Sunday, October 29, 2017

Bi-Coastal Fixit Clinics This Saturday November 4

We've got two Fixit Clinics this Saturday (November 4) on both coasts of the United States.

1) Fixit Clinic CCXXXVII (237) Honan-Allston Branch, Boston Public Library

As shown in the photos: Rob Gogan at Harvard University already has the library tastefully decorated with our logo.



see it on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/213316409202549/
and on Google+ https://plus.google.com/events/cdgh77a2gu3vdsk3gsveee87llk

2) Fixit Clinic CCXXXVIII (238) Solano County Library - Springstowne Library, Vallejo, CA

This is our second Fixit Clinic at this library (their inaugural Fixit Clinic was in mid-April.)


First-time Fixit Coaches are always welcome at all events: sign up here http://goo.gl/xS1MRK. And if you’ve got friends who you think might make good Fixit Coaches please encourage them to sign up too or just show up and observe.

Thrilled to have Fixit Clinics happening on both coasts in one day.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Saturday's San Mateo County Fixit Clinic


(We'll be at 455 County Center, 1st floor, Room 101)

We're excited to be holding a Fixit Clinic this Saturday Oct 28 11AM-2PM at the San Mateo County Center in Redwood City. See it on the web here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1609002885787381/,
https://plus.google.com/events/c430ak01u3b64cs2bm3vgn1pmkk,
http://www.bayareascience.org/calendar/index.php?eID=21221
(and see the text announcement at the bottom)

As always: we're looking for new Fixit Coaches: sign up here: http://goo.gl/xS1MRK ?
Basics on Fixit Coaching are on our web site: http://fixitclinic.blogspot.com/p/coaches-corner.html (let me know if this can be clearer.) And if you've got friends you think might make good Fixit Coaches please encourage them to sign up as well or just show up and observe.

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Fixit Clinic CCXXXVI (236) San Mateo County Center

Celebrating repair by conveying basic troubleshooting skills, Fixit Clinics are do-it-together hands-on STEM-oriented fix-n-learn community-based exploration and discovery workshops where neighbors, friends, and families work collectively to learn about and repair their broken items.

So bring your broken, non-functioning things -- electronics, appliances, computers, toys, sewing machines, bicycles, fabric items, etc.-- for assessment, disassembly, and possible repair. We'll provide 1) workspace 2) specialty tools and 3) volunteer Fixit Coaches to consult with you on the disassembly and troubleshooting of your item.

Whether you fix it or not, you'll learn more about how it was manufactured and how it worked, ready to share your new-found confidence and insight with your friends, neighbors, and the community at large. (Hopefully you’ll be inspired to become a Fixit Coach yourself.)

WHAT: Fixit Clinic CCXXXVI (236) San Mateo County Center
WHEN: Saturday, Oct 28 11AM-2PM
WHERE: San Mateo County Center 455 County Center, 1st floor, Room 101, Redwood City 94063
HOW: Register at http://goo.gl/qTzh9J then
- Bring your broken item with all parts necessary to recreate the symptoms (carry-in only: no oversize items)
- Bring any parts and tools you already own that might be helpful (e.g. hand tools, sewing supplies)
- Come ready to describe what’s wrong and what you’ve tried  (advance web research is helpful)
- Come ready to learn and to share your knowledge with others
WHO: An all-ages family-friendly event: accompanied children are heartily invited!
COST: Free!
WHY: To make friends, learn and teach how to fix things, and have fun!
First-time Fixit Coaches always welcome; sign up here: http://goo.gl/kwVNlv

Sponsored by the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability http://www.smcsustainability.org/

More into on Fixit Clinic at www.fixitclinic.org, https://www.facebook.com/FixitClinic/, https://plus.google.com/+FixitClinic
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Hope to see you there! -Peter

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Fixit Coaches and Autonomous RC Car Racing

Among the things we're most proud of with Fixit Clinic of is the community of Fixit Coaches we've gathered under the banner of teaching repair to the broader community. When you bring wonderful people like this together their interests and passions are bound to manifest in other ways.

Here in Northern California a bunch of the Fixit Coaches have gotten together to form an autonomous RC car racing team: they meet with others in a warehouse in Oakland, California to build, test, and race autonomous RC cars with the intent of developing and refining ideas around collision avoidance, passing, and path optimization that may someday make their way into full-size passenger vehicles.

Here's a professionally-developed video showing what the scene in the Oakland warehouse is like featuring Fixit Coaches Charles Glorioso, Dave Coleman, and Peter Mui.

Learn more about the autonomous RC car events here: https://www.meetup.com/DIYRobocars/