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Forum Index : Other Stuff : Mackay "Aussie Innovations"
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Hi Guys Here in Mackay Queensland Australia we have a Ecoexpo coming up in June. Its a chance for local "green" groups and businesses to get together and show their stuff to the general public. This year the the Ecoexpo is having a competition........ If you are in the Mackay region and interested in participating, you can find out more information by contacting Brooke McReynolds at mcgmail@bigpond.com I'll post more info as the event gets closer. I wont be able to contribute much at this event, which is a shame but I just dont have the time. But I will be there to mingle and I'm pretty sure Trev will be setting up a stall at the event too, so you could drop in and see him. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Jarbar Senior Member  Joined: 03/02/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 224 |
Hello Glenn, a similar thought had entered my head recently.And that was to expose Men's Sheds to the concepts of DIY windmill making.This event would be a great way to introduce them to The Back Shed and all it has to offer.And then expand it to the hundreds of other Men's Sheds around Australia. Good luck. Anthony. "Creativity is detirmined by the way you hold your tounge".My Father "Your generation will have to correct the problems made by mine".My Grandfather. |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Thats a good idea Jarbar, I'll look them up. Here's a brochure for the upcoming event, I'll add this to the main site in the next few days. 
Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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Downwind Guru  Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
I run a search on Mens sheds to see what they were up to, and all i got was support groups for men and information on Prostate cancer etc. Not quite the shed group i was looking to find. Is there a mens shed group that actually build things and do the average shed activitys with tools and stuff, instead of holding hands with each other. If anyone has a link to a mens shed work group (not hand holders) could they post the link. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Here you go Pete. http://www.mensshed.org/page7859/Home.aspx Its a great idea. The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
Thanks Glenn, After having a look it is a wonderful idea the Mens Shed, but i think im still about 20 years to early for that group. I guess you all will have to put up with me here a little longer. I had hoped their web site would have shown some of the projects in some detail that the members had constructed, but was unable to find that information. I tried a search of local groups to my area and it took forever and found nothing. O-Well back to my own back shed for now. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
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| VK4AYQ Guru Joined: 02/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
Hi Gizmo And Downwind Perhaps we should start a mens sheds thread and get a few photos of our members sheds and some of the things we are playing with. Might make clean up the shed a bit if I had to put a photo or two on the forum. All the best Bob Foolin Around |
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| Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
Hi Bob. Hmmm not sure on that, as Gizmo has not got a shed at the moment and for me it will need to be "What member has the messiest shed" A few of us posted the clutter on our work benches some time back but it never really took off. I go to a lot of houses with work and see garages full of all the latest tools and toys still in their boxes stacked neatly on shelving, and im there doing jobs that they bought all the toys to do it with. Then my shed is always a mess with 10 projects on the go at any one time and a power of things being done with crap every where. I have a theory nothing gets done in a tidy home workshop! Along with the more toys you have the less that you use them. Now a thread on the most useless tool you have ever bought could be interesting. I still dont understand why the metric shifting spanner never really took off. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Just a reminder, if your near Mackay Queensland Australia, the EcoExpo is on this weekend. Trev will have a display there. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| VK4AYQ Guru Joined: 02/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
Hi Pete et al, The bigger the shed the bigger the mess and the less room to work. But its true that the cleanest workshops are the less interesting, mine even has a family? of brown snakes that put up my presence in their world but they are good at keeping the mice in check just have to watch where you walk in the hot weather, four possums that sh*t on everything {could qualify as politicians} and knock things over in the night, and a family of owl's that sit on the trusses and watch the fool hurt himself and break things during the day, I also have a orange colored snake that makes noises that I cant find in any snake books. One advantage of the shed snake skins is it keeps the wife from being to curious about whats in the shed. Never a dull moment in my shed even when I'm not there. All the best Bob Foolin Around |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
The EcoExpo was today so I took myself off to have a look. Trev was there with his EV, one of his windmills and other goodies. 
A lot of interest in his electric ute. I'm keen to do a ev conversion one day, might start with the lawn mower 
There were a dozen or so displays at the event, worth a look, I even got to see a hairy nose wombat up close. 
Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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oztules Guru Joined: 26/07/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1686 |
I have hundreds of wombats, and an EV..... and I use the term very loosely... so I stayed home 
.............oztules Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth |
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| Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
As long as you dont have a loose wombat in the EV. 
Then Wombat would be a fitting discription for your EV.
Pete. Sometimes it just works |
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MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
[Quote=Downwind]I have a theory nothing gets done in a tidy home workshop! Wouldn't you know I'd be the exception! I think I'm king of the neat freaks. I even run the shop vac after about every third cut on the lathe or drill press. How many "guys" do you know who do their own laundry and after eating, actually get up from the table, wash, dry and put away their plate, glass and silverware? You should see how I cook; that'd really drive you nuts. When the meal is ready to eat, the kitchen and everything in it is spotless! Also, how many of the rest of the crew make their bed up when they get out of it in the morning? See what I mean? Hell, who needs a wife? I actually find being neat and tidy 'increases' my production. I know I don't fit the mold; hey, it's not easy being me! . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Thanks Glenn for running this thread. The last month has been very tiresome. Teaching, and organising new tools and machines for our new Trade Training Centre. We started moving in today. Still renovating the old Foundry space for Marcy's Live by Nature Clinic (its almost ready to move in). I have made a new foundry space. Organising the Eco Expo display. Hours of thought and work. Too many possible options. And keeping Drive by Nature customers happy. Just hav'n too much fun The Eco Exo. We had all the gear loaded and tied on already. Left home soon after it started getting light, the sun had not yet come over the mountain. Mackay is our ususal drive in the EV Hilux, about 45km to Queens Park. The marquee is very quick to put up, then there was the solar frames and fitting solar panels. Run the wires through the roof and a gust of wind picked up the marquee tipping it over. The solar panels went crash onto the back of the Hilux. Thankfully no solar panel damage. The only damage was the leg in the corner under the solar panels. It was a quick reaction to grab the marquee and pull it back and then hold it down and tie it to the trees there. Our neigbour exhibition (James, who used to own EV Blade Runner - sad story) kindly loaned his Hilux ute also to tie to. (He did not have a marquee). That sorted, we then finished setting up. We had everything set up in reasonable time. The solar setup with Thundersky Lithium Batteries, a fully functioning system, complete with inverter to run my laptop and TV screen with a slide show (took me forever to create that slide show), but was well worth the effort. The windmill was shorted inside, just a display, but caught the eye. It drew a lot of people. When they discovered that the Hilux was Electric, the excitement just grew. I was not far from the Toyota stand showing the new Camry Hybrid. Ford were supposed to be there as well, but I did not see them. There was so much interest. Some visiters came back several times bringing others with them. It was a really great day. I was very tired of talking by the end of the day. Marcy was too. The people from the conservation stand came over as we were packing up. They said that our stand attracted the most amount of people. I had 50 or so business cards (all gone) and there were way more people than that. We arrived home in the dark, with one small wire losing contact to the speed controller just a few Kilometers from home. It was hard to find in the dark, but after fixing it, all is good again. 
Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| VK4AYQ Guru Joined: 02/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2539 |
Hi Trev Good Job, glad to hear you had a productive time at the Expo, nice setup and it actually demonstrated the concept working. Glad to hear that you stole some of the thunder from Toyota as well,shows that Aussie innovation can compete with the big boys, would have been good if ford was there as well to add a bit more interest 
Are they going to do this on a annual basis? What was the quality of other sites like? Was there a predominance of solar products and small grid connect systems. All in all a great job. All the best Bob Foolin Around |
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