[hackerspaces] Cabin Fever Expo

[john arclight]

I've also noticed that the average age of attendees at hacker conventions
and similar events in the U.S. has gone up considerably. There used to be a
lot of punk kids at these, and now I see a lot more 20 and 30s aged people.
I'm not sure if this is because everyone is at home glued to
IM/gaming/Myspace, or if parents are more risk averse and don't let their
kids get out any more.

Arclight



On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 10:32 AM, Hank The Curmudgeon
<hkrishman at gmail.com>wrote:

> The machines pictured in the slide show are truly amazing! Notice the
> size and construction details.
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/22103061@N00/sets/72157623211731766/show/with/4275473316/
> Be sure to check out the gasoline powered pogo stick towards the end
> of the presentation!
>
> Keep in mind that all of this stuff was built, typically in a garage
> or basement, with tools and equipment that would be found in a
> hackerspace with a well appointed metal working shop. And I seriously
> doubt there was any CNC to be found in these models.
>
> Cabin Fever Expo: http://www.cabinfeverexpo.com/
>
> I feel a bit of social commentary is in order: Did you take any notice
> of the people manning the display tables and of the crowd in general?
> All of retirement age or better. Where were was the 15-49 age group?
> Can I assume that the skills and interest in spending 100+ hours to
> build from scratch, to operate and maintain such machines, fully
> functional in every detail, is going to disappear with that
> generation? What does this indicate of the skill sets to produce
> machines at full scale? Perhaps it is true what the pundits are saying
> about America: We, as a country, no longer produce anything
> [physical]. Your typical urban high school, where the machinist was
> historically groomed to start their apprenticeship, no longer has in-
> house shops of any type. I am deeply concerned and saddened by this
> trend.
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.hackerspaces.org/pipermail/discuss/attachments/20100118/ed5f734b/attachment.html>