Monday 24 October 2011

A New Manufacturing Paradigm

I was trawling the Web recently, not really paying much attention to where I ended up.

I checked out the usual sites - nothing that caught my attention.
Clicked on a few links just because, and ended up here.

Now I have seen milling machines in action before. I have watched one create 4 custom automotive wheel centres from a huge hunk of aluminium. And now I can buy that sort of capability for under $10,000. Heck, if all I wanted was the basic option, it's not much more than $5,000.

Let me put that in perspective - for not much more than the price of a decent used car, I can buy the capability to make almost ANYTHING that can be machined from plastic, wood, or metal.

You want a replacement part for something - source the right raw material and MAKE it.

No longer will you be held hostage by a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer over a widget for your doo-hickey. If the part they are selling is too expensive - source the right raw material and MAKE it.

I think I might invest in a company that sells raw materials for home CNC.

Breaking News - 24/10/11

I just checked - the Victorian Minister for Gaming is STILL a poor apology for a politician. He is so low that he would need to look up with a 40x telescope to see a snake's belly in a swamp.

Saturday 22 October 2011

CHOGM and the onset of the police state

Joy of joys, CHOGM is coming to Perth.

Apparently this worthless gab-fest is something to celebrate, and features visits by Really Important People that the world cannot do without. So much so that the police need special powers to protect them because they are far too precious to lift a finger to protect themselves.

Of course, it is of no consequence whatsoever that the new laws abridge the rights of the ordinary denizen of the city, to the extent that police will have the power to stop and search any person in a "designated area" without reason.

For some insane reason, the police themselves will be trusted to decide which areas are so designated, and have already indicated that the roads on which the delegates travel to and from various functions will be considered a "designated area" for the purposes of the legislation and the additional powers.

If nothing happens, the refrain will be; "See, the laws worked. We need them everywhere, all the time." If something DOES happen, the refrain will be: "See, we need stronger laws."

We cannot win, the police state is already here.

Breaking News

In the latest news, just in, the Victorian Minister for Gaming is STILL a self-serving, scum-sucking, political weasel, with less back-bone than a jelly-fish.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Some pigs are more equal ...

It seems that the Minister for Gaming in the Victorian government is such a precious flower that he can't stand criticism.

So much so that his colleagues (and opponents) in parliament have seen fit to propose a law making it an offence to insult him. The penalty is a fine of up to $11, 945 for anyone who "assaults, obstructs, hinders, threatens, abuses, insults, or intimidates" the minister or authorised persons exercising "due diligence" in monitoring gambling systems such as pokies.

In light if this, I wish to make it known that I believe the Victorian Minister for Gaming is a pusillanimous coward, unfit to hold elected office, and abysmally unfit for the duties of his portfolio.