Some people in this world have awesome parents. I’m not talking about the rich ones that buy their kids everything, but rather the kind that teach their kids to build potato guns. My mom and dad didn’t approve of such contraptions, however, the DeRose family is much cooler. Last December they decided that the potato gun they had previously built just wasn’t enough fun, so they would instead try to create a Gatling gun version.
As you can see from the video above, they did in fact reach their goal. It’s a somewhat complicated device, but will definitely turn heads at the next block party.
(Fun Monday drinking game: Take a shot whenever someone says the word “ah” or “um” in the video. Make it a double if both are used in one sentence!)
Sometimes it’s fun to go back and play some of the old games that you enjoyed from childhood. The easiest way to do that is usually with an emulator and a folder full of ROMs. Of course if you don’t actually own the game it can be something of a sticky legal situation. If you want to make sure that you’re on the up-and-up, or just like to show off your mad hacking skills, you might want to check out this little DIY project.
Some guy thought it would be cool to actually plug in an SNES cartridge to his computer and play the game that way. It sounds a little crazy, but it is possible. The video gives you a pretty decent idea of what the end result is. It really only took less than $40 worth of equipment, but I can’t imagine the amount of time it took to solder the “thousands of little wires.”
Telsa coils are just plain cool. Of course they’re not usually the sort of thing that you just put together in your garage one day. Or are they? One man decided to go raiding a few dumpsters and looking through his garage for the necessary parts. He managed to find them, and make a pretty decent little Telsa coil. Here’s a rundown of what he used:
Primary power source: Small neon sign transformer
Discharge capacitor: High-voltage television capacitors
Spark gap: Pair of 1/4-in. bolts and nuts
Primary coil: Lamp shade and electric cord from a humidifier
Secondary coil: Cardboard tube and microwave fan wire
Secondary grounding: Metal spike pounded into the ground
Torroid: Two stovetop grease catcher pans
Chokes: Two Bic pens and wire from a RC car tossed away
Naturally, as with any DIY project like this, you’re going to want to be really careful. I’d advise looking through the instructions that the guy posted so as to get everything right.
If your timing is right, it’s not hard to pick up a used lunar module from the Apollo era on eBay or Craigslist for a steal, but what really kills your budget is when you have to take in to NASA for repairs or a tune-up. Those rocket scientists don’t work for peanuts. So if you’re the DIY type, you’ll be happy to know that Haynes has an Apollo 11 manual circa 1969 that also covers the Saturn V, the CM-107 Command Module, the SM-107 Service Module and the LM-5 Lunar Module. Basically everything you’ll need if you’ve been considering a trip to the moon, including launch procedures, how to moon walk and dealing with that tricky Earth re-entry procedure.
You can order your copy directly from Haynesonline for about $29.
Oh sure, all the glitz of E3 might make the latest games look like tons of fun, but are they really? Probably yes. But in my old age I’ve also come to appreciate the simpler things in life, even when it comes to electronic gaming. And although it looks almost too simplistic, I think this ‘Thumb Stadium Electronic Game Kit’ available from ThinkGeek could actually be quite a bit of fun.
The build-it-yourself kit is just $19.99, and that’s probably because you don’t have to pay for some assembly line worker to put it together. But that also means it comes with the satisfaction of a job well done, if and when you actually get it to work. And besides a few wires and chips, the Thumb Stadium only has 2 buttons and a set of 3 red and green LEDs which allows you to play 1 of 4 different games including;
Game 1 – ThumbWar™
The object of ThumbWar is simple: press while the other player is pressing. If you do, you get a point.
Game 2 – SlapJack™
During SlapJack, Thumb Stadium randomly flashes the center LED red or green. Be the first to press when center is green and get a point. Don’t press if it isn’t green or the other player gets a point.
Game 3 – Jai Alai™
Center lights up ~ quickly press to “catch” your color. Press again to “throw” to the other player who has to catch on time and throw back. The time to catch gets shorter each throw.
Game 4 – Reflexy™
Reflexy is a one-player game. The object is to quickly press the button that matches the color in the center LED. You go until you miss or are too late. The time to react gets shorter each turn. After the game, your score is flashed ~ Center = x10, Red LED = x1. Press the Red Side Button three times to restart.
Now I’m not sure why it needs 3 x AAA batteries, that seems a bit much given what little it does, and no matter how entertaining you find it I would caution against bringing it along on your next flight because I guarantee you won’t be making your plane.
This, I guess, is why they call it a “Universal Cereal Bus.”
Now that USB drives have gotten as small as physically possible, you can get creative and make some DIY USB drives of your own with little more than a tiny drive, some glue, and whatever crap you feel inspired to kludge onto it.
I’ve never read the rule book, but I assume the addition of an electric motor to your bike during the Tour de France is not allowed. But if you opt to cheat using the Gruber Assist, no one will know you didn’t really earn that yellow jersey. That’s because the Gruber Assist’s electric motor is designed to hide inside a bike’s seat tube (minimal diameter of 31.6mm required) and provide a bit of extra help with the pedaling, instead of powering the back wheel. So not only is it almost impossible to tell it’s installed, but the Gruber Assist can be retrofitted to any bike, as long as the seat tube is large enough.
However, I say “almost impossible to tell it’s installed” since you’ll still have to carry a set of NiMH or LiON batteries (good for about 1.5 hours) which are somewhat hidden inside a saddlebag. So if someone starts poking around your ride, your secret might not be safe. But lying and cheating aside, the Gruber Assist is definitely a very clever way to retrofit your bike with an electric motor, even if the complete NiMH version will set you back about $2,400.
Sometimes I miss the days when I was a kid. Sure school was boring, but it was perfectly normal to run around and shoot your sibling with Nerf guns all day long. Actually I have a Nerf gun sitting on my desk, and I shoot my brother whenever he comes over, so nevermind. Heck, now that I’m an adult I have the resources and intelligence to to take things to the next level and create my very own remote control Nerf tank.
A guy by the name of Travis Schmidt decided to put his robotic skills to good use by creating this cool little R/C Nerf tank. It’s got just about everything you’d want including a laser sight, wireless camera and on-board speakers for “psychological warfare.” Head over to the Instructable site for directions on how to build your own. Oh, and if you’ve got a girlfriend that will actually let you build an R/C Nerf tank, here’s a tip: Don’t shoot her with it!
Now that Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale have shown us how Batman movies are supposed to be, it’s hard to watch the previous 4 films without cringing. And that’s why I’m a bit confused as to why sculptor Bob Causey has put so much time and effort into creating a drivable replica of the Batmobile seen in Batman Forever, arguably where the original series of films first took a turn for the worse. Now I’m not knocking his craftsmanship or attention to detail, since this replica has a full working interior and a retractable hard top, but given the choice, I’d definitely go with the homebrew Tumbler instead.
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