Made On Earth

Futon modding…

Futon modding…

Ccs7 Gas, Tires, Oil writes “A blog entry about cutting 2′ section out of the middle a metal futon frame and welding the halves back together. The original mattress still fits, but now the short way is side to side and the futon takes up much less room”. Link. The rest of the blog has a lot of great stuff too…

Another Geeky Board Game…Computer Rage from 1977

Another Geeky Board Game…Computer Rage from 1977

23182755 3C17Bd4F90 MFirst this one, and now…I went to my local thrift store today to see what I could find. Every now and then I can find something really good. Today was a good day. I found this UNOPENED, still shrink-wrapped, board game called Computer Rage that is copyright 1977 by Creative Computing Magazine. It has classic, retro art on the front and the gameplay itself is so incredibly geeky! How many games do you know that have a space labelled “Output Queue”? It even uses three binary dice (so you can roll 0-7)! Link.

HOW Atomic Fireballs are made

HOW Atomic Fireballs are made

Fb Step02 Atomic Fireballs are made in large rotating pans that are heated by a gas flame. Each piece of candy is formed around a single grain of sugar that is added to the pan. The candy maker, called the “panner,” adds liquid sugar to the rotating pan. This liquid sugar sticks to each grain of sugar, making a hard candy shell. This process is repeated more than 100 times over a two week period, increasing the size of the Atomic Fireball to a one inch ball. Link.

High Tech Potato Cannon

High Tech Potato Cannon

43186865 8D6E5F1D6BShed Raider rolls this way “This is my newly designed patato cannon. It uses the ignition from a toyota corolla to generate the spark. However rather than a 12 volt supply it uses a 27 volt. I also added a ball valve to the back so that fuel can be inserted quickly(not in this pic)”… Link. Also see MAKE volume 3 for our HOW TO.

Drive thru handbags

Drive thru handbags

Orange-1 …in the age of ATM ubiquity, Santa Monica’s Carrie Scott has given those out of work money messengers new jobs as smart accessories. You can carry your cash, candy, and other necessities in this sturdy, versatile, re-use inspiration. $89 or I bet you can make your own if you can score an old canister. Link.

Modding old arcade machines…

Modding old arcade machines…

A112 Gaming2 Paul writes Tim Hunkin is an amazing maker I learned about at Burning Man, where I saw a machine inspired by his work (“Disgusting Spectacle” — a giant nose-picking machine). He’s built a beachfront arcade-full of unique and funny coin-operated amusement machines in England. Watch this 9-minute BBC film about Tim, showing how he modifies old arcade machines and creates new ones– film linked at bottom of page”. Link.

The “Work Blind” Curtain

The “Work Blind” Curtain

Work BlindA while ago I mentioned an idea that I had about creating a “work blind”. I actually ended up doing it. I had [info]buttercup666 stand in my neighbor’s cubicle and take a picture of me hard at work. Then I straightened the photo, undistorted it, and cropped it to the area in the doorway. I took it to Kinko’s where they printed it onto vinyl, and grommeted the top with a kit that [info]matrushkaka bought me. The result: The Work Blind. Think of it as the modern version of Jughead drawing eyes on his eyelids so that everyone thinks he’s awake and paying attention all day. [via] Link.