Jake von Slatt Archive
The Apocalypse Will Be Slow and Boring
In 1978 James Burke produced and narrated a series on the history of science called Connections. It’s a wonderful series and I highly recommend you get a hold of all three seasons. But right now, watch this video about technology traps. You’ll get the idea after the first ten
The Alchemy of Stone – Ekaterina Sedia
This book arrived in the post just as I was leaving for vacation so I was actually able to read it over a period of just 3 days – a rare thing for me! Ms. Sedia draws a detailed picture of an ancient city ruled by a tripartite balance
Finds: Heathkit Shortwave, RadioPhone, and Timex Sinclair 1500
More from the same house I found the radios a couple of weeks ago! Here we have a classic Heathkit Shortwave Receiver, A Heathkit SWR meter (used for measuring antenna efficiency on transmitters) an RCA RadioPhone transmitter and a Timex Sinclair 1500. My first computer was a TS-1000, the
STMPNK License Plates
So I got vanity plates for my kit car that read STMPNK but when I did a search on that term I just got unkind and disemvowled Boingboing comments so I acquired the domain stmpnk.com and I've been dropping crumbs around the net like this to boost its position
Jake’s Busy Weekend, Make:TV and HUMANWINE
Continuing the tale of my long and busy weekend . . . So a crew from PBS’s new show Make:TV spent the weekend with me in the shop filming me at work. I re-created a couple of projects and made a coach lamp for the car, start to finish.
Steampunk at the Groton Public Library
This past Thursday I had the honour of addressing an audience at the Groton Public Library. I’m afraid I rambled on for a bit at first, but once we got to the question and answer section the questions just kept coming! I also unveiled a new piece, a piece
Finds: Brass Lanterns
Found this pair of brass lanterns on my way to work yesterday – I used the old "shoelace tie" trick to carry them with me on my bike. It absolutely kills me how many of these I have in my collection – close to 20 now, I think. Invariably
OH MY! The Music of Michael Scott Parker
I get a great deal of email these days, I try to answer it all but I’m afraid the day I will not be able to fast approaches. I am grateful for the pics of cool stuff and links to net Steampunkia, and I really do enjoy answering thoughtful
Trash Finds – Vintage Admiral and Akkord Radios
On my way to work yesterday morning I spotted these in a box at the roadside waiting for collection. There were a half dozen similar radios but since I was on the bike I could only carry a couple so I grabbed the best of the bunch. On the
Truly Awesome Steampunk Mouse
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Whoa. A reader sent in this Modding.ru Babelfish link to the most awesome Steampunk mouse I’ve ever seen. I suspect that there are many more skilled DIYers in Russia and the former Soviet territories then just about anywhere else on the planet so we should be seeing more and