First class was a whirlwind, which I now understand is exactly as it will be every time. As close as you can get to downloading from the Matrix, here's half a dozen concepts, some resources to review, common issues, elegant solutions, and as soon as you start thinking about it, it's time to get out. But what else can you do? This is not an engineering class, it's an art class. This isn't an art class, it's a melting pot. This isn't a melting pot, it's a way of relating to the world.

Here's a goal. Here are your tools. Failure is expected. See what you can do.

Conceptually, I know exactly what I want to do. This clock has been in my head for... So long. An in(de)finite time. But making it manifest has been the struggle, and continues even now. It took me fifteen minutes to figure out how to draw a circle in FreeCAD. Actually, it took me ten minutes to figure out how to start a drawing. Then five minutes to figure out that the reason the circles were acting the way they were was because of the circle option I chose (three rim points, versus center and rim; I thought it would just break the circle into three equal arcs. I thought that would be more useful.).

Eventually, though, I decided to start with what I knew: InDesign.

So that gave me a... pretty basic sketch. Fine. Not exciting.

Then, back to FreeCAD, which is so unintuitive, and kept crashing on my machine. I got this far and stopped, deciding that I must be missing something. I tried a number of beginner-level tutorials which were sort of helpful? But often confusing, for reasons which didn't make sense to me. A thing wouldn't work, and then it would, and then it wouldn't again but I swear I was doing the same thing - but clearly not. The computer can't change its mind!

In our first section meeting, Julia told me she used OnShape, the browser version of SolidWorks (?), and so far that seems to work a bit better. At least, I've gotten 3D shapes out of my 2D sketches.

And yet, put together, they don't line up and I can't figure out how to move the button DOWN along the z-axis.

Clearly, I have a way to go.

End Week 0

I’ve started to think about the physical reality of the clock. What it will look like, what it will be made of. I have this really wonderful alarm bell, which I found during a hurricane* probably ten years ago. I wanted to use it for a different clock, the End of the World Clock, but I never really got that project off the ground.

It’s an alarm bell. It’s meant to be loud. And it’s some kind of metal – maybe copper? – designed to be struck. When I ring it with a knife (which always seems to be the best and handiest tool available), man, that sound just keeps going.

So. I know I want this bell to be part of this version of the clock, which is really just a prototype for a watch. This gives me a number of constraints:

• Minimum radius (as there must be room between the hand shaft, mechanism, and case for the bell) - 9-11 inches
• Timers must be able to activate the striker
• Striker must have enough force (power) to ring the bell

And a number of things to consider:

• Bell mount – I will probably take a hint from cymbal mounts, and sandwich the bell between (light) dampeners
• Striker material – metal (steel, silver) sounds great, but what does a softer material sound like?
• What about a piano striker? What about a brush?
• Strike type – single? Bounce? Brush? Wham? What happens when you hit it with things!?

*Tropical storm, more likely, but hurricane sounds better.

End Week 0