Whats most valueable skill you have learned at the Space?
3D Printing is for me.
I use it everyday in my life, personal and sometimes for work.
Anyone else have a skill that they have learned and use often now because someone was kind enough to teach them?
Diplomacy.
Networking. My last 4 jobs were directly related to contacts I’ve made through DMS.
Wood lathe.
Multicam by far.
It has to be a toss-up between total tech, and how to deal with OCD people. I’ve learned soooo much about people on the “Spectrum” hanging out at the Space. I never before realized how much people on the “Spectrum” contributed to human evolution, and how much work they had actually contributed until I saw it in action. It has been a learning experience.
I don’t disparage or discount people who have this condition, rather, I celebrate it. It is one of the things which distinguishes us as human and Americans. I say, “Nerd On!”
Seriously, don’t stop. This is the heartbeat of America. NERD ON!
How to manage complex projects like running a makerspace or importing regulated industrial equipment from another country. A close second place is how to gauge people like trustworthiness, reliability, and skill level. Both have played significant roles in my career.
In terms of hands-on stuff related to a committee it would be automotive repair and maintenance which has come in handy so many times. The thousands of dollars I’ve paid in dues over the years have been more than offset by all of the money I’ve saved on automotive repair and maintenance.
Patience would be a big one over the past decade of our little experiment
It’s been an amazing place for learning for our whole family. Personally I started with some 3D printing, Painting, Sewing, Lathe, Vinyl cutting, Glass etching, Glass beads and fusing, Stone polishing, print making, steam roller print, T-shirt making, wire wrapping, Photography, Ceramics, slip casting, hand building, throwing, kiln loading, getting into some more soft skills.
Car repair, hands down. I expected to spend most of my time at DMS on 3D printing or wood stuff, but I feel like much of it has been car stuff.
Getting back to using my AutoCAD skills once again to create all the engineering drawings for DMS Expansion. I started using AutoCAD with version 2.0, that was way back in 1984. Yes, AutoCAD has been around that long, it’s older than a lot of the folks at DMS.
For those of you that remember the TIPC (Texas Instruments Professional Computer), the IBM PC clone that Texas Instruments built. In 1983 the TIPC had better color graphics than the IBM. I was the person that legally modified AutoCAD to work with the graphics card on the TIPC. Working with the creators of AutoCAD, I was able to peek and poke the installed program file to change the video resolution and timing parameters. TI then sold their version of AutoCAD along with my installation file. Those were fun days back then.
Teaching is a skill I rediscovered at DMS. second is Laser and just a hint of metal shop.