Science Friday’s latest audio is up. Joshua Bloom Assistant Professor of Astronomy and the University of California, Berkeley talks about the mysterious gamma ray bursters, they also talk about using elevators to get to space and then engineering needed, along with some really neat research in how our eyes work. The more rare an object is, the less likely you’re going to recognize when you’re looking for it… Link.
Altoids tins are one of favorite projects cases (seen here). Now Altoids is having a very neat Maker-like contest. To enter you just need to make something out of the Altoids Tin, it can be techy or arty, it can also be the tin from mints, sours and chewing gun. I really like that Altoids is encouraging reuse of their containers. First prize is $1000! Update: Just be aware they’ll own the copyright to it. They should do a Creative Commons License Link.
Encouraging. According to AUTOSAR, replacing an evil stew of proprietary automotive software with open code could save OEMs and suppliers millions of dollars and improve systems’ efficacy and functionality. What’s more, if vehicles’ discrete systems were able to share standardized data, a car would become a kind of distributed computing platform — rather than a series of independent modules — allowing for far more efficient processes. Link.
These look really amazing. Free Spirit Spheres has commenced limited production of the 3.2 metre fibreglass sphere tree houses and now has sphere shells and kits available for the DIY market. Orders are now also being taken for the wooden shells and component kits and fully-finished made-to-order wooden Free Spirit Spheres. Shells can also be rented for the night (if you’re in Canada). Link.
More art with paper platers! Here are pictues of more recent models over the last four years. They are all folded from 9″ paper plates. They represent one direction in exploring the potential of folding circles. The one constraint I adhere to is never cut the circle. To do so would be to destroy the wholeness and limit potential. These are all expressions of the folded circle in multiples to itself. How-to and gallery.
Note to all you folks taking pictures of your projects- If you take photos that look too good, Wal-Mart won’t print them. The clerk said the photos looked like a professional had taken them, Helmick said. And no matter how much Helmick protested that she, an amateur, had snapped the shots of her son, she said the clerk wouldn’t budge. Wal-Mart sells high resolution “professional” quality cameras in their stores, just remember to take crummy low res photos! [via] Link.
Interesting writing machine (manual Royal typewriter) on Craigslist. This is a typewriter that once belonged to Herb Caen, the famous San Francisco Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and journalist who died on Feb. 1, 1997. Yes, it is one of the famous but small posse of machines that he preferred to use when composing his columns for 59 years. Link.
