Microship Volunteer Project Catalog
Microship LAD model (Lego Aided Design), by Pender, age 8
First amphibian test sail, west shore of Camano Island, WA
We are fortunate to have dozens of volunteers worldwide, scattered around various industries and specialties. The Net holds this all together, of course... and every "Microship Status" posting to the nomadness mailing list not only triggers answers to any questions that pop up but generates help offers as well.
The only problem is that holding this complex enterprise together for 10 years has taught me to respect good managers, as I am definitely not one. It's exceedingly difficult to assess the skills and interests of someone based on a couple of pieces of email, then assign them some critical component of a complex intertwined system -- even though there have been some spectacular successes through our "Geek's Vacation" program in which folks take a break from their real jobs, fly out to stay with us for a week or two, and conjure technomagic from whatever mysterious blend of specialties and synergies manifests itself as a result.
But this still leaves us with a wonderful yet underutilized asset: standing offers from quite a few people who wonder aloud how they can contribute to the Microship project. It finally occurred to me that the best approach is to keep a current public list of projects and tasks that I consider "portable" and invite anyone interested to look it over and see what looks appealing. So... if you'd like to become part of this mad adventure, please read on!
What are the rewards? Every good deal has to be a win-win at some level, and brilliant people always have plenty to do. So why pour creative energy into someone else's project?
Well, quite a few motivations have surfaced over the years. Publicity, of course, is valuable in any career path... we share the spotlight at every opportunity, crediting all work, linking to peoples' websites, and sometimes even sharing bylines in technical articles. Some people have benefitted even more from the connections and contacts that result from working alongside so many wizards and representatives of high-tech companies. There have been spinoff ventures, job offers, and even marriages resulting from first meetings in the Microship lab (or the bikelab before it). Oh, and don't forget the volunteer T-shirts, nights of beer and pizza, and random project surplus goodies!
It's all of that, but sometimes the best motives are pure and hard to quantify... the simple joy of creating something new, being appreciated for one's skills, performing the smoke test at 3 AM, watching something you fabricated become part of a complex system, hanging out with interesting people, and doing something utterly geeky just for the fun of it. If this whole mad undertaking stirs something within you, you are invited to participate!
OK, enough rhapsodizing... the current project list is here. If something sounds intriguing and you want to give it a go, please let me know!
Cheers and thanks,