He spent two years researching what he calls the
“Technology Underground,” a counter-culture based
on “self-directed science and technology.” Gurstelle
told me that “the media usually portrayed these
people as either beer-drinking sods with a welding
torch or uber-geek technology freaks. Of course,
mostly they were just people who enjoyed technology.”
Like Brian Basura, who built a very large electro-
static discharge machine, designed to shrink quar-
ters in his garage. Gurstelle writes that high-volt-
Bill’s Excellent Adventure age tinkerers also know “how to make a big-time,
Adventures from the Technology Underground, lethally dangerous high-voltage capacitor in an
by William Gurstelle $25, Crown Publishing unfinished basement; and they can make it from a
· To find out what happens at Teslathon, LDRS 12-pack of empty Rolling Rock beer bottles wrapped
(Large Dangerous Rocket Ships), Burning Man, in aluminum foil and immersed in brine.”
or the World Championship Punkin Chunkin, you The author of Backyard Ballistics, a mix of his-
wouldn’t want to rely on mainstream media. A typical tory and how-to, Gurstelle not only introduces us
reporter struggles not only to understand these to fascinating people and the places they gather,
technophiles but to explain how things work, trusting but offers straightforward explanations for the
that few people actually care. Not Bill Gurstelle. technologies that obsess them, such as high-power
In his new book, Adventures from the Technology amateur rocketry, pulsejets, tesla coils, catapults,
Underground, Gurstelle takes us inside the commu- and flamethrowers. He helps us see these techno-
nities of amateur inventors and science enthusiasts. philes as they see themselves. —Dale Dougherty
How Your Birding Hobby
Can Help Further Science
eBird Online Database Free
ebird.org
Collaborative Music
Playing on the Web
NINJAM Free
ninjam.com
An i Tunes Alternative
for the Shuffle
Sean Shrum’s Shuffler Free
shuffle-db.sourceforge.net
For centuries, backyard scientists Not only does NINJAM enable The iPod Shuffle is probably the big-have kept lists of the birds they’ve musicians to play together online, gest-selling Flash-based MP3 player
seen. These lists have been useful to it even saves the jams as Creative in the world. Given that you can
scientists who are able to correlate Commons-licensed recordings. drag and drop files onto it from any
the observed changes in range or But the breakthrough is the way it decent file manager (on Windows,
migration times of species with overcomes the groove-destroying Mac, Linux), you would think you
global climate change. Patterns from delay inherent in sending audio over could just copy your MP3 files onto
shorter-term effects, like West Nile the net; it delays each performer’s the Shuffle and listen to them.
virus, can also emerge. output by an interval of several bars. Unfortunately, Apple wants you to
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Strange concept, but it actually keep using i Tunes. Which is where
the Audubon Society joined forces to encourages listening. Sean Shrum’s Shuffler application
create an easy-to-use online database, I downloaded the free NINJAM cli- comes in handy. It’s a small applica-eBird, that lets you track your bird ob- ent (available for Windows, Mac, and tion that will scan all the files on
servations and pool them with others, Linux), logged in, and started playing your Shuffle and rebuild the internal
so the data can be used by anyone. electric piano. Suddenly, a guitar- music database.
With eBird, your personal birding ist chimed in, followed by vocals. You still need to use i Tunes to set
list becomes more interesting and NINJAM co-founder Justin Frankel up your Shuffle as a USB Memory
fun to browse right away. But by (of Winamp, Gnutella, and Shoutcast Drive, although this is a one-time
sharing your data, you also become fame) even joined on drums. operation. After that, all you have to
a citizen scientist. The citizen I experienced a few audio glitches do is just copy your music over from
scientists of the 1800s didn’t realize and dropouts, but the mix seems to any host machine, run the database
that their observations would be im- have made it to the website intact. builder, and away you go.
portant clues about global warming, This is one rough ninja, but it’s free —Ewan Spence
and the data you collect now may and fun. —David Battino
be important in ways we can’t even
foresee. —Terrie Miller
