Contributors
Mitch Altman (Brain Machine) was a geeky kid who dreamed about electronics when
he was 3. He’s been trying to find worthwhile things to do with this skill ever since. He
helps the world enjoy turning TVs off with his invention TV-B-Gone. He’s also started
a nonprofit vegetarian restaurant, started a rural commune, and co-founded 3ware, a
Silicon Valley company. Altman still has time to meditate, do cool volunteer work, and
hang with friends, and is currently developing a Sound & Light Machine that will help
people sleep better.
Matthew A. Dalton (MAKE engineering intern) grew up in California, moving from place to
place with his mom and little sister. He quickly learned how to fix whatever broke, and kept
everything running smoothly. With an inclination toward electronics, Dalton dove into
engineering at the local junior college, and can now be found struggling with homework on
any given night. He’s hopeful that seven years in the military fixing jets and ECM pods will
help him in his endeavors. With several projects on the table, Dalton is just waiting for
summer to hit. If only school didn’t take up so much time!
Martin John Brown ( Tabletop Biosphere) has written scientific papers about ultraviolet
radiation and previously studied forest canopies. He’s written for Sierra, Air & Space/
Smithsonian, and E/The Environmental Magazine, and is currently co-authoring a book
about the social experience of knitting. Knitalong comes out in 2008 from Stewart, Tabori
& Chang. More recently he’s been bogged down in other projects, most notably building
a tiny house, eating too much barbecued chicken, thinking a lot about the problem of
dishwashing, and playing flamenco guitar rather badly. martinjohnbrown.net
Tom Parker (Make Money) is an author who lives in Ithaca, N. Y., and works for Cornell
University. He has written and illustrated Rules of Thumb volumes 1 and 2, In One Day,
Never Trust a Calm Dog, and Le Livre du Bon Sens, a French translation that even he can’t
understand. Parker and his books have appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, The
Tonight Show, The Today Show and the CBS Evening News, but he notes that signed copies
can be bought off eBay for pennies on the dollar. When he is not tinkering with junk, Parker is
a flight instructor and flies a 1956 Cessna 180 bush plane.
Gregg Segal ( Cover and MakeShift photography) studied photography and film at the
California Institute of the Arts and went on to do a master’s degree in dramatic writing at
NYU. His penchant for drama now finds an outlet in photography. After a brief stint as a
writer, he returned to shooting and has been documenting Los Angeles and its people for
the past 12 years. “My mother tells me she knew I’d become a photographer when, after
she got me a camera for my 11th birthday, I photographed our neighbor’s garbage,” he says.
When not going for the jugular in his personal work, Segal shoots for Esquire, Premiere,
Dwell, News week, and Entertainment Weekly, among others.
When he’s not talking to garage ski builders, Seattle resident Jason Verlinde (Downhill Makers)
can usually be found interviewing bands. Verlinde is the publisher of the Fretboard Journal
( fretboardjournal.com), a quarterly magazine documenting musician culture and guitar
builders. Now that the weather has cleared up in the Northwest, there’s a good chance
you’ll find him working on his old Toyota Land Cruiser in his driveway or walking his dogs.
Make: 9
