MakerBlock

Plastruder re-build [01/17/2011]

Maker Block — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:42:41 +0000

[I guess I was just going to let people know I was going to rebuild my 3D printer extruder? Even so… I didn’t write anything at all?!]

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

Chicken, part III – and oversharing [01/13/2011]

Maker Block — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:41:19 +0000

[I was working on this at 10:51 AM on a Thursday. I have no idea why I was doing so much analysis over a $2 differential and then take a hard left turn into talking about why I can’t gamble. It was apparently in relation to these two posts kinda about playing chicken with merchandise?]

The price for Doctor Who Series 5 has dropped to $34.58. That’s basically another $2 off because I’m procrastinating. Just click on the other sellers, then pick the top one.

So, do I wait for an EVEN LOWER PRICE? Do I pull the trigger now??? What if the price starts to go up???

This must be what gambling feels like.

I can’t gamble. Well, I CAN, but I don’t. Generally don’t. Look, that’s not the point.

Here’s the point – I find it extremely stressful.

Here’s why – the moment I put my money on the table I’m actually DOWN. That’s not my money, that’s a wager, or, in slightly more neutral terms – an investment or a potential. The important point, though, is that it’s not mine any more. I’m actually out that money and I’ve received a little bit of chance in exchange.

Given that the odds are always in favor of the house, I have to be lucky to break even. That means not only do I have an “investment” in lieu of my money, but chances are better than even I’m about to lose my money!

Now, under most circumstances the amount of my wager has no bearing the chances of success. I realize that higher denomination slot machines are supposed to have better “returns,” but those differences are relatively slight.

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

ADD? [01/12/2011]

Maker Block — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:37:24 +0000

[Yep. 15 years later, my work is still like this. :/ ]

I’m one of those people who likes to have a lot of things going on at once. But, not too many things otherwise I get distracted and then can’t focus on any one thing long enough to get anything done. I suppose it’s like juggling while balancing on a high wire. ¹

The nature of my job ensures a regular cycle of extra work and stress.

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

If I’m going to be dramatic about it.

Phone conferences… [01/10/2011]

Maker Block — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 21:12:56 +0000

[Global pandemics are unquestionably bad things. When it became clear that lots of businesses were about to go under unless they figured out remote work, they found a way to make remote work… work. I guess the hierarchy for me would be: In office work < hybrid work < remote + in person meeting < remote + video conference < remote + phone conference < remote + email < remote + leave me alone and don’t talk to me about work.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a misanthrope – and consider myself a generally friendly person. I guess it’s more that I’m not interested in using any work time for socializing (or visa versa). If there’s something I need, I’ll ask (by email). If there’s something you need, feel free to ask (by email). If neither of us need things, I guess there’s nothing to talk about.

This post was started just a few years before this meme:

Trend line for “This meeting could have been an email”

" data-large-file="https://makerblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-22-143928-550x290.png" class="size-full wp-image-9460" src="https://makerblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-22-143928.png" alt="" width="1351" height="712" srcset="https://makerblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-22-143928.png 1351w, https://makerblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-22-143928-300x158.png 300w, https://makerblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-22-143928-550x290.png 550w, https://makerblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-22-143928-768x405.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1351px) 100vw, 1351px" />

Trend line for “Could have been an email”

You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ll spend the time and effort preparing a detailed analysis for a client – only to have them ask me to schedule a meeting. So we set the meeting or phone call. The worst start to one of these meetings was “Well, what do you think?” What do I think? WHAT DO I THINK? ¹ I just spilled five pages of ink² explaining exactly what I think. Like a good little soldier, I even put a big “Executive Summary” right at the top because I know full damn well you’re not going to read any of what I really think and you’re just looking for a “bottom line.” Then I include a conclusion area with helpful bullet point action items for what we have to do next.

If you can’t be bothered to read what you paid me to write, or the summaries I prepared for you, I don’t know how to help you. Mind you, I started this blog post 15 years ago, long before people were shoveling longform content into AI’s for summaries. ³

I should really charge double for having to do a phone call to discuss an email I just sent. If an email turns into a meeting, we have, all of us, failed.]

…are a waste of time. Seriously. I mean, you might as well have an in-person meeting in pitch black darkness. How do you have a meaningful conversation with disembodied voices? Under any other circumstances it would be considered madness.

If you need to convey or obtain a piece of information or take a poll quickly, use e-mail.

Now, sometimes the nuance of a phone call is warranted – but it’s not particularly often.

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

WHAT DO I THINK?
Toner
Describing what I do for a client as “content”? BARF.

MK4 plastruder parts for sale [01/10/2011]

Maker Block — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 21:34:45 +0000

[I ended up donating all these parts years ago to someone affiliated with Noisebridge :) ]

Since upgrading to a MK5 Plastruder my MK4 gear has been just sitting there unused and unloved. While pulling out the motor from my MK4, I took apart the rest of my MK4 Plastruder except for the hot end assembly. I then realized that I had a fair amount of MK4 stuff that I’m just not using. I’ve got:

MakerBot MK4 hot end assembly. This includes the nozzle, barrel, nichrome wrapping, thermistor, nichrome and thermistor leads, insulator, insulator plates, nuts, and bolts all fully put together. I basically loosened the four bolts holding the MK4 in place and removed the entire assembly as-is.
Extra replacement parts including insulation, nichrome, nozzle, barrel, and Kapton tape.
A MakerBot MK4 spare parts kit
A MakerGear operator’s pack (I forget which one, but I can check if you’re interested)

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

There’s just something profoundly meta and wrong with this. [01/05/2011]

Maker Block — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 21:29:42 +0000

[Another silly Doctor Who post. What was wild in 2011 is ho-hum these days.]

Dude, seriously, don’t crap in the space time continuum. I mean, we ALL live here.

Okay. So, here’s the clearest I can articulate these issues:

David Tennant and Georgia Moffett are getting married.
Their children will also be named Davidina Tennant and George Moffet. They will marry each other’s grandchildren on the same day they murder David Tennant and Peter Moffet and squish a butterfly in the past.

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

Best use for the MakerBot Unicorn? [01/04/2011]

Maker Block — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 20:38:05 +0000

[The MakerBot Unicorn was an amazing project/product. A ready-made open source pen-plotter attachment kit for $85? Yes! The Cupcake CNC was always a wonderful project. Sure, it was noisy and imprecise for a 3D printer, but it was still a 3 axis CNC machine! It had a dedicated following of developers who were making cool stuff for it. It was capable of drawing on small things like post-its, band-aids, and other small items.]

I think the best use, outside of PCB resist drawings, is its ability to draw on objects that are not otherwise easy to print on.

Bandaids, post-it’s, and other small/irregular objects.

You could probably draw right on the surface of a CD or DVD!

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

I’d rather be making [01/04/2011]

Maker Block — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 20:21:48 +0000

[This was one of those zero-context drafts. I don’t know what was going on at the time – but presumably I much preferred making/blogging to doing the work I got paid to do by my day job. I get this itch to make/write/blog fairly regularly – and it certainly seems to be directly proportional to the urgency of day-job-work I need to perform.]

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

10 Printing Predictions for 2011 [01/03/2011]

Maker Block — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 20:16:51 +0000

[Apparently I only had one prediction in me that day. It was a goofy nonsense prediction anyhow. I can’t imagine I actually did the math to predict the number of cycles to produce 7 billion RepRaps.]

Nophead has proven how quickly a RepRap can replication at the hands of a very dedicated human. In the year 2011 a single RepRap will get uppity and decide to bring about… the Repocalypse. If a single RepRap can replicate in about 48 hours (given sufficient materials, etc) it would only take 33 cycles over the course of 132 days to produce more RepRaps that every human on the planet. April 18th will forever be known as R-day.¹

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

And I, for one, welcome our new replicator overlords

Crashing out ain’t always so bad

Maker Block — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:28:32 +0000

I just had OpenSCAD die on me. It’s probably my fault for running a version from 2024 – but it’s been super stable and … why mess with a thing that works? Fortunately, OpenSCAD replied to my toot saying “@makerblock Check the “Backup Path” folder, e.g. on Linux that is at $HOME/.local/share/OpenSCAD/backups/”

However, having a program crash isn’t always that bad. Yes, it’s a hassle. But, I often find that the new version ends up being built / recreated in a fraction of the time and and more streamlined. In this case, I was working on a revision of my stamp eraser carving grips. The code for new version ended up cleaner and the final model was better looking as well.

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