April Fool’s Day is one of our favorite holidays. Here are couple of contests to help you get in the spirit:
If you happen to be in San Francisco and are looking for a way to celebrate, we recommend the St. Stupid’s Day Parade. Whatever you do, have fun!
Last fall we suggested that laptop accelerometers could enable a true distributed seismic early warning network.
In the news today, looks like an actual seismologist had the same idea. Something may yet come of this. [via slashdot]
Okay– I’m stumped.
Read this story.
Discuss.
A detailed hacking how-to guide: Modify a classic 80’s desk phone for use with a modern wireless handset and build in an integrated handset lifter.
[This is a guest project contributed by HiTek LoLife; all-around great guy, friend, neighbor, and reader of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.
A small bit of his handiwork has actually made an appearance here before and his fine stock ’94 Toyota shortbed has been known to transport the CandyFab 4000 from time to time.
Big thanks for submitting this great project and special bonus points for his fine graphic that reminds you exactly where your world is being delivered! –Windell ]
Continue reading Classic Phone Mod: Wireless Headset and Handset Lifter
On our recent trip to the Electronics Flea Market we got a very nice pair of tweezers. There are tons of great cheap tools at the flea market, and these are no exception. Superfine tips and a nice black coating were a couple of the features that drew us to this particular pair. However, there was one characteristic that we could not resist: they are beautifully labeled “Non-Megnatic.” Seeing this enigmatic label gives me joy every time I use them. Feel free to post in the comments what you think the fantastic word “Megnatic” ought to mean.
This little LED-lit cube is much more than just a paper lantern: It’s a translucent and flexible thin-film electronic circuit that hooks up a battery to an LED, limber enough to be folded into an origami box. And the coolest thing about circuits like these? You can make them at home.
Continue reading Paper Circuitry at Home: Electric Origami
And, happi pi day!
Many cities are switching to LEDs for their traffic signals, and is it any wonder? The energy savings are tremendous, never mind not having to change burnt-out bulbs all the time. Luckily for us, LED traffic signals are finally ubiquitous enough to show up at the surplus stores. Our local junk shop had a couple of big barrels of LED stoplights and turn signals of various sizes. We picked one out that still had the connector attached for screwing it into a regular light bulb socket.
Of course, after we made sure it worked, we promptly took it apart. It is a fabulous object, designed to be used, abused, taken apart, and maybe even fixed, though there is not much to go wrong. Click through for more gory photos and delightful design details.
Saturday was the first Electronics Flea Market for 2008. We went, a little late as usual, but early for us. When we got our coffee and donuts at 8:30, there were already some vendors packing up; they had been there for hours and sold enough to call it a day. The weather was beautiful, and we all got sunburned, but we also took home a nice haul of goodies.
Above: the pretty stuff put in a cigar box for the benefit of photographers like me.
You know they love you when during spring cleaning they save the vintage Popular Mechanics magazines and ship them to you. They must really love me because I got twenty-one pounds from the 1960’s in the mail! I can’t wait to read them all, but so far I’ve only made it half-way through July 1962, which contains “Your Complete Concrete Guide” and “The Desperate Flight of Airtransit 13” among other treasures.
