Yearly Archives: 2012

Wednesday night – fablab !

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This afternoon was wonderful. We had our official opening of the vermont fablab. The VFL is a new facility at the university of vermont that will allow uvm students, high school students and local inventors to get access to state of the art rapid prototyping tools like 3d printers and laser cutters. VFL is only one of several facilities that are spontaneously forming to serve the needs of northern vermont makers .. There is also facility forming at essex high school, one at champlain college, one at pine street metal. So far all of the facilities are serving complimentary parts of the maker community.. It is so much fun to see the energy around this movement. W expected about 15 folks to come to today’s opening.. But i can remember talking to at least 70… So there must have been more than even that ! We had techies, artists, welders, musicians…. Very, very cool.
This opening was more symbolic than anything else.. The facilities been in use for the last month or so and has been used by some of the SEED senior projects. Our main reason for holding the event
Was to let the public know that were up and running… And to start soliciting donations for a few more pieces of equipment.. (please let me know if you have equipment, expertise or money you
Would like to contribute to the effort !) i feel so good about helping with this effort.. Seeing the stuff already in use just makes me so happy !

 

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saw my old buddy vicki

 

and used our new laser (thanks in part to an IBM community grant) to cut up some lavash bread  (like a tortilla) treats for the guests (tasted nasty, though 🙂

 

After the opening… We went over to the engineering night celebration over at the davis center. What a wonderful geek fest. I was able to see all of the senior projects and talk to the students .
I ran into more good friends over there.. The geek spirit is alive and well in Northern Vermont !

 

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here’s the class video that the group i mentored just finished.. make sure you watch to the part with the music.. I’m so proud of these guys for what they created here. I think it’s beutiful. Folks at the event tonight really loved it as well !

 

 

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I got home at 7 in time for a lovely dinner with Florence and Julia who are here visiting with us from France..

Not a bad day ! (even the work part was fun !)
Time for bed.. Night all, nite sam
-me

 

 

Tuesday night – mayday

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Greetings from jfk airport.. On my normal perch waiting for the flight back to BTV. It’s the first of may.. High spring..l and the day that most of the world celebrates the efforts of laborers around the world. Its never been a more important time to think about that. I’m not quite ready to go sleep in zucatti park… But i’m getting more and more convinced that our society needs more balance. I thin the world has gone crazy for money and greed and were forgetting where real value comes from. ..
I spoke to Max today and sent me pics from nyc this morning . There were demonstrations there to celebrate labor and remind people of the principles of the occupy movement…

Oops.. Gotta board my flight..
Nite all, nite sam
-me

 

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Monday night – not a thing

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<note.. this somehow didn’t post last night, trying again -jc>

Well… I spent the entire day in a client meeting today… And it was fascinating..but the trouble is… I can’t talk about it.. What t hat means is that the limit of what i can talk  about isn’t all that
Interesting.  i can tell You that i went for a most beautiful run this morning the trees were all blooming and the woods were gorgeous… I didn’t see a single soul my whole run….
I can also talk about the dinner we had after out meeting. One of my new friends is the brother of another good  friend at ibm .pretty  interesting .. Especially since they’re quite different. Another cool thing is that his colleague  went ot my same high school in Houston…   And his daughter was married in the same town in macedonia that i spent the night in jail in…

Now that’s a small world..no .
Nite all, nite sam
-me

Sunday night – alpha one

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Greetings from New York (again)… I’m down here for soem client meetings. I’ really missing my family with all these small trips.. at the same time, I’m loving all the stuff I’m learning..

Woke to a beautiful but cold morning.. quick run with the girls.. then a quick look through the grass for one of Gabe’s throwing knives that went missing in the lawn. … cant have that in the grass when the mower goes over.

Got down to NY midday.. Had a real treat as I was heading to my car.. I got to see the NASA 747 with the  Space Shuttle on it parked in a hanger.. Very. very cool.

I had 2 free hours before dinner, so I met Max at ‘Alpha One’ a Fab Lab in Brooklyn. the leader Shawn is taking about building a new hacker complex in Brooklyn and Max is helping him promote the idea. It was cool seeing there current facility. Not that much different than the one we’re setting up at UVM !

 

Speaking of FabLab’s.. The Vermont Fablab at UVM is going to have it’s grand opening  this

Wednesday at 3:30 .

It’s on the first floor of Votey hall on the UVM campus .

 

Please come help us cut the virtual ribbon and declare ourselves open for business. We’ll be giving demos of 3d printing ,laser cutting and circuit hacking .. We’ll have refreshments and we’ve even got some door prizes. Please come help us open the doors on this new facility. Please pass this invite to others who may be interested ! Thanks !

nite all, nite sam

-me