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RSSArchives: September 2008
September 30, 2008
Neal Stephenson's Telescoping Sword
As promised, here are shots of Neal's telescoping sword. Pictured is Neal's collaborator, Pablos, with Komposite.
Nice work, guys! I suppose the world of recreational swordfighting is now a slightly safer place:)
Posted by Luke Iseman |
Sep 30, 2008 10:53 PM
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DIY 30 Watt laser
Huh, here's a homemade 30 watt laser, not too many details but the Australian maker seems to be answering questions in the comments of the video, baccus61 writes-
My 30 watt ULS powered Laser table with 54x30x9 dimensions. Still a few things to add like a rotary attachment and a martensitic stainless steel top.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 30, 2008 08:59 PM
DIY Projects |
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Light up punching bag
Love Hate Punch is a punching bag that changes color gradually as you punch it, by artist Stefan Gross. I see it as turning white from red as you punch it, reflecting how your red anger has been drained.Via BB.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Sep 30, 2008 07:23 PM
Arts, Electronics |
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The how-to cat!
(Mike covered this in Made in Japan 32 but surely it deserves its very own dedicated post.)
In what are hands-down the absolute cutest video tutorials I have ever laid eyes on, Zannaleeidees employs a feline pal for manual demonstration - either that or Zannaleeidees actually is a cat. Whatever the case may be, I'm enjoying a newfound interest in chou-chou creation.
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Sep 30, 2008 03:00 PM
Crafts |
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Casio SK-1 rail-contact roundabout bend-a-roo
Wow, Gijs' mechanical circuit-bent Casio is starting to resemble an amusement park ride. Nice use of a motor/drag contact for sound, and apparently this instrument does more than just that -
It has also got a video out, The video out is basically just the signals from the patch bay going throe a 1k resistor and a diode.. i dont know if this is necessary.. but seemed right.. video signal is around 1 volts and the pins from the casio chip are 5.. so its a bit dangerous (maybe.. maybe-not).. My equipment has not broken jet..Click onward for the deets - Circuit-bent Casio SK-1
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Sep 30, 2008 02:00 PM
Music |
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Salt water Leyden jar
Warning: High Voltage Ahead. This Instructable shows you how to make an old-school high voltage capacitor, a Leyden jar, out of a jar of salt water. Even though this shows you how to make a small-jar capacitor, so the voltage is probably not lethal, it'll still pack a wallop, so not something to be undertaken if you don't know what you're doing.
This project is done by Plasmana, the same Instructable member who did the World's Smallest Electronic Shocker and the Marx Generator. We have a really sweet story in The Best of Instructables about a regular MAKE/Instructables reader who didn't know that Plasmana was the handle for a kid he knows and whose projects he's admired and thought about building. And they both ended up in the book!
More:
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Sep 30, 2008 02:00 PM
Electronics, Instructables, Retro, Science |
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Dazzlin 'duino demo graphics
That right there is a dang impressive video demonstration using an Arduino + TouchShield accessory. Shame cathedrow didn't post any code as of yet.
[via Liquidware Antipasto]
Arduino Diecimila
Last day for the Back-to-school-10%-off-everything-what-are-we-totally-loco? super sale in the Maker Shed!
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Sep 30, 2008 12:49 PM
Arduino |
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Mythbusters reminder - send me your suggestions!
Just a reminder - I've gotten a bunch of neat suggestions to give to Jamie and Adam. The show is this Saturday; still time to send me your ideas to pass on!
Jamie and Adam of Mythbusters will be doing 2 shows in Seattle on October 4th.
Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage take you on a behind-the-scenes look at the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters with a hilarious and entertaining Inside The Scientist's Studio style presentation. They will bring stories of myths gone wrong and outtakes of segments never seen on air. They will answer questions about their unique personal chemistry and the mad science behind making one of the most popular shows on television. You give Jamie and Adam your suggestions for myths they should bust on future programs. "Behind The Scenes At Mythbusters" does not include experiments or explosions.
I'll get a chance to talk to them while they're here - I'd love to pass on myth suggestions from Make readers! Send them to me at patti@makezine.com; I'll put them together and pass them on. Make sure you include your contact info.
Posted by Patti Schiendelman |
Sep 30, 2008 12:00 PM
Announcements, Events, Kids |
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Neal Stephenson Answers Our Questions
Thanks to Neal Stephenson for taking the time to ride in my pedicab for an interview last week. Lesson learned: it's difficult to bike and interview at the same time. Fortunately, Neal sat down w/ me for a less-strenuous interview after the ride. Here's his message to aspiring makers:
Here's what Neal had to say in response to our questions:
I read you have an english wheel in your basement, and the article where I read this said something like 'thanks to the wonders of Harbor Freight, cost has come down from thousands...' does this mean that you subscribe to the dangerous drug that is harbor freight?
An English wheel is a really simple device, so I figured there wasn't that much that could go wrong with one from Harbor Freight. And, that was really the only option to get one... sometimes, I'll buy the first version of a tool cheaply and then upgrade if I'm using it a lot.
What's the most surprising technological development you've seen over the last 10 years?
It's a boring answer, but I have to say the growth of the Internet.
What technology today do you think will really surprise people over the next decade?
I'm not big on making predictions like that...
Do you think nanotechnology development has been slowed by government policy, and do you think it'll ever reach the levels of Diamond Age?
Honestly, I haven't been following nanotech closely enough to stay abreast of the latest in the area of government regulation. I tend to dive into a topic for a book and then let it go.
Why make a video trailer for Anathem?
It's a popular trend in publishing. I'd never heard of the idea until I got an email from my publisher announcing that they were going to do it. So I was more intrigued than anything. The filmmaker, Brady Hall, put the thing together amazingly quickly. He paid close attention to the book and listened to my input. Now he's working on one for Neil Gaiman.
I've read you 'went all in' with Snow Crash, writing what you wanted and not what you thought would be commercially successful. If nobody bought it, what would you be doing today?
At that point, I knew enough about the world of publishing that I probably could have bounced back and eventually written something else to keep my career going... if I had gotten a normal job, it probably would have been some kind of gig in the high-tech industry.
What DIY projects don't seem to be receiving the manpower that they should
I'm kind of surprised that people don't use composites more. I think there are a lot of things done with wood, nails, and metal that could be done with composites. It's a different toolset and a different way of thinking. But it's very accessible now: it doesn't take much to tool up for. Scissors, gloves, experience... but amazingly versatile. I suspect many get turned off because they try to go cheap and use polyester resin, which is hideously smelly. If you work with epoxy, it doesn't stink and it's stronger. The good stuff has a high mixture ratio, 4:1 or even 5:1 of resin to hardener. Don't use 2:1 or 1:1 epoxy unless you specifically want a flexible result, e.g. laying glass over wood where you have to account for differential expansion.
Is there a composites resource or project you'd recommend starting with?
Braided tubes are a good starting point: they come in a bunch of different sizes, and they're relatively easy to work with. They work like Chinese handcuffs. You can put them over any kind of tube or strut, pull on both ends, and the braid will tighten over the strut. Apply resin and a little while later you have a very strong, nice-looking structural member.
what's your favorite tool, and why?
It's a tossup between an oxyacetelyne torch and a portable Lincoln wirefeed welder. The welder's infinitely more useful, and the torch is just cool because of what it is.
What's the grandest failure of a project you've achieved?
I've had some pretty grand failures with composites, because once you start to get ambitious, you can have a catastrophe on your hands when the epoxy starts to cook off ahead of schedule... Actually, my grandest failure has been with rockets that didn't do what i wanted them to... a few of them that came to bad ends, but i think the worst was one where I was using a hybrid nitrous oxide motor that was supposed to work a certain way based on my computer modeling. It was at a rocket launch meetup and something went wrong with the motor so that it delivered only about a third of the expected total impulse. It went up 100 feet, nosed over, and slammed into the ground.
How do you choose what projects to work on when, and how do you know if you're working on the right things?
With books, I've just got a sense now for what's going to work. I didn't used to. Now, I can tell what's gonig to go or not, just from experience, having done it before. As far as building stuff, what tends to happen is if I can keep doing it on my own with the tools I've got and maybe a couple of collaborators it goes. But it gets stuck if it requires tools I don't have or cumbersome processes.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers, in their cubicles waiting to have that 'big idea' for the next great novel?
Just keep writing. The big mistake is to write something and then stop for a long time while you try to sell it. Don't ever stop. If you stop, you get out of practice. And writing is like cabinet making or soccer playing, it's all about practice.
If you could change one thing about one of your books, what would it be?
Well, technically I can: they're my books, and I can change things for future editions. But, to go back and start rewriting is really a mistake. There's a saying in the bible about dogs returning to their vomit...
You have a magic wand to make one change in the world. what would it be?
Hmmm, a magic wand question. I would move us decisively away from oil, which seems to be at the root of all sorts of trouble.
Do you think that 'Snow Crash' led to a boom (then bust) in virtual communities (e.g., Second Life) before their time?
I'm not close enough to the industry to know if there was a true 'boom and bust' in that field. There have always always booms and busts... The basic idea of a metaverse is sort of obvious; it's nice that people look to "Snow Crash" as inspiration but I'm sure that similar things would exist now even if I'd never written that book.
Anathem raises the new question for me: Are human beings evolved to only think short-term, or is civilization warping us? You would think that if nature is about wanting to preserve your bloodline, ensuring the world is habitable in 100 years is a pretty reasonable evolutionary imperative, no?
Evolution only relates to having kids, so once you've gotten past the age when you've had kids evolution ceases to really fuction. I would be awfully surprised if evolution has done us any favors whatsoever in the long-term thinking department. It has been incredibly effective, however, at making us want to have sex with each other.
Where do you find your inspiration?
I don't analyze myself enough to know where I get inspiration from... I'm disturbed by how little I've been reading of late... so many things can be done on a computer and I just chain them all together: socializing, mail, taxes, work, phone calls, entertainment.
Do you do all of your own historical/technical research or do you solicit help?
I do all my own research, and I don't use any proprietary databases. Although, I did hire Lisa Gold, Research Maven to help generate some family trees and a few other ancillary things for the Baroque Cycle after the books had been written.
What's your favorite creation outside of your books?
A telescoping practice sword... you can put a pad on the blade of a sword so it doesn't hurt so much but the thrust will still hurt. I made a sword that telescopes inward on impact.
How deeply did you imagine the culture of Arbre? For example, there aren't texts for the Hylaean Anathem in the book. Did you conceptualize more than you wrote down about music, language, architecture, etc.?
Very little... not one of those projects w/ a whole world created around it. And yes, I am wondering how much more development Jeremy Bornstein will do on the Orth grammar. That's up to Jeremy, he seems to be having fun with it... I don't think they'll be a klingon or elvish demand for it, but I could be wrong.
I'll post about Neal's telescoping sword later today. Thanks again, Neal!
Posted by Luke Iseman |
Sep 30, 2008 11:45 AM
Interviews, Science |
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HumanCar - street legal human powered car
HumanCar - street legal human powered car @ Wired, NextFest, Treehugger and their site.
The FM-4 v1.0 HumanCar (Fully Manual 4 Passenger) 'geometry prototype' has been so successful that no changes have been required. Several downhill time trial runs have had the car above 60mph + with incredible handling and BodySteer characteristics. The steel tube space frame chassis features a bi-lateral human power interface and front passenger body-steering capabilities. The vehicle is also designed to follow transportation efficiency guidelines such as the SyncGuideway specification on the menu as well.HumanCar, Inc. has been creating human powered vehicles for over 30 years. Our current vehicle is the first four-passenger LMV (Low Mass Vehicle) car ready for production.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 30, 2008 11:00 AM
Green, Transportation |
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LED eyes for robot plushies
This crafter/maker duo collaborated to create these glowing-eyed knit robots featured on the cover of CRAFT Volume 01. Ana knit the bots, João made the simple LED circuit. When you press the chest of the bot, the eyes light up.
Related:
CRAFT subscribers can read the Digital Edition of CRAFT Volume 01 here.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Sep 30, 2008 11:00 AM
Crafts, Electronics, Robotics |
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Today is the last day of the 10% off everything sale at the Maker Shed store, order something fast!
Today is the last day of the 10% off everything sale at the Maker Shed store, order something today and save some cash - if your order is over $25 you also get a free Maker's notebook. Halloween is coming up soon, here are a few scary/related items to pick up while the sale is still going on.
Use code CRZYDAN
Animated Ghost Kit
Grab this cool kit for Halloween. Sound activated, the ghost flashes his little red LED eyes, vibrates and makes scary sounds! Easy and fun to build. Hack it!
MAKE: Halloween Special Edition
DIY HALLOWEEN from the editors of MAKE and CRAFT 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.
Twitchie Robot Kit
Twitchie is an open source multi-purpose robot kit. It has the capacity to frighten and scare, but also the power to love and care! It's a regular pathos-o-matic! Grown men scream! Maternal instincts long dormant, suddenly activated! It's a robot unlike any other, and you can make one with this kit. Cover your Twitchie any way you'd like to make it truly unique.
Making Things Talk
Programming microcontrollers used to require an expensive development environment costing thousands of dollars and requiring professional electrical engineering expertise. Open-source physical computing platforms with simple i/o boards and development environments have led to new options for hobbyists, hackers, and makers. This book contains a series of projects that teach you what you need to know to get your creations talking to each other, connecting to the web, and forming networks of smart devices.
Arduino Starter Kit
Arduino is a tool for making computers that can sense and control more of the physical world than your desktop computer. It's an open-source physical computing platform based on a simple microcontroller board, and a development environment for writing software for the board. Arduino is open source!
We've put together our own Arduino Starter Kit, tossed in our bestselling Making Things Talk book, wrapped it up in some cool packaging so you can get started quickly without having to do a lot of shopping first. Check out the "How To" for some helpful links to provide support and contact with the growing Arduino community. Happy Hacking!
Use code CRZYDAN on checkout.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 30, 2008 10:00 AM
Announcements |
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RFID peripherals
RFID peripheral round up @ Touch... via Beyond the Beyond. Pictured above, RFID wine bottle from ThingM (WineM).
Plug and play RFID-reading USB peripherals are all the rage, as indicated by a stream of recent product announcements. These readers plug into a PC and make various things happen when they are touched with an RFID tag.RFID readers are small and cheap, encapsulating them in packaging and offering a standard USB interface makes for a versatile product. What we need to see now is some applications and platforms that make these products useful and desirable.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 30, 2008 09:00 AM
Electronics, News from the Future |
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Custom wall mounted renderfarm
Fredrik Perman's custom wall mounted renderfarm via .
This project was a ton of fun, and it proved to not only be very functional and convenient - it instantly sparked an interest by anyone walking though the design studio front entrance. We mounted the computer in the foyer. The server room was conveniently located on the opposite side of the wall. It was a home depot/computer parts puzzle, and a lot of fun! The fans blew all the hot air from the bottom and out the top. All 6 computers ran like a charm.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 30, 2008 08:20 AM
Computers |
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Sausage art
Masterpieces from Russia, made from sausage - according to the description anyone can just walk up and eat the artwork.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 30, 2008 08:00 AM
Arts |
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Creepy crawling skeleton
DaveintheGrave shares the directions for making this creepy crawling skeleton. Here's a link to the motor base and linkage, and here's the putting-it-all-together part.
Posted by Patti Schiendelman |
Sep 30, 2008 07:00 AM
Halloween, Kids |
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House plant measures the economic wellness of Home Depot
The "Spore 1.1" project is a self-sustaining ecosystem for a rubber tree plant purchased from Home Depot where the economic health of Home Depot stock value is analyzed and used to control the watering of the plant through a custom built circuit. If the company does poorly and the plant dies, the plant is returned to Home Depot and replaced with another at no additional cost. Let's just hope that the economy starts improving so that we can save all of the house plants.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Sep 30, 2008 06:00 AM
Arts, Culture jamming |
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Wacky Handcar Regatta Debuts in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Make was a sponsor of a wonderful event called the Handcar Regatta in Santa Rosa, Calif, which took place practically in our own back yard. Bringing together some of the makers from the Bay Area Maker Faire, and taking steampunk to the public in a new way, the Handcar Regatta used a railway that hasn't seen much action in a while and invited entries for human-powered vehicles that could travel a short distance down the tracks.
We were all glad to see a great local turnout for such a fun and offbeat event.
And now to some of the contestants. The KrankBoomClank team raced the Hennepin Crawler, which was sporting incredible custom tires.
This gentleman raced a lightweight frame on rollerblade wheels that he pushed like a scooter to a decent speed.
My favorite entry, but certainly not the fastest, was the Viking-powered ship. With oars flapping and feet pedaling, this was one of the largest entry.
I really enjoyed seeing "Spread Eagle" by Bryan Tedrick, out beside an old yellow bus.
We brought the Make truck and Craft contributor Brookelynn helped people make their own moustache.
It was the kind of day where anyone could pretend to be Snidely Whiplash.
We saw our friends at Cyclecide and Neverwas Haul as well as good folks such as Christopher Palmer, LadyBee and Paul da Plumber.
Posted by Dale Dougherty |
Sep 30, 2008 06:00 AM
Arts, Bicycles, Events |
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Generate house music with the number Pi

The "Pi House Generator" by Texas-based artist Paul Slocum is a software system that randomly generates house music using the number Pi. The software calculates the sequence of digits in Pi and feeds the resuls into an algorithmic music generator containing the structural driteria or recipe for house music.
The resulting music is pretty funky and you can listen to a sample here.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Sep 30, 2008 05:00 AM
Arts, Music |
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Homebrew iPhone MIDI controller
From the MAKE Flickr photo pool
MIDI is definitely in the air of late - well, actually these are OSC messages being sent via bluetooth and converted to MIDI via OSC-MIDI Bridge software. See more of the iPhone projects Flickr member Recotana's been up to on his photostream
More:
i3L MIDI bridge for the iPhone
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Sep 30, 2008 05:00 AM
iPhone, Music |
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MAKE: television Episode 6 - Music Machines & Trebuchet
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