Tag Archives: makers

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 →

Posted in going places, making, possibly useful | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in going places | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A child of the 80s

Posted on January 21, 2016 by paulwallich

Sometimes I wonder if the 11-year-old is too retro. His current hobby is playing an emulated version of Street Fighter 2 on his PC. And now that a vintage-gaming store has opened in the next town over, he pretty much … Continue reading →

Posted in making, toys | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sometimes it’s just nice to have the right tool

Posted on December 11, 2015 by paulwallich

It’s holiday-cookie time, and the new beater we got for our 15-year-old stand mixer didn’t fit. It went partway on the shaft and then jammed. Grr. So this morning I went down to the basement and over to the old … Continue reading →

Posted in possibly useful | Tagged | Leave a comment

Pinbox 3000!

Posted on December 3, 2015 by paulwallich

Arrived just in time for the 11-year-old’s birthday. Delightful. He’s been wanting one of his own ever since he got to play with some of the early prototypes. Takes about an hour and a half for a kid to build … Continue reading →

Posted in making, toys | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in going places | Tagged , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in going places, making | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Makers at the Statehouse

Posted on March 19, 2015 by paulwallich

I’d never been on the floor of a legislature before. Heck, I’d never even been inside the Vermont statehouse.  But my friend Lars, who happens to be executive director of Generator in Burlington, and one of his friends from the … Continue reading →

Posted in going places | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s all in the background.

Posted on March 2, 2015 by paulwallich

When I was in college, I worked in a laser lab one summer, for a visiting professor who was doing research on metal-vapor lasers. The first half-dozen times we turned his apparatus on, all it did was make the grad … Continue reading →

Posted in things that don't work | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

An organized workplace is a sane workplace

Posted on February 5, 2015 by paulwallich

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to build a bunch of the kits that have accumulated in the basement over the years. Among them a cheap 4-wheel-drive robot chassis (well, actually the previous version, which will become significant in … Continue reading →

Posted in probably boring, things that don't work | Tagged , , | Leave a comment