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Blog 1: Thingiverse

A.Something beautiful

To me, there is nothing more beautiful than a fresh layer of snow on the ground(as long as I have nowhere to be of course). That being said, this 3D printed snowflake tree ornament is something I would put on my tree in a heartbeat. Source

B.Something funny/strange

This is a tree topper in the shape of a weeping angel. I found this funny because as a Doctor Who fan, a weeping angel is not something I would want it my house if it were real so I would never put it on my Christmas tree. Source

C.Something useless

Gestural 3D printing, as it is described sounds pretty much useless. Yes it is cool that you can use a kinect to track your movements and then print out the outline but what use is there? A lumpy smiley face is about all you can do. Source

D.Something useful

Everyone loves music, me included, so this parametric music box would be a cool use. Yes, it wont change the world but it would be a cool thing to give a child. As they grow up, you can print out new snippets of songs for them. Source

E.Something that surprised me

I did not expect to see a customizable lithopane on thingiverse. Never crossed my mind to be honest. In this case, the surprise is good and I already have a few pictures in mind that I would love to turn into these. Source

Blog 2: Open Source Ecology project

Marcin is the man behind the Open Source Ecology project. His idea is to take many machine we use today such as tractors, brick makers and even 3D printers and make open source versions of them that are reparable by the use. His thought behind this is it opens up many to better technology that they will now be able to afford and maintain. Overall, I think this is a good idea and will result in a positive outcome for some people. Open source is a great way to quickly get ideas into the hands of others who will either use them or in some cases even improve upon them. Sadly, I don't know if it will have as big of an impact as he hopes.

Although this is a great idea and already has created many open source designs source, there is only so much open source can do. If someone does not have experience with the tools needed to repair or create these machines, they wont be able to do anything until either they have access to that knowledge or someone close enough to them does the hard part.

The New Yorker magazine wrote an article about Marcin's OSE Project. Summary: Marcin is a 41 year old Polish-American who has spent the past 5 years building industrial machines from scratch. He believes that everyone should be able to have access to the tools needed to work the land. In 2003 he started the O.S.E website to collect the best techniques for creating sustainable communities and three years later he bought a farm in Missouri. He built his own tractor after his old one repeatably broke down. His new tractor cost him $7,000 to build and is roughly equivalent to a $45,000 John Deer. After his success, he posted a list of 50 machines he believes could cheaply provide everything a small community needed to exist. While trying to make 6 tractor in 60 days, his team ran into many problems. Everything from hurt workers to misaligned holes plagued the group. As these projects continue, the common theme is endless struggle. Often called a dictator by those who work with him, conflicts in how things should be done arise. Each video showed the hardship the team faced and after a comment about living conditions was posted, even his girlfriend left. Between the lack of creature comforts and lack of skill, many were frustrated. Article

Overall, this article pointed out many of the things wrong with Marchin's Project. He was very set in his ways to the point of alienating others, didn't give those he worked with any of the money earned from sales of equipment, and didn't do much to improve living conditions. It is not surprising that so many of the people who came to help left. Marchin did respond to the New Yorker magazine article. Source He addressed many of the problems pointed out in the article. Although it doesn't seem like he was just rationalizing things, it may come off to some as such. He did show that he is truly invested in his idea and will do what needs to be done to see it to fruition.

To start something similar at PSU would require people who are truly devoted to the idea. This type of project would require a lot of time, effort, and capital. I personally can not think of specific people for such a job but I would look for people ready to drop what they are doing so they could devote much of their time to the project.