My daughter had to draw first blood on the package. We cracked the box and checked out the stuff inside. After going to the hypnotist show to benefit the school drama department and doing strange things on stage, I felt refreshed and motivated to assemble and play with Chumby guts until long past my bedtime.

I didn't take any photos, in large part because of the very helpful images already taken and posted to the MAKE Flickr Pool.

Build instructions are on one double sided sheet of paper. I missed it the first few times I looked through the box because I thought I would find a booklet. There is a link to the instructions pdf on the Chumby guts page in the Maker Shed. The directions are pretty good, but leave a bit to be desired. I found the photos by MAKE Flickr Pool members MTBFO and ewee to be essential. Early in the build, I was wondering which of two sets of small screws to use, and found that the silver ones were likely the ones by checking a photo. I also found the notes on many of ewee's pictures to be really useful.

So now there is a new tooltoy in the arsenal. This should be fun, and already the big question is "How do you case this thing?" Kent Barnes has extended the chumbilical cord that connects the mother and daughter boards and seems ready to move things around. John Park has a nifty laser-cut case. The box that it came in is sized about right for a first enclosure. The next case will probably be a cigar box, which is very alluring lately. You can clothe your naked Chumby guts by following these instructions.

As soon as it was plugged in, the disembodied Chumby woke up, started talking and showed a tour of the basic functions. Within a few minutes, it had upgraded the firmware and brought me to the website to register it. Finding the household wireless was a snap. Over on the Chumby wiki, you can find resources on hardware, software, and more.

In all, this has already been a fun project with few pitfalls. The next steps of customizing the case and configuring the software are exciting prospects at this point. Now that she's awake, my daughter is curious about how each of the widgets work. This will be a fun thing to have.

Have you got a some Chumby guts waiting to be animated? If you've already built yours, please weigh in with your tips and tricks by adding a comment or two. If you have a glamour shot to share or process set of pics, post them over to the MAKE Flickr pool.

In the Maker Shed:

Chumby Guts

The Welcome to MAKE bundle includes:

• A Year subscription to MAKE Magazine $34.95 value
• The Best of MAKE $34.99 value
• A Maker's Notebook $19.99 value

Here's what comes in each kit:

• 3.5'' LCD (320hx240v 16bpp TFT) with Touch Screen
  
• Texas Instruments TSC2100 Programmable Touchscreen Controller with Stereo DAC
  
• Plastic Front Bezel
  
• Gasket
  
• Aluminum Frame
  
• 4 x Screws to attach Aluminum Frame to Front Bezel
  
• 350MHz Freescale iMX21 MC94MX21DVKN3 ARM9 controller Motherboard Circuit Card Assembly with Samsung 64MB SDRAM on 32-bit data path and Hynix HY27US 64MB NAND Flash ROM
  
• Kionix KXP74-1050 3-axis accelerometer
  
• Daughtercard Circuit Card Assembly
  
• Three USB 2.0 full speed ports, one internal, two external
  
• Chumbilical Flex Cable from Daughter card CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• Wifi Riser Circuit Card Assembly
  
• USB Wifi Dongle based on the Xterasys 3135G 802.11g USB Wifi adapter (ralink chipset)
  
• Flex Cable for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 3 x Screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 3 x Standoffs for screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 2 x 2W StereoSpeakers
  
• 4 x Screws for Speaker to Plastic Speaker Holder
  
• Plastic Speaker Holder
  
• Switch for Bend Sensor
  
• Plastic Switch Holder
  
• 2 wire cable with 2 pin connector (from Daughterboard CCA to switch)
  
• 2 x Screws to Attach Switch to Plastic Switch Holder
  
• 12 V DC 1A Power Supply
  
• Built-in microphone

(Note: actual parts may vary slightly due to manufacturing and availability)

Start out your monster-making experience by reading the DIY hand-sewn, free-range, monster tutorial found in CRAFT, Volume 06. Next, crack open the DIY Mini Monster kit and make your first adorable little monster. When you're all done, use the included Maker's Notebook to sketch out some new designs.

Here's what comes in each kit:

• 3.5'' LCD (320hx240v 16bpp TFT) with Touch Screen
  
• Texas Instruments TSC2100 Programmable Touchscreen Controller with Stereo DAC
  
• Plastic Front Bezel
  
• Gasket
  
• Aluminum Frame
  
• 4 x Screws to attach Aluminum Frame to Front Bezel
  
• 350MHz Freescale iMX21 MC94MX21DVKN3 ARM9 controller Motherboard Circuit Card Assembly with Samsung 64MB SDRAM on 32-bit data path and Hynix HY27US 64MB NAND Flash ROM
  
• Kionix KXP74-1050 3-axis accelerometer
  
• Daughtercard Circuit Card Assembly
  
• Three USB 2.0 full speed ports, one internal, two external
  
• Chumbilical Flex Cable from Daughter card CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• Wifi Riser Circuit Card Assembly
  
• USB Wifi Dongle based on the Xterasys 3135G 802.11g USB Wifi adapter (ralink chipset)
  
• Flex Cable for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 3 x Screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 3 x Standoffs for screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 2 x 2W StereoSpeakers
  
• 4 x Screws for Speaker to Plastic Speaker Holder
  
• Plastic Speaker Holder
  
• Switch for Bend Sensor
  
• Plastic Switch Holder
  
• 2 wire cable with 2 pin connector(from Daughterboard CCA to switch)
  
• 2 x Screws to Attach Switch to Plastic Switch Holder
  
• 12 V DC 1A Power Supply
  
• Built-in microphone

(Note: actual parts may vary slightly due to manufacturing and availability)

You know how, on those reality romance shows, every week, they say: "Get ready for the most exciting rose ceremony, ever!" Yeah, we don't know anything about that either, but that's what we hear they say.

Anyhoo... we probably sound the same, heralding each issue of MAKE as the best, most exciting issue EVER! But this upcoming issue (due on newsstands middle of Nov) REALLY is. I mean, look, it's got Adam Freakin' Savage on the cover! It's the "Kids of All Ages" issue, and who among us doesn't relate to that? There's a hydrogen rocket project, a laser in a lunchbox, plans for building a motorized, Arduino-powered phenakistoscope, an homage to maker toys of the 1960s, and a how-to on toilet-training your cat. A what? Okay, maybe that's not our finest moment. But look, it's Adam Savage!

If you want to pre-order a copy of Volume 20, and you do so in the Maker Shed before Oct 31st, the shipping is only one cent. That's the best issue of MAKE ever, for only $14.99.

If you want to subscribe to MAKE, here's an offer to get five issues for the price of four.

Bob Thompson, our resident Make: Science Room lab geek, answered a question in the comments for the "Setting Up a Home Science Laboratory Part II - Gearing Up" topic, about buying digital scales. I thought it was worth posting here for the benefit of others.

Cynthia asked:
What would you recommend in the way of a digital scale for intermediate/high school science? I was thinking of purchasing one that was a 1000 g capacity with a 0.1 sensitivity. Could this both serve chemistry and physics, etc.?

Bob's reply:
Good question. The two big trade-offs in buying a balance are capacity and resolution. Ideally, we'd all like an inexpensive balance with 0.0001 gram resolution, but unfortunately, there aren't any such animals.

The balance I chose two or three years ago for my own home lab is the desktop MyWeigh iBalance 201, which has 200 gram capacity and 0.01 gram (centigram) resolution. That's still a current model, and is available in Maker Shed and elsewhere. However, it's also a $100+ balance.

If you're looking for something a bit less pricey, Maker Shed also carries a portable $33 electronic balance (on sale through 10/31 for $29) that has the same 200 gram capacity and 0.01 gram resolution. I have one of those as well, and it's a very nice little scale. I suspect it probably isn't quite as durable as the i201, but OTOH, it's less than a third the price. (It's also useful around the house. My wife just used it yesterday to see if she needed to put a second stamp on an envelope.)

My take on this is that 200 g is sufficient capacity. Almost any experiment you do that would use the 1000 g capacity of the balance you're considering can be scaled down to work within the 200 g capacity of these balances. OTOH, having 0.01 g resolution instead of 0.1 g resolution is very nice, particularly for chemistry.

It'll also save you money on chemicals. For example, if you need to make up a solution to a particular accuracy, being able to weigh out (say) 7.87 g of the chemical and making up 100 mL of solution is cheaper than having to weigh out 78.7 g of the chemical and make up 1,000 mL of the solution.

This way to the Make: Science Room >>

Our Halloween Special Edition brings you 40-plus DIY projects for the holiday that's made for makers. From the craftiest costumes to amazing animated props and the latest in computer-controlled haunted house effects.

Don't forget to check out the official Maker's Notebook page for more information, modifications, and reviews.

Easy to build -- instructions are in Japanese but feature highly detailed assembly pictures (sorry, no English translation at this time). MAKE is proud to be the exclusive distributor in North America for these brilliant kits from Gakken.

Note: The original video is 45 seconds long....YouTube seemed to add a second just to make us look silly!

It's been a while since we had all of our Gakken kits in stock. They sell out fast, and it takes some time to get them shipped from Japan. In this last shipment we added a few new kits. Check out the Poulsen's wire recorder kit, 4-Bit Microcomputer, and the Gennai Hiraga's Spark Generator. In the following weeks we will be posting videos how-to's of all these new kits.

Features

• The book includes 40 projects using green techniques with step-by-step instructions, as well as illustrations and directions for an Earth-friendly existence.
• Projects are enjoyable for kids and also engaging for adults.
• Made from 100 percent usable information that really does conserve energy and improve the way we live.
• Contains sneaky things we can do to go green and includes a helpful energy reduction section that is full of tips and resources, making energy conservation easy.

Start out your monster-making experience by reading the DIY hand-sewn, free-range, monster tutorial found in CRAFT, Volume 06. Next, crack open the DIY Mini Monster kit and make your first adorable little monster. When you're all done, use the included Maker's Notebook to sketch out some new designs.

Halloween Special: Use promo code "SAMHAIN" at checkout and receive FREE 3 day FedEx on our Creepy CRAFT Bundle (contiguous US only).

Halloween Special: Use promo code "SAMHAIN" at checkout and receive FREE 3 day FedEx on our FX Master Bundle (contiguous US only)

We've come a long way from the Peashooter Era: with the advent of modern household products and office supplies--binder clips, clothespins, rubber bands, ballpoint pens, toothpicks, paper clips, plastic utensils, and (of course) matches and barbeque lighters--troublemakers of all stripes have the components needed to build an impressive, if somewhat miniaturized, arsenal.

And I don't know about you, but with all of that amazing labware available -- beakers, test tubes, Erlenmeyer and distilling flasks -- at such low prices, I'm definitely seeing a bubbling mad scientist's lab inside my front door this Halloween!

This way to the Shed's Science Room >>

The MAKE Controller Kit is an open source hardware platform for projects requiring high performance control/feedback, connectivity, and ease of use. It can be programmed and run autonomously or used as a peripheral to desktop/laptop applications via the popular OSC protocol.