Here are some instructions on how to make a data cable for a Garmin eTrex GPS receiver. This is very useful to save yourself $50 by buying one from Garmins website. Plus, its a fun activity to do on a rainy day. We got it working correctly the first time, so this shouldn't be so hard to do!
Smiling Disease is a sticker campaign which pokes at all the shiny happy people. From the site:
The checkout clerk. That model on the magazine cover. The hosts of the morning talk show. You've seen them. Someone has told them that they need to be smiling, to appear happy, and they follow instructions. But if you look closely, you'll notice that the human face has a vast vocabulary, and their forced smile conveys a sort of sickness, something other than true joy or pleasure, something disingenuous. It is more like a smilingdisease, a sign that something is amiss.
Be sure to check out the great handmade postcards sent in from around the world. And pick up a copy of "smilingdisease, a guide to public stickering," which "offers sound practical and thorough how-to advice from creating your sticker and selecting a printer, through choosing locations and application techniques."
A recent BBC article chronicled the creative ways Oxford resident, Ted Dewan, has attempted to slow traffic on his street. Terming his actions "folk traffic calming," Mr. Dewan uses "creative, non-confrontational" methods to raise awareness and respect between drivers and pedestrians. From the article:
This is where art installations meet road safety, a kind of sleeping policeman that's been influenced by Damien Hirst.
'We live here'
These type of "DIY traffic-calming happenings" are described by their creator as "roadwitches" and have included an 11-feet high rabbit, a big bed (for a sleeping policeman), a Casualty-style fake crash scene for Halloween and the setting up of a living room in the middle of the road.
"There's an element of fun and mischief, but underneath is the ambition to encourage people to re-examine how roads are used," says Mr Dewan.
Just in time for the holidays- We have a nice recipe to warm up your holiday shopping adventures! To complete this hack you will need the following (inexpensive) items:
One battery operated stereo or boom-box (the louder the better)
One blank cassette tape
One cage
One Padlock or other mechanism that will keep contents of the cage permanently inside
Batteries (to power the stereo)
With all the consumerism that goes on in our American shopping malls, we feel that people could better spend their time or money doing other things rather than waste it away in facilities that employ enticingly clever marketing schemes designed to steal your hard earned cash.
What ever happened to making someone a thoughtful gift? It seems as though the more money spent on an item, the happier someone is to receive it. We also wonder why people have been trampled within inches of their lives during a shopping craze over a “Tickle Me Elmo,” new Xbox 360, or whatever the season’s hot item may be. Shopping truly is the All-American pastime. We work so hard for our money to just give it away. And no one stops to ask if the things that they are buying are really necessary for existence.
Our objective is to make consumers aware that they should be questioning their roles and function within the shopping mall atmosphere by continuously looping the “The Star Spangled Banner”. To stop this hack, someone will have to commit an “unpatriotic” act against the device playing a “patriotic” theme. The end of this hack will comment on this relationship in what we believe to be a meaningful, playful, and fun way.
NOTE: This hack can take whatever form you like and can be configured to fit your own vision. Your version of this hack does not have to pertain to shopping in any way at all. You may use these steps to create your own voice of reason for whatever issue that needs attention in your area.
The Recipe: Now that you have all the materials listed above you can get going on this.
First, record your message onto a cassette tape. Make sure to leave 5 to 10 minutes of silence at the beginning of the tape. This will leave enough time for you to evacuate the area after installation. Your message should loop continuously front and back to ensure that it is heard. We decided to use the Star Spangled Banner (performed poorly by a high school band.)
Secondly, prepare your cage in whatever manner you see fit. You may paint additional messages on it or put some nifty Gothacked.org stickers on there! Make sure your cage can be securely locked up so that nothing can get in or out of it. Also make sure that your cage will fit the stereo you have chosen.
Third, place the batteries into the tape playing unit and throw the cassette tape into the stereo. By this time you should have tested your ability to lock the stereo into the cage so that it can never be opened unless it is smashed or cut. You're pretty much ready to roll at this point.
Pick a location that will best serve your purpose. To document this, we made sure to have someone (with a hidden camera) shopping inconspicuously for at least an hour before we arrived on the site.
Now, the fun part: Simply walk into the establishment as covertly and inconspicuously as possibly with the cage and the radio (not playing.) Go to wherever the space is densely populated, hit play on the radio, lock the radio in the cage, and then take off (you have roughly 5 minutes until this thing starts booming away!)
Do you need an inexpensive camera to perform a hack? Hack a CVS video camera!
For $30 you can get a compact video camera that you can take to your chosen front of urban intervention. It's compactness makes it portable and easily concealable, perfect for low-brow recording activities. It's price makes it desirable for activities were confiscation may be an issue. And it gets even better than that! This camera saves videos in a nicely compressed XviD format, perfect for uploading to a website.
All you have to do is walk into your local CVS and go to the photo section. The video cameras should be there for $30 even, no contracts, no binding agreements. How can this be possible? CVS assumes that you will return the camera for processing where they keep the camera for resale and charge you $12 to transfer the video data onto a DVD which you keep. But why return the camera if you can hack it and retrieve the data yourself?
How do you hack the camera? Well, it is simpler than you think. Hidden behind the sticker on the top of the camera is a modified USB port. CVS has their own adapter for this port that is not available to the public, but you can make your own for cheap.
Here's how you do it:
What you need:
Palm III Serial Sync Cable (ebay - $4-10)
USB cable
Soldering Iron
Solder
Wire Stripper
Flat-End Screwdriver
Dremel Tool
Instructions:
1. Cut the small end of the USB cable off and strip this end of the cable. You should see four wires inside (red, green, black, and white).
2. Strip these wires so the metal cores are exposed.
3. Grab the Palm III Serial Sync Cable. You will see a serial end and 10 pin Palm adapter end. You will need the Palm adapter end.
4. Take you screwdriver and pry apart the Palm adapter. It should be easiest pry from the flat area on the side of the copper pins.
5. Pull apart the top piece and bottom piece leaving the end piece with the copper pins on it. This piece should have five wires soldered to it.
6. Warm up the soldering iron and unsolder these five wires from the pins. Your now ready to attach the wires of the USB cable to this adapter.
7. With the Palm adapter on your left and the exposed end of the USB cable coming from your right, count the pins on the Palm adapter with the top pin being 1 and the bottom pin being 10.
8. Here is the wiring configuration for attaching the USB cable to the appropriate pins:
Pin 6: Red (+5 volts)
Pin 8: Green (Data in)
Pin 9: White (Data out)
Pin 10: Black (Ground)
Solder there color wires to the corresponding pins.
9. You are now ready to reassemble the Palm connector casing. This should snap snugly back together with the USB cable coming neatly out of the back of the adapter.
10. We are almost done. You should notice that the Palm adapter is slightly too wide to fit into the camera. Pull out the Dremel tool and carefully shave the end of the adapter to fit. Use caution, you want to make this adapter as snug as possible so the pin connections are tight.
11. For added security reinforce the USB cable coming out of the Palm adapter with electrical tape to keep your solder joints form breaking. After this step, you should be ready to install software to enable your computer to retrieve data.
Software instructions:
Mac OS X users - First you need to download libusb source code and compile in Terminal according to it's instructions. Second download PureRead. Install this and you should be ready to capture the video on the camera.
Windows users - First you need to download libusb-win32 and use its wizard to create an .INF file for the camera. Next you must tell XP to use that file as the camera driver when the camera is plugged into the computer. When prompted, point it to libusb0.sys. Lastly you must download the latest version of the Ops utility. When the camera is installed and recognized by the computer, download and extract the Ops software. Run the libusb executable and once the window opens up you should have the ability to open and unlock the camera.
Another day, another five dollar cup of coffee from a homogenous corporate chain. Well, at least not today. With this action we set up a small table next to Starbucks on Buffalo's Elmwood Avenue. The table held fresh brewed coffee, cream, sugar, cups and spoons and was equipped with a sign that read "Free Coffee & Conversation."
For a few hours on a chilly day people walking down the busy Elmwood Avenue could have a free cup of joe and some decent conversation. With a simple gift of a cup of coffee people began to become open and willing to share their stories and ideas. Our invitation offered people a place to interact with each other in public unbound from the role of consumer.
Billboard Liberation Front (BLF) is a well-established urban interventionist network dedicated to the alteration of billboards. Through the re-appropriation of the billboard space from corporate to public control, BLF efforts have found success at bringing public expression back to the people. The content of their website not only showcases past billboard liberation accomplishments, but provides a resources for strategic partners who
Freewayblogger.com is a site dedicated to the utilization of freeway overpasses as the space to transmit free speech. While most of their content is political (dealing primarily with the war on terrorism) a wide range of messages are archived on this site.
In addition to an image archive, Freewayblogger.com also has a How To section that gives sign making instructions.
A pillow-wielding mod converged on Dundas Square in Toronto for a Sunday afternoon pillow fight. The event, inspired by a similar London pillow fight, was organized by the Toronto group newmindspace. Links to photos, video, and prior Toronto exploits can be found on the newmindspace site.
This is where art installations meet road safety, a kind of sleeping policeman that's been influenced by Damien Hirst.
Another day, another five dollar cup of coffee from a homogenous corporate chain. Well, at least not today. With this action we set up a small table next to Starbucks on Buffalo's Elmwood Avenue. The table held fresh brewed coffee, cream, sugar, cups and spoons and was equipped with a sign that read "Free Coffee & Conversation."
