The Premier Cincinnati Hackerspace

nRecently at last weekends PAX event a new game called Life is Crime was announced.  It is a mobile game that takes your GPS location and uses that to build a virtual world overlaid on the real one.  Using this virtual world you then can go on crime sprees, have gangs, sell drugs, etc.  It’s kind of like Mafia wars meets foursquare.  You just need to ask yourself…while waiting in line would you rather ‘check-in’ or go on a crime spree?nnI’ve been playing this game for less than a week but I can already tell you I’m addicted.  I realized I was addicted when I was robbing a bunch of local stores while my wife shopped and checked nearby activity. Down the road I saw somebody had taken over a UDF and a Bank.  When my wife got back in the car I told her I wanted to make a quick stop.  I then found this location, pulled in and preceded to take over the turf.  If you like GTA or any of the gangster style games you must check this game out.nnAfter helping out on the forums a bit the super friendly people at** Red Robot created Hive13 as a Cincinnati Landmark!**  That’s right!  If you head over to the Hive right now you can deal contraband and rob tourists (In the game of course…hehe)  I love the idea of Hive13 being featured in a game!  So swing by sometimes, my R2 name is “zombie”nnGame homepage: http://www.lifeiscrime.com/nnn

nWho wants to fire the lazer?nnWe are officially opening up the laser cutter for use.  For those who don’t know we have a 60W laser cutter at the space now that can cut up to 3/4″ thick wood and plexiglass (among a few other things).  If you are a member of the Hive you will want to take a laser cutting class in order to operate the laser on your own.  If you are not a member but want to use the laser cutter for a project that s fine as well but you need to have a certified member operate it for you.nnMembers will soon receive free minutes per month to use the laser cutter.  Additional minutes will cost $.50 and you can buy your minutes in one hour chunks.  This price is the same for non-members but your operator may request a free before hand for time and setup.nnTo keep track of all your minutes, buy minutes and transfer purchased minutes there is a new site!nnLazer Manager:  http://lazer.hive13.org/nnFor more information about the laser see: http://wiki.hive13.org/LasernnNote: It may take a few hours for new purchased minutes to show up until the paypal functionality is 100% tied in.  Free minutes are not finalized yet but student/full members will have the same amount and if you are a cornerstone member you will most likely get double those minutes.nnn

nAt the last Hive13 Lock Forensic Meetup (Aug 11th) we practiced and experimented with different techniques using bump keys as well as built our own custom pinning tray.  We have a LAB pinning mat but we feel that most of the space on that mat is wasted and unnecessary.  So we set out to make a cool plexiglass version that would be portable and get the job done equally as well.  The image on the right is the first pining tray off the laser cutter.  It is two sheets of plexiglass fused together (top and bottom) so the tray can be moved around.  We really liked the way it came out and decided we would give these out at the next Lock Forensic class we host (date to be determined still).  We also thought it would be great to put a logo on he backside of the bottom layer of plexiglass.  Then we realized we don’t have a logo!nnBeing that the Hive13 Lock Forensic group is the first public lock forensic group in the country (maybe the world) we feel it is important that we have a logo.  And for the sake of setting an arbitrary deadline, the contest will end next Friday (Aug 19th).  The rules for the logo are simple.  We are looking for a black and white logo.  One that could easily be a vinyl sticker or etched into plexiglass or other tools.  The entries will be passed around the regular members of the lock forensics group and the winner will get a free pinning tray with their logo on it.nnMeeting info: http://wiki.hive13.org/LockpicknnContest submission email here: craig at hive13nnn

n**We are hosting a teensy contest at Hive13!**nnProvide a proposal to what you would build using a Teensy 2.0 development board on this form.  Teensy is a super small AVR board (less than 2 inches!!) It has an ATMEGA32U4 micro-controller and you can use the aduino software to program it.  Each board comes with a detailed printout card for easy look up of pin layouts.nnSix projects will be selected on Friday July 22nd to receive a free Teensy board.  The contestant will then have until August 30th to complete their project and demo it for the group during that Tuesdays meeting.  If you are not an arduino master do not worry, simply submit a basic idea of something you feel you can complete in a month and you may be selected.nnYou do not have to a a Hive13 member to participate but you will have to be at the Tuesday meeting on July 26th to pick up your board if you are selected.  Have fun and happy hacking!nnSubmission form is here (July 22nd is the submission deadline!)nnBoard details are herennn

nWe are starting to experiment more with Bitcoin at the space.  Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency system.  The first step for us is to setup a public local bitcoin exchange.  The purpose of a local exchange is to enable people to trade cash for bitcoins.  During the Tuesday meetings you can find somebody who has bitcoins and make an offer.  The idea for a local exchange is you can visible see the existence of the sellers bitcoins and there are no minimum amounts required to purchase/transaction fees.  For an idea of the estimated price per bitcoin check the going rate at Mt. Gox.nnDepending on the popularity of bitcoins, you can expect to trade for services and things at the Hive.nnn