The next two weeks are busy ones for us here at element14. We've a stream of campaigns, prizes and challenges all coming to a climactic conclusion, with a host of great prizes and giveaways going out to community members around the world.
It's not too late to join in with the 10 Winners in 10 Days fun, though. For example, you've still time to jump into the increasingly hilarious "" discussion, which has spawned so many great and inspiration quotes that we've put together some element14 swag bags as prizes for the funniest, the wittiest and the most entertaining answers.
July 30th: You Know You're an Engineer When...
The third and final jab-and-cross at the engineering members of element14 closes out today's entry in 10 Winners in 10 Days, as we select the final winner from the "" discussion.
Deegeake might be giving us a short answer, but it rings too true to ignore!
"... when people bring you broken things to fix."
You don't even have to be an engineer to appreciate this one. Anyone who demonstrates the slightest technical advantage in front of friends and family suddenly becomes their free, 24-hour tech support. Not only that, but all the "favours" you find yourself suddenly having to dish out are expected to come with a lifetime guarantee, and these unsolicited services also extend to their friends, family and casual acquaintances.
Yep, I bet most people on element14 have been there, and done that, so a bag of swag goes out to Deegeake for that shrewd observation that'd be so much funnier if we weren't all a part of the punchline!
July 28th: Vertical Farming Challengers
Vertical farming is a challenge not just for the element14 community members, but for all of humanity. Sounds like a heavy burden, I know, but it's a simple truth.
It's all about keeping the environment alive and thriving in new ways; primarily among the growing cityscapes of the world, but applies equally to any other imaginative ways that agriculture can be brought into the towns, cities and homes of contemporary society.
So we're here to help our members get involved, and the response has been massive. Our Vertical Farming Design Challenge tasks you with building a vertical indoor farm that is a true IoT solution, built on the smallest footprint possible with maximum energy efficiency. And the challengers have now been chosen, and will go forward in building their awesome, inspiring and ecologically progressive projects! Check 'em out:
Good luck to everyone who's won a place in the challenge, and we'll be keeping a very close eye on their exciting progress.
July 27th: MicroMemories
When the BBC announced a new educational program in which every 11-12-year-old in the UK is to be given a microbit single board computer, which reminded the old people among us of our own silicon school days of 30 years hence, when the BBC first experimented with bringing computers and education together.
So we asked for your micromemories that take you right back to the days when you were introduced to the world of computing. And your memories came flooding out! We have a Commodore 64 plug 'n' play game for the best of the best recollections as part of our 10 Winners in 10 Days campaign, and choosing has been a very tough decision.
In the end, we were especially delighted when one of our member, John Wiltrout (jw0752), spoke of his days running a Radio Shack franchise and how his son had computers aplenty to experiment with. And then, to our unending delight, John's son Mike (4ringfan) arrived on the discussion to tell us about his time at the keyboard of an Atari 130XE which helped him nail his exams with a solid A!
So we're going to send the C64 to Mike, with a special mention to his dad John. Go and check out their story now. But don't forget to tell us all about your micromemories, especially considering that the Amiga is now 30-years-old, if you can believe that!
July 24th: You Know You're an Engineer When...
It's time for the second engineer skewering of our 10 Winners in 10 Days campaign, as we select another winner from the "" discussion.
jack.chaney56 nailed it in true sitcom style, when we asked, "How do you know when you're an engineer?"
"... you find yourself solving the problems on the white boards while watching Big Bang Theory."
Just the fact that he's clearly a die hard BBT fan (as, let's be honest, we all are) is enough to land him a bag of element14 swag. But his astute observation also makes me feel like I've been caught peering in through the bedroom window! Has anybody else paused an episode of The Big Bang Theory to get a better look the white boards on occasion? The occasion being when you're watching it alone, because it seems like it'd be an efficient way to annoy anyone else who's watching with you.
I'm mildly embarrassed to admit it, but I've done this, and I just can't hide it any more!
Anyway, we've one more giveaway for this laugh-a-thon, so and vote on your favourites using the "Like" button. It's not too late to add your own entry, yet.
July 23rd: Enchanted Objects
This design challenge tasked our members with turning ordinary, household objects into extraordinary -- or, more specifically, enchanted -- ones. As always, entrants poured inspiration upon creativity, and after much deliberation we've chosen a winner.
Andy Clark's Enchanted Cottage drew upon the popular folk tales of Hans and Matilda as he took an old, wooden cottage ornament and packed it to the rafters with hot new tech.
Although it looks much the same after he squeezed in bucket fulls of silicon, the Enchanted Cottage now boasts magnetically-controlled characters that walk in and out of the house without any visible mechanics, 3D printed parts, Arduino control boards, LED status lights and so much more!
So congratulations to Andy (you might know him as Workshopshed), and may he live happily ever after!
July 22nd: You Know You're an Engineer When...
As we plough deeper into our 10 Winners in 10 Days extravaganza, the next up is the first of three winners in the "" fun and frolics.
This was a very early entry, but it's just too true and too amusing not to land a bag of element14 swag.
Hey! johnbeetem! How do you know when you're an engineer?
"... you can't help pointing out technical inaccuracies in movies."
Come on. We all do it, and we know we do! That polite smile, coupled with a knowing roll of the eyes and an exasperated sign from the other people in the room who are just trying to enjoy the film is something engineers and tech-heads experience all too often. What they don't understand is that they'd all enjoy the movie so much more if they listened to us and learned to appreciate the science that's being butchered on screen.
Whatever. It's their loss.
Ahem. Yeah, well, John grabs a bag of hot swag for that one, and we've still got two more to give away. So , and vote on your favourites using the "Like" button. And it's not too late to add your own insight.
July 21st: DreamBoard Winner
After months of hard battling and voracious voting, the winner of our inaugural Battle of the DreamBoards has been crowned.
Manjuprasad Basangi's design for the PC64 board captured the community's imagination and took the coveted top spot. Congratulations to Manjuprasad , and to all those DreamBoards that went toe-to-toe with his inspired concept.
"I designed my DreamBoard in such a way that it can be helpful as a learning tool for students as well as a powerful platform for professional to built and test their system," Manjuprasad explains. "The use of 64 bit processor which are compatible with Linux as well as Android Lollipop loaded on SD card will help to develop a lot of projects.
On board wifi will help it to run headless with less wires attached."
You can check out the PC64 here on its design page, and while you're there don't forget to hit the "Like" button and send Manjuprasad a word of congratulations.
July 20th: Geocaching GPS Build Along
We're kicking off 10 Winners in 10 Days with the winners of the GPS build along, which makes inventive use of a Raspberry Pi 2, turned portable and hooked up with a GPS receiver, accelerator and a display to guide you to the millions of treasure troves squirreled away in the wilds of the world.
Ten lucky makers are being sent the complete kit, so they can build along with our own cstanton. The kit's also been compiled for sale in case you also want to grab one and join in with the GPS goodness.
Whether you're a winner or not, we still want to hear all about your geocaching adventures, so remember to The specified item was not found..
Tomorrow, the third and final #ImAnEngineer prize!
We've already selected two winners from the wonderfully self-deprecating insights into what makes an engineer into an engineer. Cast your votes for your favourite entries using the "Like" button, and it's not too late to .
Check back here regularly for more news on 10 Winners in 10 Days.
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