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Summer time is here in the northern hemisphere and with it comes the heat waves. Cooling indoors is of course not something new, but how about cooling down your sitting area outside? In this article we will show you how you can make use of some ordinary things you can find in your home and garage, and put this together to an efficient cooling machine. I can only say this – you’ll need some cleaning detergent, spray bottle and a garden hose. Thanks Chris! Link.

This is an actual potato-powered Web server, currently online here. After the great SpudServer joke, I thought it would be interesting to see what an actual server capable of running on potatoes would look like. This server is very, very slow (around 0.2 hits/second), so you may have trouble connecting. [via] Link.

Interesting article about the death of the fix it economy. Remember the old ad about the lonely washing machine technician? Well, he’s no longer lonely — he’s dying away. In this disposable age, the neighborhood appliance technician is disappearing. Link.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the iUke: a tenor-scale ukulele with an integrated USB port. Plug this uke into a Mac and GarageBand will see it as a standard digital audio device, without any additional boxes, adapters or special cables needed. And there’s no reason why it wouldn’t work with any Windows-based app that recognizes USB audio. [via] Link.

This site contains a two and one-half minute video clip highlighting a kinetic sculpture/machine that continuously ties and unties a necktie. Although it is artistically inspired and intended for entertainment, the machine, (name “Why Knot”), dramatically demonstrates how engineering principles and methods can be used to solve unusual problems not normally associated with technology. Link.

The selection of pots and pans can be a complicated affair. The shape of the cooking surface and handle(s), materials used in its construction, the intended purpose of the utensil’s design, and its flexibility of use in the kitchen all are important factors in choosing cookware. Understanding the materials used is a good first step in understanding how cookware works and what factors may be important to your cooking style. [via] Link.

MAKE Flickr photo pool member neonarcade says “i dressed up my old ikea lamp with some leftover post-it notes. just make sure you use a cool bulb, like a flourescent”. He and the Elvis Post-It makers should do a project together. Link.