Tag Archives: LEGO

Fashion

Embrace Your Inner Geek In Style

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This post is dedicated to geeks who want to let their passions shine through their decor.

The graphic below gives cool examples of accessories that you can introduce into your home to give people an idea of the geekier side of your life. Some are subtle, like the equation bookshelf, while others are more in your face, such as the giant rubrics cube coffee tables. What all of these share is how they have incorporated elements considered to be ‘geeky’ into stylish decor. A personal favourite is the wall that has apparently been repaired by Lego bricks. We assume that this isn’t actually the case, but if we were buying a property with that in we’d certainly want a thorough survey done.

Whatever style of decoration you prefer, if you’re looking to add something a little fun and a tad geeky to your home then this piece will help give you some great ideas. Friends of the Silo, Terry’s Fabrics.

geekness-in-style

Art

Beautiful Minecraft Coffee Table Book Features Stunning In Game Built Art

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Twelve years ago to the day,  back in the year 2009 – a Video game called #Minecraft was unassumingly released. The sandbox video game became the second best selling PC-based game in history and was bought by Microsoft for $2.5B usd in 2014. 

In keeping with our look back celebration, let’s check out this wonderful book for Minecraft lovers everywhere: Beautiful Minecraft ($19.95, 112 pp., 4C, hardcover).

minecraft book page example1

As they pore over the pages in this remarkable collection, Minecraft lovers of all stripes will find themselves immersed in a world of astonishing creations like floating steampunk cities, massive alien worlds, detailed classical sculptures, fantastical landscapes, and architectural marvels. The sculptures and scenes throughout the book are built from thousands to millions of blocks and represent months and even years of design work on the part of their creators.

I wanted to show how a video game can become a true artistic medium…how players can become artists.

beautiful minecraft book cover“Beautiful Minecraft is the sort of thing that fans of the game are sure to love because it brings them even closer to the game they love,” said No Starch Press founder Bill Pollock. “Since my first visit to MineCon in 2011, I’ve been inspired by the passion Minecraft fans have for something that is much more than a game. Beautiful Minecraft shows us how in game creations can be high art, and the results are nothing less than amazing.”

For the Silo, James Delaney-author, managing director of BlockWorks: a team of Minecraft artists from around the world. BlockWorks has created artwork for companies like Disney, Microsoft, Warner Brothers, and The Guardian.

Publisher: No Starch Press
Author: James Delaney
Print ISBN: 978-1-59327-765-9
Price: $19.95
Specs: 112 pp., 4C, Hardcover

You Might Also Be Interested In:

other cool books via no starch
The Game Console by Evan Amos
The Arduino Inventor’s Guide by Derek Runberg and Brian Huang
The Hardware Hacker by Andrew “bunnie” Huang

Available in fine bookstores everywhere and from http://www.oreilly.com/nostarch, or by contacting marketingdirector@thesilo.ca

About No Starch Press
No Starch Press has published the finest in geek entertainment since 1994, covering topics like LEGO, hacking, science, math, and programming for all ages. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about.

Sci-Tech

New Book Is Inventors Guide To Open Source Arduino Microcontroller

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San Francisco, CA —School’s out for summer, but learning doesn’t have to stop at the classroom door. For parents and educators looking to keep their students exploring, tinkering, and creating, No Starch Press offers the latest addition to its lineup of STEM books. This time focusing on the Arduino microcontroller.

The Arduino Inventor’s Guide (No Starch Press, $29.95USD, 336 pp., June 2017) is a project-packed introduction to building and coding with the Arduino microcontroller. With each hands-on project, total beginners learn useful electronics and coding skills while building an interactive gadget.

This is No Starch Press’s second installment in its introductory-level educational series for aspiring makers. The series is a collaboration with SparkFun Electronics, the popular electronics parts retailer dedicated to making the world of electronics more accessible to the average person. Authors Brian Huang and Derek Runberg of SparkFun’s Department of Education use their teaching experience to make learning about electronics an adventure.

“We wanted to share the magic that happens when you build something interactive with electronics,” says Huang. “The goal is to teach real, valuable hardware skills, one project at a time,” adds Runberg.

Readers learn how to make their hardware move, buzz, flash, and interact with the world as they build 10 projects, including:

  • A miniature traffic light
  • A light-sensitive, color-changing night-light
  • A temperature-sensing mini greenhouse
  • A motorized, programmable robot
  • A tiny, playable electric piano

“We’ve teamed up with SparkFun to make electronics and coding skills achievable for anyone,” says No Starch Press founder Bill Pollock. “This book will take total beginners from blinking their first LED to programming their first robot.”

 

Sample pages from The Arduino Inventor’s Guide:

For the Silo, Amanda Hariri.
About the Authors

Brian Huang is the Education Engineer for SparkFun Electronics. He combines his knowledge of teaching and engineering to create professional development materials.

Derek Runberg works in the Department of Education at SparkFun Electronics, where he runs workshops about technology in classrooms and at conferences. He is the author of The SparkFun Guide to Processing.

SparkFun Electronics is an online retail store that sells electronic parts for DIY projects. It offers classes for the public as well as resources, tutorials, and professional development for educators through its Department of Education.

Arduino Inventor's Guide The Arduino Inventor’s Guide
Publisher: No Starch Press
Authors: Brian Huang and Derek Runberg
Print ISBN: 978-1-59327-652-2
Price: $29.95USD
Publication Date: June 2017
Specs: 336 pp., 4C  Available in fine bookstores everywhere, contact marketingdirector@thesilo.ca for locations near you and online ordering information.About No Starch Press
From deep in the heart of San Francisco’s start-up gulch, No Starch Press carefully crafts the finest in geek entertainment. The growing list of award-winning No Starch Press bestsellers covers topics like LEGO, hacking, STEM, programming, science, and math. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about.
Reviews

LEGO Books From Worlds Leading Builder Yoshihito Isogawa

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Yoshihito Isogawa believes his books should be like the LEGO brick—minimalist, colorful, and full of possibility.

In his nearly-wordless releases from No Starch Press, such as The LEGO Power Functions Idea Books (No Starch Press, $24.95 USD each, 324 pp./328pp., October 2015), Isogawa shares hundreds of creative ways to build mechanisms with Power Functions, a wildly popular LEGO TECHNIC system of electronic components. In these books, Power Functions gears, lights, motors, and control units are used to make sliding doors, walking robots, steerable tanks, and more, with each project encouraging readers to become inventive LEGO builders.

Isogawa’s previous books have been praised as “invaluable” (BrickJournal), “fantastic” (Boing Boing), “minimalistic but highly informative” (Booklist), and “indispensable” (The NXT STEP Blog), and this two-volume set is a treasure trove of tiny but surprisingly elegant creations that millions of LEGO Power Functions owners will use for design inspiration.

The LEGO Power Functions Idea Books showcase small projects to build with LEGO TECHNIC gears, motors, and other moving elements that are depicted in vibrant, detailed photographs. Each model includes a list of required parts that guides readers through the build while exploring the principles of simple machines, gear systems, and power translation.

In Volume 1: Machines and Mechanisms, readers will build-

Sliding doors

Grasping claws

Rack-and-pinion mechanisms

Ball-shooting devices

In Volume 2: Cars and Contraptions, readers will build

Four-wheel drive cars

Adorable walking bots

Steerable tanks

Robotic inchworms

Cars that can drive on the edge of a table

New LEGO Book Machines & Mechanisms

Each of these volumes continues No Starch Press’s tradition of publishing high-quality books that inspire readers of all ages to stretch the limits of their imagination and build creatively with LEGO. The LEGO Power Functions Idea Books are available now in fine bookstores everywhere.

Culture

LEGO Mindstorms EV3 book is a guide to building and programming Robots

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Raise your hand if you want to build a Lego robot arm.
Raise your hand if you want to build a Lego robot arm.

San Francisco, CA,  The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Discovery Book (No Starch Press, June 2014, 396 pp., $34.95, ISBN 9781593275327) is the latest No Starch Press book to tackle the LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics system. This second edition of the best-selling LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Discovery Book remains the ultimate beginner’s guide to this powerful kit for anyone who wants to start making their own robots. http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zpuf5li32jp78bt80j96lr32hkugv7u2d0q5lpag

Author Laurens Valk brings his robotics expertise to bear as he teaches readers  the techniques essential to successful robot building. Valk has been building  MINDSTORMS robots for years and was even recruited by the LEGO Group to test  and develop this new generation of LEGO MINDSTORMS. The depth of his knowledge  comes through on every page.

LEGO Mindstorms Book Cover

The first full-color MINDSTORMS book from any major publisher, The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Discovery Book features all new content that takes readers from gearing and fundamental mechanics through advanced programming techniques as they build these six robots:

The EXPLOR3R, a wheeled vehicle that uses sensors to navigate around a room and follow lines
– The FORMULA EV3 RACE CAR, a streamlined remote-controlled race car legged walking creature that adapts its behavior to its surroundings
– SK3TCHBOT, a robot that lets you play games on the EV3 screen
-The SNATCH3R, a robotic arm that can autonomously find, grab, lift, and move an infrared beacon
– LAVA R3X, a humanoid robot that walks and talks

Valk rounds out the fundamentals with more than 150 building and programming challenges that encourage readers to discover the countless possibilities of the EV3 kit and to start inventing robots of their own.

About the Author
Laurens Valk is a member of the MINDSTORMS Community Partners, a select group of MINDSTORMS enthusiasts who help test and develop new MINDSTORMS products. One of his robot designs is featured on the EV3 packaging as a bonus project. His previous work, the best-selling LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Discovery Book, introduced more than 50,000 beginners worldwide to the powerful world of LEGO
MINDSTORMS robotics. He blogs about robots at robotsquare.com. http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zd3clg63cmhkarcqv9pht1e936tdk1htdcus1rs8