now.) For those
of you that do not know, Oxy-Acetylene is the type of welding that uses
actual flame instead of electrical current to melt metal. It is
considerably more difficult to master than arc welding, but is a great
skill to know and if useful in a wide range of applications where arc
can not or should not be used.
It can also be incredibly, awesomely, dangerous. A common use of this
type of rig is in cutting steel. A fire hot enough to rend steel is a
vulgar display of power- I once say one of these things rip a man hole
cover in half in about a minute. I still have a neat pair of scars from
a run-in with the molten steel that flies when a cutting torch is being
used, and I thought I was being careful. Learn how to use this beautiful
thing this Thursday and Saturday.

Bring:
-Welding goggles- the arc welding helmets are too dark for this type of
welding. You need those cool little welding goggles like you see stupid
fucking ravers who don’t know what metal is wearing- the roundish ones.
You can get them at good hardware stores.
-Good, long gloves/welding gauntlets. This is where you really, really
need them.
-extra torch tips- we need some. Contact me if you live or work near a
welding supply place and want to pick some up.
-a health respect for anything this powerful. Remember- if it can slice
inch-thick steel in half, imagine what it can do to you.

-Practice, practice, practice.
Remember, just because you know how to strike an arc and draw a bead
does not make you an artstar. Practice your skills and you will get
good. Otherwise, you will suck. Being half-assed at something does not
impress people. Projects will be selected for those who want something
to practice on. Also, if you have not been able to weld yet you will
this week, promise.

Bring:
Scrap metal
Obtanium
Ideas

-Cheap and crappy but very hazardous holiday gifts, part whatever.
This is basically the same thing as above, only with a holiday slant to
it. Write your own blurb. I need to get back to work.

Thursdays at the Madagascar Institute run from 7 pm until around 10:30
pm. If you get there late or too early the ice weasels will get you. Big
thanks to Albert for getting the tanks filled and Hans for the welding
rig.

As always, to be removed from this list eat glass

Hackett

The Madagascar Institute is located at 217 Butler Street, between Nevins

and Bond, ground floor.

Directions:
Take the F or G train to the Bergen Street stop (3rd stop in Brooklyn on
the F) Exit at Bergen and Smith Street. Walk up Bergen, against the flow
of traffic, 2 blocks to Bond. Take a right on Bond, walk 4 or so blocks
to Butler. Take a left on Butler, walk 1/2 block to 217. Ring buzzer #1.
You can get there from the N/R train at Union (about 8 blocks) and the
Atlantic/Pacific street stop for everything, but I don’t know how to do
that.

Car/cab from Williamsburg (Thanks to Tara Ball)
easy driving directions to Madagascar Inst by Tara

This Sunday at the Madagascar Institute

Hackett — Fri, 27 Oct 2000 18:56:45 +0000

This Sunday at the Madagascar Institute:

SEE the new workshop plan !
CUT solid steel with a spark-shooting grinder!
PROVE that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts by welding
scrap metal into art!
COMMIT various felonies by building a rocket launcher!
AND various other activities that fit worse than these into a sideshow
barkerish sentence structure.

So.

As some of you prob know there is no big Madagascar Institute Halloween
prank this year. There will be something that breaks a few laws and
scares the shit out of people, but it won’t be anywhere near as
wonderful as flaming soccer so don’t get all hyped up. More info will be
presented Sunday.

This week we will be asking for a small contribution to offset supplies,
like 5 or 10 bucks or so. It is not mandatory and old engines, scrap
steel, and tools will be gleefully accepted in lieu of the cash.

This Sunday at the Madagascar Institute:

Welding school, part 3.

Some of the people who have been in attendance for the first two welding
sessions are starting to get good. If you haven’t been to one yet don’t
worry, you will be brought up to speed quickly.
This week the welding shop may or may not include a second welding rig
so that groups at different levels can both work at the same time.
Beginners and non beginners will be doing different things.

Bring:

Scrap steel. Remember, if it rusts or a magnet sticks to it it is prob
steel.
Gloves, welding masks, electrode. There are enough of these things to
share but you will prob want your own gloves and maybe mask so you don’t
have to keep sharing them with the skanky guy who used it before you. If
you want to know what type of stuff to buy e-mail me.
Ideas. We will start working on individual projects soon.

Engine School, part 2.

This week, the snowblower will hopefully get running. Clay (or someone)
might lecture on this. Remember, little engines can be the base of cool
robots and machines.

Bring:
Any old engines you come across. If you see an old lawnmower,
snowblower, chain saw, whatever (like you ever see any of this shit in
NYC) grab it and bring it down. It will be used.

Cutting metal 101
Learn to cut solid steel with a hand-held angle grinder. It shoots out
some really cool sparks, and with the grinder to cut and the welder to
put together you can make anything.

Bring:
Scrap to cut.
Extra cut-off wheels (if you are really going to bring one tell the guy
at the hardware store that you need a cut-off wheel for a Mikita 4.5
inch angle grinder. He will understand even if you don’t.

Project 1: Rocket launcher

We will try to put out scanty skills to the test to start building a
little hand-held rocket/fireworks launcher. Also, we will be taking
ideas for future projects.

Bring:

steel pipe, hinges, angle iron, ideas.

Halloween workshop:

If you got any last-minute additions or work that needs to be done on
your costume you can use the Institute workspace and tools. Bring
whatever you will need- I have some supplies (hot glue sticks, solder,
etc.) but not a whole lot. All are welcome.

In addition to all this you can view the latest plan for the
workshop/meeting area/studio space. It will prob be on the wall
somewhere. Also, if you get there earlyish you can help set up the new
storage stuff and equipment Erok and I will be setting up.

When/Where:

This Sunday, around 2:30-3pm at the Madagascar Institute.
The Madagascar Institute is located at 217 Butler Street, between Nevins
and Bond, ground floor.
Directions:
Take the F or G train to the Bergen Street stop (3rd stop in Brooklyn on
the F)
Exit at Bergen and Smith Street. Walk up Bergen, against the flow of
traffic, 2 blocks to Bond. Take a right on Bond, walk 4 or so blocks to
Butler. Take a left on Butler, walk 1/2 block to 217. Ring buzzer #1.
You can get there from the N/R train at Union (about 8 blocks) and the
Atlantic/Pacific street stop for everything, but I don’t know how to do
that.

Bodega-style refreshments are available at the corner of Butler and
Bergen. Smith street has many fine places to eat. Bring your own.
If you have any question’s e-mail me.

To be removed from this list eat glass.

Hackett