Yes some of the crafts people are not very good right now, but they are learning and I have no doubt that they will get better with time.

I took time to join Brass Goggles to find out what this was all about. I have been a member for just over a year now and athough I prefer my southwest decor I certainly can find enjoyment in other’s creativity.

Steampunk is pretty cool, there are things that are working.. I caught an article about a functioning R2D2 the other day. I may even dabble in it. I have seen this type of thing many times, from HH Geiger to Wild Wild West. It is exemplar of where tech might have went, and may still go. Even stuff seen in Mad Max. THe PCB comment was just ignorant, I have been in the electronics game for 30+ years, good luck deciphering anything beyond a simple circuit board… you better have the schematics for it, and lots of time… Most circuit boards today you can’t even trace… at all, they are multisurface and multilayer with myriad connections that simply cannot be seen…

This new niche, is intriguing, and seems like it could be lots of fun… do not let the ignorant or unimaginitive dismay you, after all, you are re-inventing technology for fun… even Mr. Whitney had detractors… he revolutionized an industry… LOL

Later

I’m glad my blog has inspired you. That’s why I post so much about the process of designing and fabricating things.

Most importantly: the objects we create are the defining element of an artistic movement — not the words the critics used to try and understand it.

Steampunk, from what I understand, is more about an imaginary timeline than a real past — it’s a world of “what if” supposing that the Industrial Age went a bit further, and that all manner of things modern were created in a completely different form that is Victorian more than IBM and Apple.

Further, being somewhat the computer nerd, I can guarantee you that it’s a heck of a lot easier to decipher a steam engine’s functions by its parts than it is to do the same for a computer PCB. Figuring out what a computer does (even a simple one) based on its parts, involves lots of looking up of chip numbers, a steady hand with the logic analyzer, and the deciphering of probably several hundred million lines of multiple dialects of binary machine language.

Perhaps those at “Design Observer” should observe more and jump to conclusions less…

While it’s true that any chimp can make a negative comment on the internet I was really surprised to find such a snippy post on Design Observer.

And we’ll see if Steampunk evolves into anything as lasting as early American Craft or cubism.

I think for it to do so it has to move beyond the treatment of the surface towards building fully functional objects. This is something I know I and my friends and KSW and the Steampunk Treehouse aspire to do.