I first heard about this course one year ago. Since then, almost every person i've spoken with have mentioned this course at least once when I asked for recommended courses. With each story there were also "horror" stories about how much time this course takes from you. Last night I realized how true everyone were - but it's not because of Neil Gershenfeld, it's because of myself! I can't help it when it gets to learning new skills, I just can't do a half-work and that feeling almost everyone here feels. Imagine doing something you enjoy, wouldn't you want to do it all the time?
So lets zoom in on this week's project. We were asked to sketch->3d model->animate a final project that we currently think we'll do in the last week of the course. My PI, Andrew Lippman, told me that this year is the right time to reach for the stars, aim high and miss, fail, make yourself uncomfortable - explore and expand. So I thought what the hell, lets try to create a Hoverboard. People are working on it, but it will only be available in 2015 and will cost a lot.. Oh and by the way, Andy is not happy with my choice. Probably because it doesn't help save the world in any way - but he's probably wrong. It helps me learn new skills, get me out of my comfort zone which eventually may lead to another project that will be meaningful in global scale.
I started by drawing my concept - I can't draw! but after couple of trials, I did something that people other than myself (for example, my wife Michal) understood - so i'm happy :)
Next came SolidWorks. There were plenty of other programs to choose from, I started with this one since a fellow student gave me a student version of it. The beginning was hell. Nothing worked as I wanted. Ten hours later, i'm starting to feel better. Last night I worked on my model up until 04:00 - not because I had to, but because it was fun! especially seeing the model half-baked. Now I only wish I had more time to continue improving my design but hey, need to continue towards the laser/vinyl cutting machines.
See ya next week, when hopefully i'll show pictures of my very own (very much needed!) clothes stand
