Blog

Congressman Rick Boucher represents Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District and has some commentary on the Broadcast Flag worth checking out. If the MPAA expects Congress to ratify a rule that would limit the ability of ordinary consumers to share lawfully acquired digital broadcast television programs with one another, then it shouldn’t be surprised if Congress insists that the MPAA accept in return a restoration of the fair use rights taken from consumers through the enactment of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In issue 02 we show ya how to make your own Boradcast Flag free system. Link.

MAKE mention in the LA Times! DIY has come a long way since the days when your uncle Jebediah devised a talking toilet seat in his garage. Nowadays, he would be posting a link to his inventions on makezine.com, the online format for the magazine Make. Make, also available in a print format, is an emporium of links to inventions and high-blown concepts that range from the useful (how to charge a “nonrechargable” dead battery or convert vegetable oil to biodiesel fuel) to the bizarre. Link.

MAKE amends for 02! Page 116, 3b should read: “Reconnect the capacitor, switch the meter to DC voltage, turn off the input signal, and measure across the capacitor. Ours read 74 volts (V). The voltage rating on the capacitor is 75 volts, so there is not much margin in this old amp.” The title for the “Testing current/amperage” figure should be “Testing BFC current”. The title for “Testing Voltage” should be “Testing Output Current”. Link.

Wow, this is one of the neatest projects I’ve seen lately- it’s a LEGO electronics lab kit. Using LEGO bricks, soldering nails, various electronic components to build an “Lego Electronic Lab Kit”. Check out all the photos on the site to see the different types of electronic-ified LEGOs and how they’re being used as all sorts of components. Link.

Looks like a neat book. Build Your Own Earth Oven is a simple, fully-illustrated handbook for making a wood-fired, masonry-style oven out of inexpensive earthen materials (similar to adobe and cob). The book provides clear, step-by-step instructions for building and firing the oven, as well as complete directions for making sourdough bread in the best (and simplest) artisan tradition. Link.

There are a lot of projects and hacks for the Linksys WRT54G routers, but what about some of the others- like the ones Microsoft made, now on Ebay for under $30. Here’s a good project that mods that MN-700 router to be something a bit more useful- you’ll need to crack the device open, upgrade the bootloader, download new firmware and then you should have a Linux running router. Link.

…designed for being in the city walking. in the urban landscape less public space are provided for sitting down. public benches are being moved away or replaced with a ‘leaning pole’ but the need of sitting down remains. YOC serves both as a carrying bag and as a stool to be used while rambling, shopping, waiting or when ever you want to sit down. the stool is folded out of coated fibreboard and can be flattened when not in use. Link.