Last weekend I finally attended Maker Faire. It was, of course, quite awesome. Some unordered thoughts:
Lots of kids! I thought that was really positive. The US as a whole has obviously given up on education, so it's down to use to save as many as possible. There's so much neat stuff to be done, kids, and you can do it too.
It was weird seeing so many Burning Man devices off the playa. I like that more people get to experience them this way. But seeing them in such a tame environment, around advertizing and vending was somewhat uncomfortable.
I really, really want to show there next year. The hexapod, hopefully, though I think Attoparsec could put together a compelling booth no matter what. Sell the EL wire interface kits, maybe. (Did I mention here I'm making an electronics kit? Detailed news on that soon.) They have an entire display area set up in the dark, for light-based art. Having the lightsuit pulsing in there would look great. And maybe the pedal-powered van de graaff generator I've been idly poking at.
It has left me feeling unsatisfied with my level of creative output. Which is both a good and a bad thing, and pretty standard for me when attending something like this. It doesn't help that work has become somewhat more boring over the last month or two. Part of me is once again starting to dream about making awesome, tangible things for a real job. But this has helped me really dive into the Kalamazoo upgrade process this week, at least. Its appearance at the soltice parade is looking ever more likely. And gods but it feels good to be a bit achy and bruised and abraded at the end of the day!
I got to see Ari there! That was really cool.
Lots of kids! I thought that was really positive. The US as a whole has obviously given up on education, so it's down to use to save as many as possible. There's so much neat stuff to be done, kids, and you can do it too.
It was weird seeing so many Burning Man devices off the playa. I like that more people get to experience them this way. But seeing them in such a tame environment, around advertizing and vending was somewhat uncomfortable.
I really, really want to show there next year. The hexapod, hopefully, though I think Attoparsec could put together a compelling booth no matter what. Sell the EL wire interface kits, maybe. (Did I mention here I'm making an electronics kit? Detailed news on that soon.) They have an entire display area set up in the dark, for light-based art. Having the lightsuit pulsing in there would look great. And maybe the pedal-powered van de graaff generator I've been idly poking at.
It has left me feeling unsatisfied with my level of creative output. Which is both a good and a bad thing, and pretty standard for me when attending something like this. It doesn't help that work has become somewhat more boring over the last month or two. Part of me is once again starting to dream about making awesome, tangible things for a real job. But this has helped me really dive into the Kalamazoo upgrade process this week, at least. Its appearance at the soltice parade is looking ever more likely. And gods but it feels good to be a bit achy and bruised and abraded at the end of the day!
I got to see Ari there! That was really cool.