Are we giving robots too much power?
This video was released back at the beginning of 2008 by The Onion, very funny.
In The Know: Are We Giving The Robots That Run Our Society Too Much Power?
S1axter's Tech Log of Crazy Stuff
s1axterCircuits, electronics, hacks, software, firmware and anything else cool
Electric 914 conversion
Video of an electric Porsche 914 using a conversion kit from http://electroauto.com/
DIY Vegetable Oil Filter System
I was browsing youTube last night and came across this video for this homebuilt waste vegetable oil filtering & de-watering setup. The guy uses 2 55-gallon drums, heaters and an array of filters to get the waste vegetable clean enough for use in a diesel vehicle.
I've always been a fan of cheap renewable fuels and plan on doing a WVO/SVO vehicle...when I get a garage.
April fools geeky pranks
Today is April fools day and because of that I have some links to simple pranks you can play on people
Annoy anyone with this electronic cricket kit
Static shock shoe generator
Use this javascript to really annoy people
That's it for now, if you have a favorite geeky prank, post a comment here and let us know
AAA battery fluorescent light driver
Found this little project on Make today about powering a small fluorescent light from a 1.5 volt AAA battery using a disposable camera. Cool stuff to know if you are ever in a crazy MacGyver situation.
http://www.josepino.com/circuits/index.php?fluorescent_light.jpc
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/03/diy_4watt_fluorescent_lig.html
Arduino Etch-a-sketch clock
Sorry for the delay in posting for a while, my server burned down, there was a traffic jam, I had to save a school bus full of kids, my dog died, my dead dog ate my posts....pick an excuse, :-).
There are a bunch of computer controlled Etch-a-sketch projects out there such as these:
Nice laptop
Atmel Etch-a-sketch mouse interface
Etch CNC
General Etch controller
However none of these projects is a clock! Saw this on Makezine today and thought it was post worthy. Check out this project which turns an Etch-a-sketch into a working clock using an Arduino:
http://angelayuan.com/build.htm
Not a whole lot of details but some cool links
via: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/03/arduino_etchasketch_clock.html
This color is BADA55!
Like mustard green? Yeah, it's BADA55, and now you can buy #BADA55 in a can!
Check out this post on Makezine about the paint color #BADA55!
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/03/bada55_in_a_can_bada55_in.html
Chicken Sandwich
Ok, who searched for 'chicken sandwich'. That's funny!
http://geeksinside.com/searchlist/
Trossen Robotics and Johnny-5!
Yesterday the the Trossen Robotics Team dropped us a tip letting us know their fourth project contest came to a conclusion on February 29th. Trossen Robotics contest is a general technology project contest showcasing cool projects dealing with "robotics, automation, art, RFID, DIY, mods, inventions, and anything else demonstrating some form of technological creativity". In the submitted tip they say "We run this contest to help promote and encourage innovation and ingenuity.", (sounds just like what we here at GI strive for!)
Projects are scored on "Wow" factor, Ingenuity, Creativity, and Presentation (graphics, videos, documentation, explanation, etc.) and submissions are open to anyone who has something to enter. While the fourth contest ended last month, you are in luck, they are running another one right now that ends in May 2008. Over $800 in prizes were given out last contest, and there will probably more for this one, so make something cool and submit!
I took a look at some of the projects entered in the fourth contest and I really liked the servo based Johnny-5. Reading the specs the thing runs Windows XP on a Pico-ITX board @ 1GHZ! Not exactly what I whould have done but it is still cool. Check it out
Contest page: http://www.trossenrobotics.com/contest.aspx
Showcase: http://forums.trossenrobotics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=101
Build a CPLD dev board
Check out these two tutorials on how to build a simple CPLD dev board and an introduction to Verilog found on pyroelectro.com.
The dev board is quite sparse, but could be a really good base for a series of tutorials on how to work with programmable logic.
http://www.pyroelectro.com/tutorials/cpld_board/
http://www.pyroelectro.com/tutorials/verilog_intro/
About programmable logic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_logic_device
