I was at dinner yesterday with @gapingvoid, @stevecla, @jasonkorman, @dianamaria and @crossthebreeze. It was an enjoyable evening, topped off by late-night drinks at Harry’s Bar.
Over dinner, the conversation meandered across many subjects; at one stage we were talking about reboot, an inspiring conference that takes place annually in Copenhagen. I mentioned my interest in acquiring some of the chairs used during the breaks at reboot, which are available from strandstole.
Which reminded @crossthebreeze, Kris Hoet, to send me the links to a site he’d recommended to me when we last met in Berlin: Strandbeest. A creature of the beach.
Amazing stuff. A site well worth visiting, ideas that inspire, great execution. Go take a look.
My thanks to Kris.
My thanks to you for joining us for dinner, I owed you one :)
JP, I’ve had that style chair for about a decade. They were big amongst the ultimate frisbee crowd (and perhaps other sports as well) for taking to games and tournaments, allowing you to easily cleat up, and sit on the sidelines while not on the field. They are convenient to carry, and fit flat in the trunk of my car. Mine has held up ok (I’m 5’5″, 150 lbs) but I’ve had to fix a few of the cross beams on the seat. They have not held up well for some of my taller/heavier friends. Folding/packing chairs such as this seem to be the most popular choice these days, and they hold BEvERages. ;-)
I’ve shared these creatures with several of my classes in the past and they never cease to amaze. Such a complex set of processes wrapped up into something beautiful. To kids, they always appear to be like the ultimate Lego Mindstorms kits (which I’d dearly love to lay my hands on for classroom use. But that’s another story)
JP,
Thanks for sharing this. It is simply amazing how Theo Jansen has made these creatures. The way he has thought about legs, muscles and stomachs only using plastic tubes, bottles and wind power. Great execution indeed!
Alan, those chairs you point to are good for small groups of people, I think we have half a dozen at home for when we go on picnics and the like. What I want is say 120 of the strand-stole style, for when we have lots of people over.
Clarence, good to see you here. What precisely are you looking for in Lego Mindstorms?
Partha, glad you enjoyed it. I agree, the execution is fantastic.
JP; Once upon a set of good budget years my school bought 6 sets of Lego Mindstorms robotics kits and storage cases and they were quite possibly the most valuable and motivating set of resources that I have ever seen dropped into a school. I used to run a robotics club and kids scrambled to get in. It enabled them to learn how to control technology and also taught them how to deal with elementary programming questions and use math in ways that were actually real. Unfortunately (as with all tech) the sets we have are now collecting dust as they became obsolete.