learnteach: (bikework)
learnteach ([personal profile] learnteach) wrote2009-05-31 12:41 am

Impressions from Maker's Faire

1. That's too many rude people. Especially the stroller wielding gawkers, driving one way, looking another, talking to a person in the third direction, who bump into me and are shocked and disgusted. And Adam Savage (that mug) can certainly draw a crowd.



2. The Trebuchet keeps bouncing shots into the knitting area. Luckily, they don't do it often, and the knitters have senses of humor.

3. Kinetic Art coooooool. http://appliedkineticarts.wordpress.com/

4. Lotta people from other places there.

5. Lotta people looking for jobs.

6. Whump lead me to a talk on disabilities. Very cool. 4 salient points:
1. We will all be disabled on an average 8 years of our life; it's not a stigma and you don't have to medicalize it, it's better to 2. Make it a DIY project (some cool examples) but it's best to 3. Involve the community, both your local overall community and the wider internet community of disabled people, spread the wealth of your ideas and 4. Spread your ideas--you can both productize something and release it into the world for other people to play with. With great examples for every single point, all done in 13 minutes and very easy to understand in a noisy hall. Great presentation! Inspiring and eye opening.

7. From Miss M: "Steampunk? Goth welders. Why the fascination with cheap goggles?" But I have to say, I want a governor on my pith helmet too. (Available at finer Neverwas Haul stores everywhere.)

8. Great to see friends, but never for enough time!

9. Xylacopia stuff is even cooler in person. ANd they have faire discounts. http://www.xylocopa.com/catalog/jewelry

10. Swaporamarama is too cool. And this whole thing is heaven, beautiful women everywhere. Talented, excited, involved, geeky, into clothes/food/education/knitting...Wowsa!

[identity profile] judith-s.livejournal.com 2009-05-31 08:21 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, I was wondering if you were there today. We made it to the fair, but didn't see all of it (unsurprisingly). Hopefully we were not of the stroller-unaware crowd, even though I was wielding a rather largish one all day.

My feet hurt.

[identity profile] acanthusleaf.livejournal.com 2009-05-31 02:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Gah! I missed you. Are you working the Fair? If so, where are you?

I'm over in the Steampunk area, soing the Air Mail gig.

And the goggles are either cheap because most of us are not wealthy, or they are awesome or crappy because we made them ourselves. I haven't got around to making goggles yet - I want a pair that either will sub for sunglasses in the UV department, or will be useful as welder's goggles but look better.

I didn't make it to swaporamarama yesterday. Hope to today!

[identity profile] martianfencer.livejournal.com 2009-05-31 04:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Too bad I don't know you by face, because we spent some time at the Air Mail booth!

[identity profile] cvirtue.livejournal.com 2009-05-31 02:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Pity about the stroller-drivers. I was always mortified when I bumped someone, but driving a double, there was more mass to get in trouble with, and less maneuverable. Any stroller definitely shouldn't be taken in crowded and random areas, but many people don't seem to think it through.

[identity profile] martianfencer.livejournal.com 2009-05-31 04:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Mark says he saw you; I was sorry I didn't. Where is/was your booth?

It was great to see you for lunch Friday!

[identity profile] nohwhere-man.livejournal.com 2009-05-31 05:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Read #1 to S, she said, "How can you -not- see John?"

The steam tractor was tres cool, too. Wants one, no place to put it.

[identity profile] cynthia1960.livejournal.com 2009-06-01 07:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Now if the trebuchet was lobbing yarn into the knitters, you'd see a lot of fun there! (of course, if it was cheap acrylic, that's grounds for war)