The gEDA Project
SDB writes “The gEDA project is working on producing a full GPL’d suite of Electronic Design Automation tools. These tools are used for electrical circuit design, schematic capture, simulation, prototyping, and production. Currently, the gEDA project offers a mature suite of free software applications for electronics design, including schematic capture, attribute management, bill of materials (BOM) generation, netlisting into over 20 netlist formats, analog and digital simulation, and printed circuit board (PCB) layout.” Link.
Jeffery writes “This guy builds train layouts, but of scenes of urban decay – slums, pawn shops, scrapyards, liquor stores, and lots of graffiti, much of it build from scratch. Really amazing photographs.” 
Brian writes “Although we all know that DMX was totally cool in 1999, his light up dance-floor in the music video Whats My Name was out of this world. The circular dance-floor was comprised of concentric rings that lit up in a chasing pattern. Although the solution was a drastic improvement on the classic Saturday Night Fever dance-floor, it still had room for improvement. To Improve on the DMX floor, and to make it transportable and reconfigurable, it needed to be modular.” Yes folks, the age of DIY home discos…is here. 
This is a fantastic little kit that will let you design and construct your very own Automata. You get to explore the world of cams, shafts, and other simple mechanical linkages – something that hackers and builders today could very well benefit from! [
Ron writes “A nice method for making your own longboard skateboards, and sliding gloves, etc. Very detailed instructions.” He’s right, I went through the pages and there are hundreds of pages on every type of build, from basic to building a press. 
Excellent tale from the “Make” – If the field wasn’t so remote, Waldo County residents would have been treated to an unusual sight in September: Blueberry rakers merrily pedaling old bicycles that powered even-older machines used to clean the fruit. Like many good ideas, Shana Hanson’s bicycle-powered blueberry winnowers had their roots in calamity… Hanson borrowed two bicycles that were already mounted on homemade wooden frames. She removed the tires from the back wheels, and covered the inside of the rims with duct tape. Then she attached drive belts that linked the wheels to pulleys on the winnowers. It was an instant success. 
Tobias writes “How fix a Krups Aroma Control Type 197 to make better coffee (and fix the easy to break strainer)”. After Josh sent an email for support (with no response) he took matters in to his own hands, and used a paperclip, MacGyver style, to fix his coffee-maker. 
