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Detroit Maker Faire Was Kinda Awesome
I was excited to have a chance to go to the Detroit Maker Faire this year. I've always wanted to
attend such a thing, but the stars never aligned. I saw an entire tent filled with DIY 3D Printers
making strange objects including the coolest polyhedral dice ever. Utilikilts held in place with suspenders! Haberdashery! Quilting! Blacksmithing! Books! A Cupcake Car! Gomp! Beer! Remote control turtles!
A giant hay bailer! Numerous strange pedal powered forms of locomotion, and an entire
garrison of Star Wars costumes... Besides, it's not often you have the opportunity to witness a giant steel dragon blow fireballs in a parking lot. I've shared a giant collection of photos if you want to see these things and more for a taste of the inspiring insanity I can't wait for next year... and between now and then I have some projects to tackle.
As opposed to... monohedral?
I'm older than most Slashdot readers, so I'm lucky enough to remember when these sort of fairs were commonplace throughout the United States. They truly were hubs of innovation, discovery and amusement. They'd happen at least monthly in most regions.
The so-called "free trade" of the past 30 years has killed all of that. It drove out the true grassroots innovation that made America a powerful and prosperous nation. The jobs, abilities and skills necessary to make anything of value were shipped out to third-world hellholes, and the engineering skills necessary to design the factories and the processes to create such goods left soon after.
Older folks are well, well aware of the sad state of the American economy today. We saw it when it was better. We lived through times when poverty was at its lowest levels ever. This was because America produced real wealth at the time, rather than the only jobs being serving coffee, putting foreign-made clothes on racks, collecting shopping carts, and producing bullshit "financial instruments".
In many ways, it's not surprising that we're seeing this sort of grassroots innovation in the Rust Belt states. They were the first to, dare I say it, suffer from the utter molestation caused by "free trade". Some places, like Detroit, have themselves fallen to third-world living standards thanks to "free trade" and the movement of industry to Mexico, China, India and Vietnam. It would be true justice if these places were the first to bring industry back to the United States, becoming extremely prosperous in the process.
The Henry Ford museum is a steam junkies nirvana. Giant, two-story Edison power plant engines the size of a large ranch home. Original beam engines. An *enormous* Allegheny locomotive engine inside, used to haul mile-long coal trains up mountains. Compressed-air operating engines inside. Operating steam trains (burning coal) outside, along with various steam powered engines and tractors. There's an intact Edison substation, an operating workshop run on an overhead belt system, a working roundhouse where you can watch them work on the engines....
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
Quit nut hugging the Canadian boarder for once and come down south, we make stuff here too
Regulation isn't the problem. Some degree of regulation is necessary, and it provides some very real benefits. The higher standards when it comes to the safety of manufactured products and the treatment of employees is what helped make America a first-world nation, versus the third-world shitholes that we find around the globe.
"Free trade" is as harmful as it is because it allows goods to be made in countries that have standards and regulations that are far, far below even the minimum standards in America. This is the only reason that China and Mexico, for instance, can produce goods far more cheaply than in the US. Their workers aren't any more productive than American workers would be, and are often much less productive due to using primitive manufacturing techniques that pre-date those used in America decades ago. They don't produce products that are better than those made in America (having used both, the third-world goods are far, far inferior, quality-wise). They aren't any more skilled than American workers were, even 30 to 60 years ago.
America should only trade with other first-world nations that have similar standards. We're basically talking about Australia, the UK, France, Germany, Canada and the Scandinavian countries. Every other nation should be shunned until they raise their standards to the level of the civilized nations.
"...suspenders! Haberdashery! Quilting! Blacksmithing! Books! A Cupcake Car! Gomp! Beer! Remote control turtles! A giant hay bailer! "
Ah, I see CmdrTaco took the Maker course in Exclamation-Smithing.
If you're really interested in 3D printers, take a look at this one. And especially this page where there's a comparison between FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) and Digital Light Processing printing.
The DLP is so much easier to build, the results are so much better and it prints so much faster that I wonder why so many people are still working on FDM.
Every other nation should be shunned until they raise their standards to the level of the civilized nations.
But that is what free trade will eventually accomplish. It's starting to happen in China now. Some of the money we spend buying those consumer goods ends up in the hands of the workers producing them. They spend a bit more in their country and a whole support structure appears there supplying them with their consumer needs. Eventually they start wanting more, looking for higher wages and maybe even political reform.
Even if the US as by this time moved on to the next country with even cheaper labor, then the nascent consumerism it started there can fire up the start of that country's own economy.
It's ironic that a poster child of the right wing - free trade - has done more for re-distribution of wealth from rich to poor counties than all the socialist ideals put together.
And I for one don't think it's a bad idea.
N.B. this user is far too lazy to write a witty and intelligent sig.
That was only 45 photographs.
Friends and relatives could supply more photos than that in the days before cheap digital cameras.
That was a few photographs, it took 2 minutes to view them.
blog.sam.liddicott.com
> Regulation isn't the problem. Some degree of regulation is necessary, and it provides some very real benefits.
Some regulation *is* necessary. I don't think we need the FDA issuing 10-page edicts on what constitutes Swiss cheese. Or government-granted monopolies on wireless spectrum, or internet access etc.. Not to mention how broken the patent system is. Or licensing requirements that have nothing to do with safety or hygiene (licensing for interior decorating?)
> This is the only reason that China and Mexico, for instance, can produce goods far more cheaply than in the US
You're conflating innovation with labor. We still create lots of stuff in the US, we just don't build it all here. The US is also, still, one of the largest manufacturing nations in the world. We export *tons* of stuff, we just import a lot more.
The problem is that there are a lot of workers in the US who think they should get $30 an hour for operating a torque wrench. Those days are long gone. There are still plenty of decent-paying manufacturing jobs available, but you need some skills beyond turning a wrench until it stops.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
Having stood next to a baler last weekend, they're all pretty big.
Most balers nowadays are the round kind. You drive through fields in the Midwest, you'll see more round bales than square ones. I'm told they weigh in at about 800lb when not wet. A new innovation is plastic-wrapping them automagically so you don't waste 6" on the outside of the bale from moisture and decomposition.
Example baler
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
It's ironic that a poster child of the right wing - free trade - has done more for re-distribution of wealth from rich to poor counties than all the socialist ideals put together.
Not quite. It has redistributed wealth, but it has taken it from the poorest Westerners and given it to the richest foreigners.
The end result is that many people in Western nations have become far worse off than they would have been without free trade. (This, of course, further harms the domestic American economy, but that's another issue.)
Furthermore, the foreign workers doing the work aren't better off than they were before. They get paid roughly the same, and live a similar lifestyle as before. It's the factory owners (who are often high-ranking members of the political community) who profit the most. But they were already quite well-to-do beforehand.
The losses by Western workers far, far, far exceed the gains by the richest foreigners in every measure, and there have been absolutely no gains by the average foreign laborers. It's the sort of financial disaster that only "fiscally responsible right-wing conservatives" can manage to create.
This is the only reason that China and Mexico, for instance, can produce goods far more cheaply than in the US. Their workers aren't any more productive than American workers would be, and are often much less productive due to using primitive manufacturing techniques that pre-date those used in America decades ago.
I would argue that this isn't true at all. It has been shown many times that Americans won't be as productive because they feel entitiled to higher wages to work harder. http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/07/the-fruits-of-immigration.html The article focuses on immigration, but the results are the same. We have a 10% unemployment rate and Americans turning down jobs because they don't want to do the work for the pay, yet it is looked down upon to use immigrants or send the work elsewhere.
Burning man in Chicago...
- Dan.
~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
Went twice. Awesome sauce.
So sad when it left for Detroit.
Some days it's just not worth
chewing through my restraints.
Every other nation should be shunned until they raise their standards to the level of the civilized nations.
A bit extreme. Standards could be applied on a per manufacturer basis rather than the whole country. Make it mandatory that manufacturers are audited by an approved authority before they are allowed to import goods into your country. It's beneficial to both nations that way.
Don't forget the Power Racing Series (Power Wheels vehicles modified for adult riding insanity). My hackerspace here in Chicago (http://www.pumpingstationone.org) started the event two years ago and has been organizing races at Maker Faire events in Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Detroit (with a lot of help from the respective local hackerspaces). This year, we had almost 25 cars competing over the course of the season and the Detroit Maker Faire was the finale racing event. It's a lot of crazy fun. Here's a YouTube video of part of the Detroit racing event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDfi4cGcPD4&feature=player_embedded
Rules of Conduct:
#1 - The DM is always right.
#2 - If the DM is wrong, see rule #1
Some regulation *is* necessary. I don't think we need the FDA issuing 10-page edicts on what constitutes Swiss cheese.
But without some definition of what "swiss cheese" is, how do you know that what you are buying is really "swiss cheese" and isn't some Mexican Asadero cheese with holes poked into it?
I was there displaying my video coat, being a human television. We had to run to catch a flight at Detroit Metro, so I didn't have time to pack my gizmo, so went to the airport wearing it.
Now I know what Cory Doctorow was talking about in his novel "Makers" with regard to the excessive searching applied to people who create stuff. As far as they're concerned, a dad with a family in tow, wearing a coat with wires and circuit boards on it, is a human bomb. I was just laughing throughout the whole extended search.
We got on our plane OK, because I didn't give them actual shit, but my kids got a good lesson when I said out loud, "This is the land of the free", and the nice TSA lady said, "Not any more."
The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
When you go to a Maker Faire or read Make Magazine or even read /. you can tell the urge to create and innovate are not yet entirely gone from this country. It is on life support, but it's still there. We have about 10 years before it really will be too late, though. We need to take certain steps now to make America a cradle of innovation again.
Government and Big Business have put a massive stranglehold on American innovation. Regulations aren't bad by themselves; they were introduced to counter the abuses of the Trusts (Read: Monopolies) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But now they've been twisted to prefer Big Business and those who can afford the armies of lawyers to interpret and apply them.
Even worse than regulation, though, is the utter lack of capital to invest in start-ups and small businesses. Every bit of wealth that isn't locked down and most of what was supposed to be locked down have been ripped away and given to the big banks and ultra-wealthy to squirrel away in their offshore accounts. Unless you are one of the 0.000000000001% who is connected to those ultra-wealthy, it is impossible to access any of that capital.
So unless you can spin a revenue-making venture out of thin air with no seed capital whatsoever, it doesn't matter how useful or amazing your innovation might be because you will never be able to bring it to market.
Perhaps it would be possible to figure out to spin revenue making ventures out of thin air, but I sure haven't been able to find any place that can teach you. All that exists are people who will help you write a business plan (for a small fee), which is not remotely the same thing--angel investors and venture capitalists will only invest in a business that is already generating revenue, thus neatly clipping any clever venture in the bud.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
I bought some oddball Iberian cheese from a local shop a couple of years ago. It was supposed to be some mild blue cheese. It was really intense, and I thought it had gone bad. I took it back and they gave me a credit, and I bought something else.
Crazy, right? I managed to fix the situation without the government testing all the cheese in the counter to make sure it isn't bad, is what the label says it is, and is what I thought it was going to be.
The guy at the shop said he had a couple people return that cheese, and he wasn't going to carry it anymore. This signals to the distributor, and to the manufacturer, that something is wrong with that cheese, and if enough shops do this, they'll either fix the problem or stop making it.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
Read "The Jungle" you'll learn why the FDA was necessary (and possibly never be able to eat sausage again).
In short, no the free market does not handle food processing well, as the worst dangers from food are difficult for the consumer to detect and link to a source. Even if they do figure out who's rat poison laden sausage killed you, it's too late for you to start boycotting them.
The Rust Belt states are the places most in need of grass roots innovation, and I'm really glad to see that the Maker Faire there has appeared for a second year running.
But FWIW, MAKE has very California roots. The magazine is published by O'Reilly, and the first and longest running Maker Faire is held in San Mateo. And there's a joyous hippie transgressive vibe to it that must seem very alien to old-school manufacturing hubs but is unmistakably west coast.
The next "big" Maker Faire (there are mini faires all over the place) will be in New York City in September. It too could use a shot of happy weirdness.
> Not to mention the Gouda from CostCo that had e-coli.
So even with all the regulation we have now, bad stuff still happens? What regulation would have prevented this?
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
I brought my two nieces, age 11&13, to the Maker Faire on Sunday. We arrived early at 9:30am and spent the entire day there. The girls had so much fun doing all of the hands on crafts, blinky lights soldering how to, IMAX movie, rides, mentos coke demo etc. They told me they wanted to make sure we go both days next year so we wouldn't miss anything. You can't ask for a better location to hold the Faire than the Henry Ford Museum. You can easily spend a day there just walking around the museum and Greenfield Village. I enjoyed it immensely.
Thank you for completely validating my point you jaded internet neck beard.
F*5k now I am doing it.
Someone, anyone rescue the world from this incessant hypercycle commentary. Let the world breathe.
quis custodiet ipsos custodes
here here.
:)
While arguments can be made around the edges of specific free trade arrangements, these arrangements are good for everyone in the long run. The emerging middle class in China well soon have the political clout to start demanding REAL reforms and REAL environmental standards very soon. Their domestic consumer demand will catch up to their production and then you can start bitching that there are no more cheap imports and you will have to wait a bit while your domestic production ramps back up. So the good news is that your kids will have homegrown jobs
The big hope is that China does a better job then the west did with the last remaining basket case Africa.
The thing that drove me crazy for the last 30 years was the extreme protection of agriculture both in North America and in Europe. If your not going to allow the developing world to work their way out of poverty by selling you low tech products like food then they are going to find other sectors within which to use their primary competitive advantage (labor in manufacturing assembly or services)
It's ironic that a poster child of the right wing - free trade - has done more for re-distribution of wealth from rich to poor counties than all the socialist ideals put together.
It's not that much ironic as it redistributed wealth from the lower classes in the west. During the last 30 years real wages for middle and lower income workers stagnated. But the top 1% are making much more.
Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun! I personally love the fair but My 14 year old is a huge book worm so its hard to even get her out of the house. Is that normal for a 14 year? Anyway I think we going to began more out door activities. Does anybody know what a 14 year old girl would be interested in? I just pick this entire children book it series The Adventures of Cinnamon & Spice for my 4 year old daughter! Google it or check out them here www.jpwbooks.com They are a great character building resources for parents and teachers