Make contributer Cy on creative uses for all that holiday trash – “Christmas, it’s inevitable, things will get discarded, broken, or ignored,” says Cy Tymony, a Torrance resident and author of Sneakier Uses for Everyday Things (the sequel to his Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things). “But why should things just go into a landfill?” In Tymony’s world, if you’ve got boxes, make boomerangs. Got milk? Make plastic.” Link.
We’re testing out an experiment on the MAKEbot (the instant message interface to MAKE Magazine) you can now search MSN and/or Yahoo over instant message with MAKEbot. So, try it out- add the MAKEbot to your buddy list (click here) and type ysearch and what you’re looking for (example: ysearch how to weld) or do the same for msearch (msearch msearch ipod hacking). And as always you can type search and what you’re looking for on MAKE and the magazine at all times using Google (search search cigar box guitar). Handy for phones that have AIM. Also try – photos, bookmarks, instructables, podcast and latest or help. Here are some screenshots of some bot action. Link.
Slashdot and Digg both have links (and interesting discussions) to this story about LCD goggles for the iPod video. We made our own version here on MAKE awhile back and I use LCD goggles for a lot of applications now, I really think one and two LCD viewing of content won’t be bizarre or sci-fi ish in the next few years. It won’t be as common place as the dudes who wear Bluetooth headsets full-time, but it wouldn’t be weird to see someone watching a movie on their iPod with LCD goggles on a plane.
Gina writes “…my crafty father-in-law had built a lighting system for his kitchen pantry out of Christmas lights and a Timex watch holder. He drilled a hole in the plastic watch holder just under the tension flap that holds the watch up, and inserted a reverse switch inside the hole. Once the switch was connected to the lights, when the pantry door closes, the circuit breaks and the lights go off. When the pantry door is opened, the circuit closes and lights go on and Mom can see which can she’s plucking off the shelf.” Link and photos.
Neat how-to and video from Troy…“This is my hydrogen generator that I built Using stainless steel switch plate covers. You may be asking, Why switch plate covers? Well in the area I live in I was having trouble finding Someone to sell me a sheet of stainless steel and cut it for me. So I was in the Home Depot (a local hardware store) And I ran across switch plate covers made of stainless steel. All cut to size and all uniform. Well this made it too easy for me so I bought them About 36 @ $1.24 ea. I thought it was kind of expensive but what the heck. I was not getting the generator built waiting for a deal to drop in my lap. So on to the building of the h2 generator.” Thanks Jason! Link.
If you’ve seen any of the MAKE presentations at conferences or MAKE fairs one of themes is usually about ebooks and the need for a great ebook reader – I use a hacked up Sony Librie from Japan (see the how-to and book creation here). The device is stunning, uses e-Ink, but sadly Sony really screwed up the roll out, DRM’ed the heck out of the device and now it looks like they’re going to try it again, in the USA. Buzz sent me this fantastic article in Business week that has a bit about Sony’s new reader, including some information about an “iTunes for books”… Link.
Drew writes “The quarter-scale dalek I was working on (which I mentioned in a previous Make blog comment) is now complete. I’ve included a build log with plenty of in-progress pictures and a parts list in case you want to make your own. This dalek is a one-quarter scale model of the popular race of villanous mutants from Dr. Who. (Although daleks resemble robots, they are actually biological creatures inside an armored shell.) The model has no moving parts (otherwise it would be an action figure). It is about 15 inches (38.1cm) high. It is composed of foamboard, wood, aluminum, and other materials.” Link.
