Piratical Tales From Pimoroni

#freeboot #2020 #BFCM

Paul Beech -

Current BIG CHALLENGE

Offers

We'll be offering different chunky discounts from Mon 23 Nov. Up to 40% off on Pimoroni gear and discounts on hundreds of other choice items until they're all sold out. There is a new theme to the offers from Monday to Friday to avoid total overload, and then we'll throw open the hatches over the weekend with whatever hasn't been taken by hungry seagulls of bargains. Keep an eye on the shop front page for the latest info. Also!:

A freebooter's tale

Back in the mists of time, before Pimoroni was a thing, and the Raspberry Pi was a gleam in Eben Upton's eye, Sparkfun had a thing called Free Day. It was an unbridled thing of beauty. A company giving back from it's cornucopia.

At the same time, a bunch of noodle-eating geeks wanted a quadcopter, but the only ones around were quite expensive, so they decided to build one.  They found out about Adafruit, Sparkfun, and the world of making. They got the first brains and bits for this project through the generosity of Sparkfun and their Free Day exploits.

Part of that group were Jon and Paul, who went on to found Pimoroni in 2012.

After 2013, Free Day shut down for a while, for accidental-lottery reasons. In our own small way, we wanted to honour that blend of no-strings-attached generosity, and the pursuit of geekery. Thus #yarrbooty was born.

It's happened around the BFCM weekend every year, as a tiny counterbalance to the usual consumer madness, and a chance to spread the love to everyone.

#freeboot is the new #yarrbooty

For the 8th annual #freeboot, we'll be changing the format up, so there is less emphasis on the speed of your googling and internet, and more on joyful, geeky creation.

First up, the hashtag is switching over to #freeboot, for mysterious reasons.

For the weekdays leading up to BFCM, we'll be setting five one-hour STEAM challenges every day Mon-Fri for Pimoroni gift-card prizes.

We'll also be celebrating the relaunch of Picade (now with free PICO-8 and a slicker build) by giving away four, cannot-be-bought, exclusive, tasteful, HOT PINK PICADES for the Mahoosive weekend challenges as well as our usual bevvy of gift cards. So starting 18:00 GMT Friday 27th and finishing 17:00 GMT Tuesday 1st Dec, we have four successive 22-hour creative and technical challenges for people do to their finest hacks.

Schedule

This is the plan we'll follow:

We'll post each challenge on our Twitter (@pimoroni) and entries should be posted and linked there unless the challenge states otherwise.

25 Weekday Challenges:
Mon 23 - Fri 27 Nov 2020

There will be 5 challenges a day, revealed at the following times. You have 1 hour to get your entries in:

09:00: SCI: The science challenge.
11:00: TECH: A technology challenge.
13:00: ENG: An engineering challenge.
15:00: ART: An art challenge.
17:00: MATHS: A cunning use of mathematics

Prizes

1st prize is a £50 gift card. 2nd prize is a £25 gift card. We may award runner-up gift cards at our whim.

4 MAHOOSIVE Weekend Challenges
Fri 27 Nov - Tue 1 Dec 2020

There will be 4 challenges, each running for 22 hours.

Fri 27 19:00 - Sat 28 17:00: Mahoosive Challenge #1.
Sat 28 19:00 - Sun 29 17:00: Mahoosive Challenge #2.
Sun 29 19:00 - Mon 30 17:00: Mahoosive Challenge #3.
Mon 30 19:00 - Tue 1st Dec 17:00: Mahoosive Challenge #4.

Prizes

1st prize is a £100 gift card, and a PINK PICADE. 2nd prize is a £50 gift card and a Picade Console. We may award runner-up gift cards if other entries catch our beady eye.

TIP: While it's helpful for your Quartermaster to stow whatever crafting, electronics and household supplies you have to hand to complete the challenges, we don't expect people to get new supplies in specially for #freeboot. We love it more when you get creative, inventive and expressive in using what you already have around you in smart ways. Have fun. Be kind :D

Terms of Entry (The Pirates' Code)

  • All judges' decisions are final.
  • No purchase necessary to enter.
  • A single person may only win a 'Mahoosive' 1st prize once and a 'small challenge' 1st prize once. There is no limit on other prizes although we may ask frequent winners to retire for this year and spectate to give the other buccaneers a chance.
  • No employees of Pimoroni or their crew/family may enter.
  • Prizes may be withheld if Judges suspect shenanigans.
  • Winner's names and online 'handle', such as Twitter or YouTube username, will be published.
  • All entries must include the hashtag #freeboot in a meaningful way, unless we're feeling kind.
  • There will be no cash alternative for prizes.
  • All times and dates are UK/GMT based.
  • Be nice. Be positive. We want #freeboot to be fun for everyone, not just the winners.
  • You may not enter if it is illegal to do so by the laws of the country you're subject to.
  • #freeboot will be governed by English law.

SCI1: Devise a plan for getting to Mars. 1 Tweet. Image or video allowed. We judge on novelty and scienciness.

1st: @CraigMarston, 2nd: @Tanurai, RU: @ForToffee, RU: @knaveen

TECH1: Turn a piece of non-wearable tech into a plausible fashion accessory. Tweet a photo of you wearing it for your next Zoom.

1st: @kianryan, 2nd: @neoex, RU: @pete_codes, RU: @MolloyLaurence, RU: @hifromkatie

ENG1: Do you have a lot of a thing? Paperclips? Bricks? Pasta? Build a 30cm wide bridge that can take the weight of a toy vehicle.

1st: @ForToffee, 2nd: @Everitt18, RU: @LMcUnderwood, SP: @lidrol

ART1: Monday Macramé Challenge: Make something interesting using only a series of knots. Extra points for unusual media such as spaghetti.

1st: @LeoWhitesTweets, 2nd: @UnfinishedStuff, RU: @Everitt18

MATH1: Watch @vihartvihart's amazing Hexaflexagon videos. Wow us by creating and decorating your own. https://youtu.be/VIVIegSt81k

1st: @piltdownlady, 2nd: @tanurai, RU: @OkComputing.

MATH2: Express the number Pi visually. Drawing a circle is boring. Most creative wins!

1st: @rwhb2m, 2nd: @MarriottChris9, RUs: @BrianCleckner, @brian_j_burton, @CraigMarston.

SCI2: Make a papercraft or origami version of your favourite molecule.

1st: @HobbyIngenieur, 2nd: @Jenna30022789, RUs: @rwhb2, @CatLamin, @n_danl, @red_dragon25.

TECH2: Keyboards and mice have had their day. Invent the next standard of human/computer interface.

1st: @billyischilly, 2nd: @acar321, RUs: @OkComputing, @recantha, @brian_j_burton.

ENG2: Articulate: Without naming it, explain an engineering concept/thing in a single tweet using the 1000 most common words ( https://splasho.com/upgoer5/ ).

RUs: @BrianCleckner, @CatLamin, @Coding2Learn, @danieljabailey, @ExtElec, @hairymnstr, @Jenna30022789, @MarriottChris9, @MiniGirlGeek, @MolloyLaurence, @pete_codes, @rwhb2, @snorecore, @tanurai, @thegreatgonzo.

ART2: We've got some Picade news to share tomorrow. Show us what fantastical 'extras' your perfect Picade would have!

1st: @Jenna30022789, 2nd: @gomako, RUs: @theguruofthree, @cypresstwist

TECH3: Write a haiku or poem showing your appreciation for your favourite piece of tech.

1st: @avivbeeri, 2nd: @ahnlak, RUs: @neoex, @rwhb2

MATH3: Make a doodle explaining the Fibonacci sequence so a 5-year-old can understand. Marks for clarity, beauty, joy. 90 mins!

1st: @ednl, 2nd: @rwhb2, RUs: @cypresstwist, @hairymnstr

ENG3: Can one A4 (or US Letter) piece of paper take your weight? Show us your attempts at a solution!

2nds: @HobbyIngenieur, @cypresstwist, @BrianCleckner, RUs: @drfootleg, @ZxSpectROM

ART3: PIXEL ART TIEM. In honour of the new 10" Picade with PICO-8, draw your best video game demake or art using a single 128x128 pixel frame and the PICO-8 colour palette.

1st: @Reabsirk, 2nd: @kNaveen, RUs: @seaniedan, @avivbeeri.

SCI3: Think up and name a new cocktail/mocktail. Use one liquid, two elements from the periodic table and a garnish.

1st: @MiniGirlGeek, 2nd: @kianryan, RUs: @recantha, @jameswest

TECH4: Today is all about TOOLS in the shop. Following the lead of the ever-makeful @bekathwia, make a drawing/painting/sketch of a tool you love and use. 90 mins!

1st: @crisavati, 2nd: @briancleckner, RUs: @crossbynameonly, @hairymnstr, @STEM_Dan

SCI4: Pirate University has received some ill-gotten funding. Can you propose a ridiculous piece of research and hide it behind a plausible sciencey sounding title? 60 mins to convince the committee!

1st: @brian_j_burton, 2nd: @ForToffee, RUs: @CatLamin, @thornae, @thegreatgonzo

1st: @aejb_, 2nd: @crossbynameonly, RUs: @knaveen, @afmcdnL

ART4: Technocrufts! Win the coveted 'best in show' award by dressing up and primping your Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Feather or Teensy. 90 mins to prep.

2nds: @drfootleg, @BrianCleckner, @snorecore

ENG4: Build a Wallace & Gromit style device to deliver a breakfast to a hungover pirate in a roundabout way. Pics and vids by 8am tomorrow!

1st: @STEM_Dan, 2nd: @CannonFodder, RU: @billyischilly

SCI5: Without mentioning the title, using ONLY emoji, summarise the plot of a well-known(ish) sci-fi movie in emoji. And take a guess at the other entries too. 60 mins!

RUs: @knolleary, @pete_codes, @KariLawler, @robbiedunion, @brian_j_burton, @ChrisEccles73, @recantha, @BrianCleckner, @knaveen, @rwhb2.

TECH5: Find two pieces of tech in your house and pose them for a BATTLE ROYALE. Give them cool wrestling names. Everyone else gets to reply thinking which one will win, and why. The winners will be those who promote the best bouts

1st: @pete_codes, 2nd: @drfootleg, RUs: @neoex, @fortoffee

ART5: The holidays will be quite different this year. To brighten them up a little, make a tree decoration to remember something good from this year. 90 mins.

2nds: @STEM_Dan, @alister_ware, @LeoWhitesTweets, RUs: @rckd74, @konichiwakitty

ENG5: Write an ode/poem/haiku about your favourite engineer. Include one of their achievements and a little known fact about them.

1st: @jameswest, 2nd: @CoincidentalMus, RU: @timholt

MATH5: We're running out of steam after that marathon #freeboot week. So, easy mode. What interesting words can you spell in HEX? [0-9A-F]. Try and stay clean-minded. But it is Friday! :D

RUs: @orange_dumplin, @fsidders, @theguruofthree, @sallonoroff, @NiVZ, @MolloyLaurence, @snorecore, @ukscone, @drfootleg, @red_dragon25, @alister_ware, @thetuftii, @tanurai, @Jenna30022789, @ryanteck, @bendaubney.

BIG1:GAME: Create a new and geeky board or cardgame. Points for novelty, execution and frivolous use of tech and sensors.

1st: @MolloyLaurence
2nd: @billyischilly
RUs: @BrianCleckner, @MarriottChris9, @sallonoroff, @red_dragon25, @ForToffee

BIG2:MOMENT: Unfaithfully recreate a key moment from sci/tech history in your home bubble. From 'Eureka' to 'Dragon Docks at ISS'. Bonus points for innovative prop use and recreating a notable photo of the event.

Joint 1st: @DrFootleg and @LMcUnderwood
Joint 2nd: @Neoex and @avivbeeri
RUs: @cabe_bedlam, @sallonoroff, @crossbynameonly, @red_dragon25, @snorecore

BIG3:MACHINE: Make a Wallace & Goldberg-Robinson device that turns something on/off by elaborate and indirect means. Score big by using more stages and a wider range of mechanics and electronics. Be safe!

1st: @ForToffee
2nd: @hifromkatie
Special Awards: @bornach1, @STEM_Dan, @CannonFodder
RUs: @n_danl, @red_dragon25, @Everitt18, @theguruofthree