Virtual Machine shop.

Here's something I found posted by Dan Clemmensen <dgc@cox.net> on Extropy Chat:

There is a company at

  http://www.emachineshop.com

That has a completely web-based business model. You start by downloading their software, which is fairly nice CAD program, at no
cost. It's proprietary Windows software, and the license requires that you refrain from using it to create designs that you then fabricate
elsewhere, but it's free.

In addition to being a fairly good CAD program, the software has some neat features::
   1) You can select materials from an extensive list including dozens of plastics, steels, and aluminiums, and lots of other metals.
   2) You select a machine (e.g, punch, 3-axis mill, tap) for each line or set of lines.
   3) You select "finishes" for each surface.
   3) After you design your part, or at any time during the design, the program can evaluate whether or not the design can actually be machined.
   4) The program computes a set of prices for the part, based on delivery time and quantity.

After you are happy with your design, you select the quantity and the delivery time, and click on the "purchase" button. The program sends the design to the
company, and the company sends the parts back by mail.

Bad Morning, No cookie!

So, morning came too early today. I got to sleep around 6:00 yesterday (actually this morning) and woke at 12:30. Thats not really enough sleep for me, but I've been getting up later and later, so I decided to get up and get myself some coffee.  Well, there wasn't any coffee waiting, which is what I expected, but there also wasn't any coffee in the freezer where we keep it, nor was there the container we keep it in. I looked around for the container, but didnt see it. Then I foggily remembered taxlady saying that we were out of ground coffee and would have to open the emergency stash or grind some beans. Well, I had found some beans and the location of the emergency cache didn't come readily to mind, so I measured out and started grinding beans.

I had just finished when my SO, (woken by the noise, no doubt), asked why I just didn't open one of the new packages of coffee she had bought yesterday, and was I planning to take another try at the sink?  She then promptly went back to sleep.  So, I made coffee with the grounds I had just ground, and bailed out the sink while waiting for my coffee to drip. Then I noticed that the sink plunger was missing...  So, I threw up my hands, got my coffee and went upstairs to sulk. If I'm going to deal with things when I first get up, I need them to not have large amounts of complications attached...

(BTW, yesteday I thought to look up advice for dealing with frozen kitchen drains on the Internet. "Probably all they will say is pour salt down the drain", I thought. Sure enough, that's what they all recommend. So, why hadn't I ever tried that?  I dunno, so I tried it. So far, no luck.)

Because YOU wanted to know!

Little Sally Beaterman (8) of Wi, asked us: "How does our kitchen's laser cheese cutter work?"

Well, we're glad you asked! The explanation can be found here.

Next week: Nuclear Gas-Core Pogosticks.