HOW TO – Make a force feedback racing simulator
If you’ve ever taken a spin on one of those theme park rides that show movies, shift/thrash the audience simulator-style you might like the idea of building your own. Jared, the Maker writes – “For some time I have wanted to make my own, seeing the NASA shuttle simulator and other similar training simulators all over. Well one day while playing mech 4 I realized that I had the power to do so literally in the palm of my hand. So I decided to mod out my simulator. Well a lot of R & D went into this and this is actually a prototype for the main build to come.” Link.
Here’s how to make a fun boat powered by steam “…it wasn’t until I was an adult that I saw my first putt putt steam boat, chugging away in an outdoor market in Bangladesh– in Southern Asia– one of the poorest countries in the world. Made mostly from a recycled milk tin, it sounded like a tugboat and it really moved–all efficiently powered by a little vegetable oil lamp. How could such a cool thing have existed without my knowing about it?” Thanks Jos! 
Raphael writes “This simple project shows you how to make a USB powered Nokia cell phone charger. The advantage is that it weighs much less than the bulky AC adaptor, and can be used wherever you have a computer or a laptop. I use this thing all the time now!” 
These would make a fun project to recreate, maybe I’ll use the cover of MAKE – “these sturdy foam-core flip-flops are built into a sheet of printed foam. the foam sheet, and the soles of the flip-flops, are printed with advertisements taken from chinese newspapers, which creates a fascinating grid of numbers and characters. available in two sizes, these versatile shoes are suitable for indoor, outdoor, or shower use. shoes have soft plastic thong portion designed to lie flat against the feet. the frame has a portion that pops out for hanging on a wall.” [
MAKE pal and Maker faire attendee Mark Hoekstra has completed his hacked up iPod charge for bicycles, pedal your way to a fully charged iPod! He’s put together a how-to with everything you’ll need to attempt building your own, or just get inspired. I have a feeling we’ll see an iPod accessory in stores like this very soon! 
Very cool how-to, the Maker writes “I first thought electrostatic headphones were a joke. It didn’t sound safe to strap high voltage transducers to your head. But after my work with electrostatic loudspeakers I had the skill and knowledge to try building a pair and listening to them.” [
Jean sent in a great round up of hardware you can build to make your own videos look more film like “…a guerrilla movie maker tool, making a Track Dolly and making a Lens Hood for a Camcorder. And while on the DIY tip, is worth mentioning the old photographer trick of keeping a string tripod in your pocket to help stabilise a still camera ( a bolt that fits into your camera tripod hole, with string attached which u stand on and pull taut – presto less camera movement ). And I’m not going to bother, but the DIY LCD projector system is cute too…”