As usual if you bring project that you’ve been working on and show it off you’ll get a fabulous piece of Make swag.

During the BBQ we’re going to be doing an egg drop. The winner will receive a nice T-Shirt and an issue of Make magazine.

We have lined up a speaker from the active and inventive local electronics gurus, DorkbotPDX. They regularly have meetings at various locations around town that range from casual gatherings to focused in-depth workshops. Check out their calendar for more info.

Also we have a speaker from the Portland State Aerosapce Society. PSAS members work on airframes, avionics, communication equipment, motors, software, and more. They welcome participation from students and community members and have a list of open projects that they would like help with if you’re so inclined.

The Northwest Audiovisualists will be having a meeting at Techshop just before the Make:PDX meeting and have offered to give us a demonstration of some of the fun things they are working on as well!

Finally we are also hoping to have some craft beers available from Make:PDX members and the Oregon Brew Crew as well as Coffee provided by a local Micro-Roaster.

We’re terribly excited about keeping up the momentum from our last meeting (aside from the month-long gap) and hope to see you there. Please bring your projects and baked goods to share!

As promised Denney Cole and Wm Leler were our speakers.  Every one at the meeting got a tour of Tech Shop and the Open Tech Space.  We got a surprise speaker too;  the First team from Hillsboro High was there and gave an impromptu presentation about their program.

Here are some of the details about the afternoon.

During Denney’s speech we we got a tour of TechShop (pictures in the flickr pool).  There is still a lot of work to do before the grand opening on April 25th, but things are really starting to come together over there.  Most of the tools are in working order, SBUs are being offered, and there is a special membership deal.  If you go the the techshop website, and sign up before the grand opening you can get money off of memberships by typing prelim into the promo code box.  As an added benefit your membership doesn’t start counting down until the grand opening.  That means if you get a month long membership a week before the grand opening you get a free week!

Wm Leler introduced every one to the Open Tech Space.  Open Tech Space is a lab inside of TechShop (mostly electronics) that is open to the public.  Any one can come down and work on their projects, under one condition… Share what you make!  Open Tech Space defines “share” very loosely.  Share could mean that you just talk about your project at a place like DorkBot or Make:PDX.  Or share could mean that you fully open source your project, it’s up to you!

There were also a lot of good announcements.

• DorkBot is having their next bi-weekly meeting Monday April 13th over at the Lucky Lab at 1945 NW Quimby, Portland.
• Portland State Aerospace Society (PSAS) is a group of rocket builders that are building a 13′ 5″ rocket that will go up to 55,000 feet.  Whether you’re a rocket scientist, or just want to keep track of what they’re up to, visit their new members section.
• The Oregon Brew Crew’s next event is Saturday May 2nd (national home brewers day!) at FH Steinbart.  There’s going to be brewing demonstrations in the store, and hopefully some home brewers will be out in the parking lot making some beer!
• Portland Area Robotics Society has meetings on the first Saturday of every month.  Every one is welcome, so drop by whether you have a robot or are just interested.
• The FatMan and Circuit Girl do weekly web cast about hacking and creativity.  If you think you might be into a 1200 C easy bake oven, or the perfect cup of coffee go take a look.

A lot of people brought projects and there was plenty of treats to eat, so all in all great meeting.  Lets make next months even better!

The goal of MakePDX is to connect, inspire and grow a local community of people who make things.

Builders. Crafters. Artists. Cooks. Geeks. Hackers. Anyone who makes or wants to make anything!

Who are you? What do you make?

We are new.    Teach.     Learn.     Join us.

3pm – 6pm @ TechShop 10100 SW Allen BLVD., Beaverton, OR  97005

April Speakers:

Denny Cole – Portland TechShop – http://portlandtechshop.com

TechShop is a 33,000 square foot membership based workshop that provides members with any skill level access to tools and equipment, instruction, and a creative and supportive community of like minded people allowing you to build the things you have always wanted to.

Wm Leler – Open Tech Space – http://opentechspace.org

Open Tech Space is a project of the Portland State University Center for Open and Sustainable Technologies (COAST) in partnership with various organizations. We are focusing on the greater Portland, Oregon area, but hope the idea will spread to other places.

The goal of Open Tech Space is to give Portland open and sustainable technology community physical gathering places for interaction at low or no cost, provide help with the creation of prototypes, encourage sharing and mentoring, and promote business development in the technology and art communities.

The last speaker is YOU. Bring your projects and show them off!

Please RSVP on Upcoming.org or Facebook

Your group members receive a 35% discount on O’Reilly, No Starch, PC Publishing, Pragmatic Bookshelf, Rocky Nook, SitePoint, or YoungJin products purchased directly from O’Reilly. The discount code your members should use is DSUG. Orders can be placed online at http://www.oreilly.com/store/ or by calling 800-998-9938. Your members are also entitled to a discount on O’Reilly conferences and tutorials. Other special discount offers may also be forwarded to your group from time to time.

Tool Shed-PDX & The Watershed – Are pleased to announce: A Maker Mixer: Sunday March 1st 2009, from 3-10pm

Portland, Oregon. Tool Shed-PDX presents A Gathering in Honor of the Recession, the first of a series of bi-monthly Maker Mixer conferences where crafters, tradespeople, industrial artists, educators, local government and businesses can network, share ideas and connect resources. Currently there is no forum, no central gathering place to discuss how these players can come together to strengthen our local craft, small business and industrial arts industries. The Tool Shed-PDX’s bi-monthly Maker Mixer conferences seek to address this. The first of these conferences will take place Sunday March 1st 2009, from 3-10pm at the Watershed Industrial Arts Community Center.

Participants can enjoy an entertaining meet ‘n’ greet with craft and industrial art demonstrations, live music, vaudeville performance, “contractor carnival games” and door prizes. There will also be marketing and business resources and speakers from the Regional Arts and Cultural Council, the Rebuilding Center and the Oregon College of Art and Craft. This is event is free and open to the creative public!

Attendees can expect to be able to:
• Discuss ways the city can support workers during the recession
• Meet directly with local Business and Marketing Resources
• Discuss downsizing/sharing shops during the recessions
• Cool Demonstrations by local artist.
• Live music by Trash Can Joe
• Give Away Prizes
• Free Ninkasi Beer