In our Open Minecraft Lab in Robertson Library, we’ll be playing the special custom MinecraftEdu version of Minecraft, which has some education-friendly features built into it.

I’ve prepared a step-by-step guide to installing MinecraftEdu on the Macs in the Modern Language Lab and the PCs in the LINC lab.

For the Macs, using Apple’s Remote Desktop application, I will drop the Java installer for MinecraftEdu on every Mac in the lab after each one is logged in (the usernames and passwords are pasted on the front of each Mac); once the installer is there, the step-by-step guide will get you to the point where you can play Minecraft on the machine.

For the PCs, the MinecraftEdu installer is on the shared M: drive, and can be installed right away by following the instructions.

In case you’ve missed the media blitz elsewhere (thanks, Mitch Cormier at CBC Island Morning, and all the retweeters), I’m hosting an “Open Minecraft Lab” at Robertson Library, University of PEI, on both April 20 and April 27, 2013.

(And they’re Minecraft labs, not camps. I’ve got nothing against camps, but we’re hackers, not canoeists!)

There are, at this writing, still spots open for both dates; you must pre-register to secure one: April 20 or April 27.

The roots of all of this can be found in conversations I’ve had over the last few years with my friend Morgan, a Minecraft early adopter and enthusiastic advocate. From the reaction to the announcement of the lab – 60 people signed up so far – there’s a latent interest in learning more about Minecraft, and I’m happy to be able to leverage the labs at UPEI to this end.

Special mention must go to the ever-helpful Jerrad Gilbert, who oversees the Mac and PC labs where we’ll be playing: Jerrad has been super-helpful in getting me the access I need to set everything up and deploying Minecraft to 50 machines, and helping me test the setup.

Robertson Library will be a busy place for the next two Saturday mornings!

The opening of a brand new Exploratorium yesterday in San Francisco got me thinking about its old home in the Palace of Fine Arts and a facsinating event that took place there 42 years ago this June.

In the Whole Earth Epilog, published in October 1974, Stewart Brand spins a long, rambling, and compelling tale of the “Whole Earth” enterprise over the previous three years, starting from the story of “Demise Party” in June 1971:

So, in June 1971, we had the Demise Party celebrating the self-termination of The Whole Earth Catalog, and all in all it was a rout. 1500 people showed up. The Exploratorium staff had their museum weirding around us at full steam. A band called The Golden Toad made every kind of music from bluegrass to bellydance.  A non-stop non-score volleyball game competed for loudest activity with balloons full of inhalable laughing gas. And then at midnight Scott Beach announced from the stage that these here two hundred $100 dollar bills, yes, $20,000, were now the property of the party-goers. Just as soon as they could decide what to do with them.

The party was reported on in great detail for the Rolling Stone article “The Last Twelve Hours of the Whole Earth Catalog” (issue #86) which began:

The Demise of Whole Earth was a wake, and like any good wake it lasted until early morning, what with 1500 people haggling over the deceased’s estate.

The estate – a wad of 200 $100 bills – was a surprise “educational event” sprung by Whole Earth Catalog founder Stewart Brand on the former Whole Earth employees, contributors, and reviewers who had come to celebrate the publication of The Last Whole Earth Catalog. By the time of the party, June 12th, they had probably all digested an earlier education event, Brand’s decision a year and a half ago to stop publishing his successful Catalog this summer.

The $20,000, however, proved too much to deal in a single night, and by 8 AM the 1500 guests dwindled to 20. In the end the 20 delegated one of their number to hold the money, which itself had dwindled to $14,905, until they could reconvene to decide what to do with it. He stuffed the money into his jeans and drove off into the sunrise.

That article, by Thomas Albright and Charles Perry, was reprinted in early editions of The Seven Laws of Money (itself a compelling read).

Miraculously, there is video of the Demise Party; you can see it in this montage of news clippings and other Whole Earth material at about 23:20:

The invitation to the Demise Party appeared in the March 1971 Whole Earth Catalog supplement (conveniently available online):

Among those who attended was Richard Brautigan, as related here:

The evening had just gotten started (hosted by Scott Beech, music by The Golden Toad) when all the glitterati of S.F. started showing up, including Richard Brautigan and another man passing out a “free poem” entitled “Lichen.”  I tried to get the two of them to autograph the poem, which was printed on legal-sized, greenish paper. Both refused. Instead of stamping the backs of hands (so people could come and go), we had these stacks of self-stick diffraction gratings from Edmund Scientific to put on people’s foreheads. Both refused.

In Stewart Brand’s own tale of the party and its aftermath, he goes on to relate the story of POINT Foundation and its mechanism for handing out grants (emphasis mine):

It was not a bad overture for the founding of POINT, the foundation that took over from Portola the dispensing of Whole Earth’s soon sizable income. Dick Raymond and I appointed a board consisting of ourselves, Huey Johnson from the Nature Conservancy, Mike Phillips from Glide Foundation, Jerry Mander (radical ad-man), and Bill English from Xerox. The seventh director was always a guest, called “Elijah,” different each time we met.

The first thing we did was give up on my “Mountain Fantasy” notion of a bifurcated high hard community - too pushily experimental.  Instead we focussed on being a needle in the gaseous foundation world.  We ruled that none of us could be with POINT more than three years.  We dispensed (Jerry Mander’s brilliant stroke) with group decision about money - each director had $55,000 a year to give out at his unchallenged discretion.   We funded quickly and without fuss, usually preferring to do without proposals and such.  We held board meetings on salmon boats at sea, in tipis, in Glide’s sex room, at the Black Panther school in Oakland.  And our grants were maybe no worse than other people’s - they’re listed in entirety in the Summer ‘74 Co-Evolution Quarterly if you’re interested.

Huey Johnson and Jerry Mander, who fought constantly, were the best funders.  Dick Raymond and I were terrible.  Now there’s mostly a new set of directors, whose qualities we shall see.   The main lesson I learned was: it’s not enough to give money to someone who’s very good.   They must also be in the grip of an overwhelming idea which is very good; otherwise a hideous paralysis will take them over and, in addition, freeze your friendship.

My parents owned copied of the Whole Earth Catalog, and I’ve accumulated my own collection over the years (to the point where I’ve had enough extra copies that I’ve been able to share them with fellow travellers); I was a Whole Earth Review subscriber in later years, and a Well member too. If there’s an underlying rhyme to my reason, its roots can likely be found somewhere in the Whole Earth enterprise, for which I owe Brand and his coconspirators a great debt.

In the printing trade, one of the letterpress’s unique superpowers is the ability to print on irregularly-shaped things. Like coffee bags. And so, after picking up and afternoon coffee at Youngfolk & The Kettle Black every afternoon this winter, eventually the conversation was bound to come around to “so, what about printing up some coffee bags for us.” So I gave it a try.

It’s a tricky job because the folds in the coffee bag create a limited area of “flatness” and I need to accommodate room for the 3-times-fold and seal, so I’m left with a relatively small area to print on, and even within that area some folds I need to work around. I’m only halfway through right now: it’s a two-colour job, and I’ve only printed the black. But here’s what it’s looking like:

In red, between COF and FEE, will be some variation on Y&TKB or Youngfolk & The Kettle Black. Still working out the details. But I’ve got to wait for 150 coffee bags to dry, so I’ve got time.

The lab is now full. There may be cancellations during the week.  There is, however, a second, afternoon lab that might still have spaces.

About the Lab

An informal opportunity to come and play Minecraft, the popular world-building game, with other people.

The emphasis will be on sharing what we know, on learning new tips and techniques: so please come with questions and answers, and your curiousity.

Who can attend?

You can be an absolute beginner, or a longtime player: we want to create an space for players of all skill levels to teach each other.

There is no age limit; people under 18 are asked to obtain permission from parent or guardian to attend, and parents are welcome to attend too, either to play or just to learn and help.

The lab is limited to 25 attendees, and you must register a spot in advance if you want to attend (parents or guardians accompanying player do not need to register).

Where is it?

The lab will be held in the Modern Language Lab at Robertson Library, University of PEI.

There is free parking on the UPEI campus, and the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market is just across the street and is a good place to stop for breakfast before or lunch after.

The lab is equipped with thirty 20” iMacs and a SMART board. We’ll be running our own Minecraft server in the lab so that players can play together.

How much does it cost?

The workshop is free.

You do NOT need to have a Minecraft account (but you can use your Minecraft account if you have one).

What do I need to bring?

If you have a Minecraft account already, please bring your username and password.

We’ll have 5 educational licenses to use for those that don’t already have a Minecraft account; if you’d rather get your own account before you come, you can purchase from Minecraft.net (and the account you buy there can be used both in our lab and at home).

Question from Parents?

Minecraft is being used by educators to teach everything from technology to engineering to math to architecture. The MinecraftEdu website is a good clearinghouse for information about the use of Minecraft in schools.

This lab is being organized by Peter Rukavina, Hacker in Residence, University of PEI. You can phone me at (902) 892-2556 or email prukavina@upei.ca is you have any questions or concerns.

There’s a raft of renovations here at The Guild this spring, from a new wood-like floor in the gallery to a new electronic signboard that will be going up shortly on the facade. My favourite update, however, is the basement washroom, which has been transformed from a frightening, smelly hovel into a bright delight. Here’s a tour by video:

It’s nice to know that my city is capable, on occasion, of living up to its inspired city propoganda. Witness this sign, spotted on the way to work this morning:

It’s such a great initiative: it encourages people to walk by defeating the perception by all Islanders (myself included) that to go more than a few blocks will take an hour to walk so you’d better take the car. Bravo, city, bravo.

(The QR code, if you scan it with a mobile device, leads to a Google Map of the route from the sign to the destination).

I’ve been intrigued by the word-building game Minecraft since my friend Morgan turned me on to it a couple of years ago. I’m not a devoted player – I need to preserve my hands and forearms for revenue-generating typing – but I recognize a lot of potential for creativity and exploration and learning in the game, something that’s being focused by the MinecraftEdu project.

To help stimulate the Minecraft community in Charlottetown, I’m hosting an Open Minecraft Lab at Robertson Library, University of PEI, this Saturday, April 20, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to Noon. There are 25 spots, and you must pre-register. It’s all ages, all abilities, and parents and guardians are encouraged to attend.

About the Lab

An informal opportunity to come and play Minecraft, the popular world-building game, with other people.

The emphasis will be on sharing what we know, on learning new tips and techniques: so please come with questions and answers, and your curiousity.

Who can attend?

You can be an absolute beginner, or a longtime player: we want to create an space for players of all skill levels to teach each other.

There is no age limit; people under 18 are asked to obtain permission from parent or guardian to attend, and parents are welcome to attend too, either to play or just to learn and help.

The lab is limited to 25 attendees, and you must register a spot in advance if you want to attend (parents or guardians accompanying player do not need to register).

Where is it?

The lab will be held in the Modern Language Lab at Robertson Library, University of PEI.

There is free parking on the UPEI campus, and the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market is just across the street and is a good place to stop for breakfast before or lunch after.

The lab is equipped with thirty 20” iMacs and a SMART board. We’ll be running our own Minecraft server in the lab so that players can play together.

How much does it cost?

The workshop is free.

You do NOT need to have a Minecraft account (but you can use your Minecraft account if you have one).

What do I need to bring?

If you have a Minecraft account already, please bring your username and password.

Question from Parents?

Minecraft is being used by educators to teach everything from technology to engineering to math to architecture. The MinecraftEdu website is a good clearinghouse for information about the use of Minecraft in schools.

This lab is being organized by Peter Rukavina, Hacker in Residence, University of PEI. You can phone me at (902) 892-2556 or email prukavina@upei.ca is you have any questions or concerns.

Over on my Hacker in Residence blog I’ve been doing some experimenting with the City of Charlottetown zoning map, taking the raw map from the city, massaging the data and merging it with provincial civic address database information to end up with a Google Earth-friendly KML of the zoning map that makes it much easier to search for and visualize zoning.

So you can see the entire city, with each properly colour-coded by zone:

Or you can zoom in and turn off all the zoning other than “open space” to see where there’s parkland downtown:

What’s really nice is that because Google Earth is being used to view the information, all of the other Google Earth layers, from 3D buildings to Wikipedia annotations, can be overlaid:

You can get Google Earth for free from Google and the KML file for free from:

http://charlottetown.reinvented.net/zoning/charlottetown_zoning_enhanced.kml