{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Matt Parlmer (General Fabrication)","description":"Speaking with Matt is like being blasted with a firehose of information. He is entwined in the worlds of politics, database engineering, and 3D printing, and he speaks in dense, reference-laden paragraphs. This is thrilling to me, since I love information. I also feel empathy for folks who have been subject to my own tendencies to speak in dense, reference-laden paragraphs, since it\u2019s not always easy to keep up. While infrastructure isn\u2019t exactly a sexy topic, we\u2019ve seen a lot of institutional failings over the last few years, so I wanted to get Matt\u2019s take on why we see so much bureaucratic rot and ineptitude \u2014 and what we can do about it. I also wanted to get his significantly more optimistic take on the future of small-scale manufacturing, since he is starting a new company with plans to democratize 3D printing. The costs and infrastructure required to make small runs of products in your own home are plummeting, and we will likely see a revolution in direct-to-consumer businesses because of it. Enjoy this conversation with the always fascinating, always reference-laden Matt Parlmer. Learn more from Matt here: Website: Substack | General Fabrication Twitter: @mattparlmer Enjoy this conversation with the always fascinating, always reference-laden Matt Parlmer. If you're enjoying the show, the best way to support it is by sharing with your friends. If you don't have any friends, why not a leave a review? It makes a difference in terms of other people finding the show. You can also subscribe to receive my e-mail newsletter at www.toddnief.com. Most of my writing never makes it to the blog, so get on that list. Show Notes: [01:45] Is it \u201ctime to build\u201d? And, why have we seen so many institutional and infrastructural failures since the 1970s? [10:47] Matt\u2019s take on the Texas power grid failure [19:24] The engineering parable of the construction of the London sewers [27:10] Why are we better at digital infrastructure than physical infrastructure? [34:34] Lessons from the iterative development practices of technical infrastructure that can be applied to physical infrastructure [41:54] Matt\u2019s nuclear power pitch \u2014 and how the regulatory state has failed on nuclear [56:53] The coming transition from \u201cneeding a warehouse full of equipment\u201d to \u201cat home manufacturing\u201d [01:06:45] What is changing that will cause massive cost reductions in small-scale manufacturing and electrochemical machining [01:16:17] General Fabrication, 3D printing farms, and the \u201cdirect from producer\u201d business model [01:28:30] How to learn more from Matt and why you should really reach out to him about manufacturing and 3D printing Links and Resources Mentioned: 2021 Texas power crisis Nassim Taleb\u2019s Black Swan Thanksgiving Turkey Isambard Kingdom Brunel \u201cHow London got its Victorian sewers\u201d from OpenLearn Square\u2013cube law Howard Hughes 2020 United States federal government data breach \u201cMySpace admits losing 12 years\u2019 worth of music uploads\u201d from BBC News Version control Idaho National Laboratory Hydraulic empire \u201cLoan program that funded Solyndra finds success in Tesla and many others\u201d from The Mercury News Nuclear Regulatory Commission West Africa Squadron Mainframe computer Blackpill Electrochemical machining \u201cHow Switzerland Came to Dominate Watchmaking\u201d from The New York Times \u201cNeuromancer\u201d by William Gibson Red Hat\u2019s Business Model China Using Anal Swabs for COVID Testing ","author_name":"Todd Nief's Show","author_url":"http:\/\/toddnief.com","html":"