Yesterday we posted the Retropod saga with accompanying photos of what never was- an iPod case made from a Sony Walkman. But wait! Flickr member nickee has posted another version, a waterproof one! Nicolas’s simple note to me was “How to Protect your iPod Photo when you war kayaking”. Link.
A handful of clay, yesterday’s coffee grounds and some cow manure: the ingredients that could bring clean, safe drinking water to much of the third world. The simple new technology, developed by [Australia National University] materials scientist Mr. Tony Flynn, allows water filters to be made from commonly available materials and fired on the ground using cow manure as the source of heat, without the need for kiln. The filters have been tested and shown to remove common pathogens including E-coli. Via BoingBoing. Link.
Fortune has a great article about the new DIY economy. Love this part- To be fair, all this amateur energy isn’t exactly a new force. When exciting technologies emerge, Americans have always pounced and created something original. In his 1936 New Yorker article “Farewell, My Lovely,” E.B. White eulogized the Model T and the creativity it inspired in its owners: “When you bought a Ford, you figured you had a start—a vibrant, spirited framework to which could be screwed an almost limitless assortment of decorative and functional hardware… Gadget bred gadget. Lots of friends of MAKE as well as the magazine was mentioned too! Link.
Darn, my dog isn’t big enough for this- but if you have a dog over 45lb and have longed to take the pooch on a scooter ride you both enjoy- the Dog Powered Scooter might be for you. Simply harness the dog and clip them into the frame and off you go. With just a few outings pulling the scooter the dog quickly learns when to slow (by feeling the braking) and which direction to turn by again “feeling” the side pull on the harness. The two unit looks like you could cover a lot of ground. Link.
This fellow built a hovercraft for his son out of junk in his garage using the plans he found online. He used a countertop as the base, a leaf blower as the “lifter”, PVC pip, Goop glue, plastic sheeting and duct tape. Link.
Sgt. Greg Papadatos of the 69th Infantry Regiment has posted some details about how soldiers in Iraq are using Radio Controlled cars to test objects to see if they’re bombs. When they find unidentifiable debris in the road, E.S. sends out his little RC car and rams it. If it’s light enough to be moved or knocked over, it’s too light to be a bomb, so we can approach it and get rid of it. If it’s heavy, we call EOD. At night, they duct tape a flashlight to the car. Link.
The world’s best radio, on your time- I like the sound of that! PublicRadioFeeds.com has a ton of feeds to all the public radio stations that publish their audio so you can subscribe to it. The science feeds are my favs of course- Dr. Karl, Quirks and Quarks, Talk of the Nation Science Friday, The Science Show, This week in Science and new one called Hack I am going to check out. Lots of great stuff. Link.
