CGW at Missouri State Fair and Misc

[Zach Zeman]

Good news, everyone!

Your favorite hackerspace in Columbia, Columbia Gadget Works, has signed up to take part in the Show Me Robots events at the 2012 Missouri State Fair. The event will take place Sunday, August 12th, from 10:00 to 17:00, and we will be showcasing the various robotic and nearly-robotic projects that our members are working on. We have 20 free entry tickets reserved for those who want to work the booth, showcasing their projects and talking to visitors about robotics and CGW. As of tonight's meeting, about 15 of those are spoken for. I've listed what I remember of the ticket distribution in the Google doc linked below. If I screwed up the number you wanted or if you are not on this list and you want to go, please respond to this message saying as much. Bill said that the tickets should come in Tuesday-ish, so we'll work out how to distribute the tickets at that point.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjFd9MbzCuezdHJ3bmZpWFJtTXRoSEFKM1F2NVFyNEE

Also, you may notice that there is a "Bringing" column in the doc. Please let me know what you plan on bringing, and I will list it there. This will help us arrange vehicles, as we only have 3 that we can take onto the fairgrounds to bring our robots and such to the venue. If there are any questions about the Show Me Robots thing, please just respond to this message.

On a different note, I'm sure roughly 2 of your have noticed that I haven't been hosting the weekly G+ hangouts lately. I aim to remedy this starting this upcoming week. So, on Tuesday, Aug 6th, at 21:00 (9:00 pm) I will be hosting a Google+ hangout on the CGW Page. Everyone is invited to join the discussion, but if you are interested please make sure you add CGW to your circles before the hangout occurs so that I can send you an invite.

Okay, I think that's it. Peace out, ya'll.

-Zach

[Ryan]

I will be bringing 2 small robots and a laptop that will require some sort of electricity (bad batteries). i can also bring an extension cord and a power strip. 

[Scott.K...@gmail.com]

Looks like both my kids and the wife and I will be there. They probably won't stay the whole time though, but the kids are anxious to talk about their robots.

I can't edit the spreadsheet. Maybe I am not supposed to edit?

I am planning to bring 4 small robots (my Makey bot, plus 3 coaster bots). I am considering bringing my 3d printer as well, and laptop, so I can work-on/print a new chassis for the coaster bot. I know that EVERYONE brings a 3D printer to these things, but I really just want to multi-task and get some work done as well as hang out at the booth... so shoot me. Do we have power at the fair? Lots of outlets or should we bring power strips? If I am bringing that, I might as well throw in my nerd kit with an arduino or two, sensors, etc. That way, if anyone wants to do some hacking on the spot...

I might have a large enough pile of stuff that it would be nice to unload at the site. Hopefully I can reserve some space in the car that is parking close by.

Bill, Can you tell us what we have in terms of power, table space, etc. Is there internet?

[Dan Goldstein]

Working on laser Spirograph V.3 to bring. I was thinking of some kind of a small screen to point it at... Maybe behind the table at one end, or on the table?  If V.3 doesn't come together we can fall back to V2...
There will be 4 of us. I also could not edit the Google doc.

Scott bringing the 3D printer is a great idea. It might seem old hat to you (already?)
but to most people visiting I think it will be very interesting...

Dan G.

--
"There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory   out there - good for you.
 
But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of the police forces and the fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory...
 
Now look. You built a factory and it turned into something terrific or a great idea - God bless! Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and you pay forward for the next kid who comes along."
- Elizabeth Warren (Sept. 2011)

[Ben Datema]

Personally, I think 3D printers should be involved in everything ever. Also, I could watch them print all day, so I think having one there would be really cool.

Ben

[Zach Zeman]

Yeah, I'm making changes to the spreadsheet. I didn't want to give too much access to my Google docs.

I'm all for having 3d printers, especially if we can have them running. I don't know what the power situation will be, but I doubt we can count on it being enough for all the nerds that will be in that room. We'll bring some extension cords and power strips still.

I got the tickets in the mail. Do we want to gather to distribute them Sunday morning ? That seems like it would be the easiest to me. We can also arrange vehicles and carpool then.

-Zach

[Scott.K...@gmail.com]

Thanks for the layout Bill, and the advice on extension cords. I wouldn't have thought of that.

So here is my list so far (and we need to figure out transpo and unloading). If anyone can think of anything else, lets use this thread to fill it out.

General
=======
Extension cord(s) [I have two orange indoor/outdoor I can bring]
Power strip(s) [I have at least one I can bring]
2x4 robo-fences [I am thinking if we have robots on a table, we want something to keep them from falling off. I believe I have some scrap lumber. I'll check tonight and post.]

Stuff I am bringing for the show
========================
4+ small autonomous robots
3D printer + filament + gear
Laptop
Nerd kit + arduino(s)



On , "Pabst, Bill" <Pab...@missouri.edu> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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> We will have 8 or 9  8ft tables, more if we need them.  We can rearrange as needed.  We will have power close by but will need extension cords.  We had good
> internet last year but had none or spotty in previous years.  I’m telling folks maybe but not to plan on it.
>  
> Here is the draft layout of the hall -
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnUIv2iYsoBFdG5fNGJXSUJsM1BDMkVQRWZlemhWWkE#gid=3
>  
> Bill Pabst, 4-H Youth Development Specialist
>
> 4-H Center for Youth Development
>
> University of Missouri Extension
> 826 Clark Hall, University of Missouri
> Columbia, MO 65211
> V 573-884-7590; F 573-884-4225
> pab...@missouri.edu
> http://4h.missouri.edu/
>  
> From: Scott.K...@gmail.com [mailto:Scott.K...@gmail.com]
>
>
> Sent: Monday, August 06, 2012 10:44 AM
>
> To: columbia-g...@googlegroups.com; Pabst, Bill
>
> Subject: Re: Re: CGW at Missouri State Fair and Misc

[Zach Zeman]

Good to know. Like I said, we will have a couple extensions and power strips as well. I hope we'll have enough to go around.

Making pens for the mini-bots is a great idea. If you don't have enough lumber, I can make it to Lowe's and throw a few together so that we'll have plenty of demo space. It will probably look pretty cool to have the bots running around in the fences with a whole lot more on the sidelines to look at.

If Ryan's cool with it, we could take the van, which basically has the capacity for everything we've talked about bringing. I There's nothing in the paperwork about how many cars we can take to unload, but I believe Bill said he was marking us down for 3. Also, I don't see much reason for us to bring a lot of vehicles to unload when we're honestly not taking too much.

Do we want to get together in Columbia either Saturday night or Sunday morning to get our bearings before heading to the fairgrounds? We can discuss it more on the hangout tonight, but I think that would be my preference.

Thanks.

-Zach

[Matthew Little]

I'll be bringing a little amp project I started and my scope, plus a few extension cords and plug strips. I'll dig around for a few other projects to bring if I haven't re-purposed them all yet.
I doubt I'll have it working in time, but I've got a remote controlled electric wheel chair base that might be fun to chase people with; I mean show off, too.

- Matthew

[Brad Collette]

I got CGW cards printed and will bring those as well.  We'll be bringing a couple scout-bots and maybe the silly-string launcher.  I can bring OpenROV for show but it's still barely interesting. 

--
Brad Collette
573-427-7132

[Ryan]

Also bringing my soldering station. and brad i finally used that 3d printed battery holder you made for me. it was a bit long, but i fixed that with about 20 cents. 

[Scott]

Zach

Any chance I can swing by today and pick up tickets?

[Zach Zeman]

Yeah, I'm home for most of today.

-Zach

[Scott Kovaleski]

I'll come by right now.

Dr. Scott Kovaleski

Associate Professor

Electrical and Computer Engineering

University of Missouri

349 Engineering Building West

Columbia, MO 65211

Ph: 573-882-8377

Fx: 573-882-0397

koval...@missouri.edu

highvoltage.missouri.edu

[Dan Goldstein]

Hi Zach
  I was thinking of doing the same thing if that's ok, just so I do not need to get up so early.
I do not have your #. Are you still around if I come down to your place to get the tickets?

Good news is the laser spirograph is back alive!
We got new atmega chips from Jamco yesterday and soldered things back up, this time
using a chip socket!

Dan G

[Zach Zeman]

Great to hear. I'll be here for a few hours at least. Just drop by.

-Zach