WHYcast transcript episode 16

WHYcast episode
Episode Nr.	16

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Transcript 16

Ignacio: Hola WHY bienvenidos a WHYcast, episode 16, en directo desde Valencia. I'm Ignacio.

Nancy: I'm Nancy.

Ad: And I'm Ad.

Nancy: And this episode is recorded live from the hackerspace in Valencia. We are the hosts of the only podcast about a hacker camp in the universe. This volunteer-run event will take place this year in the Netherlands, approximately 42 kilometers above Amsterdam, from August 8 to 12, which is 2,210 days from now.

Ad: Yep. And in today's show, we have some news about the ticket sales. We have a “where to hack,” which is obviously Valencia, because look at how cool it’s over there. And more on that later, because you also did an interview over there.

Nancy: Yep.

Ad: And we have an interview.

Nancy: And they have Dutch beer.

Ad: They have Dutch cerveza. Si. Yes. And we have a little interview with Manduca—one that was recorded a bit earlier. We also have a vacancy of the week, obviously. But let's first look at the ticket sale, because it's going fast. It's going really fast. If I refresh the page now, it’s 1,532 sold, which will be surpassed by the time this episode goes out. And we still have this little giveaway of a very cool WHY pin. If you guess correctly when we hit the halfway mark of 1,750 tickets sold, this is the pin you can win. And if you go into episode 15 on YouTube, there in the comments section you can put your guesses for when we will reach the 1,750 mark.

Nancy: And I think… I think we've made some Spanish people very enthusiastic because I brought stickers, of course, and I think we might have a Spanish village as well with Spanish hackerspaces, maybe, hopefully.

Ad: Very cool. Very cool. So that brings us straight into “where to hack.”

Nancy: So tell me where to hack. Each week we will share where you can find why-minded people to hack.

Ad: Well, you should obviously hack in Valencia—at the Hackerspace—and you made some very cool recordings there. You did a little interview and got some nice pictures.

Nancy: And robots with fire.

Ad: Oh, damn.

Nancy: Let's roll the clip.

Ad: I want to see this and hear about the space robots with fire.

Nancy: But there's also somewhere else you can hack, right?

Ad: Yeah. If you're not going to Spain this month or soon, you could also try Nieuwegein, which is in the middle of the Netherlands near Utrecht on January 21. There's the NL Secure ID event, which is the future of cyber—talking about what are the next steps in security for the entire country and things. It’s a day program starting at 10 in the morning.

Nancy: So—and I think it's also free of charge, right?

Ad: I signed up for free. I think it is. There's a sign-up form on the website. We'll put the link in the show notes and otherwise you can Google “NL SecureID.”

Ad: There will also—if you can’t make it—be some online information a week later. Some of the talks will be online and I will be there with the other podcast. Shameless plug for the Angry Nerds podcast, which is in Dutch—that's the downside for non-Dutch speakers.

Ad: So that's the “where to hack.”

Nancy: Well, before I came here, I did a lovely interview with Ignacio just to introduce himself at the beginning of this podcast. I recorded an audio-only interview with this sort of tour around the hackerspace, and I have some video footage as well. Let’s enjoy some information about Hackerspace Valencia.

Ignacio: OK, so welcome to Hackerspace Valencia.

Nancy: Thank you so much. Where are we and who are you and what do you do here?

Ignacio: I'm one of the organizers here in Valencia, in Hackerspace Valencia. Yeah, I'm Ignacio Delgado, and you can find me by my nickname NadeCC on GitHub, Mastodon, and all the social media. We organize a small group of people in the hackerspace that we call HackaPet.

Nancy: HackaPet, yeah.

Ignacio: Yeah, we’re a kind of non-profit organization for helping animal shelters and sanctuaries—for improving the process of adoptions and animal management.

Nancy: To make it easier for pets to be adopted. Yeah, we're aiming for that.

Ignacio: And it's all Libre and open source software.

Nancy: Perfect. I'm an open source lover, so I'm all for that.

Ignacio: We’ve got a few projects around. For example, this area has old components we don't want here anymore. Instead of leaving them at the eco park—or “clean point”—we keep them here for 14 days. If anyone finds them useful, they can adopt them. It’s like a shelter for used components. This is the QR code for more explanation.

Nancy: I will make some shots of it so I can use it in the video. Very cool.

Ignacio: Thank you. This is a LED race. It’s not our own project, just a cover. It’s based on the open LED race by Garbarov—Barbarov something. You race with light, based on how fast you click.

Nancy: Oh, that's cool.

Ignacio: This one has “artificial gravity,” you could say—if you don’t go fast, you can’t make the loop.

Nancy: Yeah, exactly.

Ignacio: We used to have a light sign on the outer part of the workshop. And here we have a laser cutter and engraver.

Ad: Very nice. Yeah.

Ignacio: And we also have a machine for stamping our own clothes.

Nancy: OK, cool—to make T-shirts with logos and things.

Ignacio: We design on the laser engraver and then we print them on shirts. We also have a Jacob's ladder. We can film that later.

Nancy: Yeah, yeah. Cool.

Ignacio: One main problem we find in hackerspaces is we love stuff—we have a hoarding issue. So we put personal items in named boxes so nothing walks away, or the space will fill with stuff in no time.

Nancy: That's what happens. Yeah, exactly.

Ignacio: We have “nerdy debris,” and we also use a Kanban board for activities—so it’s transparent what’s in progress, done projects, and new ideas. Anyone can add suggestions. There’s a soldering introduction… and a Macintosh Mini project called Meshtastic for our friend here. Over there is the Hall of Fame with all the QR codes. And on Instagram we have a “hand” project someone posted.

Ignacio: Each QR code leads to a website with a description. Right now I’m the only one writing them; we hope to make it more collaborative, which is hard work.

Nancy: Yeah, I know.

Ignacio: That project over there is a fighting robot. I think they might have had a good chance at winning at CCC Congress in Hamburg last week.

Nancy: Oh, winning. They’re very nice. Yeah.

Ignacio: We won second prize at the NASA Space Apps hackathon in Valencia—local hackathon—then we were shortlisted among 900 teams worldwide. We didn’t win globally, but it was impressive. It was only a two-day “pressure cooker,” so it was a great experience.

Nancy: What is “bombing”?

Ignacio: A silly name play—“Bienvenido al Hacker Space.” It’s just for fun.

Ignacio: Over here is a USB-C power supply. Later we’ll show it. This project was a Halloween entrance piece with lights and an ultrasonic sensor: when you approach, it animates with lights and sound.

Nancy: Yeah, of course—having lights and sounds is very cool.

Ignacio: Down here is a silly heat project…the hand from Instagram, and this is our photo booth. You scan cards in a retro booth, and it generates a “wanted” poster or Vogue cover depending on the style card you use.

Ad: Ah, OK.

Ignacio: We used it at a local neighborhood event—about 300 people took pictures with kids.

Nancy: Very nice. Yeah.

Ignacio: Over here are spare robots—line followers, cheap robot arms, an oscilloscope, a plotter—all laser cut and engraved homemade parts. Then we have organized tool storage. I think the neatest part is the dedicated soldering table: before it was a mess, now only soldering happens here—no more burn stains on other tables.

Nancy: So you can have more elaborate soldering sessions. Yeah.

Ignacio: We also have a member who restores old radios. In the future we hope to host repair cafés, but that’s a long-term plan. It’s fascinating to see these radios working again and makes great photos.

Nancy: Very cool.

Ignacio: Yeah, I think that’s it.

Nancy: Lovely. What would you say to someone who has never been to a hackerspace before?

Ignacio: I’d say, come! We invite new people to workshops and lectures—both theoretical and practical. Some popular ones have been on AI or NFC cards. This space is small but has been full; people engage with technology and STEM here. A member discovered a passion for engineering and math through our projects. It’s a place for anyone to explore science and technology.

Ad: Very good. Yeah.

Nancy: So if you are based in or near Valencia, please visit the local Hackerspace here—it's very cool. There are lovely people here and you’re doing an amazing job.

Ignacio: Thank you.

Nancy: Thank you.

Nancy: So—last physical meet in Amersfoort—we talked to Manduca, of course, and he also shed a little light on that. You can bring your family as well, right? Because he’s been bringing his son ever since he was born. So let's listen to what Manduca has to say about that.

Manduca: Well, I brought him the first time at SHA… I always have to remember—I’ve been to so many. At SHA… he was about one year old. I have pictures of him helping with décor—a really tiny hacker. He loved it and drank a lot of fresh cow milk for some reason. It was fun, though a bit small for him. Last time he was a year older, even with COVID restrictions. The Family Village was awesome—balloon folding, dough and electricity activities, and, of course, the big arcade. All kids—small and big—loved the arcade and driving around on gators. It helps if your daddy is in logistics.

Manduca: So yeah, really big fun. He’ll join me again—he’s already looking forward to it. He’s been to physical meets at Fallfest and in April. It’s really family-friendly.

Nancy: If you think “I have kids,” that’s not an excuse—not when you can tag them along and they’ll have a blast.

Manduca: It’s a reason to come—to bring your kids.

Nancy: Thank you—good to hear. And a big shout-out to Team:Family as well—they’re still looking for cool projects for younger hackers. Please reach out to Team:Family and we will make sure it happens.

Manduca: My son is actually thinking of helping out—he’s into Scratch and making live games: Mario-style platform games and robot programming. He’s a better hacker than I am.

Nancy: You’re very welcome. Thanks again.

Nancy: You’re welcome.

Ad: So it’s definitely cool to take your kids to events like WHY.

Nancy: You can bring your kids—it’s not an excuse not to come.

Ad: Exactly. To make that possible, Team:Family is still looking for extra help. Check the wiki for cool ideas. We need people to turn ideas into reality. They’re specifically looking for someone experienced in physical education or coaching children—someone with professional experience to run activities properly, not just screen time but physical fun as well.

Ad: Exactly. Cool, yeah. Even if you’re not a keyboard hacker, this is a great opportunity to use your skills for the camp and make it awesome for everyone, including the little ones.

Nancy: Very cool.

Ad: So that’s the vacancy of the week. All information is on the wiki—wiki.WHY2025.org—and you can email WHYcast@WHY2025.org with suggestions or story ideas. If you’re watching on YouTube, leave comments below.

Nancy: And if you know anything about the history of hackerspaces in the Netherlands, share that with us too.

Ad: Sure—that could be a future history lesson. And if you want to enter the pin giveaway, post your guess in episode 15’s comments so we have all answers in one place—that really helps us. And with that, I think we’re at the end of this episode. Thank you all so much.

Nancy: Thanks. Have a good night.

Ad: What’s yours?

Ad: Oh—Danish? Yeah, there’s quite a difference in temperature between the left and right sides of your screen.

Nancy: Well—upper and lower sides, I think. Or upper and down.

Ad: I don’t know.

Nancy: But that’s okay. Yes. We will most definitely see you next Friday.

Ad: WHYday?