Month: January 2010

Maker Birthdays:  Douglas Engelbart

Maker Birthdays: Douglas Engelbart

Chances are you have Douglas C. Engelbart to thank for what you’re holding in your hand right now.

I’m talking about your computer mouse, of course.

Dr. Engelbart was born on this date in 1925. In 1967, while working at the prestigious Stanford Research Institute, he applied for a patent on an “X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System,” which issued in 1970, although, per his Wikipedia article, he never actually received any royalties on it. He has been widely honored for his contributions to human-computer interface development.

Dr. Engelbart has four children and nine grandchildren, and today he’s 85. Congratulations and happy birthday, sir!

Creating an “E-Tractor”

Creating an “E-Tractor”

Students at Bonham ISD High School, in Bonham, TX, are turning this old on tractor, donated to them by the Ivanhoe Christmas Tree Farm, into their Electric Vehicle Project for the 2009/2010 school year. Plans are to use the tractor in a farm tractor driving certification/safety course. Primary charging of the E-Tractor will be via […]

Spool Quilt Tutorial

Having finished my first quilt a few months ago, I’ve been wanting to tackle another project and have been looking for the right design. I love this abstracted spool quilt from Freda’s Hive; even better, there’s a tutorial showing how to put it together! This would actually be lovely as a small wall-hanging in a […]