Somewhere between reading "Design of Dissent" and trying not to vomit over Target Green, I wondered, "In this age of cynicism and corporate co-option, is there anything capable of authentic revolution?" The answer may surprise you!

Saturday was the Second Annual Maker Faire, where people show off stuff they've made themselves. Yes, themselves. Everything from wallets made from recycled bike tubes to fire engines that spit flames instead of water, these are people who have an obviously different relationship with their "stuff" than a lot of us. How much of what we own is completely pre-fabricated (probably by sweatshop workers who are shocked that we want holes in our brand new jeans)? How many of us smile with satisfaction at merely putting something together from Ikea, according to their instructions? Maker Faire people eat people like us for breakfast.

Despite my girlfriend's frustration that countless hours manufacturing a steam-powered car could maybe be better spent, I believe there is something inherently political about creating something that no one else in the world but you thinks is a good idea. At a minimum, it's mechanical expressionism. Optimally, it's providing the necessary noise that culture needs to evolve.

The very next day was an exercise in noise if ever there was one. San Francisco's Bay to Breakers 12k run. Of course, this being San Francisco, people do a lot more than just run. They dress up in ridiculous costumes (or go nekkid) get exceedingly intoxicated (sometimes even running behind a shopping cart with a keg in it) and then run. I've been a participant before (and finished in the Top 10%) but was only a spectator this year.

Bay to Breakers was almost as inspiring from a DIY standpoint as Maker Faire. The costumes range from low-tech but creative to painstakingly accurate. What surprised me the most was how many groups dressed in what they had to assume were extremely innovative ways, only to find that a lot of others dressed the same. There were more bull-runners than you could keep track of, multiple Double Dare teams, and scores of Spartans (my favorites were the flamingly gay Asian Spartans, for which I cannot find a picture).

The weekend left my girlfriend and I very excited to leave the sidelines and get into the DIY game. After listing all of the projects that we might be interested in pursuing, I compiled them all into one mega-project just for fun. Don't be surprised if you get invited to our fancy DIY dinner party, featuring homebrewed liquor from our hydroponic grapes complete with hand-pressed labels printed on recycled paper—oh, and make sure to sew your own formalwear to match the slipcovers in our solar-powered mock pre-fab backyard chateau.