Well, the beginning of the mission is accomplished. Last night, the group now known as the Omaha Maker Group had their first meeting. This all stems from an article I posted a few months back, and "ended" (or began, more technically) with a much better than expected turnout last night. Initially, the meeting was supposed to be a second gathering of myself, Ron and Travis (the guy who initially emailed me about that article) to determine a name and discuss how to get the word out.

Needless to say, the word got out (maybe a bit more than expected). We had a total of 10 people for food, drinks and a rousing naming discussion. We considered all kinds of things, and eventually settled on dual-purpose acronyms. Who would have thought that LMAO was already in use in Omaha (by some Live Music group, no less)?

Now that we have a name, we have a Google Group, and other facilities (like a website) coming online shortly. To that end, any interested parties should now make contact via the Google Group, though you're still free to email me if you're having trouble with Google or anything.

The attached photo shows a work-in-progress home networking project that I've been invited to help revamp this weekend. Components include a file server, cable, data and phone distribution, along with the usual networking gear. "After" pictures to follow. This has nothing to do with the hackerspace, I just wanted to post the "before" photo :)

With regard to said hackerspace, the emails keep rolling in (up to 6 people total)... If you're interested and haven't yet, drop me a line so you can get notified when we get a group together next. While the purpose of these get-togethers right now is to plan a more regular social gathering and eventually a physical space, social value is already there, for me... It's nice to meet new people interested in technology and whatnot.

As something of a result (and after discusssing with a new friend), I'm finally giving into Ron's shaming, and am going to make a genuine effort to learn Google Sketchup to replace the 16-bit CAD package I've been using for the last 11 years. So far, I've determined that I have to learn to draw in 3D (as opposed to extruded 2D), and that Sketchup has an inferior set of import/export tools relative to what I'm used to (specifically, importing and exporting DXF files is not supported by the Free Sketchup; Not that I use that often) More to come as I progress.

Wow, this week has been insane... First, problems with the fridge (first a water leak, then not keeping cool, again) and replacing that, and secondly (as the title indicates) headway on the Omaha Hackerspace/Makerspace/WhateveryoucallitGroup! As a result of this website, I've been contacted by two separate parties regarding this endeavor!

To that end, we're in the process of planning a larger meeting for all interested parties. The plan, such as it is, is to start a (monthly?) maker/hacker/techie get-together at a restaurant or similar, and evolve over time into a shared workspace of some sort. Details to follow. As always, if you're interested, drop me an email.

On a makerish note, I've posted a photo of the custom Jetta MKIV Yakima clips I hacked together. I acknowledge that they're not much to look at, but were built in about an hour with a grinder and a file...

It's been another busy week... I had last Friday off, which gave me time to get some things done around the house, but was in Lincoln last night for my brother's 18th birthday. On Friday, the replacement bolt cover showed up for the Jetta, so it doesn't look like quite such a junker anymore. :)

We stopped at Menards Friday morning to pick up a new toilet lid (the 4-year-old ones were getting pretty gross; Both are now replaced with the antimicrobial ones) and was on the way to the checkout when I spotted some rubber floor mats on sale (I've had my eye on these for some time...) for $7, down from a "going rate" between $15 and $20 each. That made the price around $0.78/sqft (in 9sqft sections). I picked up 7, and added 7 more on Saturday. The "open floor" in my garage is around 15' wide (2-stall garage, less shelves on both sides), so 5 tiles, and 14 gives me (almost) 3 rows for a total of 9' from the front of the workbench against the back wall. These mats seem durable enough to park on, so the fronts of both cars rest on them, and they're really very nice to stand on. Their open pattern means that water and junk fall through, but can be easily vacuumed up. Moreover, water can't get "trapped" underneath. If money were no object, I would have finished out the garage (another 16 mats), but alas... Maybe next time. On an aside, the garage still smells like a tire factory, from the new mats off-gassing...

I also finally got around to finishing the roof rack brackets for the Jetta. I've had an old Yakima rig in the garage for a few years (Thanks, Dad!), and had tried to modify clips in the past with limited success... Sure, I could go out and buy the appropriate (Q103) clips, but I had a box of donor clips (For cars that dont exist anymore) to hack at... Basically today, I decided that the rack had to get useful or get gone. I'm sick of looming projects... Git-R-Done or decide you're just not going to! (paraphrasing GTD's philosophy)

In the non-garage department, we had a few people over for dinner on Friday night; I grilled some sort of bean-and-rice burger, which Becky will probably have posted on her site shortly.

We've also been doing some major cleaning out. Lots of stuff headed to Goodwill, eBay and Craigslist recently or in the near future. It seems somehow liberating being able to get rid of "stuff". More on that next time, I think.

If you've been reading here very long, you'll know that I do most of the projects on this site in the back of my two-car garage, which, among other things, contains two cars full-time. I've always envied the shared workspaces of larger cities, where makers of all sorts come together to collaborate, and support each other, in a space that contains no cars :) I've written about this a few times, and have a few local friends interested.

On Friday, I got an email from a reader who is also interested. This brings the potential "headcount" to 4. It seems to me that the required headcount is a function of the total costs. What I envision starting with is a group of people renting a shared space to work; The specifics depend on the preferences of the people involved.

I think the next step in making this go is to continue to create a "mailing list" of interested individuals and start discussing everyone's wants, needs and input. To that end, if you're interested in helping start a Hackerspace / Makerspace / Collaborative Shop in Omaha, Let me know!

Oh, on an aside: My wife points out this from today's paper: "CAMP Offers More than Space" Somewhat in the same vein, but aimed at micro-biz, rather than hobbyist makers...

Well, tonight was spent installing a new dishwasher (purchased this morning), to replace our existing Maytag that was recalled earlier this year. We opted to take advantage of not only the $150-250 Maytag "recall rebate" but also the $150 Nebraska EnergyStar rebate. As it ended up, we got a new, safe dishwasher that is quite a bit nicer than what we'd be able to buy otherwise.

What was saved in the ease of installation was paid for during purchase this morning. Based on what I'd read online, the Energy Star funds wouldn't last long, so I figured I'd spin by NFM on my way into the office this morning. It took over 90 minutes; About 45 minutes each to have my order written up, and actually be checked out. Ugh. I'm just glad it's finished.

We haven't had opportunity to do the first load yet, but this thing is supposed to be unnaturally quiet. More on that as it comes.

I just finished the writeup for the DoubleTree we stayed at last weekend. Have a look at it, or any of the other Hotels we've stayed at. I'm adding reviews as I find the old photos, and have been conducting a wide search for photos the last few days. Most recently, I've found about 80 interesting photos from the last 10 years. Once I get them all reviewed and edited, I'll be posting them.

Back again from another busy weekend. Last Friday, Becky and I headed off to Kansas City for a quick getaway. We toured a coffee roasterie, and ate at a few interesting places, as Becky will describe shortly. We stayed in a bit different area of town this time, at the DoubleTree Corporate Woods (which is clear south), as it was more convenient to some of the things we wanted to do; That, and we'd gotten kind of sick of the Hyatt Crown Center... More on that on the Hotels page, as soon as I get the photos up.

Had a bit of a malfunction with my phone again, related to DG Alert Classic draining my battery in record time. I'd had it shut off, but after the battery had died a few days ago, it'd restarted itself when the phone rebooted. I finally just uninstalled it. It was really nice, because it made SMS 1 notifications easier to feel with it's patterned rings (even with the Moment's crappy vibrator), but between the battery life issues and the fact that sometimes I got no notifications, it was just time for it to go.

On an aside, Thursday Night I started working on prototype for a window sill insert that I want to use on some windows in our house. Our windows are inset, rounded and painted into the wall, and have no woodwork or trim at this point. The bottom area tends too get dirty and with the textured finish is almost impossible to clean. More on this as it develops.

It took a bit longer than I'd hoped, but I finally have the beginnings of our Hotels page online. So far, it's just a list of places we've stayed, but more information is forthcoming, so check back often. I plan to have photos of each hotel, pricing info and some rankings online shortly.

I know I've been behind a bit on posting the Preparedness series, and not entirely for unproductive reasons (though we were on vacation, briefly). Last time I sat down to work on it, I found myself writing an essay about jumper cables. Jumper cables are one of those things that you should absolutely carry in your car, as they resolve a relatively common problem (dead batteries), and are (almost) the only tool for the job. Without Further Delay:

• Preparedness: 2. Jumper Cables

Last weekend, we were in South Dakota for a wedding reception, and stayed at the Ramada Convention Center in Aberdeen, SD. Let's just say that it was not one of the nicer places we've stayed. It'd supposedly been recently renovated, though the maintenance guy who was working on our AC suggested that many things (including the carpet, trim, and furnishings) were not part of the renovations. Seems that the Air wasn't either. In any case, a full review of hotels we've stayed at is forthcoming, as is the next installment in the Preparedness series.

Well, it's been an exciting evening. We were going to head to the gym, but ended up staying home due to some crazy thunderstorms moving through the area. Damage was minor, though we saw some downed trees and suffered the loss of our glass-top outdoor table as well as a few window screens. The table will ride again, though; Stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, enjoy a few photos snapped by Dad on his way home...