Month: March 2005

Turns out the group who collects PEZ dispensers are called PEZheads, and they just had a convention in Wisconsin. On that note, there seems to be an outbreak of PEZ based USB projects lately, I’ve seen lots of Star Wars USB drives, and I try to keep up with this fellow’s effort to make a real PEZ-company approved PEZ MP3 player. He also has some other new creations which are for sale. Jeez, how could PEZ not just go for this. Maybe he should make a kit that just fits into any PEZ, and then sell those how-to / mod style….

Marcus Chan, from the San Francisco Chronicle reviews our first issue of Make Magazine- “It’s the kind of magazine that would impress MacGyver, the popular TV hero who could disarm a missile with a paper clip”. Not only did Marcus do a great review, but he built the $14 camcorder image stabilizer and used it! You can read the full article here, and see the video he shot (before and after) here.

Make an IR camera! Using a webcam, removing the lens and replacing it with material from photo negatives, it should block visible light and only let IR through. I haven’t tried this yet, but I think I will. If I get this working I think I’ll put it on my robot and see what types of things it does. I wonder if IR signals from my TV remote will show up.

[Via the MAKE Flickr Photo pool] Michael Dorian has made a dry erase table. If that isn’t cool enough, it’s intended for use in bed so when good ideas come along in sleep, they can be written down. Love it! Our own Terrie Miller made a wall based version from shower board for $14.

It’s pretty cool to see the projects from our first issue being made and posted. MAKE photo pool member “bitnoots” made the $14 steady cam and is using it out in the snow to film stuff. If you haven’t already, join our MAKE photo pool and post what you’re working on, or just cool stuff.

My wife got me these “Moon Shoes” from one of those toy store going out of business sales. According to the literature, they absorb about 60% of the impact while running. I’m not ready to try a 2 mile clip yet, but I think after some modifications these might be fun to go grocery shopping at the mega-mart. Here are a couple pictures. There are some pro-level versions of biped enhancers I’ve seen at conferences with a trained team that does flips and stuff- seems kinda interesting.