Here’s a page with a lot of cool homebuilt human powered bicycles. Some are made from found objects – be sure to check out the back to back recumbent bicycle as well as the jet powered one. [via] Link.
Another cool Flickr app- Make your own magazine cover! Be a superstar! Prove to your friends how famous you really are! They are currently cranking out 268 covers/hour. Just finished cover 3280. [via] Link. Make one and post a link in the comments!
…examples of game cartridges and portable systems that have been circuit bent to create a nice glitch aesthetic & sound…Jumpstart has been bending the Gauntlet game on Sega Master System II here.Link.
This website shows a hand made set up for taking highspeed inflight pictures of insects. Included is a pdf of the circuit board layout and a series of improvements and different photos illustrating improvements. The gallery of pictures is truly inspiring. Thanks DeKitchen! Link.
Please have this kid contact MAKE – A 14-year-old German boy has been ordered to pull down a 300ft long roller coaster which he built in his backyard. The boy, unnamed due to German privacy laws, from Offenburg built the 16-foot-high wooden construction over the summer holidays. He even designed his own carriage which can reach speeds of up to 30 mph. But local town planning officials say he must pull it down again because he did not ask for planning permission. They say the construction is too large and not built to rollercoaster safety standards. The boy has until mid-September to tear it down if he wants to avoid a fine.Link.
ZaphodB42 writes “We’ve all seen that spiffy “transparent” desktop hack on the net. But thats ancient history. Here is a quicktime movie of a “live” transparent desktop. Ok, you’ve probably figured out that its not a “real” transparent desktop. For one thing, I did not have all the camera angles perfect, so things do not line up exactly. The video cameras I have do not have a wide enough zoom lens. But with a little more time, I’ll get things aligned and post a new video. Still a neat trick”. Link.
Before nylon cable ties, bundles of cables were held together by waxed nylon cord. It’s still a nice way to to do harnesses in tight spaces, and, I think, looks much more elegant than nylon ties. It’s almost a lost art- few people under 50 know how to do it! (google “waxed lacing cord” to find sources of cord). Thanks Rob! Link.