If you have a cat, kids and want to make a fun project together- here’s a simple “kitty condo”. Might go well with the VCR cat feeder from MAKE volume 03. My cat tends to get the most excited when we break out the laser beam, but boxes with holes cut out and some cat nip have the same effect too. Link.
Older project, but I really like this one- I pulled the knobs off of an Etch A Sketch and attached it to two stepper motors which in turn are attached to the parallel port of a computer. This gives one the ability to control the plotter’s movements with a standard mouse or analog joystick (more intuitive interfaces than the knobs). Having a computer in the loop also allows one to record what movements are done, so one can edit them and play them back. This robotic device is also capable of erasing the Etch A Sketch by flipping the whole contraption upside down and tilting it back and forth. The assembly has been carefully counterbalanced so that it only takes a tiny motor to flip it. A pair of mercury switches let the computer know which way is up, so that the board can be rotated to the correct positions. Link.
Nice HOW TO, would work for other little creatures too – I know there are many feeding systems available in the pet shop but I don’t want them to have access to the specialised food the whole day. Exposing them to an unlimited supply of grains, corn, … would stop them from eating my kitchen waste (and that’s why we bought them in the first place). [via] Link.
Pretty cool case mod- Lucas could easily sell these and pre-load copies of Galaxies on them. Here’s how to make your own Darth Vadar head PC. Ingredients: PIA 800 Mini-ITX Mainboard, Fujitsu 20gig 5400rpm HDD, 1×256 generic SDRam, Astek Micro ATX PSU 90wt, LiteOn 16x DVD drive, Don Post Studios Darth Vader helmet Link.
More hamster projects- A 16-year-old boy who invented a hamster-powered phone charger is celebrating after the gadget helped him pass his GSCE electronics. Peter Ash, from Lawford in Somerset, came up with the idea after his sister Sarah complained that Elvis was keeping her awake at night by playing for hours on his exercise wheel. The quick-thinking teenager quickly realised that the restless hamster’s energy could be used to generate electricity and spent the next 13 months inventing the 15cm device for his GSCE electronics coursework project. [via] Link. If you know this fellow, have him contact us!
Another nice PSP HOW TO from AOTS – It’s surprisingly simple to play your favorite classic LucasArts titles on your PSP. We snagged a couple steps from the great hardware hacking forums, DCEmu, and combined them with a little of our own knowledge to give you this little tutorial. How to Install ScummVM for the PSP… Link.
Anybody looking to integrate Google Maps using classic ASP, especially if you don’t have the longitude or Latitude coordinates. This video overview is broken into two-phases. [