Ghana Days 1 &2 plus requests for stuff
July 11, 2004
From Lassiter

Just FYI the humidty monitor today reads 100%...Need I state that it's the rainy season in Taadi?

Let me reiterate that TTI is going to be a great location for the Fab Lab.  We were greeted Saturday by most of the teachers and many of the students we'll be working with in the coming weeks.  They helped us unpack and set up the Fab Lab in our (hopefully) permanent space. TTI just finished painting the room yesterday, and the plaster on the walls is still drying, but it's spacious and electrically wired and has many of the comforts of home. I think this room was slated to be an Internet Cafe... and Amy thinks we  can combine the two uses to have a really really  cool internet cafe. (The board of TTI may or may not agree...) All of the tables, stools and bookshelves were made here at TTI in the Shop (so the concept of fabrication is At Home here)-- and the furniture is of good quality.  The students and teachers are very enthusiastic and  helped us put everything together.   They had the laser stand, compressor and blower for the laser cutter assembled and ready  within minutes!

The good news is that everything seems to have arrived with little, if any, damage.  The computers are up and running and Amy has successfully networked them.  The plotter works, the laser cutter works (wirelessly no less!) and the Modela will be checked this afternoon. If all goes well, we'll start classes tomorrow as hoped.   Isaac Ezeh, from the electrical department, will be the lead organizer for TTI.  He gave me a list yesterday of    participants they plan to include so far.  The list contains 7 TTI  teachers (2 females, 5 males), 16 TTI students (12 males, 4 females) all drawn from mechanical, welding, electrical, plumbing and auto departments.  Additionally TTI has identified 15 children under the age of 14  from the community who will participate (again mostly males, but looks like about 4 females).  The hardest group for us to find and draw in will be the adults from the community, and Isaac is working to identify that group as well.   Amy and I are scratching our heads trying to think of a quick project we can begin with that will be fun and immediately gratifying for our students and teachers tomorrow.  Since everyone always loves the laser cutter, we'll probably start with a project on that machine.  

Just for fun we set the students loose with the video camera yesterday, with great results.  They were interviewing each other and having a ball.  Natural film makers. We'll definitely do that again!  

As I type, the baby goats wander around outside bleating under our windows, large gray and yellow lizards  scurry up and down a nearby tree, and the hymns of several church congregations  around us mingle with the songs of  birds and blaring car horns and  Sunday morning chatter.   It's a great day.  

Now for some biz...

SUSAN:
We need Raffi's home and cell phone numbers. Amy needs a consult with him.  She's doing really well on her own but she does need a consult.

I'd put Neil up in as nice a hotel as you can find in Takoradi. MIT should pay,  and for political purposes let the mayor's office know that we don't want to burden them with the expense.  I think Neil's not going to be happy in the Takoradi Beach Hotel.  Consult Rene, Bob Baafi or Reggie Jackson about how to handle this politically, and about location in Takoradi.  We are on/near the ocean but isolated from town and there is not internet service at our hotel that I can find.  (I have additionally been unable to get hot water, though Amy professes to having success in that quarter.)  Don't get me wrong, we're living well here and comfortably, and our hosts are gracious and generous.  I just think Neil will need some extra ammenities. 
 
Can you put together a Fed Ex pacakage for us?  Please send to:

Jurgen Zimare
Project Advisor 
Takoradi Technical Institute


Tel.#011-233-244-33-30311

Here is the list of stuff we need.  You  could send some of this with Neil, but if you could try to send some of this via Fed Ex this week so we can experiment with delivery service here, that would be swell.  If  Customs duty is due--you can note that the recipient ( Jurgen ) will pay it ( we'll pay it for Jurgen...)

*1 cheap label maker

*1 decent Dust Buster  PLEASE SEND NOW

*about 20 pairs of safety glasses

*a few rolls of gaffer tape

* 1 parallel cable PLEASE SEND NOW

*1 parallel extension cable (ask raffi)PLEASE SEND NOW

*1 serial extension cable (ask raffi)PLEASE SEND NOW

*Knoppix 3.0 CD for installation (ask neil- we somehow forgot to include this) PLEASE SEND NOW

*1 Lynksys Wireless-G PrintServer for USB 2.0 (ask raffi) Amy had a breakthrough today with the printserver ...she can skip some of the programming language in our ususal process and instruct the machines directly through the printer interface-- if that makes sense. PLEASE SEND NOW  

*A bunch more disposable box cutters/exacto knife things (a dozen or two)

*A couple of  brass fittings for Gast Compressor for Laser Cutter (see note to Neil/Guisti at end) PLEASE SEND NOW

*One black leatherlike or nice canvas briefcase  (soft not hard) for Jake with shoulder strap. Doesn't need one for laptop, just for papers and books.  He's done such a great job and we'd like to do something personal for him. We'd also like to personalize it for him .  If the briefcase has a place to put a monogrammed or engraved piece of brass or metal, that would be even cooler. Can Raffi or Manu or Amon or Joe  or some great person do the honors of making the personalized brass tag for it as well? If LL Bean catalogue sells the canvas ones, I know they have a fast monogramming service as well.  

*One good standard pair of pliers or a good wrench that you can vary size.  Not large, just average size.       

RAFFI:

One of the computers doesn't respond to the user ID and password "fab".  Did you set one of the Dells with a different user ID and password?  If so, to what?

Generally  Amy couldn't figure out how  to get Gnome up and running.  Is the H232 stuff in Boston ready to go?  

In case you haven't noticed, I packed all of the webcams...oops.  The two meant for SETC and MIT are here with me. Will bring them home -- but maybe you should go buy two more and set up and I'll return the two I have with me to MicroCener.   

Question from Amy:
"changed network ip address on options on laser cutter (192.168.1.254) with same as gateway and 255.255.255.0 as mask; connected with patch cable to linksys router.  unable to ping this address; is there a better way have router assign address and then manually program cutter or similar?  if I do so, can any machine use its own printserver (cups) to act as print server?  BTW, got linksys printserver working perfectly, but since only have one want to use on camm if I can get networked laser cutter to work.
Don't know how to Laser cutter to router with the network cable"

NEIL/JOE GUISTI:
The compressor for the Laser Cutter arrived with one of the brass fittings (the output side) damaged/bent. I think we can fix it well enough to operate, but the sealing, etc.  won't be as it should be. Can you order a few of these and ship one to us in the Fed Ex pacakage that Susan is prepping, and one in your suitcase? Joe Guisti can help identify exactly what we need... Not the fitting with the gold/brass filter on it, the one on the other side.