Steamy

The Maker Faire more than earned its gratuitous "e" on Saturday. It was a great day down the peninsula and we saw everything from a robot dustbuster to a different color robot dustbuster. And a lot of other wild and wacky contraptions. There was a Diet Coke and Mentos fountain display by these guys, and little cupcake-mobiles that kept sneaking up on me.

But the biggest new thing for me: steampunks. I had seen them around San Francisco but since half the people here are dressed up like pirates or punks or pagans all the time I thought they were all just one-off personas. Not so - Steampunks are a whole subculture that recalls the days when everything was steam-powered and technology was fantasy. They're like Victorian punks. I will admit to being somewhat fascinated by them and I took every opportunity I had at the Maker Faire to stare shamelessly at them.

Here's a couple of Steampunks from behind (let's ease into this, shall we?). Notice the corset over the clothes and the black and white striped stockings. This is classic Steampunk. (Another term is "retro-futurism" which sort of hurts my brain to think about.)
Next we have a Steampunk mobile which is not powered by steam but is just kind of a glorified bicycle carriage. Observe:

And then there's a whole thing about wearing gas masks and goggles and lots of leather. Creepy! And yet I can't look away.