A Quick Make Shout of Joy!

This is one of those times when I am so revved with joy, with exhaustion, with new ideas for next time, and with a wild desire to share every last drop of an amazing event... that I don't know where to begin, that I stall, and feel incapable of doing it justice. All my feels are on hyperdrive, you guys!

We worked and prepped, and drilled, and packed, planned, plotted and played, to get ready for San Diego Maker Faire. Just preparing was getting so intense and challenging, I was wondering how we would get through the actual event. But, we were like wild, mad thundering nerds, with passion in our veins, metal shavings on our seats, and a Viking tent tied to the roof of our van... we were unstoppable!

Two vehicles were solidly packed with robots, tools, chairs, a table, supplies, people, that Viking tent, food. Everything.

Maria, Maddie, Emma, and William.

Day 1: We were outside, and this was possibly one of the more quiet moments of the first day. It was a non-stop flow of visitors to Maker Faire, with William, Alex, Max, Maria, Paul, Janece, Amira, and Bambi, Geoff and I setting up, taking down, and demonstrating all. day. long.

Natalie, with Dale Dougherty, and me as awestruck as the first time we met.

Maria can tell you all you need to know about how Da Vinci works, from the Z axis, to vector illustrating. Here she is explaining the works to her teacher, June.

Day 2: We were rained out... or in? Luckily, we were welcomed into The Hall of Champions, where Dan Hendricks graciously, and enthusiastically, made all the accommodations we needed to bring in Da Vinci, our drawing robot, and also to operate the Giant Robotic Tentacle, Mech-Cthulu! On this day we were, again, blessed with the tireless company and contributions from Paul and Janece. James, Celine, Ruth and Holly were great help, too. This is nothing that can be done with out kind help, and we feel so thankful to everyone who pitched in.

This post is a drop in an ocean of all I want to say about our club, about Maker Faire, about our plans. Look for more, here, at BOoM, soon!

Great Things...

1. Every friend, new and old, that came by, hung out, played, cheered, hauled, packed, and fed us. Of all the things that went on at Maker Faire, we were most thrilled with sharing the joy of this event with great people.

2. The look on someone's face when you hand them the controller to a 9' tall, 40lb Giant Robotic Tentacle with 36 pneumatic cylinders!

3. Already finding social media shares... {BOoM's Viking tent is at the beginning and check out Mech-Cthulu 3 minutes in! Thanks, Jennylou!}



4. Being so engrossed in doing what I love that I am not disappointed about basically missing an entire Maker Faire! {That's a bit of paradox, there!}

5. My family, and the friends who are like family.