Outstanding! SciAm is doing a podcast! “In this episode, Scientific American editor-in-chief John Rennie reflects on the Korean stem cell debacle; the National Inventors Hall of Fame announces this year’s inductees; and evolution defender Eugenie Scott discusses the importance of the decision in the recent Dover evolution trial. Also: hear outtakes from the CSI show you’re never going to see on TV.” [via] Link.
Neoteric writes “This is my second robot after getting the kit for Christmas. No prior electronics experience. The robomaid redo I have been working on is complete. I call it Robomaid2. It uses the outside of this product. It uses 5 IR pairs. 2 in front, 2 on the side, one in back. The front pair is for detecting mfront collisions. The theory of the side pair is that the robomaid2 can hang very close to the walls and cupboard bases, where most of the dust is. (I have not completed the code for this, although it works pretty well like it is) The back IR helps when the robot gets a little too cramped. It rotates, and the back IR helps it get out of loops by kicking the robot forward.” [via] Link.
A “Made on Earth” spotted on Google maps…“Welcome to Stonefridge. Yes, this really is a replica of Stonehenge – made entirely from refrigerators. Built using only human-power, the monument is now 2.5 fridges high.” [via] Link.
Merleon makes wonderful music with Electroplankton with the Nintendo DS – “In 2002 I moved to Japan and I began experimenting with music again but this time with the aide of a good computer and music editing software. I still felt uninspired and as a result produced very little in the way of music. Earlier this year, when I found out about Electroplankton, I was suddenly motivated to create a new type of music that I had never before attempted. When I finally had the chance to experience Electroplankton I instantly knew what my next project would be.” Link.
Tasty project! “Make your own chewing gum with chicle, the sap of the Sapodilla tree that grows in the rainforests of Central America. Everything you need is included in this kit and it’s easy! You can make your own gum on the stove or with a microwave. Once all chewing gum was made from chicle. That’s the sap of the sapodilla tree, which grows in rainforest in Central America. Men called “chicleros” climb up the tall trees, and with their machetes, cut criss-crosses in the trunks so that the sticky sap flowed out. Then the chicle was processed and turned into gum.” [via] Link.
Awesome derby car mod – “I wanted to show you all the cool car my son Matthew and I made for his cub scouts pinewood derby. We wanted to do something entirely different and decided on mounting a very small camera to it along with an LED in the back to look like a jet engine. It was powered by a 9V battery which also served as the car’s weight. The car broadcast wirelessly to a receiver which we recorded on mini-DV. We won 7 prizes and finished 4th in the races.” [via] Link.
Phil writes “Spare time projects of engineers. Some wierd, some wonderful. It’s a regular feature of Design News magazine, and always gets passed around here in the lab – Design News celebrates the third anniversary of the Gadget Freak files. This popular column, sponsored by Allied Electronics, profiles the sometimes useful and always entertaining inventions that Design News readers come up with in their spare time.” Link.
