Livermore Local News

Who else is ready to bake the long weekend away?! Comment and tell us what you'll be baking or share a recipe.

I just posted my recipe for a simple, rustic persimmon tart with cinnamon and orange marmalade (or jelly of your choice).

An easy way to enjoy persimmons while they're still on the shelves! This is a fun and festive winter treat: http://www.mhsaving.com/california/watsonville/rustic-persimmon-tart-cooking-courtney

Want to share your fave winter holiday recipes? You can post below or email to me at courtney.teague@www.mhsaving.com to be featured as a reader recipe of the week! Be sure to indicate whether you're using an original recipe and share why it's so special.

Moon Chases the Sunset Over Downtown Livermore. I was up in the hills doing some test photos of the Jupiter/Saturn Conjunction and was treated to a fingernail moon setting during the orange hour. Merry Christmas! More Livermore photos on downtownlivermore.com .

Robot Garden
Helping A Youth Make His Music

At Robot Garden, we seek to encourage the next generation in understanding and becoming enthused about the technological world around us. As a Makersspace based right here in Livermore, we also take care to recognize the impact we’ve had on every individual that walks through our doors. We’ve done extensive work building things such as replicas of the Mars Rover, and we host many outreach programs involving the fields of aviation and robotics. All of this is done while simultaneously offering milling, laser-cutting, and 3d-printing classes!

The lessons we teach and skills we promote assist many in their day-to-day lives, passions and pursuits (even in unexpected ways). Jim Berry, a principal, and organizer of Robot Garden won Livermore Library Volunteer of the Year for his efforts in teaching a microcomputer development lab. His son, Jon Berry, has been into our Makerspace several times; needless to say, his father’s passion and dedication has had an effect on him over the years. Jon knew his way around a computer well enough but had little to no idea about the basics of electronics or computer technology. It was his father that encouraged him to explore these devices he was only so shallowly acquainted with. After a few classes, he learned some basic Java coding and, with his dad’s projects always in and out of the house, he began to learn the fundamentals of wiring, soldering, and electricity.

Eventually, Jon’s own passions collided with some of the skills he’d gained from Robot Garden. A musician and artist at heart, Jon realized he had the know-how to augment his entire experience with his instrument. From then on, he and his father were resolved to replacing the near entirety of his guitar’s electronics. They unscrewed the backplate and got to work looking up circuit diagrams; they began cutting, stripping, and tinning lengths of wire until the new pickups were in place, the input jack was re-installed and the switch pattern completely rethought. His new electronics freshly seated, Jon’s electric guitar tone roared to life and he commemorated this accomplishment with a Robot Garden sticker squarely on the front of his favorite ax (guitar).

Jon’s ambitions lay squarely in the field of music creation, but his Punk Rock band “Until Further Notice” has had no shortage of uses for his technological and computer-based proficiencies. They run two to three weekly live streams on their YouTube channel, with Jon acting as a backup stream manager should something go haywire. Since his interactions with our organization, he’s also gained a deep respect for the fields of computer network administration, so much so that he is currently enrolled at the local Community College to attend classes in that very field! Jon’s story is one of many, but even he himself will tell you that a deeper knowledge of the things you use every day can be an invaluable endeavor, and that’s exactly why we’re here.

Robot Garden is operating with reduced capacity due to Covid-19, but if you'd like to learn more you can check us out online at www.robotgarden.org. If you'd like to check out Jon's band, you can learn more about their musical endeavors on their website, www.untilfurthernotice.net. They will also be streaming two free virtual shows in December on YouTube! Tune in on the 23rd for an acoustic Christmas showcase and on the 30th for a full band set to celebrate the New Year!

The Moonshot! Shot from the Altamont Hills Sunday night. More on downtownlivermore.com!