Wow, this sounds like a MAKE article! Our thoughts are with the Discovery crew! Once there, he’ll tug out the ceramic-fabric filler with his gloved hands. If that doesn’t work, he’ll use a makeshift hacksaw to cut away the material, which is sticking out about an inch from two spots near Discovery’s nose. The saw was improvised out of a blade, plastic ties, duct tape, Velcro and other items aboard the space station. [via] Link.
I’ve been spending a lot of time in elevators lately, need to see if this really works- The designers of some elevators include a hidden feature that is very handy if you’re in a hurry or it’s a busy time in the building (like check-out time in a hotel). While some elevators require a key, others can be put into “Express” mode by pressing the “Door Close” and “Floor” buttons at the same time. This sweeps the car to the floor of your choice and avoids stops at any other floor. [via] Link.
When plain photography isn’t enough, sometimes I will resort to shooting stereo images, as was the case with my Douglas C. Newell Paperboy trophy. If you feel like really out-nerding yourself, you can apply the same camera-shifting stereo shooting technique to your VR object photography. Link.
This python script runs on Linux and harvests system stats, creating graphs and assembling them in a page suitable for viewing on the PSP. It also dynamically reloads the images through Javascript, creating a smoother user experience. Tested with firmware 2.00 only. Link.
Home made, open source mp3 Player. The main goal of this project is to create an open design for a portable MP3 player, in both hardware and software. The secondary goal of this project is to make it as simple to construct, and as cheap, as possible. The design is based around the AVR Butterfly from Atmel. Photo and Link.
Master chip musician Gijs Gieskes has outdone himself this time: his second Walkman tape sequencer controls the Game Boy music cartridge LSDJ via various knobs and circuitry. In other words, the sequencer he built controls both a Walkman tape deck and a Game Boy. Check out this audio sample or this one to hear what all this sounds like. The effect is quite brilliant: a madcap tape deck scratch system with Game Boy music. Forget records and turntables. Tape is the future, man. Link.
…the Iceless Beer Box, an overly complex and undeniably superfluous solution to a minor problem. The importance of the coldness of beer has been well documented. The Internet community has witnessed prior attempts to tackle the lightly-pressing issue of quickly chilling beer below 0°C. Significant advances over previous work include the capacity to chill several bottles simultaneously and construction from widely available components. Link.
