inevitable

Figures. I watched Buy3DInk.com for weeks, then gave up and bought black ABS filament from ultimachine. 2 days later, they've got black ABS in stock for $20 less. Oh well. With the entire shipment from ultimaker it actually didn't come out too bad, they had a good price on natural ABS.
The RepRap shipped from PA USPS priority last night so it'll probably be here Friday.
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weasel rats

This is basically what I had planned as one of the blinkie projects for next Duckon. Dammit. Ah well, my idea is actually somewhat different than this, I want to do it anyway. My idea had a power option, less sensors and stuff, and cost a LOT less than this - like $20 instead of $60.
Halloween Lilypad Costume Class - October 15th, 2011 - SparkFun Electronics
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Soldering iron regeneration

I just managed to find an eBay seller that had replacement tips for the Radio Shack soldering irons that Duckon owns. Some of the tips are horrendous, way worse than anything you'd call usable, and it frustrates people. Radio Shack sells them for about $6.50 for two, I found 30 of them at a buck each (in Radio Shack packaging). So hopefully our irons will be in good shape next year. I'll also try to monitor and shut off unused irons, that will help prolong their life.
I wouldn't have thought it, but Radio Shack soldering irons seem to be unique; even though they've used the same tips for nearly 20 years, nobody else seems to use that design.
I wish we had 24 Hakko 936 stations but those are $50 each (for Chinese clones) instead of $15. Maybe we'll buy one a year :)