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Welcome to Ben Krasnow! (Also seen as bkraz333 on YouTube)

• We decided we had to have Ben on the show once we saw his crazy LED in a contact lens video:
• Ben started as a researcher/technician with a TMS lab, which led him to starting his own business, Mag Design and Engineering.
• That also led him to experiment with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for a YouTube video:
• This is just a single pulse, the commercial/research ones do a pulse train at roughly 30 Hz.
• Ben also has built a DIY Scanning Electron Microscope, with an oscilloscope used as a display:
• But now, Ben is getting out of the magnetics business and into the tinkering business.
• And once Ben is done for the day, he kicks back and either has a glass of argonated beer or a skewer of meat cooked on thermite.
• Google Patents is a great source of ideas of things to try in the shop.
• Apple was recently in the news for patenting fuel cell technology, a possible hint towards their future (or not, often patents are published to throw people off).
• Ben tells us about all the gear in his shop. Perhaps Dave’s new shop (below) could use some metal working equipment?
• The education system is broken. Ben believes that its far too academically focused and not practical enough.
• Perhaps there should be a “tinkering” degree? Travis Goodspeed is getting a PhD at Penn in Reverse Engineering, which he did on the Girltech IM me.
• Stanford is re-upping their free participation online courses (similar to their recent AI class), now offering CS 101, Machine Learning, Game Theory, Natural Language Processing, Probabilistic Graphical Models, Software Engineering for Software as a Service, Human-Computer Interfaces and more.
• MIT is continuing their classes as well, now also offering a certificate of completion, perhaps the first step towards educational reform.
• Hackerspaces are another possible avenue for educational reform. Ben lives near Noisebridge but hasn’t had the time to attend regularly.
• Ben prefers mechanical equipment and has other machines he wants before a 3D printer, which he demonstrates for elementary schoolers.
• Dave is getting a MakerBot soon! Awesome!
• Other chemistry-type videos on YouTube are great (though they get tagged as “dangerous” because it’s associated with bomb/meth making). Ben likes NerdRage’s Youtube channel.
• And at the end of the day, all of the electronics and chemistry videos are out-watched by his own cake-making videos!

It was great getting to talk to Ben, even though Dave had some technical difficulties. We can’t wait to see what he’s cooking up next!

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• Thanks to PStevenson for including us in his YouTube tribute song!
• DigiKey ended up sending me a classical music CD as part of my (jesting) Digi-Wish:
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• Dave often has to deal with filling out an export form when ordering from DigiKey or other vendors.
• He’s ordering parts for his new power supply kit, which should be out in a few more weeks.
• Chris thinks future designs won’t need to design in LCDs because they can pipe data to low cost, standardized tablets. Dave disagrees.
• Dave is in the middle of building benches for his new lab/office.
• Dave having issues with a “short circuit” on a single plane of copper, according to ITead Studios(?).
• There is a Mini Maker Faire coming to Melbourne, the first in Australia.
• And if you’re interested in all things Maker related, there is now a dedicated blog on Forbes.com about Makers.
• If you’re into 3D printing, there is a cheap one available as part of a Kickstarter project, the 2nd most funded project ever (thanks to @clothbot for the link).
• The first most funded project to date was the TikTok Watch Band, which Dave used as a model when he designed his next-gen calculator watch.
• Chris met a fellow alumni at a recent event who told him about the often-referenced Booz Allen study about money in R&D. Especially how this data gets misused as a reason/excuse to cut funding when this is a narrow-minded view of the data presented.
• Listener Adam Ward wrote in about a recent Hackaday article that focused on a rip-off product.
• If you’re thinking about moving production to China, keep the air-pollution in mind; it could affect the long term viability of your product.

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Welcome back Jeff! Joining us for some holiday fun!

• Chris started a new engineering job today! Dave is getting the keys to his new lab today!
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• Jeff is attending DorkBot Austin tonight! Reminds Chris of PechaKucha.
• What should we call a group of nerds standing around? Chris likes the term, “a grumbling of nerds”.
• Dave hasn’t seen Altoid tins in the grocery stores, but has built projects in tic tac boxes, cassette cases and hammond cases.
• Chris just got a new BeagleBone to play with! It’s awesome!

• Digi-key is doing their Digi-Wish again this year, so you can ask for something out of their catalog.
• Chris wished for some of the classical CDs they stock at Digi-Key(?).
• What’s the difference between black and pink foam in electronics? One is conductive (black) and one is static resistant (pink)
• Our wishlists:
• Dave — A spectrum analyzer, likely one off of eBay. The Rigol ones are too much for Dave so he needs to go older.
• Chris — A sig gen like the newer Rigol DG1022 because a certain Aussie’s kit isn’t available anymore. Jeff and Dave say Chris isn’t wishing big enough.
• Jeff — Lots and lots of kits!
• The adafruit Icetube clock kit.
• The NixieKit NixieTherm thermometer kit (suggested by electroman-j).
• The Fun Cube Dongle kit.
• Jeff’s new Ham Callsign is W6OHM! Awesome! Dave wants VK2EEV (but has to get his license first!)
• Chris’s co-worker did a homebrew solution for programmable outdoor holiday lights, controlled by text message!
• We loved John DeCristafaro’s (@johngineer) post on displaying a holiday image on an old scope with a micro!
• Our past guest, Jeremy Blum was named the IEEE “New Face of College Engineering”!  Awesome! He will be featured during national eWeek.
• Itching to get your hands on an old micro? Try out the new Microbee Z80 kit, which is now available!
• This Day in Nerd History:
• As seen on today’s Google Doodle, it would have been Robert Noyce’s 84th birthday. He started Fairchild and Intel. Wow!
• It was on this day in 1901 that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio transmissions. They had been transmitted from his large transmitting station in Poldhu Cornwall England and he had received them in St Johns Newfoundland. (thanks to Alan Wolke for the suggestions!)
• New contest from DesignSpark for using the ChipKit in an energy efficient application. Giving away 1000 ChipKits but you have to play by their rules.

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• Chris reveals (to those that did not already know) that he used to work at Keithley Instruments and recently left to go work at an unnamed company.
• Chris has the whole week off! He wrote more about leaving his engineering job on Engineer Blogs.
• Keithley was recently bought by Danaher, who also owns Tektronix, Fluke, Seabird and Beckman Coulter (among many many others).
• If you’re interested, be sure to get the Low Level Measurement Handbook, it’s awesome!

• Dave is planning on going to visit a calibration lab in Victoria.
• Dave also has been shopping for his new lab (3D model here). first purchase? A JAMMA console! Don’t tell the wife!
• If you’re short on cash but still want a SMU, check out the CEE from nonolith labs! It’s an OSHW SMU!
• If you need funding for your project, there’s new legislation to legalize crowdsourcing in the US (in exchange for stock)
• Found on reddit, this guy in front his bench embodies he badass vibe!
• An honorary WOTW, highlighted by Paul Rako’s blog on EDN: Barrie Gilbert of Analog Devices has an amazing lab!
• Non-sequitor of the week and too good to pass up, back in April 2010 there was a man arrested at the LHC who claimed he was from the future!
• Chris visited an EMSL party last night via telepresence (photos by @Grathio here: ESML open house Flickr set)
• Speaking of the future (segue there), MIT has discovered how to translate electrical to optical info on-chip. Should amount to an even faster chip in the future!
• From the EEVblog forums: why do scope traces always come in color? What about people who are color blind?
• The low end of the Test and Measurement industry: Rigol has dropped the price of their 100 MHz scope (DS1102E) to the price previously used for the 1052E.
• A bit of holiday awesome: Alan Yates (VK2ZAY) is doing a great series of videos called the “Advent Calendar of Electronics“. One useful circuit per day until xmas! Amazing!
• Shonky Product of the Week: A USB cable that is hand made? Cool. A USB cable that costs $3549? Not cool.
• Extra Capacity:
• A non-shonky audio guru uses high voltage SiC FETs in the output stage of his audio amps! He also has some great tutorials.
• For all you hams out there (or future hams who are studying, like Chris is), there’s a great kit you can purchase called the K2. The older kit is all through hole.

This week was a lot of fun! Chris wants to thank all of his former co-workers at Keithley! Hopefully one or two of them are listeners now!