In MAKE 03 we showed you how to make a VCR into a cat feeder, here’s MSN’s article about the project and the decline of VHS – “Don’t tell English inventor James Larsson that a VCR is useless. He’s got an idea what to do with that aging video gear–turn it into an automatic cat feeder, using the VCR’s timer to dispense food on a regular schedule.” Link.
We’ve covered some of the LEGO software, but it’s always worth another looksie, it appears LEGO has added more resources for designing your own LEGO bot – JBB writes “Lego factory A boon to lego robot builders, the lego factory lets you build a virtual model of your unique lego structure and order those blocks as a custom set. Add your robot’s sensors and other such items, and you’ve got a beautiful custom robot.” Link.
Jon writes “In 1998, artist Daniel Reynolds unveiled an exhibit of six and a half foot tall drinking birds. Reynolds’ birds work on the same evaporative method of the classic toy, but their enormous size leave the senses reeling. Check out www.drinkingbirds.com for photos, videos, and more information.” Link. The videos from the exhibition are both soothing and creepy.
Jamie writes “We had another Halloween party at the Casa this year, and somehow a flash of inspiration hit me when I was thinking about decorations: polystyrene foam balls painted like jack-o-lanterns, on christmas lights.” Link.
Overview of how a Maker solved his audio problem in his new car “iPod your Subaru Outback’s Closed Audio System – For some incredibly stupid reason, Subaru has shipped its popular Outback for the past two years with completely closed audio systems making it near impossible to use them with the immensely popular iPod. Here’s a clean, affordable solution for iPodding your closed Subaru’s audio system.” [via] Link.
Jason writes “I made this tutorial after receiving a movie from Iraq, but the music overpowered the narration. People who don’t use iMovie can at least take the lesson that music too loud becomes the only intelligible audio in a piece.” Link.
Don’t throw away your old CDs! Here’s a knitting pattern where you can knit coasters for your old CD disks. It only requires a small amount of worsted weight yarn and is a great solution to finish up yarn scraps from past knitting projects. Try using different colors of yarn for every other row and create a stripy spiral. Link.
