Teensy Ninja Pins
Liquid Paper’s Mod Dots Shop has a new take on the ever trusty straight pins. She’s created a line of teensy lovable objects atop pins like birds, kitties and my favorite “Teensy Ninjas” shown here. I imagine they can safely protect your crafting area from harm. From the site, “Ninjas are handcrafted from polymer clay. Each ninja stands about 1/2″ high (not including pin). Set contains 1 ninja armed with shuriken (throwing star), 1 ninja armed with nunchucks and 1 ninja armed with a sword and a Mod Dots pincushion.” Link and Flickr.
MAKE flickr photo pool member Zapwizard writes “I don’t have enough money or time to replace my headunit, or buy the Radioshark. So instead I am integrating a iTrip FM transmitter directly into the Mini. The iTrip was wired up, I choose to wire it to +5volts from the USB, as I couldn’t find a reliable source of 3.3volts. A dummy headphone jack allows the iTrip to turn on. Later when I replace my headunit I can just jack into the headphone jack and get straight audio.” 
I met Bruce from “The Tao of motion control” he makes incredible X,Y machines “The purpose of this site is to suggest that motion control is also an emerging medium for artistic expression. Despite the universal use of motion control in industrial settings, its use by artists has been hampered by the enormous cost of commercial equipment. Because access to the tools of this medium is crucial for its exploration, one strategy open to motivated artists is building their own equipment from scrapped components flowing out of industrial sources.” 
Mark writes “I have a lot of different interests and I love to figure out how to make things myself.” Here are his project, lots to check out! – DIY Electrostatic Loudspeaker Construction, Tree House, Loft Bed Made From PVC Water Pipe, Stroboscopic Microscope Illuminator, Stereo Amplifier Based On LM3886 Chips, Stretched Membrane Mirror – a work in progress, DIY Full Suspension Carbon Fiber Recumbent Bicycle, DIY Binaural Microphone, Insect Photos and an Allied Radio SX-190 Short Wave Radio Receiver 
MAKE Flickr photo pool member MH2 made an Apple Newton MP3 player, he writes “I download carefully prepared mp3 files to my outdated Newton MP 2100… I set up the 2100 to shut down after 10 minutes. Ten minutes each night, then I sleep. Of course the 2100 is no iPod. Music can’t be cut up as conveniently in two minute pieces as large audio book files, but above 900 KB (which is approx. 3,5 min @ 22050 Hz mono 32 kbps) transfer to the Newton gets complicated. Of course the internal speaker has only poor audio quality compared to an iPod. Or any other decent mp3 player, that is.” 
Marc Powell gave an AMAZING talk (and made hacked up dessert for over 100 people at his Food Hacker’s Guide to Molecular Gastronomy at Dorkbot SF. Mark has a hacker’s skill and tinkering mindset with organic chemistry and enthusiastically uses liquid nitrogen, low cost materials and centrifuges for his kitchen. He showed how to use “meat glue”, make powdered yogurt and reveled all the crazy things restaurants are doing. Marc is a hacker chef based out of San Francisco’s only hacker bed and breakfast, 