Some say it's the best.

I like it and use it. It is very simple to install and manage and if you want to add features (widgets) that is fairly easy too.

I really like wordpress. It seems a little less rounded on the edges than blogger, but that's because it's open source and with a little bit of programming, it's possible to go in and changes how things work.

Wordpress is a-ok. It's going to depend on what server you're on at dreamhost. When I used wordpress on dreamhost it was slowish and clunky. That was a dreamhost issue, though. I've since used wordpress on other services and it's just fine. YMMV.

I like it best out of all the ones I've used (blogger, typepad, movable type). And I really want to see your cnc machine!!!!!!

Post/email a link when you get set up - and if you need help setting up WP, shoot me a note - I've set up a bunch of 'em. I've done the 1 click install thing with dreamhost and I've done manual installs and upgrades.

Building a CNC machine? Please elaborate...

Sounds like a good way to go then. I've taken about a gig of photos so far so I figured I'd better start on the blog before the job of documenting it gets overwhelming and I end up saying smeg it.

I'm building a CNC router. Something like this machine though probably with angle rails rather than pipe as the supports are easier to cut.

I haven't finished the mechanical design yet however the design goal is for a 29x49" cutting surface with somewhere around 6-8" of z travel. It is going to be three axis to start. Each axis is powered by a single 305oz/in stepper motor driving a 1/2" acme screw. The motors are direct coupled to the screws with love joy couplers. The motors and screws are wild overkill for the Z axis however having each axis the same makes trouble shooting a bit easier and cuts down on the number of spares.

I have started the electronic assembly. My controller+breakout board is complete (minus the heat sink as I'm waiting on some paste). Once the transformer for the power supply gets here I can hook up the motors and hopefully see them whir.

I'm doing the electronics first because I can't fire up my saw until I've moved into my new place next month.

I don't like it. Maybe if you want to use it pretty much out of the box it's ok - but I find it a pain to hack around with.

Also it doesn't handle moblogging well enough for me.

I'd say it's the best purely-blogging software that won't cost you an arm and a leg (or even a little pinky). But you MUST use the Akismet anti-spam and WP-Cache plug-ins (the second really improved performance at Dreamhost for me... but NOT when I work on the backend like I'm doing now). 90% of whatever you'd ever want to do has had plugins written for it (but not all of them are easy to find). You can put up a quick-and-dirty blog that looks good (as long as you use something other than the 5 most common 'themes') or get up to your neck in customizing (as I am currently doing). Before I started my current project I checked out all the 'usual suspects' and a couple of unusual ones (I used to use one of the less-familiar wares) and I surrendered to WP... I am its bitch now.

What's moblogging?

Mobile phone web logging.

Even after reading the explaination and the link, though, I still don't know what a CNC machine is.

CNC machines use autoCAD designs to turn blank pieces of wood into things, like electric guitar bodies, which helps make older, pre-CNC-machine guitars more valuable (they're considered "handmade"). It's more-or-less a set of computer-conrolled lathes that work the wood within an enclosed environment and spit out identical carvings every time.

My guess is that the "stepper motor" controls the platform or claw that holds the wood blank; I assume that the platform moves, not the blades. Steppers are used to move the platform in laser etching of silicon for microchips. There as well, the cutting tool is stationary while the platform holding the object to be etched moves according to a program.

After a little more research, it looks like they aren't just for wood and they aren't just for lathes; pretty much any machine tool can mount to a CNC controller, and they can be used to fabricate components by the selective removal of most any kind of solid material.

Thanks.

Yes stepper motors actually move the cutting tool around. The advantage of them over a plain motor is two fold. First they develop maximum torque at zero rpm. Second each controller pulse turns the shaft a precice distance. So you just have to count how many of those precise steps your controller has sent to know how far your cutting tool has moved.

And practically any machining tool that holds the work (whether the machined object is made of wood, plastic, foam or metal) can be converted/built to be CNC. CNC machines are specialised robots that take the place of a human operator.