Bill Ball
@wjball.bsky.social
Life-long maker and tinkerer. #making, #makerspace, #makerfaire, #3Dprinting. Retro futures, industrial design, and maker of gadgets for people who haven't forgotten to play. Projects: http://www.tinkerfarm.net.
Remember this movie? I will be premiering my homage to Close Encounters (along with a bunch of other stuff) at Maker Faire Rochester, which will be at RIT on 11/15/2025. Be there if you enjoy fun. rochester.makerfaire.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Remember this movie? I will be premiering my homage to Close Encounters (along with a bunch of other stuff) at Maker Faire Rochester, which will be at RIT on 11/15/2025. Be there if you enjoy fun. rochester.makerfaire.com
I’m finishing work on my BougieVend, a self-ordering kiosk for extreme materialist wannabes. You won’t get the products, but you will get an epic receipt documenting your purchase of them!
September 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
I’m finishing work on my BougieVend, a self-ordering kiosk for extreme materialist wannabes. You won’t get the products, but you will get an epic receipt documenting your purchase of them!
Those look great! I've been doing a much more stripped down version with just pin backs for lapel pins and a coin cell. I've gotten a couple full days out of the ufo on the first battery and counting...
September 22, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Those look great! I've been doing a much more stripped down version with just pin backs for lapel pins and a coin cell. I've gotten a couple full days out of the ufo on the first battery and counting...
Unfortunately, neither Whizzo nor my goth-bot Cuddles have been successful in competition.
August 12, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Unfortunately, neither Whizzo nor my goth-bot Cuddles have been successful in competition.
Whizzo the Clown was the local TV station kid's show clown when I was growing up in Kansas City (Mo). So when I helped start up a mini sumo robot wrestling competition at my community makerspace (as we all do), I really needed to make a Whizzo bot to throw in the ring.
August 12, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Whizzo the Clown was the local TV station kid's show clown when I was growing up in Kansas City (Mo). So when I helped start up a mini sumo robot wrestling competition at my community makerspace (as we all do), I really needed to make a Whizzo bot to throw in the ring.
I keep a folder called "inspirations" full of pictures like these. What do I find so compelling about them? I guess something about practical yet ridiculous (from our perspective) solutions in the industrial era.
July 2, 2025 at 8:39 PM
I keep a folder called "inspirations" full of pictures like these. What do I find so compelling about them? I guess something about practical yet ridiculous (from our perspective) solutions in the industrial era.
The final version is more egg shaped but with careful indents to encourage the fingers of variously sized hands to grip it securely.
I try to make the electronics of these projects as visible as possible to inspire conversations about making at events.
I try to make the electronics of these projects as visible as possible to inspire conversations about making at events.
June 26, 2025 at 7:16 PM
The final version is more egg shaped but with careful indents to encourage the fingers of variously sized hands to grip it securely.
I try to make the electronics of these projects as visible as possible to inspire conversations about making at events.
I try to make the electronics of these projects as visible as possible to inspire conversations about making at events.
The next versions were designed to be gripped or wrist worn since the light cube responds to vigorous movement and shaking. But people at our recent makerfaire revealed that this was too cumbersome and slow to adjust to hand size differences.
June 26, 2025 at 7:10 PM
The next versions were designed to be gripped or wrist worn since the light cube responds to vigorous movement and shaking. But people at our recent makerfaire revealed that this was too cumbersome and slow to adjust to hand size differences.
The value of 3D printing for rapid prototyping was amply demonstrated by a recent project to create controller for a 3D light display I built. I started believing I wanted something shaped like a computer mouse. But every variant of that design slipped out of my hand when lifted of the table.
June 26, 2025 at 7:07 PM
The value of 3D printing for rapid prototyping was amply demonstrated by a recent project to create controller for a 3D light display I built. I started believing I wanted something shaped like a computer mouse. But every variant of that design slipped out of my hand when lifted of the table.
At this point the hardware is ready save for the acrylic palm rest for scanning. My friend BoB will do the software and provided fresh muffins and a quick game of Fyra at the handover.
June 4, 2025 at 4:25 PM
At this point the hardware is ready save for the acrylic palm rest for scanning. My friend BoB will do the software and provided fresh muffins and a quick game of Fyra at the handover.
I was asked to design and construct Santa’s ”naughty or nice” device to entertain families during the holiday season. Due to unexplained forces I think all young children will be judged “nice” after the machine checks the list and checks it twice. Adults will be at serious risk, however.
June 4, 2025 at 4:24 PM
I was asked to design and construct Santa’s ”naughty or nice” device to entertain families during the holiday season. Due to unexplained forces I think all young children will be judged “nice” after the machine checks the list and checks it twice. Adults will be at serious risk, however.
Making sure my kettle corn was fresh made by checking its heat signature on U of R's FLIR camera at the Rochester Lilac Festival.
May 11, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Making sure my kettle corn was fresh made by checking its heat signature on U of R's FLIR camera at the Rochester Lilac Festival.
I’ll be sharing some of my projects as an exhibitor at Makerfaire Syracuse on Saturday (5/3). We are expecting over 2000 people and 125 exhibitors at the event. Come and join us!
syracuse.makerfaire.com
#makerfaire
#makerspace
#maker
syracuse.makerfaire.com
#makerfaire
#makerspace
#maker
April 30, 2025 at 12:20 PM
I’ll be sharing some of my projects as an exhibitor at Makerfaire Syracuse on Saturday (5/3). We are expecting over 2000 people and 125 exhibitors at the event. Come and join us!
syracuse.makerfaire.com
#makerfaire
#makerspace
#maker
syracuse.makerfaire.com
#makerfaire
#makerspace
#maker
American Sign Museum, Cincinnati.
April 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM
American Sign Museum, Cincinnati.
"People" really seemed to enjoy the gadgets I brought out yesterday to promote the upcoming Makerfaire Syracuse (syracuse.makerfaire.com). But I'll definitely have to go back to the drawing board to accommodate big furry paws in addition to hands on the controls.
March 31, 2025 at 2:57 PM
"People" really seemed to enjoy the gadgets I brought out yesterday to promote the upcoming Makerfaire Syracuse (syracuse.makerfaire.com). But I'll definitely have to go back to the drawing board to accommodate big furry paws in addition to hands on the controls.
What do you do with a 10lb 1980s laptop you couldn't resist buying off eBay? Turn it into a portable Raspberry Pi workstation, of course. Then what do you do with it? Write Zork-style text-based adventure game for people to play on it at events.
March 26, 2025 at 1:43 PM
What do you do with a 10lb 1980s laptop you couldn't resist buying off eBay? Turn it into a portable Raspberry Pi workstation, of course. Then what do you do with it? Write Zork-style text-based adventure game for people to play on it at events.
My first work of interactive fiction (a visual short story) is playable online: wjball.itch.io/sargasso. In "Sargasso" you are the sole surviving crew member, stranded at sea with three potentially dangerous passengers onboard. There may or may not be a monster in the seaweed. Will you survive?
March 17, 2025 at 2:12 PM
My first work of interactive fiction (a visual short story) is playable online: wjball.itch.io/sargasso. In "Sargasso" you are the sole surviving crew member, stranded at sea with three potentially dangerous passengers onboard. There may or may not be a monster in the seaweed. Will you survive?
A device from another planet? My homage to sci fi movies of the 50s and 60s. Few people find the hidden peephole. It's made from a 1958 Navy radio test generator and a bunch of blinky lights, sound effects, etc. One of many playthings I take to makerfaires and other events.
March 3, 2025 at 10:49 PM
A device from another planet? My homage to sci fi movies of the 50s and 60s. Few people find the hidden peephole. It's made from a 1958 Navy radio test generator and a bunch of blinky lights, sound effects, etc. One of many playthings I take to makerfaires and other events.
Just wow. From www.retroghosttown.com
February 24, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Just wow. From www.retroghosttown.com
"Failure to backup," another project I did for Shift2. When completed, it was made from 96 old hard drives. I wonder if one of them contained a huge bitcoin wallet :)
February 17, 2025 at 2:31 PM
"Failure to backup," another project I did for Shift2. When completed, it was made from 96 old hard drives. I wonder if one of them contained a huge bitcoin wallet :)
A “motherboard monolith,” one of two I fashioned out of e-waste and blinky lights for Shift2 (shift2nfp.org).
February 10, 2025 at 2:52 PM
A “motherboard monolith,” one of two I fashioned out of e-waste and blinky lights for Shift2 (shift2nfp.org).
My project got busted by a storm trooper at Makerfaire Orlando (circa 2012).
February 3, 2025 at 1:44 PM
My project got busted by a storm trooper at Makerfaire Orlando (circa 2012).
My version of the common Twang, a one dimensional video game.
January 27, 2025 at 2:30 PM
My version of the common Twang, a one dimensional video game.
I built my version of Aaed Musa's ball balancer.
January 20, 2025 at 1:38 PM
I built my version of Aaed Musa's ball balancer.