My Sincere Apologies

I owe everyone an apology. This morning (in a moment of poor judgement) I made the decision to run two jobs simultaneously (almost did 3) on two different lasers. This is in direct violation of the number rule of laser usage, unsafe, and just generally uncool.

I know the rule of staying within arms reach of lasers while in operation, and while I never left the immediate area while the lasers were in operation, I clearly violated the rule. For that I apologize.

I could give a bunch of excuses about worrying I was going to be late for a meeting, no one else was in the queue, I was watching them both, etc… and while true, they would all be BS. I CHOSE to prioritize my personal project over the safety of the equipment and space. For that I apologize.

Stephanie and I talked this morning (mostly I listened), she relayed some of the immediate challenges she is currently facing- (people not paying for time, the makerspaces that have caught on fire because of the laser, etc… None of which I knew). I did not fully grasp the severity and repercussions of what could happen to the equipment and space, until that discussion. After hearing all of that, I agreed to publicly apologize. As I reflected on what I would say I came to conclusion that I could handle it one of two ways-

  1. Just fall on my sword to meet my commitment or
  2. Try to use this situation to get this one incredibly important point across.

Since I have already once today, “put my personal project over the safety of the equipment and space,” I opted to go with number 2. Here is the point- DMS is a special place and there are a lot of rules, some of them MUCH more important than others. Here are two examples-

Pull your k-cup out of the coffee pot BEFORE you remove your cup. If you break that one the counter might get dirty- that makes you a crappy roommate.

Don’t stay within arms reach of the laser. If you break that one the space might burn down- that takes away a place that is special to a lot of people (including me) and makes you a crappy person.

I try hard to be a good roommate. Today I was more crappy person. I apologize.

Take it from me, let me be your “cautionary tale”-

Tim

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Humility is the greatest sir gun of leadership. We sincerely appreciate your candid submission with the intention of maintaining the greater good, sir

— RAD

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sign of leadership…stupid autocorrect.

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Be careful where you point that sir gun. :slight_smile:

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Sorry to hijack your thread, but I have a question.

Suppose you are running a job, and need to step away. Another member running their own job should NOT be asked to watch yours as well correct? The rule is there so you have eyes on the laser right? @heyheymama ?

The second member’s answer should be “no I can’t watch your job, I’m watching mine”.

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Excellent question. You are correct. One does not have a really good view of two machines. Plus the whole “arms reach” thing. We have a 4-stage fire suppression system: you, CO2 line, fire extinguisher, fire alarm. The last 3 don’t work without the first. A laser fire threatens the whole facility and everyone in it, not just a $15,000 laser.

The wiki addresses how you can safely leave your laser: https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Laser_Committee#MUST_watch_laser_for_the_duration_of_your_job.

We had always had an unwritten rule because, hello, bathroom breaks! I put it and other unwritten rules in writing this week, so it’s worth reading the whole set.

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Tim, thank you for your apology and having the fortitude to post it knowing you could have had multiple people come down on you. Two things: I appreciate how this was handled and I really appreciate the gracious responses from our fellow makers.

Now if I can find out who keeps leaving the microwave oven with .01 seconds left on the timer…

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Beep, your BoB from Taco Bueno is reheated.

Totally unacceptable. Grounds for a permaban IMO :joy:

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Math skilz. I got them.

You can always pause the job. Place a BIG note with a contact # would probably work

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That option is written in the wiki.

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