Review of one of my favorite new devices of 2005 by Barry Gerber – “When I first heard about LeapFrog’s Fly Pentop Computer it seemed like a perfect product for a half-serious half-humorous review. After all it is marketed as a toy for ‘tweens (ages 8-13) and you conjure up one sort of functionality or another by writing with the pen on a piece of paper. I mean, how much could such a device actually do?” Link.
I wonder if parks will start installing meters now…“San Francisco based art collective Rebar decided to take the concept of a parking spot to the next level. On November 16th they installed an actual park in a parking space in downtown San Francisco for their project PARK(ing), “a temporary urban park”. People enjoying the park had to feed the parking meter (ie. pay the rent) in order to keep the park open.” Thanks Scott! Link.
The BBC has an excellent video (I could only get the Real Player version to work however) of virtual worlds, what people are making and how they’re making -real- money – “When it comes down to it, avatars – online characters – project your ideals and fantasies before you’ve had time to think of them. Which is what’s making online virtual worlds one of the hottest business propositions of dotcom boom Mark II.” Link.
Jackson has a review of Farm Show… he writes “Was hanging out at my family cabin in Washington State over the holidays, and one of the most eagerly awaited pieces of mail for the year showed up — Farm Show Magazine’s best of issue. It’s got all sorts of awesome DIY stuff. One dude turned an old Ford F-150 into a 10HP electric truck that’ll go 40MPH. Another dude took a tank from a rail car and turned it into a giant furnace that burns those big rolls of hay. It heats a reservoir of water that’s then piped to all the buildings on his property, with old truck radiators used as the indoor heating elements. The hinge for the furnace door is an 8′ axle salvaged from a John Deere combine. There’s a guy who built a wheelchair transporter out of a garden tractor, or the guy who modified a roto tiller so it could pull him in his wheelchair while he drove. There’s even an Oregon company featured that makes custom heavy-duty jeans which I’m totally going to pimp as a fashion statement. Anyway, you’ve got rural ingenuity, DIY, environmentalism and everything else that makes America grand. Highly, highly recommended.” Link.
Bonlebon writes in about the arcade cabinet he built – “My Mame cabinet, the Procrastination Station. Time from deciding to do it until finished project: about 6 months. Money spent: way too much. It was a lot of fun though. I still have a few things to finish up, but it’s definately playable.” Nice work! Link.
Matt writes “My short how-to on making a doorstop form pvc pipe. I like to think of pvc pipe as the modern day erector set….an old house and the inherent settling which may and does occur; our floors and doorframes aren’t exactly level or square. This being the case my office door has a tendency of closing on its own ever so slowly. While I have done my best at making adjustments to the hinge locations it still wants to close. Now I could buy a doorstop at my local home improvement mega-store but what would be the fun in that? Hence my homemade pvc doorstop.” Link.
Here’s a great how to for simple bot “The following article will show you how to build a simple robot, called “The Beetle Robot”. It’s great for beginners and easy to do. Most of the components can be bought for much cheaper at Digi-Key, Jameco, or similar. At Solarbotics you can find the dual AA battery holder and the Mabuchi motor. You can find these components at any good electronic store.” Thanks William! Link.
