The "make your own noise thing" workshop offered by Machine Project reminds me of a yard sale last weekend on Park Drive, across from Elysian Park. Our friend and neighbor Moe and his next-doors Rocky and Lisa held a house-to-house sale. Their daughters stayed up late the night before making lemonade, and -- at the event -- if you bought some you got a bonus prize: you could play Moe's theramin (think "Good Vibrations" from the Beachboys) for a minute or two.

And now Machine Project has a workshop at which you can make something like your own oscillating music machine.

This weekend (Saturday September 30th) Machine Director Mark Allen will be teaching a one day workshop entitled "A build your own noise thing workshop spectacular". This will be focused on using 555 timers to make square wave oscillators. We’ve done this one before and it’s a good time.

Then, starting next weekend (oct 7th), we have a four week class called "Spooky Projects - Introduction to Microcontrollers with Aurdino" taught by the illustrious Tod E Kurt. If we had known that Tod engineered the hardware and software for robotic camera systems that went to Mars (as well as possessing degrees in physics and electrical engineering from Occidental and Caltech) we would have been too shy to ask him to teach this class. But we didn’t know.