Saskatoon TechWorks Forum

Whoops, forgot to do this.

Hey all, i'm Sol
Final year of Computer Eng. at the UofS.
I like playing around with digital electronics and shiz,
also pretty musically inclined...
and i like working on cars?

I'm about the whitest brown guy you'll ever meet...aside from Paul.

Cheers.
-Sol

Hello all,

I'm Ethan.
I'm in my 3rd year of Mechanical Engineering at the U of S.
I started building combat robots in grade 9.
I am currently co-building a nano sumo for the U of S robotics club.
I play the drums.
I have a heat transfer final tomorrow morning.

Welcome Metro!
How did you find out about us? Wanna post some write-ups about the nano-sumo?

Hello,

I'm Matt.
I graduated from the UofS in 2006 (EP and CS.. wow time flies). Right now I'm living in Edmonton doing electronics design, but I'll likely be moving back to Stoon within a couple years.

I'm currently on the board of dirctors for the Edmonton Hackerspace (Edmonton New Technology Society http://www.ents.ca).

Projects/Interests:
Robots/machine vision/light kinect experimenting
CNC/metalworking
DIY electric bike (3.5Kw outrunner BLDC, LiPo batteries)
homebrew RFID system for ENTS (ties space access to a central db with user data (for access) as well as credits (rfid enabled vending machine))
old motorcycles

I'm very excited at the prospect of Saskatoon getting a hackerspace! I wish the next meeting was going to be before January, as I will be in town for the next two weeks and would have liked to attend.

DigitalOSH wrote:Welcome Metro!
How did you find out about us? Wanna post some write-ups about the nano-sumo?

Sol told me about you guys. I also know some other members through the Saskatoon Combat Robotics Club (SCRC) and U of S Robotics Club.

As for the nano, we're planning to do lots of work over x-mas break. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures for you all.

Hello, I'm Andrew Bergman. I manage the IT Department of a software development company in Innovation Place, mostly do vitual infrastructure and network administration all day. The idea of a hackerspace has intrigued me for a while, I read hackaday.com every morning =)

Hi! Colleen Hardie. Software developer in a leadership role for Vecima Networks. Background in computer science and neuropsychology. I like robots that do my housework and/or feed my cat. PAK CHOOIE UNF.

Hello all, I am Tim. Was the host tonight. My background is electrical engineering and am now working as a test engineer at Vecima Networks. Started doing a lot more scripting and network management, but I still work on electronics hardware in my spare time.

I too like robotics, and want to get into some wood working in the near future.

Hey everybody. I'm James Cooper and I graduated from the U of S in 2007 with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. I'm currently working as a software developer for a startup company called Solido Design Automation in Innovation Place. I am friends with and have worked with several people here and have shared classes with many of you.

I like working on both sides of the fence. I have more experience in software development, because it's easier to get into, but I have a love for electronics and want to further my experience at designing and building circuits. Some of my past projects included:

• A universal learning remote control
• An OBDII (onboard diagnostics) monitor for vehicles
• A pointing-based interface like that in the movie Minority Report

Some of the projects I look forward to working on are:

• Building an autonomous lawnmower (building a new control board for a busted Robomow RL500)
• Building a quadrotor helicopter (that I plan to eventually be capable of autonomous flight)
• Writing Android apps (ideas?)
• Writing a NES game

Aside from that, I also enjoy teaching (taught some tutorials and labs in university and still tutor in math), singing karaoke, setting world records in NES games, and playing board games. I also spend a lot of my free time building and fixing computers.

The biggest thing that has held me back on my projects (aside from free time) is having access to a space where I can work and the (often expensive) tools it takes to get into electronics. Since graduating, I've also found it difficult to get together with people who have experience in these areas to share ideas and continue learning about design. I've always wanted something like a hackerspace and look forward to working together with you all to make this a reality. I believe that we can accomplish much more when we share our knowledge, ideas, and tools, rather than hoarding them.

And as if the word count on this post didn't make it obvious, I love sharing ideas.

Hey everyone, my name is Jeremy Rans and I'm currently employed by the UofS as a Programmer. I'm also still in the process of finishing up my Computer Science degree and I'm the Vice President of the Computer Science Students' Society. My skill-set is mainly based around software (mobile, web, low-level) but I also love to tinker with electronics and cars. Woodworking is also something that interests me.

Oh, it may be worth mentioning that I was in charge of S-LAN for a bit (a group that ran a few ~100 people LAN parties like 5 or so years ago); at the meeting I was pretty sure I recognized one or two of you guys from that.

Looking forward to meeting more of you!