Paul writes “An engineering student at Mizzou has developed a system that allows users to create a 360 degree image in real time using only a standard digital camera. Users upload several images taken around an object, adjust playback options, and can download or save their picture cloud for free. The entire process takes place in the web browser, and can be accomplished in about 2 minutes.” Handy for selling stuff on eBay or documenting projects… Link.
Looks like this auction was removed from eBay – “Everybody needs one of these, cleaning out the garage, this little car is so much fun, it is thrust powered by 2 GE t-58 turbines, has 4 fuel tanks, power steering, power brakes, fire detection, fire suppression, roll over protection, self starting and quick. I have taken this car to the salt flats twice, the first time it wanted to fly @ 140 mph, but after adding the spoilers and air dam it stayed solid thru 187 mph with a lot more room to go.” Link.
Clever cat hack from Charles Platt who is sitting in for Kevin Kelly on the Cool Tools mailing list – “…Feline Automotive Observation Platform. My cat, Eddie, used to complain constantly during car rides, but his limited vocabulary made it difficult to deduce the precise nature of his problem. When I constructed a simple detachable plywood panel faced with a thin doormat for enhanced claw traction, his complaints ceased immediately. Now he sits happily with his nose pressed to the windshield, enjoying the scenery when I got for a drive. The two supporting struts hook onto the sun-visor mounts, and can be attached or removed in ten seconds.” Link. & main site.
Dave writes – “When viewing this site it got me curious about tilt-shift lenses. Could be a nifty hack and save $1000 – “Here is another fairly easy hack that if you like it, and use it, can save you goo-gobs of money. Build your own tilt-shift lens. I know there are people out there who would love to experiment with a PC Shift lens, but the cost of purchasing one is generally prohibitive unless you plan to shoot professionally with the lens. (A nikon shift lens with tilt functions cost over $1000, BTW: The Nikon guys once took a look over this and said, “why would you do that to such a nice camera? We sell that lens you know.” I know. That’s the point).” Link.
In MAKE 05, we show you how to make your own soda bottle rocket so you can start your own rocket program even if you’re not Burt Rutan. With a few empty soda bottles and some PVC pipe, you can build a high-performance water rocket. Here’s a video of author Steve Lodefink and his 4-year-old son Ivan launching theirs. Click here to get the video delivered automatically with iTunes. This video (MP4) will play on PC/Mac/Linux/PSPs and iPod video devices.
Cheyenne writes in about the homemade laser saber – “I used a reflective slider and small rare earth magnet. Very Happy I think it looks really nice with the new red 100mW. I only powered it up with the red 100mW a couple times on the video. I tried not to look at it. I really need to get some safety glasses for the red 100mW. I don’t really know how dangerous the diffused light from the saber is, but I’m not going to take any more chances then I already have.” Link.
How Waterloo made his own proximity cards – “Lots of companies use proximity cards to control physical access. An employee holds their card within a few inches of the reader; the reader receives a unique id from the card and transmits it to some central computer that tells it whether or not to open the door. This is rather magical, considering that the tag is credit card-thin and contains no battery. The trick is the same as for RFID tags. The reader constantly transmits a rather strong carrier; the tag derives its power and clock from this carrier, kind of like a crystal radio.” Link.
