www.c3kc.org

This will likely be the last post to this blog and the last to go out the tubes on the current RSS feed.

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And finally, profit.

Craig Berscheidt and Michael Curry are our Makers of the Year:

Craig Berscheidt’s has worked very hard this year to get the CCCKC CNC up and running. And he dedicated much of his time, equipment and know-how to the 3D Printer community within CCCKC.

Michael Curry has been an outstanding representative of our hacker space and the hacker space and 3D printer movements across the nation. His work has appeared several times in well known maker/hacker blogs/sites and his design for an automated talking version of Steven Colbert’s head closed the Colbert Show on Comedy Central.

Craig and Michael will receive a one month membership voucher.

The CCCKC Mission Award goes to Chris Wilkson who, at great personal cost, has been giving members of the space lessons in analog electronics and general advice on electrical projects whenever they require his help.

For his self-less contributions to the space and it’s members we will be providing Chris with a full year membership.

Awards were presented to these members at the 2011 KC Maker Faire at Union Station.

To download and make your own, see the post on Thingiverse.

Several CCCKC and MakeKC members will be on hand to promote the coming event and talk about they’re projects. If you’re considering bringing something to the full Maker Faire, or you’re curious about CCCKC or you just want to see some really cool projects come down and find us.

If you manage to find the Art Incubator, we will be on the third floor in the South West corner.

You heard that right, grown-ups racing in children’s plastic cars. The Power Racing Series (PPPRS) is an event where Hacker/Whateverspaces turn those toys cars that everyone wanted but only stupid Brad from down the street owned (even though everyone hated him), into highly competitive sort-of racing machines.

We are due to receive the 2011 Rulebook soon but the “Big Five” are as follows.

• Any electric motor you can get your hand’s on up to 36V RMS (last year was 24V)
• Permission of Any wheels, (sans go-kart or racing slicks)
• $500 budget limit excluding safety costs (re; brakes) , powerwheels body, and batteries (with $150 you-took-this-too-seriously buyout which means the sanctioning body can buy any powerwheel for $150 if a team gets too serious)
• Dimensions limit (excluding height), which is currently 64″ x 35″.
• Teams will be required for inspection to prove these rules and be able to perform a 0-15-0mph test to prove power capability and the fact that it does indeed have a method of stopping.

Teams of 1-3 are recommended but we will have many volunteer opportunities for race day. We will need inspectors, track officials, pit crew staff, and more! Simply indicate on your Maker Faire application that you are also participating in the Race of Champions if you are also setting up an exhibit inside. Or submit a separate application for just your team, we want an accurate count to make sure your taken care of.

NOTE: Points accumulated here will count towards the championship race at Maker Faire: Detroit, there are nine out of states team that may compete so if you race here and Maker Faire Detroit you are in great shape to win!

We are waiting for 2011 changes to populate their website and rule book but you can check out last years below.

Official website (currently being updated): http://powerracingseries.org/

Follow the official discussion here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/power-racing-series/uArrNtPDkq0

Contact ppprs@makerfairekc.com with any questions or concerns.

What came out of that afternoon was one incredibly long domain name and the wiki.

There are a lot of milestones which could be used to mark CCCKC’s birth…incorporation, the grand opening, elections of the Board, etc. March 15th is, however, the first time that I took a step forward towards making this nutty idea a reality.

I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get together a single independent organization which could be self funded, so my idea was to try to unite local user groups under one roof.

The purpose of CCCKC is simple:

- Provide a space for local technology user groups to use for meetings and projects
- Support user groups through joint promotion, organization and cooperation
- Improve awareness of the strong technology community in the Kansas City area

Right now I’m thinking that the best way to organize and govern the organization is to have a board of directors which (in addition to officers) is comprised of representatives from each affiliated organization. The board of directors shall have a say in all decisions regarding the CCCKC headquarters such as scheduling, usage of space and access.

From the vault

I *never* thought that what I started on that rainy March day would lead to the things that the group has accomplished in the past three years.

Anyhow, my thanks go out once again to everyone who’s contributed to the growth of such a vibrant organization. Without you, all we would have would be a spam riddled wiki and another domain name that I continue to renew.

-John Benson, Founder

(posted by Luis Rodriguez)
Read the original Google Groups post.

We meet every Thursday, 7:00 p.m., in a cave, come help CCCKC continue to grow! You ARE cool enough!

NOTE: It’s totally unedited, and the first 23:00 minutes is general meeting stuff for our members in the cloud tonight. You have been warned.

Topics:

• Plexus 2 [23:20-58:50]
• Thumbdrive Security [58:50]
• Federal First Responder Certifications [1:05:05]
• GameBoy Classic LCD Hack Progress [1:14:30]
• HammerSpace [1:17:30]
• Penguin Con Plug [1:31:50]
• Call for CCCKC SciFi Club Interest [1:33:10]

Or if that breaks: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13071305

At our Thursday meeting this week our resident CNC guru, Craig B., gave a primer for members and guests alike. That overview video can be viewed here (50 mins). Members will have to be trained and certified before being allowed to operate the machine. Stay tuned for information about future training opportunities.

Only 20 kits are available so make sure you’ve contacted atomicc@ccckc.org to reserve yours. Kits are $4. If you have a soldering iron you can bring please do, we only have a limited number in the space.

The kit’s are based on this instructable.