Besides the venerable Jake von Slatt, one of the other retro-tech fabricators whose work always tickles my brass is Richard “Doc” Nagy, who self-deprecatingly introduces his online moniker with: “Datamancer” is my dorkish, haXor-sexy, 1337 Interweb nickname. Yeah I’m a dweeb…” Honestly, I don’t know many dweebs with such serious shop chops. What is a dweeb, anyway?

Datamancer’s latest project is a brass-cased 22″ wide-screen LCD monitor on a marble and brass stand. It’s made to go with one of his amazing retro keyboards. He made the monitor as a prop in an upcoming film, an indy remake of Nosferatu. After the shoot, the monitor will be auctioned off on eBay.

Datamancer.net – Technical Art and Steampunk Contraptions

Datamancer at Maker Faire!:
Richard Nagy will be at the Bay Area Maker Faire showing off his amazing wares. He is co-hosting “The Contraptors’ Lounge,” an outdoor Victorian sitting room and cabinet of curiosities. As one of the on-site activities, he and Jake von Slatt will be double-teaming the build of a special Maker Faire edition retro/steampunk keyboard in the Lounge. It may be raffled off or auctioned for charity at the end of the Faire. He and Jake will also be giving a talk, on the main stage, about their work. We’ll have more details on all this leading up to the Faire…

(Above: Datamancer’s clockwork laptop)

Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset May 3rd and 4th at the San Mateo Fairgrounds, CA (Upcoming.org). It’s for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things. Buy tickets now and save, discount ticket sales end on April 25th, 2008.

If you’re in the Bay Area, or plan to attend Maker Faire add “makerfaire” to your Twitter, we’ll be giving away tickets and will have updates before and during Maker Faire!