Pop-up retail events are super trendy these days, and I’ll be part of one in Pilsen (through Fractalspin) on Saturday just to maintain my credentials. I kid! It’s actually a craft fair called Blue Bazaar, a fundraiser for a neat entrepreneurial technology-slinging non-profit called Blue 1647. It’s a year-old nonprofit technology innovation center focused on “education, workforce development, business acceleration, and economic development in technology”-related things. What that means is they have classes, office space rental, a incubation program and three (3!!!) 5th generation Makerbot 3D printers, free computer usage for members, classrooms, and office rentals to entrepreneurs and budding organizations to aid in making their visions reality (as if the 3D printer thing wasn’t enough). Also, Harper Reed–who might have helped with a presidential thing a while … Read More
Punchcards: Blank greeting cards made from vintage computer punch cards
Greeting cards are in full circulation during the holiday season, and I had been thinking a while about something that would be geeky and retro, so I went searching for old-school punch cards. A punched card (also known by various synonyms) is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Now almost an obsolete recording medium, punched cards were widely used throughout the 19th century for controlling textile looms and in the late 19th and early 20th century for operating fairground organs and related instruments. They were used through the 20th century in unit record machines for input, processing, and data storage. Early digital computers used punched cards, often prepared using keypunch machines, as the primary … Read More
New site design and new products at Fractalspin
Two months ago I started moving Fractalspin over to a hosted ecommerce platform and since then have been migrating over products and creating the new site design. I’ve also added a bunch of new products, and even more stuff is on the way. Let mw know what you think! [Read More]
RIP Benoit Mandelbrot, Fractal Innovator
Benoit Mandelbrot, the creator of fractal geometry died at the age of 85 this week. Fractals are a visual representation of an equation that is self-similar and based on recursion, and just so happen to mimic an incredible array of natural processes and formations, from mountain ranges to coral reefs, and interestingly, as the above video explains, explains not only the way branches of a tree are differentiated but how trees in a forest differentiate themselves. Pretty hot. Mandelbrot Set featuring the song “Mandelbrot Set” by Jonathan Coulton Here is a zoomed Mandelbrot fractal set to a song aptly entitled “Mandelbrot Set.” Mr. Mandelbrot also did a lovely TED talk, which you can watch above. For the geek boutique I run, Fractalspin (namesake obvious), I designed a paper … Read More
SIMCard Notebook & Address Book
Check out these notebooks and address books in the form of a SIM Card, the SIMBook Notebook & SIMBook Address Book. Thankfully, they are useful in that they are not to scale–they are both 3.25″ x 5.5″. $6.00 at Fractalspin.
Ibiza Ride Black Leather Cuff & #000000 Tie (Black Tie)
<< Ibiza Ride Leather Cuff – Black This totally sexy and nerdy version of the original Ibiza Ride watch is totally futuristicly nerdy with a rock star edge. The staff here are fighting over these guys! It features a super wide black leather cuff with an innovative buckle system, and the same dial as it’s older brother, that oh-so-popular kid: Ibiza Ride LED watch. >> #000000 Tie (Black Tie) This will undoubtedly be your best bet for all black tie affairs. Printed with a large “#000000? –hexadecimal code for the color black, sure to make all graphic designers and web developers giggle.
Five cool, affordable geek gifts for this Christmas at Fractalspin
Everything here is in-stock and will ship via First Class USPS mail if ordered by Dec. 20 in time for Christmas. Woot! 1. Cat5 Bracelet – $15 Who would have thought that the guts of ethernet cable would make such a pretty multicolored bracelet? Anyone who rocks this multi-stranded wire bracelet sends a subtle signal to those in the know that the wearer is not just a geek, but one with style. http://www.fractalspin.com/x/product.php?productid=9&cat=0&page=1 2. Video Game Candy Tins – $3 Unexpectedly cute Super Mario Bros. Mushrooms and Stars have the secret bonus of being filled with tasty sour candy, and replicas of a Nintendo Wiimote and NES controller contain gum and mints. Not only are they great stocking stuffers, the tins can be re-used to hold memory cards, … Read More
Fractalspin's 2009 Holiday Gift Guide
Gifts $10 and underNintendo Super Mario Bros. Mushrooms make great stocking stuffers for gamers, kids, or retro enthusiasts. [More gift ideas] Gifts $25 and underThese cool necklaces made from the hub of a floppy disk will surprise the geek on your gift list. There is the version shown as well as another with a ball chain instead. [More gift ideas] Gifts $50 and underThese microfiber Cable Ties feature 1/4? and RCA cables on three different color options. [More gift ideas] Gifts $100 and under These silver necklaces–available in two sizes–feature a real working level. They would make a great present for any DIYer, with their subtle nerdery. [More gift ideas] Gifts $100+ This awesome necklace features diodes of three different voltages (sizes). [More gift ideas] More cool stuff … Read More