Again I'm being careful about too many forwards ! But wow
The game cartridge inventor was African American
Yay black history month !!
http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/20/jerry-lawson-game-pioneer/
Jerry Lawson, a self-taught engineer, gave us video game cartridges
To celebrate Black History Month, Engadget is running a series of profiles honoring African-American pioneers in the world of science and technology. Today we take a look at the life and work of Jerry Lawson.
If you've got fond memories of blowing into video game cartridges, you've got Gerald "Jerry" Lawson to thank. As the head of engineering and marketing for Fairchild Semiconductor's gaming outfit in the mid-'70s, Lawson developed the first home gaming console that utilized interchangeable cartridges, the Fairchild Channel F. That system never saw the heights of popularity of consoles from Atari, Nintendo and Sega, but it was a significant step forward for the entire gaming industry. Prior to the Channel F, games like Pong were built directly into their hardware -- there was no swapping them out to play something else -- and few believed that you could even give a console a microprocessor of its own. Lawson, who passed away at 70 from diabetes complications in 2011, was the first major African-American figure in the game industry. And, just like the tech world today, it still isn't as diverse as it should be.
Only 2 percent of game developers in 2005 were African-American, according to a study by the International Game Developer Association (who also honored Lawson as a game pioneer a month before his death). But things were even worse during Lawson's time: For his first five years at Fairchild, the company and its executives actually thought he was Indian. He was also one of two black members of the Homebrew Computing Club, a group that famously included Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and other Silicon Valley pioneers.
Born on December 1, 1940, Lawson grew up in a Queens, New York, housing project, where his predilection for engineering was on display early on. His father, a longshoreman with a fondness for science, gave him unique gifts like an Irish mail, a handcar typically used by railroad workers. More often than not, Lawson ended up being the only kid that knew how to use them. His mother arranged it so that he could attend a well-regarded elementary school in another part of the city (i.e., one that was predominantly white), and she stayed actively involved in his education throughout his childhood (so much so that she became the president of the PTA). Lawson also credits his first grade teacher as a major inspiration.
"I had a picture of George Washington Carver [a black inventor who was born into slavery] on the wall next to my desk," he told Vintage Computing in an interview. "And she said, 'This could be you.' I mean, I can still remember that picture, still remember where it was."
It's hard to deny Lawson's geek cred: He ran an amateur radio station out of his housing project after building a ham radio on his own (complete with an antenna hanging out of his window and a radio license). He also spent his teenage years repairing electronics all over the city. Most impressively, he taught himself most of what he knew about engineering. Lawson attended Queens College and the City College of New York before working at several firms, including Grumman Electric and Federal Aircraft. After scoring a job with Kaiser Electronics, which focused on military technology, Lawson moved to Silicon Valley.
It's hard to fathom today, but trying to make removable game cartridges was an incredibly new concept in the '70s. Lawson and his team at Fairchild had no clue how the cartridges would fare after being plugged in and out multiple times -- remember, nobody had ever done it before. The company also caught the attention of the FCC, as it was aiming to deliver the first consumer device with its own microprocessor. Lawson's description of meeting the agency's grueling requirements reads like engineering comedy: Fairchild had to encase the console's motherboard in aluminum; it put a metal chute over the cartridge adapter to keep in radiation; and every cartridge it produced had to be approved by the FCC. He was also justifiably apoplectic when, years later, Texas Instruments successfully lobbied to change the laws that determined the FCC's harsh requirements.
As for how race affected his job prospects during the '60s and '70s, Lawson told Vintage Computing it "could be both a plus and a minus." If he did well, it seemed as if he did twice as well, since any accomplishment received instant notoriety. But the idea of a 6-foot-6-inch black man working as an engineer was still surprising to many people. Lawson noted that some people reacted with "total shock" when they saw him for the first time.
Lawson also had plenty of insightful advice for young black men and women who were interested in science and engineering careers:
First of all, get them to consider it [technical careers] in the first place. That's key. Even considering the thing. They need to understand that they're in a land by themselves. Don't look for your buddies to be helpful, because they won't be. You've gotta step away from the crowd and go do your own thing. You find a ground; cover it; it's brand-new; you're on your own -- you're an explorer. That's about what it's going to be like. Explore new vistas, new avenues, new ways -- not relying on everyone else's way to tell you which way to go, and how to go, and what you should be doing.
"The whole reason I did games was because people said, 'You can't do it,'" Lawson told the San Jose Mercury News in an interview. "I'm one of the guys, if you tell me I can't do something, I'll turn around and do it."
[Photo credits: The Estate of Jerry Lawson (Jerry Lawson); Doug Kline/Flickr (Fairchild Channel F system)]
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On Mon, Feb 2, 2015 at 4:32 PM, Karissa McKelvey
<karissa.mckelvey(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> I think it'd be cool to have the kids in within the next month, could be
> anywhere from 1-2 hours or longer, and it can be anytime until the last week
> of May. We just need two weeks of notice. It could be during the day,
> potentially after lunch or something.
>
> It'd probably be ~15 or so kids
Hi Karissa,
I'm afraid we're still in legal limbo with regard to having minors at
omni, especially a dedicated event for minors without their legal
guardians. We're all excited to have events like this, but would
definitely need to talk to our insurance and lawyers first. And we're
so short on volunteer hours, that could be weeks away or more. We
always love new volunteers though, if you know any self-motivated
people interested in getting involved. Thanks for your understanding.
:)
I'm trying to work out some interesting ideas for the SudoKit project,
inspired and copying stuff from the Waldorf school.
Why not mix art and music?
This example just blew me away.
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/02/19/young-gifted-and-black-teaches-oakland-…
Young Gifted and Black, or YGB, is a youth performance ensemble based in
Oakland. More than 50 performers — ranging in age from 6 to 18 — learn and
memorize compilations of historical black poems and contemporary raps,
which they perform around the Bay Area.
“We try to cover anywhere from 50 to 100 years of history in our
presentation,” said Hodari Davis, director of YGB. The program aims to
teach black students aspects of their history not taught in school, and to
allow the students to relay their knowledge to the community through
performance.
YGB <http://younggiftedandblack.org/index.html> has emerged in Oakland from
a strong family legacy. Hodari’s mother, Laroilyn Davis, was the original
founder of YGB in Ithaca, New York. She started YGB in 1981 when Hodari was
in third grade, as she recognized the lack of black history in her son’s
curriculum.
The Davis family decided to revitalize YGB in Oakland six years ago when
Hodari’s daughter, Ikera Davis, was in middle school. Ikera now performs in
the high school group and teaches the younger students.
Hodari writes original raps for the students to learn, combining them with
historical songs and poems he grew up performing. The high school group
incorporates more contemporary messages in their sets, with pieces about
today’s police brutality and discrimination. The younger students learn and
perform mantras from prominent black leaders such as Huey Newton and W.E.B.
Du Bois.
“They don’t perform like cute little kids,” said Hodari’s wife, Candice
Davis, who also teaches for YGB. “They perform like they mean it.”
=============================
Romy Ilano
romy(a)snowyla.com
there is a transformer & there are 8 X 4 ft light strips w/10 leds/4ft
strip. label say:Trintiy Mfg LLC P/N 401415 24vdc/.55a(13.3w) 6000k 2B-R2.
i tied 4 strips together onto a 1x2 board to form the relative dimensions
of the flouries & was told "it's bright", "it's a different kinda light",
"it's about 1/3 as bright" & "it's about 1/2"
On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 7:40 PM, <sudo-discuss-request(a)lists.sudoroom.org>
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. sudo at maker faire (Jake)
> 2. Re: sudo at maker faire (Gregg Horton)
> 3. Re: sudo at maker faire (Patrik D'haeseleer)
> 4. Self-replicating Caffeine (Marc Juul)
> 5. important tax information (Marc Juul)
> 6. Re: Omni invoices - Reminder (Jenny Ryan)
> 7. Re: important tax information (Ira Brightman)
> 8. Test email (check out receipt of emails) (Ira Brightman)
> 9. wiki admin? (Candace Lazarou)
> 10. Re: Omni invoices - Reminder (Sarah Pritchard)
> 11. Re: wiki admin? (Jenny Ryan)
> 12. Paid Web Job - Do we have a job list? Here are the deets
> (Liberty Madison)
> 13. Re: lighting options (Alice Rosenthal)
> 14. Re: lighting options (Jake)
> 15. Scents and Non-Scents (Ira Brightman)
> 16. Re: lighting options (Glenn Meader)
> 17. Re: lighting options (Patrik D'haeseleer)
> 18. Re: lighting options (Cere Misc)
> 19. Re: lighting options (Jake)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2015 14:09:05 -0800 (PST)
> From: Jake <jake(a)spaz.org>
> To: sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
> Subject: [sudo-discuss] sudo at maker faire
> Message-ID: <alpine.BSF.2.00.1502161407000.62936(a)pe2950.spaz.org>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; format=flowed; charset=US-ASCII
>
> is sudoroom going to have a presence at Maker Faire? It means a bunch of
> people can get in free. All we need is a table and some interesting
> things to put on it, and people to sign up for shifts to guard the table.
>
> also i think it could be a good opportunity to attract excellent hackers
> to our space.
>
> no we cannot bring the robot. it's too big and delicate and they would
> never allow us to turn it on without a cage around it.
>
> -jake
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2015 14:11:56 -0800
> From: Gregg Horton <greggahorton(a)gmail.com>
> To: sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
> Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] sudo at maker faire
> Message-ID: <54E26B2C.7050705(a)gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
> If sudo goes can we bring DARPA approved t-shirts and outerwear
>
> Maybe we can steal a Drone
>
>
> On 2/16/15 2:09 PM, Jake wrote:
> > is sudoroom going to have a presence at Maker Faire? It means a bunch
> > of people can get in free. All we need is a table and some
> > interesting things to put on it, and people to sign up for shifts to
> > guard the table.
> >
> > also i think it could be a good opportunity to attract excellent
> > hackers to our space.
> >
> > no we cannot bring the robot. it's too big and delicate and they
> > would never allow us to turn it on without a cage around it.
> >
> > -jake
> > _______________________________________________
> > sudo-discuss mailing list
> > sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
> > https://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2015 14:57:46 -0800
> From: "Patrik D'haeseleer" <patrikd(a)gmail.com>
> To: Jake <jake(a)spaz.org>
> Cc: sudo-discuss <sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org>
> Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] sudo at maker faire
> Message-ID:
> <CAKOjizM+Nw6usbLXYMuT-ga8tUBH+xcRUwehOQU1=
> 8kimGiR-A(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> I just signed up for a combined Bay Area Biohackers booth as well, with
> CCL, BioCurious, plus whomever else wants to join us. If Sudo wants to have
> a booth as well, you can ask to be located near us.
>
> Patrik
>
> On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 2:09 PM, Jake <jake(a)spaz.org> wrote:
>
> > is sudoroom going to have a presence at Maker Faire? It means a bunch of
> > people can get in free. All we need is a table and some interesting
> things
> > to put on it, and people to sign up for shifts to guard the table.
> >
> > also i think it could be a good opportunity to attract excellent hackers
> > to our space.
> >
> > no we cannot bring the robot. it's too big and delicate and they would
> > never allow us to turn it on without a cage around it.
> >
> > -jake
> > _______________________________________________
> > sudo-discuss mailing list
> > sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
> > https://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
> >
>
Hi All,
As per last night's discussion at the meeting I would like to suggest the
following:
The Omni building be declared a scent-free workplace. There are many such
offices, etc., especially in the Bay Area. This means anyone entering the
building is required to refrain from using perfumes (except natural ones
from a health food store), hairsprays, deodorants, scented makeup, etc.
All cleaning products and the like should be free of scents (many very fine
natural ones are available), paint or other building improvement products
should be free of scents and chemicals if at all possible (there are paints
that are chemical free and have no odor.)
However, any member project producing an odor or unavoidable smoke or odor
from a room improvement that can't be avoided, should be exempt from any
restrictions. In such cases, the membership should be informed of such
project's timeline, so affected members can avoid building use at such
times.
Have a funny day.
Best,
Ira Brightman (The Life-Extension Comedian)
A woman is Looking for tech help ASAP
Do we have a job list?
She focuses on neuroscience and spiritual healing
Her main concern for her website is functionality.
A. Scheduler- Main Pain Point
She is having an issue with people scheduling appointment. I advised her to
ditch the "form" and go with in interactive live e scheduler where as
clients can see what she has open and she can block off dates she does not
want to work. (very simple to integrate)
B. EBlast
Her eblast needs to be integrated with her email list at mailchimp.
C. Landing Page
She has a new sector/product within her site "Redesigning Shame" that needs
a distinct landing page.
This is a paid job with a budget
What she needs can truly be done in 2-3 days if that.
Ideal person is skilled in Front/Backend
Any interest?
Liberty
@libertymadison
Hi All,
If you have a Yahoo email and see this only in the Sudo room archive, this
and many other Sudo-discuss emails are likely going into your spam folder.
Have a funny day.
Best,
Ira Brightman (The Life-Extension Comedian)
It looks like the fiscal year for sudo room ends in November instead of
December. I'm inducing this from scant information available but will try
to verify with the IRS tomorrow (their phone lines are pretty jammed
today). This means that, for the tax forms that we file the deadline is
15th of April instead of 15th of May. Again, I will try to verify this.
It seems that Max Klein actually did file taxes before 15th of April last
year, so we're good.
--
marc/juul
Does anyone know where I can get a plant or seeds or cuttings of the ilex
guayusa plant?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilex_guayusa
I'm already growing ilex paraguariensis at Omni but I'd like to have both
plants. Why?
Because they literally turn CO2 and dirt into caffeine. How are we not all
doing this already?
--
marc/juul
