Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Weekly Wednesday Update #8

Goal Update
Swimming is still lacking, biking has slipped a little, but its because it has been 50+ degrees in Mid-Michigan for the past week!!!! I avoided the dreadmill and got to run outside four times over the past week. Absolutely amazing! On my run over the weekend, I set a new watch record for a 10k (41:15), and increased my VO2 max to 58 ml/kg/min. To translate, the Garmin race predictor (which is relatively accurate according to numerous runners) indicates my 5k should be 17:43 and more importantly, my marathon time should be 2:49:43! If nothing else, I will use these as realistic goals and then cruise past them!

Miles Swam: 0 [0]
Miles Run: 32.04 [179.85]
Tacos Ate: 20 [170]
Miles Biked: 16.84 [369.42]

Things I worked on

While I may be avoiding the deep end of the pool, this weekend I took a plunge. First, my OCD overtook my best judgement and I designed and carved a new electronics control box for my CNC machine. In my defense, my first design had a majorly annoying design flaw which made assembling the panel connectors and wiring them a pain in the rear! This new design has removable acrylic panels, which not only look sexy, but make wiring a breeze! I just finished spray painting the final coat on the box, and will start assembly over the next few nights.
Front and back panels

Primed electronics box

Carving side panels

While the electronics re-do was unintended, the bigger plunge that took place was the
destruction dismantling of my X-Carve to build the Z-Carve. I took a time lapse of it (looks pretty cool) and plan to take another time lapse of the building and then do some light video editing before posting on YouTube. Stay tuned; it should be a doozy - I mean really, there is ~⅛” clearance between my table’s supports and the motors!
Before dismantling my X-Carve I did finish a simple item I had put off for way too long - a simple knife holder. Previously, I was acting like the standard bachelor and kept all my knifes scattered in a drawer (okay, they were in a silverware organizer). Now, I have this - based on a design by ZenziWerken. I will be putting these up on Etsy shop as well as writing up the project for the Inventables Project page. If you get the Inventables newsletter, this knife block was featured in this week’s random Instagram photos at the end!
Simple Knife Block

Favorite Podcast of the Week


Great podcast to help me get my act together and start that side hustle. Best way to describe it is from the link above:

“There is a huge gap between working full time and running a successful job-free income business. I’m here to bridge that gap.

Here’s the deal:
I believe busy full time workers who want to build a successful side income business MUST become experts in a lot of areas fast.

You must listen to the right people online, the experts who will show you step by step formulas for growing a side business.

Instead of reading hundreds of books, listening to the podcast carousel of “experts” that are trying to sell you on a product, and trying strategies from gurus who are doing entrepreneurship full time unlike you…

Favorite Quote(s) of the Week

“Try not to become a person of success, but rather a person of value.” - Einstein

"Action always beats inaction." - Robert Kiyosaki

"Nothing will happen unless you take action and create it, and creating it is a process, not a single event." - Kate from EOFire

Random of the Week

Well, I got my first Etsy sale shipped over the weekend and the customer loved it! She has seriously been the greatest customer, not only being very understanding and easy to work with, but has also given me tips on improving my shop and listings. While I am still in the process of updating and improving my shop (a continuous thing), I will share the link to the Milbot Industries etsy shop now. In the near future, I will be putting up several additional items and trying to produce some more attention and sales through social media. If you could help me out and share my shop with family and friends, I will figure out how to set up discounts for you and anyone you send my way. Have them message me through etsy and mention this blog post to get the discount!

First Etsy Sale - Custom Wood Sign 8 x 10 in
While this section may not be as interesting this week as it has in previous weeks, trust me, there is a lot coming over this weekend. Friday, I will be off work, but have obligations from 8:30am to 9pm! Saturday I will be at a beer festival with my best friend to taste some of the world’s best craft beers, and then Sunday I will be babying the hangover (good thing this is a recovery week) and hopefully building the Z-Carve. I promise there is some very exciting stuff coming soon, which I will let you know about next week!

Time to write post: 31 minutes

1 comment:

  1. The new sign shop is awesome, still have a bunch from the wedding, durable and re-usable.

    ReplyDelete