By Cory Doctorow at 4:00 am Thursday, May 10
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BrewDog is a spunky craft brewer in Scotland. Diageo is a titanic owner of booze brands, a kind of Wal*Mart of booze. The British Institute of Innkeeping is their mutual trade association.
Last Sunday, the BII's independent judges awarded BrewDog a prize for Bar Operator of the Year. When Diageo found out -- just ahead of the ceremony -- that a company affiliated with them hadn't won the prize, they threw a tantrum and said that they would cease all sponsorship of BII events unless the prize was given to them.
So BrewDog -- who'd been told in advance that they'd won -- sat at their table at the banquet with jaws on their chests as their competitor's name was read out by the announcer, and representatives from Diageo's chosen bar got up on stage to accept an award whose plaque clearly said "BREWDOG: BAR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR." The farce has turned into a scandal, and Diageo has issued a non-apology of the "mistakes were made" sort.
BrewDog is pissed:
As for Diageo, once you cut through the glam veneer of pseudo corporate responsibility this incident shows them to be a band of dishonest hammerheads and dumb ass corporate freaks. No soul and no morals, with the integrity of a rabid dog and the style of a wart hog.
Perhaps more tellingly it is an unwitting microcosm for just how the beer industry is changing and just how scared and jealous the gimp-like establishment are of the craft beer revolutionaries.
We would advise them to drink some craft beer. To taste the hops and live the dream. It is hard to be a judas goat when you are drinking a Punk IPA.
Walk tall, kick ass and learn to speak craft beer.
Diageo Screw BrewDog
(Thanks, Chris!)
By Cory Doctorow at 2:24 pm Wednesday, Sep 14
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Mark Frame, an orthopedic surgical trainee at Scotland's Monklands Hospital, 3D printed a model of a bone from a CT scan, as preparation for surgery. Rather than using the local rapid prototyping shop at a university (where such an operation might cost $1200 for a miniature model), Frame modelled the bone himself and had it printed at Shapeways for £77. The Shapeways community gave him feedback and help as he worked through the process, using free software tools to make the model. I love how networked maker communities help people who have specific, interesting problems to solve them for themselves. I also love 3D printed bones -- as you might remember, my wife
surprised me with a 3D print of my femur after my surgery this year. When I showed it to my surgeon (a man of heroic reserve and calm) he practically flipped his lid and I practically had to pry it out of his fingers.
I used OsiriX, a well known open source medical imaging package for mac OS to open the CT scan images and produce a surface render (mesh of points) and export it in a format I could manipulate and make compatible for the printers at Shapeways. I exported the files as .obj files and opened them in a recommended manipulation program called MeshLab. This, another free open source application for mac osx. The aim of this application is to close any holes in the meshes and to delete any artifact produced in the scans. These were then exported as .stl files ready for printing.
I uploaded them to Shapeways through my account and they were almost instantly verified as printable and Shapeways began processing the images. The total cost for both bones in white flexible plastic only came to a tiny £77. The bones were in our hands in 7 days to the UK. The resultant models were amazing! We verified them and found them to be virtually identical copies of the bones on the CT scans. The white plastic was a great material to machine and use our normal orthopedic drills and saws and screws on to practice the operation.
3D Printing Bone on a budget!
By Cory Doctorow at 12:03 pm Monday, Sep 12
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An anonymous sculptor has been leaving gorgeous carved-book sculptures in Scotland's libraries, along with little notes of encouragement. Some are left out in the open; others are hidden away and may have sat a long time before being discovered.
Having been on display in the Scottish Poetry Library for a few months, the poetree is now kept behind the counter for safety, but if you ask nicely I'm sure they would let you have a look.
The National Library's gramophone is in a display case near the front door.
The Filmhouse's cinematic diorama is currently not on display.
The Scottish Storytelling Centre's dragon is probably going to estivate during the Festivals to avoid any possible manhandling by infant hordes but will surely make a return in the autumn.
Mysterious paper sculptures
By Cory Doctorow at 3:56 am Sunday, Aug 14
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I'm about to fly to Edinburgh for a gig at the Edinburgh Festival,
tonight at 8:30PM. There are still a few tickets left.
From there, I'm headed straight to Renovation, the World Science Fiction Convention in Reno, where I'll be doing a ton of stuff:
Wednesday, August 17
11.00-11.45am - Author in the Library, Sierra View Library (off site), 4001 S. Virginia St, located in the Reno Town Mall across the street from the Reno Sparks Convention Center -- reading, autographing, and Q and A with library community, host: Christine Johnson
2.00-3.00pm - Reading, Reno Sparks Convention Center room A05
Thursday, August 18
8.55-10.00am - Stroll with the Stars, (off site) meet at Stroll Meeting Spot (Walgreen's parking lot, 3495 S Virginia St, about 5 minute walk north of Atlantis), will stroll down to Reno Sparks Convention Center, with Stu Segal, Bill Willingham, Julie Bell, Boris Vallejo, Lawrence M. Schoen, Lauren Beukes, and Ellen Datlow
Read the rest
By Cory Doctorow at 2:21 am Thursday, Jul 28
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Funny juggler/conjuror Mat Ricardo sez, "Remember
last year when I staged a one-man show at the Edinburgh festival, asking if - after 25 years of touring, performing and slowly going mad - I should continue doing my job as a juggler and comedian? Remember how I discussed it with the audience and got their advice during each show? Well - the results are in - the show was a massive success and I got the best reviews of my career (Graham Linehan came, and called it 'Charming, funny and startling;). the feedback was literally unanimous that I should keep doing it. Hooray! The show transferred to a short London run earlier this year, which sold out, and
I've been booked to perform it at a larger venue for the duration of the Edinburgh fringe, starting next Wednesday. The lesson here is simple - if you make something, then make it personal and meaningful. When you do a job that you love for a long time, as I have, it's easy to forget why you loved it in the first place. It's easy for it to become just a job, and that's what had happened to me - but writing and performing 'Three Balls and a New Suit' helped me remember, and now I love doing it as much as I ever have. Win!"
