Reportedly this cam-actuated, weight-activated grabbing hook from designer Stefan Bennedahl “makes it easy to hang things like towels that tend to fall off hooks,” which I’m willing to buy into if for no other reason than that it looks like a heckuva lot of fun to use. Design Within Reach actually lives up to its name with these, which are only $10 apiece.
Google’s App Inventor for Android (beta) is a tool that will help you visually design mobile apps and run them on an Android device. This should be exciting news for all the Open Blocks/Scratch fans out there as the project uses the Open Blocks Java library distributed by MIT’s Scheller Teacher Education Program.
Robot maker Michal Zalewski sent word that his latest attempt at cat befuddlement, the tinybot mk III, has been meticulously documented and awaits your perusal. Of interest are the geared steering, relatively low-cost components, and the fact that each gear was custom designed, machined, and manually cast in his home workshop.
Twelve-year-old Cassidy Mountjoy is the perfect example of a young maker, and more than once his enthusiasm has buoyed my commitment to all the MAKE endeavors, be it the blog, the magazine, or Maker Faires of all sorts and sizes.
The Bulbdial Clock kit works like an indoor sundial, but with three shadows of different length. You tell the time just like you do on a normal clock, by reading the positions of the hour, minute, and second hands.
Another great entry in our Gadget Freak Design Contest! Stephen Melvin of Sure Electronics retrofit his DeWalt DC527 area work light with two high-brightness 10W LEDs instead of the 13W CFL it is designed to use. Guesstimating from the photos I’d say he’s getting about 100W worth of light, by incandescent standards, out of the mod.
Disaster Dioramas! via jwz. All your favorite disasters…. now in smaller paper form! Welcome to Disaster Dioramas (brought to you by Office Warrior – the first in your cubicle fun needs). Spitefuls is proud to soon present the first of hopefully many dioramas to spiffy up your cubicle and help alleviate work boredom through a […]
