I grew up in Minneapolis and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I still believe that the people are the nicest in the world, and that it’s a fantastic place to live. I didn’t, however, realize how much of a maker town it is.
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Making is as much about exploring as it is about building. Exploring new ways of problem-solving, understanding how things are made, how machine components fit together. And this week, for me, about exploring new tools.
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Makers amaze me. I’m always in awe of how many different projects they seemed to be juggling at once. As soon as you dig into a conversation, you can usually uncover about five more that they’re mentally planning. Show them a new tool and you’ll get a list of new applications and experiments they can use it for.
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Then, SNAP! Andrew and I both jumped as all of the cameras shuttered simultaneously. That was it: quick and painless. I took my turn in the chair, and remained unphased as the simul-shutter snapped my photo….later that night, I had a 3D model of my head swirling around on my iPhone screen.
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Learning how to program Arduino was a must-do for my Zero to Maker process. For a beginner like me, this turns out to be an easier thing to say than to do. I wanted to learn it right and really understand what I was doing, which meant – and I’m really going to expose the Zero in me here – starting with basic electronics: soldering, circuit testing, and understanding fundamentals like Ohm’s Law.
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When I started this Zero to Maker journey, I was inspired by the idea that I could become a self-made industrial designer – that I could bypass an expensive education by learning only what I really needed to get started. Now that I’ve started down the road, I’ve realized that it’s a very long road. The good news is that I remain committed to my initial belief that there’s a less expensive (and faster) way to learn: through a strategic blend of internet resources, access to the right tools, and involvement in a community of like-minded makers. Most important for me, however, has been the commitment to trying to figure out and examine more of what I don’t know.
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In my last post, I heralded the underrated benefits of analog drawing and why I think it’s the perfect gateway to making. The post was not, however, meant to take anything away from the incredible benefits of computer-aided tools. In fact, after last night’s ShopBot class at TechShop, I have an even higher respect for how amazing computer-based tools can be.
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