Peter William Wagner bounces across the fairgrounds at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011, delighting everyone whose path he crosses. The big purple eccentric-axled bike has two inflated all-terrain wheels that can also function as flotation for the aquatic parts of the annual Kinetic Grand Championship in and around Arcada, California, where this “whim-cycle” has appeared for the last six years. Even Peter’s baby granddaughter enjoys the ride.
My friend Karen Nazor send me a link to this video of animations being created, phenakistoscope/persistence of vision-style, on bicycle wheels, using paper cut-outs in the spokes. Really nifty.
It can be frustrating to have to take off your gloves to use your touch screen phone. Capacitive touch screens sense how conductive your fingers are, and gloves are, well, insulators. Learn to mod your gloves with conductive thread in this episode of Becky’s Workshop. See the complete how-to on Make: Projects.
For those of you who love using your smartphone while cycling in the rain, there’s this nifty hack from North Carolina maker jalexartis. After mounting your handset using your favorite method, cut the top off a plastic bottle, then make a slit down one side to accept the mounting hardware.
Longtime MAKE pal (and Volume 17 cover-guy) Jake von Slatt shows us an easy way to hack an old pair of eyeglass lenses into a set of goggles for use around the shop, or when driving through the desert in an art car with no name. Good to hear from you, Jake! Keep ’em coming!
Everything about this printable from Thingiverse user DrewPetitclerc makes me happy. Especially his description: “For many decades I’ve had trouble getting interesting shoe designs, my size is not common and I got tired of being told no or we have these in white or black only, so when I found you can design your own on the internet…”
If you’ve contemplated a treadmill desk, but would like a more portable solution, then take a look at the FitDesk. It’s perfect for a couple of laps while checking your email or wiring up for a cycling simulation.
