Category Archives: going places

Pedal Assist: Not What I Thought It Was

Posted on September 7, 2021 by paulwallich

It’s been a few years since I started wanting an e-bike, but for a long time I was put off by physics. We live at the top of a steep hill, and I’m fat and out of shape. So all … Continue reading →

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Maker Faire day 2

Posted on September 28, 2019 by paulwallich

Huzzah! Today we were inside and had decent wifi. Bill started right up and connected with no problem, and we spent the day cutting and engraving for curious onlookers. The exhaust went out one of the Coach Barn’s venerable windows, … Continue reading →

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Glowforge at Champlain mini maker faire

Posted on September 27, 2019 by paulwallich

Today was “education day” at CMF, which meant hundreds of kids coming up and asking about the laser cutter in the courtyard of the barn. (Oh, and that tent in the background with all the kids, that’s Ben Matchstick and … Continue reading →

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Arduino on Windows: not ready for prime time

Posted on July 10, 2017 by paulwallich

I’ve been teaching a little middle-school mobile robot workshop at the 12-year-old’s school, and it’s been a mess. The kids did pretty well assembling the bots and wiring them up, but clearly I needed to spend much more than the … Continue reading →

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The autopilot conundrum

Posted on May 11, 2016 by paulwallich

This morning I stopped by a local school where some of the kids had crowdfunded a 3D printer (a printrbot Play) to see if I could help them get it working. I seem to have become the town expert, which … Continue reading →

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Champlain Mini Maker Faire

Posted on September 27, 2015 by paulwallich

We all went this afternoon and had fun. I think that the Faire is in an interesting transition: there were fewer geeks trying to sell toys to other geeks and more activities for ordinary people. 3D printing was just assumed … Continue reading →

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Octocopters are the new normal

Posted on April 23, 2015 by paulwallich

So at this afternoon’s maker meeting at the library, while the kids were soldering LEDs and making very loud reeds out of plastic binder clips, Tim showed off his multicopter, which he uses for HD video and photography. It stands … Continue reading →

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Montpelier Maker meetings

Posted on April 10, 2015 by paulwallich

A bunch of us got together in the library basement as usual. The kids made a bunch of eggbot eggs and a blinking arduino; the grownups talked about projects ranging from fan-based lissajous figures and photonic communication demos to mobile … Continue reading →

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A possible makerspace location

Posted on April 3, 2015 by paulwallich

As in actual space. Volume. Tens of thousands of  cubic feet. Can’t wait till it’s warm enough to look at.

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Kids love a makerspace

Posted on March 27, 2015 by paulwallich

When I got everything down to the library basement yesterday afternoon, there were already some kids waiting. Apparently they’ve been asking for a week or so when the next maker meeting was going to be. Mostly I set them loose … Continue reading →

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