Bless those who use their volunteer mojo to distribute free passes to us lazy slack bastards who can’t be bothered to get an early discounted ticket: Em was kind enough to offer me a pass which was a wonderful way to end a truly suck-ass week of invasive dentistry, stoopifying painkillers and craptacular health. The weather was gorgeous as I headed out to the expo grounds fairly late in the afternoon. Bug, Em and I did a round of the craft booths, then I was sucked into the scrap metal and Tap Plastics area. We watched some laser etchings in progress and I got a sweet t-shirt featuring a lady drumming with a screaming tiger for a head. ISHians were out in force and kicked ass in bringing the fountain out. It seemed like a respite spot for folks who had had a lot of robot and tesla coils buzzing about all day and just needed a break. Jack, Sarah, Dr. John and JP brought out a crazy cake-pinball machine and rescued me with a fizzy water when I was starting to wilt.
My favorite project this year was a model train setup (HO scale, of course, shout out to my Dad!) made by an architect who had a knack for finding perfect mid-century flotsam, glueing it together and backlighting it. It was a lovely 50s sci-fi City of The Future! setup and I loved it for combining such an old school nerd hobby with sexy junk recycling by way of Amazing Stories circa 1954. Update: I found the builder’s url - http://sites.google.com/site/megamodelsite/ The day was capped off by a very wrong gypsyPunkMarchingBand from Chicago who freaking rocked.
The weirdos were out in force and many brought their kids. Freaks in training: I’m for it.
db | 19-Oct-08 at 10:21 pm | Permalink
That model train setup sounds like the awesomest thing ever. I’ve been doing a little bit of this lately for a project and it’s kicking my ass; my respect for the kind of detail and patience this work takes is endless. If you come across any documentation let me know!
fing | 22-Oct-08 at 9:35 am | Permalink
I’ve just started hearing about this “Makers Faire” thing a few years ago, and am sorry I missed it. When I return to Austin, that’s the sort of thing I think I will like to do with my time. (Plus this really cute girl from Brooklyn has friends who go…I’m starting to wonder if she’s right and that Brooklyn is the “nexus of coolness,” just because it’s full of yummy people.)