Lucky Duck

First things first - Happy 4th of July! Hopefully everyone has a great and more importantly a safe holiday whether attending parades, barbequing or just hanging out at home.

I was reading yesterday that the Declaration of Independence was actually supposed to be done on the second of July, but according to the 3 men that signed it; Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin they all were in agreement and said that that they did in fact sign it on July 4, 1776. Although historians still dispute this today and believe that it was nearly a month later when it was signed which would be August 2, 1776.

3D Printing Not Bad, Mmmmkay

So everyone in the media likes to focus on the bad things that people do with firearms, technology or whatever is the hot topic at the moment. Well I say fuck you ya' short sighted ignorant assholes! I prime example of tech, 3D printing in this case, doing good is the fact that this cute little duck named Buttercup has a chance to be a normal duck for the reminder of his ducky life.

Born with a foot that was backwards, and not grown correctly I guess it was abandoned. So when rescued they did a lot of research and work to be able to recreate something on a 3D printer that was as close as possible to a real duck foot / flipper. I think they did an amazing job based on the photo below and at the same time the duck seems bashful but happy. While they were researching and related before printing they worked with the duck in a pool to build the necessary strength in the water for swimming so when the printed flipper was ready, so would the owner of it.

I am sure I am not giving the story its full justice, you are welcome to go search it out and read it fact-for-fact and have a huge awwww moment as I did when I first read it. It just proves that you cannot simply forget about things that you don't completely understand or that scare you because a small amount of people may do something bad with those things. That can be said for almost anything.

Not to forget that they are coming up with some amazing casts for broken arms and related that are sort of "webbed" looking, currently printed on 3D printers for trials and testing purposes. Now I know if my child was injured and needed a cast I would prefer him/her to have a comfortable carbon fiber or what ever the material happens to be (but carbon fiber would be sweet). They would be more comfortable and it would make more sense - plus you could easily itch under 'em.

You would hopefully make the same decision, which proves that you should not simply get rid of things that could be used for bad. How about we spend that energy educating kids, adults, friends or whomever that the world does not have to be like an advanced level of Halo or World of Warcraft simply because the tools are available. That kind of education and understanding starts at home, get off your lazy ass and teach your kids some real world lessons and quit expecting them to learn it all in school because they wont.

Think about those that were able to give this cute duck a chance. Had these individuals parents made them afraid of taking chances, getting hurt or working with technology I would not be writing about this today. Whats-more, had this technology been outlawed or regulated it may have never happened. Of course to most "its just a stupid duck" and to that I say once again, fuck you - because without some common sense and real world understanding to me your kid is "just a stupid human" that would have been better off as a stain on your bedroom linen.

A couple other great things that have happened in recent years because of 3D printing technologies. See there, whatta' you know? - people are not just focused on making minimal gun parts and weapons ya' fucks! (from the CBS news article linked from Buttercup both here and above)

In June 2011, a Netherlands woman received the world's first full jaw transplant. The lower half of her jaw was created using a 3D-printed mold. Last year, the Boise-based Kinetic Engineering Group modeled and printed a new beak for a mangled bald eagle.

Garage

Ok off of my soapbox for now. I need to get out into the garage and start prepping it for my upcoming paint project I plan to start later today or tomorrow and hopefully finish before the long weekend has retired us into a Monday. Fingers, toes and whatever else are crossed for luck. It's not going to be an easy task to get it all done, but I have it as my goal first and foremost for the weekend, gonna look friggin' amazing once it's done!

Grand Finale

I think that will do it for today. I went from a rant to a quick update on my project and really there is not a lot else to rabble about. I may try to go out back and get a couple flights in on the Nano to keep my brain in the groove for flying, but I have to really watch my time - its far too easy to let the day slip away from me when flying heli's!

Have a great 4th, be safe and remember that it's not just a day off work to get drunk and fall down. Remember our independence from Great Britain Empire back in the day, and all that has been lost as far as lives and loved ones to keep various traditions alive along the way. Quit letting the hippies of the world try and take those things away from us because they feel they are no longer necessary in today's world. It's a marble sized snowball right now, but you know what happens once it starts rolling down the mountain -- it gains momentum and picks up a lot of things you did not expect along the way! Almost certainly something that will eventually affect one of your freedoms as well.

Photo: I can't help but to say awwww like a school girl when I see this duck with a 3D printed flipper. Not to mention the cutest little bashful pose ever!