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Return of the EXPERT

EXPERT

Back in 2009 I took this photo of myself with EXPERT written on the whiteboard behind me. I had no grandiose scheme when I took the photo. It was taken at the office of z2 Marketing, in the conference room. I’ll admit, part of the reason I took the “EXPERT” photo had to do with a (slight) jab at people who were declaring themselves “experts” at the time. The photo gets used a lot when someone posts an article and needs a photo that depicts an expert or expertise.

When the photo is used, people who know me tend to tell me about it, which is nice, as it’s fun to track the usage of the photo. Of course I really do like to get credit for my work, so if you use it, please credit it properly, because I am also an expert in Creative Commons.

The most recent use is in an article titled The Death Of Expertise. (It’s an interesting article, go read it!)

Now, as far as being an expert, I like to say “You are an expert at your own experience”. This goes back to 2006, when we had one of the first meetings about BarCampMilwaukee. We were discussion session topics and someone said “Well, I’ve installed Linux a few times, but I’m no expert at it.” I then pointed out to the person the fact that he was an expert to anyone who had never installed Linux, and that sharing your own personal experience is an important part of teaching and learning.

Through the years of helping make unconferences happen, and getting involved in Milwaukee Makerspace, and in publishing this blog, I’ve come to understand just how important it is to recognize that you need be willing to share the things you know, even if you don’t think you know enough, and you also need to be accepting of others when they don’t know everything, because really, no one does. No one is an expert in all things.

Through the open sharing of knowledge, and the willingness to accept that no one is a expert (while we are also all experts) we can all end up learning more than we ever would on our own.

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Spock Is Not Impressed

Spock is not impressed with an expert

If you love memes, and love Star Trek, or just love Star Trek memes, you should check out Spock Is Not Impressed.

If Tumblr exists for just one purpose, it’s this kind of site. (See Also: mattsmithshair.tumblr.com)

And even though I am not Bruce Campbell, I had to ‘shop Spock into my own photo, and I’m still going to file it under AWESOME.

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Egg-Bot for Newbies

Egg-Bot for Newbies

Hello folks! So you came here to hear about the Egg-Bot! Well step right up and buy my new book “Egg-Bot for Newbies!”

But seriously folks…

As we all know, an expert is just someone who knows more about a subject than you do… so with that said, if you know less than I do about the Egg-Bot, consider me your expert.

At the Milwaukee Makerspace Grand Opening plenty of people had questions about the Egg-Bot, and I did my best to answer them. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the things I said, as well as what I’ve learned in the past few weeks.

It’s a kit.
Don’t expect to pull Egg-Bot out of a box and plug it in, you have to build it first. It’s all just assembly, no soldering, but you will need some tools and the ability to follow directions and not lose very small parts. Set aside a few hours. I set aside 3 but was done and plotting eggs in less than 2, and I was even drinking while I assembled it, but I’m an expert.

You’ll need Inkscape.
The open source vector art application Inkscape is used to send the artwork to the Egg-Bot. You’ll need to install it, as well as the Egg-Bot extension, and I’d recommend the Hershey Text extension. And Mac users will need X11. If any of those things confused you, you’ve got a little research ahead of you. If all you plan to do is print other people’s Egg-Bot specific designs, it will be a little bit easier. If you plan on making your own designs, or making existing designs work with the Egg-Bot, you’ve got some work to do. (If you are already an expert at Inkscape, well, then you’re lucky.)

Get ready to tweak.
Tinkerers tinker. Tweakers tweak. !? What I mean is, you’re going to have to mess with things. Little things. Egg-Bot is not just “set up and go” ready Freddy. You need to find the center of things, and the height of things, and what numbers equal what settings. And not just for the hardware, but for the software as well. If you have a problem figuring out how the DVR works to record “Glee” you might be in trouble…

But hey, don’t let me scare you… I’m not trying to. In fact, the Egg-Bot kit is not rocket science (that’s the Rocket-Bot kit) but it does require a bit of work. If doing some work before you have some fun doesn’t interest you, well, I can’t help you.

There is a mailing list, and a wiki, and the folks at Evil Mad Science are awesome and helpful. So there’s that.

And one more thing… I may not be an expert, but I’m willing to share what I know, so for the locals (meaning, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin) I joked about an “Egg-Bot User Group” when I met the other guy in town who has one, but since a few people thought that was a good idea, maybe we should arrange some demo or meeting or something? If you’re interested, get in touch with me, or leave a comment.

(And yes, I tried very hard to avoid using the “Eggspert” joke. You’re welcome.)

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EXPERT

EXPERT

Everyone needs an expert…. I am that expert!