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Archives: May 2006

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May 31, 2006

Old monitor = cat bed

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Oskay2 turned an old monitor into a cat bed, seems like the cat likes it, or it's just a clever background image - "JellyBean hangs out in Harley's converted Apple Two-Page Monochrome Monitor, which has been repurposed into a cat bed. I removed the CRT, circuit boards, and added the towel and some catnip. " - Link.

May 30, 2006

FutureFashion Show Pictures

Francesca of Cute Circuit gave us a recap of the fashion technology show, FutureFashion, that happened last week in Pisa, Italy (posted here). She says, "The event was fantastic! We had fun and the people from Pisa and Telecom Italia loved it!" Here's a link to all the pictures for those of us who couldn't make it to Italy in time. Link.

SF Giants Stitch n' Pitch Night

Looks like a fun new kind of stitch event for crafty folks who love baseball. The SF Giants is hosting their first annual "Stitch n' Pitch" on July 20th at AT&T park. (Giants vs. San Diego Padres) From the site, "Bring your projects to the game and meet other knitters all while enjoying Giants baseball. Specially priced tickets for Stitch n' Pitch include your ticket to the game and your own Giants Stitch n' Pitch tote bag to carry around all your supplies." Link. (scroll down to July 20)

HOW TO - Make Flubber

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George writes - "Here's how to make Flubber. OK it's really not flubber and probably wouldn't bounce at all but it's still makes a good rainy day afternoon project for the kids. " - Link & how to make slime.

Speed Dial with an iPod

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A MAKE reader writes in with how to use your iPod to speed dial, might also be hand if you need to enter in calling card #s - "The iPod phone may be calling, but until Apple answers we'd best make due with what we have. You'd be surprised how phone savvy your iPod is already. In the first of this two part series which explores the iPod's phone skills, MacMerc.com's Brian Burnham shows you how to teach your iPod not only to keep your list of phone numbers, but to actually dial the phone too." - Link.

May 29, 2006

The Making of Stingray and Thunderbirds

The stars of the studio are man made puppets which are known and recognized around the world... Fashioned from fiberglass and made almost alive by painstaking artistry, they bring the age old art of puppetry truly into the 20th century. Thanks Puppet Vision!

Chris Connors' Fussing With Stuff Podcast

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Maker Chris Connors has put together an audio podcast about fussing with stuff titled aptly, "The Fussing With Stuff Podcast." Lately he's had great interviews with people who make alternative energy vehicles including an interview with the young winners of the hydrogen car races pictured above.

Pixen: Make Pixel Art

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I was having trouble making an old school invader with fireworks because whenever I made it big, it got all fuzzy. My pal Jay sent me to download Pixen and balance was restored to the universe. Pixen's made for pixels, not your photos, so don't go replacing your photo app with it. Instead, use it to make your time portal to the glory days of the 2600 on your mac.

May 28, 2006

DIY High capacity panoramic pinhole camera

John writes - "It all started on a long plane flight in the beginning of 2006. I was doodling in my Moleskine notebook and musing about pinhole cameras when and idea struck me. What if I made a camera that was panoramic and high capacity at the same time. I had been shooting with my 6×9 medium format pinhole (120 film) for a few weeks and was happy with the images but wished I could get more than eight shots a roll and have a wider field of view. What I thought was if I moved the pinhole closer to the film plane and rotated to aspect 90 degrees I could get dozens of images on a single roll of film and still get a pretty good sized negative. Turns out I can get about 30 images on a roll and even a quickly made pinhole will produce a satisfactory sharpness." - Link & Project MaxiPano Pinhole 120 photo set.

May 27, 2006

Make Podcast: Ken Murphy's Blinky Bugs

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Ken Murphy is a musician, tinkerer, and jack of all trades. Blaed Spence interviewed him at the Maker Faire. He mentored a robotics club at a school and became obsessed with robotics. In the quest for simplicity, Ken came up with blinky bugs which he makes and sells for fun.
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After editing this video, I was inpired to try making one from parts around the house. It didn't turn out nearly as pretty or well made as as his are, but it was fun to make! If Ken's is a blinky bug, mine is a blinky cockroach!

Click here to get the video (MP4) delivered automatically with iTunes. This video will play on PC/Mac/Linux/PSPs and iPod video devices - Link.

EtchASound

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You talk, and EtchASound makes your words into 3D sketches - "EtchASound is an installation inspired by the world famous toy Etch-A-Sketch. By interacting with EtchASound audiences can have the unique experience of drawing with their own voice. First the user creates a 2 dimensional image in real time with his or her voice, and after a few moments the computer converts this into a 3 dimensional drawing. Then when you wear anaglyph glasses (3d red and cyan glasses) users can see in real space the drawing that you have created." [via] - Link. & process of EtchASound (photos).

HOW TO - Make a Humbucking guitar pickup

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John writes - "The goal was to make a set of humbucking pickups for an es175 jazz electric style guitar that I have just about finished. Since it isn't a heavy metal guitar that I was shooting for I wanted some pickups that were a bit milder and cleaner then the Super Distortion Pickups. [...] These pickups are some of the rarest and most expensive pickups on the market today. Can pickups like that still be made today? I would think so!" - Link.

RoombaDevTools RooStick review

Todbot has a review of the RooStick, a USB to serial device for controlling a Roomba - "The RooStick is a USB-to-Serial adapter with a Mini DIN 7-pin socket on it that matches the SCI connector on the Roomba. It is an unencased circuit board with a USB connector soldered on one end and the Mini DIN on the other. The circuit consists of a CP2103 USB-to-UART chip and a couple of LEDs." - Link.

Related:
RooStick - Link.

Hand shadows

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Here's a fun ebook from project Gutenberg - Hand Shadows To Be Thrown Upon The Wall by Henry Bursill - Link.

May 26, 2006

Flame effects

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Wow, check it out - Mikey (who made the RFID flame trampoline) has a blog for all the things going on in fire art & effects, great photos - here's a cannibalized EKG machine hooked up to a fire ring, it pulses with your heartbeat - Link.

iPod in Linux - Banshee

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I haven't tried this, but it looks like a good way to manage an iPod if you're on Linux... - "With Banshee you can easily import, manage, and play selections from your music collection. Banshee allows you to import CDs, sync your music collection to an iPod, play music directly from an iPod, create playlists with songs from your library, and create audio and MP3 CDs from subsets of your library. " - Link.

Indie Craft Documentary

Faythe Levine and Micaela O'Herlihy are making a documentary about the new wave of craft. To support their efforts they need donations and also are selling their spiffy looking t-shirts up on etsy. Everyone who supports their indie film through donations or sales will have their name in the credits of their movie. From the site, "The Indie Craft Documentary is now in full time production! Over the course of the next year (through December 2006), we will be shooting all over the states, traveling to many cities as we can possibly manage. During this time we will visit indie craft fairs, galleries and boutiques [and] interview as many people involved with the indie craft community as possible..." Their first stop will be on June 10th at the Indie Craft Experience in Atlanta, GA. Link.

Recycled Sweater Bags in 30 Minutes

Take your old sweaters you have lying around or hit the thift store for some good cheap finds and turn them into these versatile bags -- all in 30 minutes! Whip Up has a full tutorial on how to felt the sweaters and use a little bit of hand sewing to create your own unique-looking bags. Link.

Solderless robotic kit

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Jessica writes - "SheekGeek sells a robotic kit that can be built entirely using a plug and play mentality. No soldering is required! Now "Makers" too young to solder can build their very own light following robots!" - Link.

Related:

MAKE 06, robotics issue - Link.
Tons of robotics projects - Link.

DIY Multi-player chess game

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MAKE pal BF5man sent in this DIY multi-player chess game that you can make yourself, anyone play it? - "Duchess is a board game similar to Chess but which is played by two teams of two or three people. The game provides an opportunity for Chess enthusiasts and novices alike to develop new skills in working with their partners as a team." - Link.