This Brainboost search engine is kinda neat. You can ask it regular questions like “Why is the sky blue?” or “When was the great pyramid built?” and many other types of natural kid-like questions. Their site calls it an answer engine as opposed to a search engine- which takes the search results and answers your question (or tries to).
Make group pool Flickr member “tv” posted a couple photos of a the $11 Mattel JuiceBox modified in to a photo frame. He says “I’m working on an LCD frame hacked out of a Mattel JuiceBox ($11 at Wal-mart). The ‘Box runs uclinux and accepts MMC cards”. Wow, this might be the way we can all have low-cost photo frames.
Check out this amazing gallery of latte artwork. It looks like most of the creations use milk/soy as their Jackson-Pollockian tools of choice. I want to drink this lion from Victrola barista Bob and this leaf.
I just ordered what might be the cool hack toy of the year. It’s called the GameOptics LCD Display available at ThinkGeek and it’s a little USB device that displays instant messaging software, incoming emails, MP3 and internet radio playback, and weather. The purpose of this device is to use it while you’re playing MMORPG’s (Massive multiplayer online role playing games) and still tune in to the meat space. I think there’s a lot to hacking in store for this little guy, first item of business- add IRC support.
FreeCycle is a hub of email lists from different cities where you can post WANTED, OFFERED, or TAKEN messages to get, give and look for free stuff. There are over 1 million members out there in over 2,500 communities. You have to go and pick up the stuff in person, but that’s not a bad deal at all. There has been some talk of a Maker-like list where you could offer up usage of tools and equipment, but I think the FreeCycle list(s) might work. You could post OFFERED: Use of DNA sequencer, etc…
3M Canada has a fun how-to on making your own duct tape wallet. I’ve seen these at stores around here and while I wouldn’t buy one I think I’ll make one just for kicks. I guess someone could go to the next level and make a laptop bag. Update: Andrew sent in a link to the duct tape bag here! He goes on to say “Basically it amounts to layering the duct tape strips to create sheets and taping those together. The trick is to let as little adhesive get through as possible, or it gets all over the place. Also, some testing would need to be done regarding weight, as a duct tape strap can only hold so much”.
We had our coming out party and our first “Maker fair” at Etech this week. Think of it as a science fair, with beer. A dozen or so Makers showed off their projects, gadgets, hacks and more. We’ll have some more photos up soon, but here’s the first batch on Flickr. And here’s a great overview from Make Fair participant Robert Kaye.
