He’s saying the things I think!

…only in a way that is far less wordy and verbose than the manner in which I would typically attempt to describe the sorts of things I am thinking about.

Thank you, Cory Doctorow.

“”The way you improve your iPad isn’t to figure out how it works and making it better. The way you improve the iPad is to buy iApps. Buying an iPad for your kids isn’t a means of jump-starting the realization that the world is yours to take apart and reassemble; it’s a way of telling your offspring that even changing the batteries is something you have to leave to the professionals.”

This is part of what is at the core of the Maker philosophy – empowering people to learn about the stuff of which civilizations are made, rather than being a plankton-like consumer/spectator.  When something goes wrong, you don’t have to take it back to the store or call the (*shudder*) Geek Squad. 1

This is the heart of civilization, improving upon the work of prior generations.  You have the luxury of being smarter than Einstein and wiser than Oppenheimer with 20-20 hindsight.  You can know everything they know and improve upon it all.  You can fix it yourself. 2  You have all of the tools you need right now, in your home right now.  You can use the stuff you already have to build the tools you need to build absolutely anything within imagination.

  1. Geek Squad.  Don’t get me started. [↩]
  2. Or, heaven forbid, improve it yourself. [↩]

I don’t think I’m THIS enthusastic about anything

Which means, depending on how you look at things, this is either a commentary on how nutty some people can be or how empty my life is. 1  Here’s a comment from a woman who purchased an iPad:2

“Have you touched one?” she said after being asked why she showed up at 7:30 a.m. at the Apple store. “It’s going to change everything about how you live. You are going to be connected to everything. You are 30 seconds away from anything you need to know. It’s really amazing.”

This quote makes it sound as if by purchasing an iPad the sky will open up and the Dali Lama will start IM’ing you for advice about life, the universe, and everything.  I like Apple, I like Apple products, and I love how they’ve raised the bar as to what we expect from computers3 , portable music devices, and mobile phones.  That said, they did not invent the internet when they launched the iPad. 4  I’ve been 30 seconds away from anything I needed to know the day I got my first web-enabled phone.5

  1. And, I don’t think I lead an empty life.  I’ve got a MakerBot, you know. [↩]
  2. Thanks to Tony Buser for the link [↩]
  3. Especially personal computers [↩]
  4. ‘Cause, you know, that was Al Gore. [↩]
  5. Well, actually, the day I started down the road to my internet addiction – but that’s not the point. [↩]

$100 CNC mill?

I caught sight of this through Spacexula‘s RepRap Aggregator Feed – a $100 open source CNC mill.  I was just thinking the other day how cool it would be to have an additive and subtractive CNC machine sitting next to one another.

But, $100?!  It’s like someone would be paying me to build the thing.

So what are you going to make?

I remember the first time I heard this question.  I was babbling to a friend of mine about how I wanted a MakerBot.  His response was to ask:

What is it you need that you want to spend $1,000 getting?

My first inclination when I hear this question to say, “Anything.”1

My second inclination is to step back, think about it for a moment, and then wonder whether I am going to ever actually print $1,000.00 worth of stuff. 2

Thanks to Jeff Keegan for unintentionally reminding me to post this.  :) 3

  1. Sometimes I’m tempted to respond, “Anything I damn well want, Nosy Noserton.” [↩]
  2. Although, at this point, it would be closer to $1,250 of stuff… [↩]
  3. That bastard. [↩]

I actually felt sorry for that bastard

Edit: Jeff – Just in case you read this – I do not really think you are a bastard.  I follow your blog and am very appreciative of your in depth posts and analysis on all things MakerBot/RepRap.  The title is more about me feeling like a sucker than a commentary about you.

Jeff posted about totally abandoning his dreams of building a RepRap Mendel.  He said what pushed him over the edge was the constant question, “So, what are you going to build with it?”  Of course, the guy had to post this on 4/1.

I actually felt sad at the thought of him turning his parts into a “melted sculpture of failure.”

I suppose it’s not his fault.  I traded my MakerBot for some magic beans yesterday.

Full RepRap for sale

A complete1 Mendel for sale?  That’s incredible!

There has been a truly amazing progression2 in RepRap parts lately.  While I’m not crazy about eBay as a way of selling3 , it’s a very democratic4 way of disseminating RepRap parts.  The first few parts and sets of parts were all printed, then molded, now MOLDS are for sale?!

Yes, the Platonic ideal of RepRap is that a machine makes the components of the next machine.  But, is it not also part of the RepRap ideal that these machines be disseminated as far and as widely as possible?  It’s really great you can use a RepRap to build another – but that doesn’t mean it’s the best/most economical way.

These RepRap mold are advertised to be good for roughly 50 pourings.  It is advertised to create 9 vertexes at once, but they all appear to be 1/2 vertexes.  The posting also suggests it takes 12 vertexes for a full RepRap.  So:

  • 12 vertexes per RepRap / 0.5 vertexes halves = 24 vertex halves required
  • 24 vertex halves required /9 vertex halves per sheet = 2.67 sheet uses per RepRap
  • 50 uses per sheet / 2.67 uses per sheet = 18.75 sets of RepRap vertexes

Admittedly, this is only a set of molds for the frame vertexes, not the entire set of parts.  However, it’s really only a matter of time before a set is up for grabs.

This makes me wonder – is there a different market value to printed parts rather than molded parts?

  1. ish [↩]
  2. transmission?? [↩]
  3. having sold things on eBay myself [↩]
  4. fair? capitalistic? [↩]

New cell phone!

So, I finally got over my fear of commitment and bought a new cell phone.  I had my prior cell for about 4 years, my cell before that for 3 years, and my cell before that for 3 years.  I keep them well beyond the point where people make fun of my old beat up cell.

I just picked up the Motorola Droid and I’m pretty happy with it so far.  A site that I use regularly that’s almost totally powered by Javascript and AJAX works beautifully with this phone where Windows IE on cells freaks out, Opera Mini does a reasonable job, and the iPhone does a fairly good job.  Web browsing is fast, rendered quickly, connects to e-mail, and all sorts of good stuff.

The thing I’m perhaps the most pleased about is that I can tether the phone to my laptop to use it as 16G extra storage OR as a broadband modem – for no extra fee. 1 2  I wouldn’t often use my laptop away from WiFi, but when I do a little Droid powered broadband love is going to be sweet.

Now back to your regularly scheduled nonsense.

  1. Full disclosure:  You have to download and install a free app called PDANet to be able to connect through the phone.  Not a big deal for me. [↩]
  2. I’m already paying for broadband to the phone, why should I pay for it again in the form of a broadband card for my laptop? [↩]

Christmas, Birthday, etc

It’s not that I’m not materialistic or a complete stoic.  It’s just that my interests are so simple, narrow, and specific there just isn’t a whole lot I require out of life.  But for other happy and fortunate life complications1 I’d live in a studio apartment almost completely devoid of furniture except for a futon, small table, one (perhaps two) and book shelf.  Give me a library card and a laptop and I’ll show you a content man.  For example – one of my hobbies is origami.  Which boils down to basically a lot of paper. 2

While this means I’m easily content, it means those family and friends are frustrated at the thought of having to find me a gift. 3  So, for basically the first time ever I’ve put together a wish list with stuff I would love to get (in rough order):

  1. aka family [↩]
  2. A hobby which, hundreds of years ago could only be practiced by those precious few who had access to a luxury such as paper, can now be practiced by anyone in reach of a paper recycling bin. [↩]
  3. 500 sheets of A4 bright white multipurpose paper???  Score! [↩]
  4. Since I have none of the equipment or skills to perform SMT soldering [↩]
  5. Someone mentioned the modular thermistor set ups don’t detect temperatures properly – about 10 degrees too low?! Update:  Rick of MakerGear clarifies this was the result of a ring terminal mounted thermistor.  His modular thermistor kit pictured at the bottom of the this page shows that this kit allows you to make the entire thermistor attachment far more modular by covering it’s terminals in PTFE sleeves and then adding a connector.  This only makes me want this kit more.  Thanks Rick! [↩]
  6. Preferably one with George Plimpton’s face [↩]
  7. That’s a Simpson’s reference, FYI [↩]