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LOL - was in one of those boring cover bands in Torquay, and we used to play with or see them regularly.

And yes, they did play to empty rooms all the time - everyone thought they were good, but no-one wanted to see them.

But, even when playing to me and four mates leaning against the bar in The Piazza in Torquay, they used to really go for it, as if they were in Wembley. All us shit cover bands thought it would be them to make it.

JB: That’s a useful experience to add to the conversation. It helps illustrate, as you offered, the difference between hobbyist and professional needs where guidelines/etc are concerned.

As a hobbyist not intending to profit from the models I create/download and print for my own use, however, how is me going into the woods and crafting a hammer handle of my own design without first researching existing hammer handle patents and industry standards/regulations different than 3D printing something I model myself but don’t first research for IP red tape?

I think this is an important discussion to really keep working at voluntarily long before industry and legal teams decide there’s something to poke and prod until innovation is a dead horse. I agree that a positive start to this with members of the DIY movement working on solutions now will exhibit a responsibility without a need to default to the courts and politicians to decide.

Also, I didn’t intend to insult members of bureaucracy in general, I’m sure most are fine folks and standards do have reason. No one wants splinters or poisoning because hammer handle materials that have been mass distributed are of poor or negligent quality.

But what if my kid wants to 3D model keychains to sell at our yard sale? What’s the difference in that and making them out of cardboard and construction paper? Yeah, I read about the kid that got in trouble for selling lemonade and all, but that makes no sense to me, either. What about when I want to make a keychain for myself? Do I have to go to the local licensed 3D printer store even if I’m not going to sell it?

We aren’t doing a good enough job differentiating between spirit and letter of the law concerning innovation. Nobody even knows the letter of the law. It’s different depending on who you pay to be your attorney and how a judging body interprets everything.

Can’t we just set up something like TinEye except specifically for 3D models/electronics? There’s got to be some kind of solution that comes of this besides spinning our wheels and locking up good ideas for ages for no reason

Adam B. Levine: The problem from my perspective is rules at every level are one-size-fits-all. We have a set of rules for people who don’t want to make money, and a set of rules for people who do want to make money – Since there is no subdivision besides “wants to sell something” and “wants to sell a million of that thing”, it means tons of rules are made for the huge user that make zero sense for the small user but must either be followed or exempted before it stops being a hurdle.

And they are hurdles. So many things are just impossible without a whole bunch of money and time, and most people can’t make a living paying for the privilege of jumping through hoops.

But getting back to the topic at hand, I really like the idea of not thinking about design ownership as “intellectual property” and more like an item you manufactured and sell copies of for cheap online.

Treating ideas like we treat physical objects, does that make sense?

JB:In some ways.

But moreover, I think we should revamp how we treat physical objects as well as ideas. Your proposal of a trickle-down system would certainly work towards both in my opinion.

"" By Shereen Jegtvig, About.com Guide Updated September 11, 2011 ""

Studies show that children who eat breakfast perform better on cognitive tests and in school. Maybe it works that way for adults too. In any case, skipping breakfast is probably a bad idea.  Skipping breakfast is a common strategy for people who are trying to lose weight, but it's usually not a successful one. Your body (or maybe your brain) expects to be refueled a few times each day, so when you skip meals you may feel so hungry that when lunch time comes, you over-eat or maybe you choose foods that are not the healthiest choices.

  Actually, eating breakfast may be good for losing weight. People who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight. Some experts believe eating breakfast keeps your metabolism running because skipping meals causes the body to kick into 'starvation' mode. This really isn't the case, however, because it takes three or for days of not eating for the body to start gearing down. It's more likely that people who regularly eat breakfast also make good dietary choices the rest of the day.

Eating a Healthy Breakfast While any breakfast may be better than no breakfast, there are some foods you might want to avoid because they're high in sugars, sodium, saturated fats and calories. Cut back on sugary cereals (over 5.0 grams per serving), high-calorie pastries, and meats like bacon and sausage that are high in saturated fat and sodium. Breakfast should include protein and plenty of fiber; the combination will help satisfy your hunger and will keep you feeling full until lunch time. The protein can come from low-fat meat, eggs, nuts or dairy products. High-fiber foods include fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A healthy breakfast doesn't need to be extravagant or take a long time to prepare. Try something simple like a hard boiled egg, whole grain toast and 100% fruit juice. And there's nothing wrong with a bowl of whole-grain cereal with berries and low-fat milk. If you really don't like to eat breakfast, you can split it up into two smaller meals. Eat a hard boiled egg at home, and an hour or two later, take a break from work and snack on an apple and a handful of healthy nuts like pecans or walnuts. http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutrition101/a/breakfast.htm