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Crowdsourcing Politics II – A Practical Example

 Social  No Responses »
Apr 262011
 

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article on how crowdsourcing could be used to bring politics a bit closer to where it should be, the people.

This weekend I found an example that has been built only 3 weeks ago, being used to outline ideas that would/could or at least help to outline the new Moroccan constitution.

The site has been set up by 2 Moroccan IT Students after the Speech of King Mohammed VI, in which he invited the constitutional commission to establish contacts with political parties, trade unions, NGOs and youth organisations to brainstorm about the new constitution.

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The site is fairly simple and explains well how it works, how its data is checked and validated. It also contains a very nice page with statistics like “Most accepted/rejected proposals” and demographic details on the votes.

The Blog is also definitively worth a read, as well as some the proposals that came through.

http://www.reforme.ma

Some Statistics: (keep in mind this has only be running for 3 weeks in Morocco, where they still have a quite high illiteracy rate and not the greatest internet coverage)

  • Total Votes: 454680
  • Total Comments: 9925
  • Total Proposals: 1471

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LEGO Mindstorms – A Most Useless Machine

 Mindstorms  2 Responses »
Apr 202011
 

Here are some images from my first self-build Mindstorms creation. Since the first two where done with the instructions that came with the box, I was eager to build something myself.

For some time now I have been seeing images of “Useless machines” out there, and thought I’d build one now I have the proper ingredients.

Some examples:

I’ve added a function to the standard box, which makes it move a bit when you get close to flip the switch.

The machine contains:

  • The Next Brick, which made the box quite a bit bigger than most “useless machines” out there.
  • 3 Servo motors, One to drive, one to open the lid and one to flip the switch. the latter two functions I would have liked to combine, but the motor was not capable of opening the lid, the way I made the lid hinge.
  • 2 Touch sensors to simulate a classic on/off switch
  • The ultrasonic sensor, to detect movement.

I found that building your own design without thinking it through a bit gets you into problems or challenges. I have now downloaded the LEGO Digital designer, a free official LEGO download to see if I can make a draft design first, before I start building.

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Where the Internet was born

 Technologies  No Responses »
Apr 132011
 

Here’s a picture of the room the first message was sent across the ARPAnet in 1969, the predecessor of the internet known today.

THENinternet.jpg

This room is now being restored to how it was “Back then” for the opening of the Kleinrock Internet Heritage Site and Archive.

As some people commented, I wish they would restore the people back in place too. These looks are hard to find nowadays!

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The First Pinhole Modifications

 Pinhole  No Responses »
Apr 102011
 

Today, after last weeks pinhole “developments” I changed the pinhole of the camera. Since it´s built from a DIY pre-fab kit, it´s quite easy to change the pinhole-piece.

The original model has a piece of tinfoil where the hole is made in. I have now cut a piece of a soda can in which I made a small hole.

IMG061

The edges of the hole look well defined, even though it´s not shaped completely round. I’ve also made the hole a bit smaller, it´s now about 0,6mm ∅. (roughly measured)

IMG065

This causes a bit less light to come into the camera and therefore I’ll extend the exposure times a little.

 

I’ve also found a way to tie the camera to a tripod. To have a more stable and definitive solution, I would need to find a bolt with a “slow wire” the ones I have at home are the right size, but won’t make it past one round. For now a rubber band will do:

IMG068

 

This afternoon, we went out to our roof terrace and shot another film. Hopefully I can show the results of these improvements by the end of this week.

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