rippowamlabs

Ron Morse and I had the privilege of taking part in First Annual Bike Build help by the Two Wheels Foundation in Norwalk on Sunday at the South Norwalk Community Center.

The group got donations from all over Norwalk, collecting enough to purchase 40 new bikes. The group of about 75 people put them together in just a couple of hours and, at the end, kids from the church across the street filed into the community center’s gymnasium and were able to choose a bike of their very own.

I had heard of these guys before through my wife. Besides building bikes for kids, they also hold regular coat and clothing drives.

In some ways, it was the same as some charity events. There was a DJ blasting cool tunes, a full spread of food and this bartender who made the most incredible drinks (I had this incredible Bloody Mary – like nothing I’ve ever had before). But I had to say that this was better than any charity auction I’ve ever attended. Instead of sitting around ans swilling drinks, I worked on something  that would actually benefit somebody.

The guys who run this group are really phenomenal. How many people do this kind of thing? I was really impressed – and I hope you are too.

I want to thank the Bike Doctor Ron Morse for helping out. If anyone had any questions, they filed over to Ron’s work area to get answers. I was stuck with one brake line and Ron sorted it out pronto.

 

You may be through with harvesting from your garden – but there is one more thing you need to do before the snow flies. Make sure you prepare your garden soil, so you’ll be all set in the Spring. An expert from a local garden center will be on hand to answer all of your questions.  We’ll meet Thursday December 1st at 6:30 pm. *Location TBA. Contact us for more info.

It’s that time of year to prepare your snowblower for the season ahead. Chances are, you haven’t fired it up all summer … and it didn’t get much use last year. If you didn’t put any fuel stabilizer in your tank, you might have a varnished carburator – and your machine simply won’t turn over.

We’ll have small engines experts on hand to examine your machine. They’re ready to pass along all the tips and tricks they’ve learned over a lifetime of servicing small engines. (BTW, they will appreciate any donation of beer and/or donuts that you might bring ;). So bring your machine and come on down to Stamford on Wednesday November 30th at 6:30 pm.

*Time and location to be announced. Contact us for further details.

 

I had a great time teaching Intro to Robots at the Manchester Makerspace in Manchester NH. So glad this place is up and running! The space is poised for real growth!!!

 

The wheelchair seen at countless Rippowam Labs events is being sent to a hospital in Senegal.

We had tried to donate to a worthy charity locally, but we were told that it “wasn’t up to code” and, therefore, didn’t comply with their rules on giving mobility devices to  clients.

But our friend, Bara, knew that a hospital in his hometown could make great use of it.

He picked it up Saturday (it fit perfectly in his back seat) and will bring it to New Haven next week for shipment.

“In our country, we don’t have stuff like this lying around. This will work just fine for people who can’t walk,” he said.

We had so much fun with the wheelchair and its sad to see it go.  But hopefully it can be of use to someone.

I don’t when I was more proud of the Fairfield Yankees. Was it the day they won the National Championship? Or was it last night at the Custer St. housing project in Stamford? AJ O’Mahoney, Carl Rohde, Christian Arciuolo, Matt Leonard and Matt Parry took time out of their busy schedules to come down and introduce kids to the greatest sport in the world. These fine young men – and the entire world – should know that them showing up with their National Championship medals was a HUGE deal to these kids. The kids loved it!!! At one point, Matt Parry and AJ each had three kids climbing all over them. I wish I got a picture of the time when all the kids tried to tackle Christian. “Did you see that? All of us couldn’t take down that big guy with the beard.” one kid said said to his friend as he ran home after the event.
The kids will be talking about this one for quite some time.
Here are some pictures I have – but there will be more coming.

The students in this year’s robot camps have been having a blast! Yesterday’s class had the best group of soldering students I’ve ever seen!

There are more classes scheduled for August. Go to http://rippowamlabs.org/events/end-of-the-school-year-robot-class/ ‎to reserve your space.

Here is Paul’s bot in action …

https://youtu.be/nQKQCPsWsA8

 

Join us on July 21 (5:30 pm) at 34 Custer Street in Stamford, where the National Champion Fairfield Yankees Mens Rugby Club will be conducting a rugby clinic for neighborhood kids.

We at Rippowam Labs are normally into all things technology but it’s Summer and kids should be playing outside! And what better way to get some exercise than to learn the greatest sport in the world from the stars of Fairfield RFC!!

Rumor has it they will be showing up with their championship medals and maybe even the Championship Trophy! There is also a rumor that legendary coach David Lyme may make an appearance.

We wanted to introduce rugby to the kids because success in this sport is the product of hard work and determination. And in rugby, your success can take you to places you never thought you’d go.

We suggest bringing shorts, sneakers and cleats. But if you don’t have any of those, show up anyway and we’ll have a bunch of fun!

This will be the latest in a series of events we’ve had for the kids on Custer St. The first was Ron Morse’s bike maintenance event in May. Then it was a container gardening event in June.

Make sure to take part in Bike to Work Day 2016!!!!!!

And if you’re cellphone is out of juice, ask me to charge it up using my new DIY bike-powered USB Phone Charger!!

Join us at the Custer Street Community Center in Stamford on Friday May 20th at 5 pm. We’ll be starting work on our new Container Garden. Children of all ages are needed for this project!!! The more people helping us with this, the more bountiful our harvest will be!!! (There will be a movie playing afterwards, so this is going to be a big night!!)