Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture? This is a meme I never thought I’d contribute to, but this Goth necklace showed up in one of my favorite “people actually buy that?!” catalogs.
Fittingly enough, the catalog’s subtitle is “A Catalog of Personal Growth and Exploration.”
We got all packed up and headed out to the Exploratorium today for the Maker Webcast about 3D Fabrication in sugar. Thanks to Dale Dougherty from Make Magazine for inviting us – we had a great time! In case you missed it, here are the links to the archived show on the Exploratorium website: mp4, real player, windows media. (If in doubt, try the mp4 version!)
You’ve got your wire strippers and your soldering iron…now what? You probably know that there is a standard set of essential tools that you need on your electronics workbench. You can find helpful lists of these tools at Lady Ada’s site and Dan’s Data.
However, real tool junkies always want just the right tool for the job. Here are five electronics tools you may not know you were missing. These esoteric tools go a bit beyond the basics that everyone should have.
Continue reading Five Electronics Tools You Might Not Know About
Come see the CandyFab 4000 in action on Saturday, July 28 at 1:00 PM (PDT) at the Exploratorium in San Francisco or live online for the Maker Saturday Webcasts.
Make: Magazine is partnering with the Exploratorium to bring weekly webcasts of interviews with makers this summer. If you haven’t been to the Exploratorium yet, use this as an excuse! It is one of our favorite sources of inspiration.
This camera cozy protects your LCD and keeps your lens cap on when you toss your camera in your bag or are just carrying it around. It also provides storage for a spare set of batteries as well as a location for the dead ones you’re taking out.
It was designed for the Canon S2IS and S3IS, but the pattern can be adapted for other similarly shaped cameras. Download the pattern here (160 kB PDF file).
It was inspired by a knit crocheted camera bag by Leethal. (If you like it, she has a similar one for sale right nowsold!) However, the darling lens pouch seemed rather excessive for my non-SLR, and I don’t knit (or crochet!), so this design was born.
Here’s a cheap and easy way to deal with getting rid of pesky reflections, shadows and backgrounds in your small object photography: use a lampshade for a light tent.
This $6 lampshade from IKEA is white, nearly cylindrical, and has an adjustable (removable) mounting bracket, all of which make it easily adaptable to this purpose.
Scale disclaimer: objects in this photo are larger than they appear – the cat is unreasonably large.
Continue reading Lampshade Light Tent
While wandering around San Francisco, we ran across Morrow’s Nut House. There were some very silly decorated walnuts in the window, but that’s not what caught my eye. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the toadstools just outside. These capped-off pipes had been painted red with white spots. Urban art at its finest! Of course, the name of the shop is pretty good, too. Unfortunately for us, it was closed. Next time. In the meantime, you’ve got to check out the reviews people have written about this place!
Here is a simple solution for a common problem: where to put your cellphone while it is being charged. This multiple gooseneck floor lamp (aptly named “Hydra,” available at Home Depot) can do double duty as a cellphone charging stand, freeing up valuable shelf or desk space for more important uses. It nestles your gadget inconspicuously out of the way but still readily accessible while charging.
One caveat: this lamp has a dimmer switch, and we haven’t yet found reasonably priced dimmable compact fluorescent bulbs, so bulb options are limited to incandescent or extremely expensive.
We attended an aluminum casting class at the TechShop last week and had a great time! It was totally hands-on and absolutely unintimidating. The instructor did an excellent job of getting all the students (all five of us! – perfectly sized class) involved and getting our hands dirty. When I wasn’t busy with tamping sand or other fun tasks, I took some pictures, which are in this flickr set.
The TechShop offers a wide range of classes, and based on our experience as students, they are great. They are having an open house this weekend, so if you’re in the area (Menlo Park, CA), you can check it out for yourself. Open house details can be found on the event schedule.
I got some awesome stickers at Maker Faire and my bike needed an update. So, read on for my quick how-to on bike uglification, er, sticker application.
Continue reading Maker Faire Sticker Collection on my Bike
