Skid steer firewood processing
After considering splitting a winter’s firewood with a maul, an device like this one sure does look more fun. It’s made by Hahn Machinery in Minnesota.
Computers & Mobile
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for digital gadgetry, open code, smart hacks, and more. Processing power to the people!
Haute tech fur phones and flash drives
Furry Objects is a series by Danish artist Magnhild Disington that mixes scraps of fur with cell phones and flash drives. [via Core77]
The Copenhagen Wheel
The Copenhagen Wheel recently demonstrated at the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change is a clever device that can store energy every time you apply the breaks and then reapply it in the form of motor assist as you ascend a hill on your bicycle.
Futurepicture, a homebrew light field camera
Ever take a photograph, and realize after the fact that you focused on a tree in the background instead of your subject’s face? Wish you could go back and fix it?
Celebrating PC “kustom kulture” at Exploratorium
Many years ago, back in the early days of computer modding, I did a piece for Details magazine where I “predicted” that PCs would become the next generation’s muscle cars. That’s pretty much become the case (…er no groaning puns intended) and that’s what the San Francisco Exploratorium will be celebrating in their “Rods & […]
See-through sink trap with clog-clearing knob
This PermaFLOW sink trap from PF Waterworks was featured in Popular Science’s Best of What’s New 2008. To be clear, I’ve neither owner nor use one of these, so I can’t vouch for the quality of the product nor for its practical effectiveness. However, I admire the clever thinking that went into the design: the transparency lets you see at a glance how bad the clog is (or if your wedding ring really went down there), and the knob lets you clear it without dismantling the trap. At least in theory. In practice, of course, accumulated grime (or algae, if your trap is regularly exposed to light) might eventually obscure the interior of the pipe, and the rotating paddle mechanism might break down or get fouled with hair. Be interesting to see if this thing is still around in five years, and if so, how the early installations are holding up. [via SlipperyBrick]
Wiimote as Scientific Sensor
Researchers from Delft University of Technology have assembled inexpensive alternatives to costly scientific sensors using the Nintendo Wiimote.