July 13th, 2010 by bdring
I saw this flat-pack inspired inspired playhouse over at inhabitots. Flat-pack is a form of a Ready-To-Assemble (RTA) product that ships in a flat state. The latest flat-pack craze is to see how efficiently you can pack the pieces into the raw sheet. The parts usually can be assembled without fasteners.
Gregg Flieshman has taken the look and assembly features to the extreme and produced some amazing designs. I was originally lured in by the playhouses, but some of his furniture is even more fantastic. The concept is perfectly suited to home router and laser folks because everything is done in the flat and there are no need to expensive, hard to get fasteners.
Continue reading ‘Flat-pack Inspired Playhouse & More’
July 12th, 2010 by bdring
My son is a Boy Scout. My neighbor and friend is one of the Scoutmasters. He stopped by this week with a flyer for a brand new merit badge on inventing. He thought I might get a little excited about. He was right.
I work as a Mechanical Engineer, but when kids ask me what I do, just for fun, I often say that I am an Inventor. Their reaction is a mix of amazement, curiosity and skepticism. You don’t hear people refer to themselves as Inventors. Is this an archaic term? Is this something bestowed posthumously? I think I will try it on adults for a while to see their reaction.
The requirements for the badge are pretty ambitious. Here is the short version of what you need to do.
- Interview or research someone who has invented something.
- Learn about Intellectual Property and Patents.
- Find scout related inventions.
- Learn about patent infringement.
- Suggests improvements to scouting equipment.
- Come up with your own invention, build a model and working prototype of it.
The only major beef I have with the merit badge is that is does not make any reference to open source work or alternative licensing options.
I am sure he will get started on it as soon as he returns from summer camp.
