James Pray Log

Looking for Template to "Log"

March 2014

3.25.14

Recently worked on getting people together for Mass Farm Hack, OSE Massachusetts remote collaboration, and looking to create a National Young Farmers Coalition Massachusetts. All of these groups can work together to utilize community gardens and land more successfully, as well as produce things to boost the economy and work towards building the things in the OSE civilization starter kit. Built Current facebook page for "hack mass"- hopefully a group where people from mass can work on Farm Hack stuff, OSE stuff, or any sort of hacking is -->https://www.facebook.com/pages/HackMass/225574397638960 National Young Farmers Coalition Mass --> https://www.facebook.com/FarmMass .

3.17.14

Since last update Barn contract was lost. Engine lift sold. Still have rest of mechanical tools. Looking to make a Mass Hack group for hacking hardware, devices, farm equipment (Farm Hack), as well as bring together my local community via community gardening and farming. Created stub pages for National Young Farmers Coalition, as well as Hack Mass (goal again of having Farm Hack Mass and an OSE Remote group in Massachusetts).

September 2013

9.17.13

Acquired monitors for bartering work today after work. Seeking to extend lease for barn space for possible Fab Lab.

9.6.13

Half done bartering work to acquire Mac Pro and multiple monitor set up for Boston Fab Lab/ personal CAD usage. Have opportunity to acquire multiple other machines for other possible collaborators preferably in the Boston area to see things come to fruition. Finishing work on lease for year for shop this weekend, shop will be available for work until end of December 2013. Acquiring Boston collaborators as being a remote supporter is difficult, being more hands on, continued CAD training today.

9.2.13

Looking to become mainly self sustaining through a construction company- New England Masonry (Website NewEnglandMasonryandSon.Com until NewEnglandMasonry.com is acquired through auction), I am hoping to find work through grassroots and regular marketing to fund Boston Fab Lab and research for OSE FeF. New England Masonry's Facebook page and mobile website updated today, working on redesigning the main website for a minimalist approach, worked on mostly marketing of FB site today. Other than Boston Fab Lab a company I have always wanted to build that could bring in revenue, that I attempted to start some time ago I may dust off for direct funding into projects that could possibly promise prototypes and/or functional designs based on OSE's open source designs- Vehement Technologies LLC. FB page, twitter, linked in, etc are already in place. Will continue to try and build sustainable income and companies while learning CAD and getting some designs laid out. Part of the bartering I do for computer gear should result in a Mac Pro with multiple 27" monitors in the next week or two, which will help facilitate learning CAD and designs side by side with OSE's guidelines, etc. Please feel free to contact me for any Boston interest, as well as interest in work being done in construction/ masonry, or possibly funding ideas.

August 2013

8.20.13

Was in a bad car accident in January 2013. Looking to get back onto cement mixer project, still looking to acquire welder as well as ramp up with CAD, now using AutoCAD trial as no longer have access to Windows machine or AutoDesk, and am using a Macbook Pro. Main concern is keeping storage unit with all tools and resources, which has a lease expiring the end of December 2013, as well as acquiring welder and people to help as a one man development unit will probably be fruitless. Feel free to e-mail me if you are a potential collaborator/contributor for the Boston/New England area.

December 2012

12.20.12

Have been very busy lately with work, family, etc. Quite possibly found a collaborator, and/ or someone to buy a welder off of. A Millermatic 251 for $1000, hoping I can barter and set up some sort of agreement as this seems to be a good sized MIG, capable of aluminum, etc. Will get back to it after Christmas. Need to get job in NH moving, will be working more on AutoDesk once caught up in regular work. Hopefully gathering collaborators and resources over the next two weeks as well as working on mixer

12.16.12

Worked on job in NH, large stone wall. Laid out close to 125 feet of foundation. Took pictures of wall/ staging, also of cement mixer on job and all its parts. Will upload those later as they are on my iPhone. Which is dead. As well as my car which died suddenly after I had the lights shining on the wall as I worked into the night. Waited over an hour for a jump, AAA was too late, a kid stopped and offered a jump, thank god,I was freezing! Currently at new apartment, doing more AutoDesk. Will try to get mixer pictures, separate parts online soon, as well as up to speed on AutoDesk to get the parts mapped out on there. Still in need of a welder and a generator. Job in NH would be a lot faster with a Bobcat/ machine of some sort. Unable to afford one, or to build OSE model.

12.15.12

Worked regular job in the morning, moved into new apartment at night before family Christmas Party! Fit in some AutoDesk, did part of a tutorial as it is a lot different than I remember!

12.14.12

Braced chimney to keep in line with bartering agreement for space to work on cars/ build OSE Cement Mixer, among other things. Took pictures of some of the tools/ resources I have available. They include an engine lift, stand, hand tools, etc.

12.13.12

Looking more into cement/ cement mixer. Possibly may contact "refmin@verizon.net" Refractory Minerals Inc, referenced in Cement, to see what their takes are on some sort of alternative to lime, depending on region, to mixing a sustainable material that holds and (a)bodes well (pun intended!). Seems Refractory Minerals has changed to Phosphate Bonds, and nfo@phosphatebonds.com. Looking for best CAD software for Cement Mixer. Familiar with first iterations of Google Sketchup. Will try to get familiar with it to get cement mixer mapped out and in CAD files by 1/12/13.

12.12.12

Continued finding members for OSE and open source electronics hardware stuff. Generally just trying to create momentum about open source stuff, a DIY attitude, through social media sites, mainly facebook. A lot of people interested, so far I have a former electronic engineer classmate, a mechanical engineer friend/ previous classmate, a metalworker, and a distant relative who is from P.E.I. who seems to be interested. An excellent remote collaborator, all friends local very resourceful.

Got the Bill of Materials laid out basically for the Cement Mixer Updated Research and Development [age of Cement Mixer, specifically Research and Overview, in which I mapped out Project Status and Schedule under Overview, as not to overlap someone else's work in the project status/ schedule.

12.11.12

Filled in more information on my template. Added my resume, also added my picture that is the same associated with my Google+ account. Just had déjà-vu a to people looking back at "what people did back in that time,before such simple things were open source, and common knowledge". Read the rules of the Wiki, checked out the cement mixer, read what was there, checked the history for the page to be sure nobody currently owned the project. Started my ideas, overflowed late into yesterday morning with cement mixer/ DIY thoughts fling through my head, watched Marcin's Ted talk/ Dedicated visit part, paused on the "Open source software/ hardware" part, I have worked with a lot of the open source software stuff to a degree.

I then proceeded to check out RepRap, Lasersaur, etc, got pretty pumped as I have not been back to hardware stuff in almost two years, it has come very far!