Jake von Slatt sez, "On Saturday May 3, on the main stage at Maker:Faire Heather Gold will leading a discussions about sub-culture through the lens of Steampunk. Participating in the discussion will be Cap'n Robert of Abney Park, artist, photographer and editor from SteamPunk Magazine Libby Bulloff and myself, Jake von Slatt. Please join us via the live stream and chat and lob us some of those tough and insightful comments!" Link (Thanks, Jake!)

Mary sez, "While looking for something else entirely, I stumbled upon this eBay auction for an Antique Steam Pulley Driven Workshop with Lights. Good heavens. It’s got a lathe, jig saw, drill… It’s like a steampunk Shopsmith, but it’s real." Link (Thanks, Mary!)

Heather sez, "A new painting & print from the fabulous Suzanne R Forbes is on Etsy. $10 of each print purchase goes to the EFF. "

Miss Eva G posed for me in her SOMA loft, dressed in her own fabulous steampunk finery, with an antique crossbow she brought back from China. The painting took several sittings with Miss E and then many hours of work painting in the detailed background. She is defending early implements of the computer revolution, Jacquard punch cards and IBM cards, a CDV of Ada Byron, and Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2. An apple core represents Turing, eaten up by the intolerance of his era. Also prominently displayed are so

me wonderful modern creations- The Steampunk Laptop by Datamancer and the Steampunk Flatpanel and Keyboard by Jake Von Slatt- who were kind enough to allow me use their work in the painting. The packet-sniffing rat under the desk is a nod to the EFF’s most recent victory; the EFF logo appears among the luggage stickers on the trunk. I added the bullet shells at the last minute when I learned that Miss E. is a crack shot.

Link (Thanks, Heather!)

Jake von Slatt sez, "The inexorable march of technology has rendered my 4:3 aspect ratio 19" LCD mod and my pump-less water cooled PC obsolete, so when I saw at 24" wide screen monitor on sale for $299.00 I grabbed it with the intent on making a Victorian All-in-One PC."

I connected the plastic top and bottom together with some lengths fo aluminum angle iron and then give them a coat of Krylon semi-flat black spray paint. When the paint was dry I masked off some of the trim using "FROG Tape" from Inspired Technologies - it works much better then regular painter's masking tape.

I hand painted the trim with a brush and small pot of gold paint which I then proceeded to spill into my lap. The Lady von Slatt has taken to calling me Goldmember.

Next I fabricated the back from perforated aluminum and pop-rivets.

Link (Thanks, Jake!)

Here's a great in-depth build report from a steampunk mouse project in Custom PC:

I'd decided to use mahogany for the mouse body to give it a satisfyingly rich colour that would go well with the brass I'd be adding later. I bought a 1/4-in sheet of wood (picture 3), measuring 3in wide by 36in from a Hobbies shop. Using what was left of the mouse base and PCB as a template, I cut a hole in the wood with a fretsaw, and then sanded it for a snug fit.

Sorting out the scroll wheel came next. It was constructed from clear plastic and illuminated by a blue LED (picture 4), which wasn't exactly appropriate for a Steampunk-themed design. I desoldered the LED and used 22mm copper heating pipe to fashion a new wheel. I cut a very short length of the pipe (around 7mm) and carefully smoothed the edges using emery cloth on a flat surface. The 'wheel' had to be gradually reduced in diameter until it was a snug fit, before using Araldite to glue the two parts together. I used a Dremel for most of this work, before sandpapering it to finish it off.

Link (Thanks, Alex!)

Watchismo's got some exclusive photos of the DeWitt Concept No. 1, a €400,000 watch that's like a cross between an AT-AT walker and a steampunk war-zeppelin control-center.

Selling for 400,000 Euros at the OnlyWatch auction before it had been shown to anyone, the DeWitt Concept No.1 was a beast to behold last week at Baselworld. Devoloped with French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, this gothic pirate spaceship of a watch is taking the steampunk oeuvre to new heights with its expanding riveted case, flying tourbillon, five barrels and a 21 day power reserve.

Link

Etsy seller Edmdesigns sells a wide variety of steampunky and clockpunky junque, from cufflinks to tie-tacks to rings to pendants, at reasonable prices Link

See also: Clockwork cufflinks, and their fantastic maker, Etsy seller Rivkasmom

Sillof (he of the badass Justice League of America steampunk action figure mods) has just unveiled his latest: a deeply awesome range of steampunk Star Wars action figures. Link (Thanks, Sillof!)

Etsy seller Rivkasmom has these gorgeous cufflinks made from old watch-movements on sale for $55 -- I saw a similar item at a posh London men's store on Jermyn Street last week for £400! Link (Thanks, Dani!)

It's too late to buy one of Etsy seller BuildersStudio's steampunky "Robot Bride and Groom Wedding Cake Topper Wood Statues with Base," but there's always the chance it'll come back before you need to get one on top of the cake. Indeed, you could just get one once they come back and wait for the kind of person who's willing to marry you with this as the centerpiece; surely that would be the best indicator of having found your heart's true destiny. Link (via Neatorama)

Steampunk Maker Jake von Slatt took exception to Merlin Mann's hilarious steampunk monologue and has followed it up with a video-response of his own, noting the upcoming steampunk anthology (which looks frankly awesome -- I have a copy on my desk and I've just skimmed it, but I had to slam it down before I got drawn into it at a time when I've got no spare leisure reading cycles) and Maker Faire. Link