Contrary to popular belief, eliminating household pests from your home can be accomplished without completely bombing your living space with a mess of toxic fumes. Whether you have annoying fruit flies in the kitchen, fleas on your beloved pet or silverfish lurking around your bathroom, it is very likely that a DIY, non-toxic and super inexpensive solution exists for your household bug problem.
A century ago there wasn't much life available for quadriplegic people. Handicap accessibility was barely even a concept, and lacking medical technology kept any semblance of independence out of reach. Today those unfortunate enough to be paralyzed from the neck down have brighter prospects, but are still unable to participate in many activities. Video games are a great option for those who do not have the use of their legs, but for quadriplegics, the use of a standard controller is not an op...
This amazing Star Wars Sand Crawler is built entirely out of legos. Includes lighted eyes of the Jawas and a working crane to life the droids.
If you dig case mods and Resident Evil, it's fair to say you'll find Ron L. Christainson’s nothing short of epic. Inspired by the renown video game and movie, Ron—an artist and PC tech from Seattle—has already spent a year constructing the mod from scratch, and still has a couple months of work ahead of him.
Scientists have good and bad news for hard-driving people who boast they need only six hours of sleep a night. The good news is a few may be right: Researchers at the University of California-San Francisco have identified a family with a genetic mutation that causes members to require only six hours sleep a night. The bad news? The gene is vanishingly rare in humans, found in less than 3% of people.
You have two choices for keeping your living room looking fresh: A. constantly update the decor by tripping out on acid—NOT recommended—or B. paint your living room white and get two video projectors. Created by Mr. Beam:
If the whale tail cookies and edible undies weren't naughty enough, you've still got about 24 hours left before Valentine's Day to whip up one of F.A.T. artist Randy Sarafan's step-by-step clap-off bras. Inspired by the electronic singing panties and remote-controlled bras of the secret underworld of Syrian lingerie, Sarafan made a mission to "fast-forward lingerie technology in the West".
Here is a more concrete - and amazing - application of the Minority Report fantasy that the Kinect enables.
Jonathan Guberman of Site 3 coLaboratory hackerspace in Toronto has created an Arduino-controlled mechanical typewriter that can type on its own, detect what is being typed on it, and run text-based interactive fiction games such as the classic (and to most, all but forgotten) Zork. Guberman says:
Japanese artist and visual designer Akira Nakayasu creates robotic plants that not only respond to human touch, but anticipate human touch.
A new study from John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign promises an exciting new tech-chic addition to the world of body modification: flexible, implantable LEDs that would radiate sub-dermal luminescence. Just imagine the possibilities.
Relax PETA, it's not as evil as it looks (although those neural electrode implants do look painful).
Little boy gamers don't care about coffee tables. But when a little boy gamer grows up, he's gotta have some kind of furniture. Like a giant NES coffee table with a fully functionally, giant NES controller. So Matt (grown boy gamer) built one:
From The LATimes: "Brown, the Democratic nominee, touted talking points — living within California's means, no new taxes without voter approval, returning control to the local level — that could come from a Republican playbook. Whitman, his GOP rival, unveiled her seventh attack ad against Brown, this time enlisting the words of former President Clinton during their contentious 1992 Democratic presidential primary battle. Tellingly, both candidates avoided mention of their political party.
Earbuds have always been a problem for me. Maybe I have abnormally shaped ears, but when I go running, my iPod Shuffle earbuds are a chronic distraction, always popping out. With the iPod Shuffle, you're bound by the Apple brand earbuds, as the controls are on the headphones rather than the device itself. Damn you, Apple.
What if everything in life was controlled by augmented reality? Keiichi Matsuda imagines: "The architecture of the contemporary city is no longer simply about the physical space of buildings and landscape, more and more it is about the synthetic spaces created by the digital information that we collect, consume and organise; an immersive interface may become as much part of the world we inhabit as the buildings around us.
Ever feel like your brain is playing tricks on you? Well, that's because it is. Lifehacker has put together ten common weaknesses of the human mind, and how you can be beat them.
Can a well-directed thought be as good as a mouse click? With an Emotiv EPOC headset, the answer is yes. And then some. Though Emotiv describe their device as a "high-resolution, neuro-signal acquisition and processing wireless neuroheadset," we're quite content to call it a thinking cap.
The prerogative of most fancy, pricey lenses nowadays is ultimate sharpness. However, if you're partial to that soft, out of focus look, you can make your own lenses to achieve this type of effect.
Oh how I wish this didn't sell out so fast. I just might bite the bullet and try to get tickets off Craigslist but paying $70 for something originally $21.50 makes me cringe. But I do love La Roux..
e3 Premieres the XBOX MotionCapture Add-on via Adam B. Vary at Entertainment Weekly
Once you get married and have a spouse and babies, you can get them to do chores with you. Click on your family member so the little star is over their head, then click on the chores you need done. You can do chores at the same time by clicking on yourself and selecting other chores.
TV newscasters love to run stories about out of control parents fighting at youth sporting events. Here is an example of a story
The secret to kicking ass at Scrabble? Playing super down and dirty. Mehal Shah gives us the entire lowdown in the video below. Thanks to WonderHowTo World, Scrabble World, for the find:
You'd think a Hummer couldn't get any more over-the-top (unless you're talking a horse-drawn Hummer or remote-controlled Hummer, of course), but Japanese tuner Calwing’s US division, 213 Motoring has come out with a Hummer boasting a whole extra set of wheels. I'm not quite sure why this is necessary, but nonetheless, Bornrich reports:
Alter Evo on Flickr has created this amazing starfighter and service unit vehicle. This is what he says about it:
Modder Bacteria presents his iNto64, a mini portable handheld of the classic Nintendo console. The iNto64 features:
Ogre is a "Tank" built around a Zamor launching system nicknamed "Hailstorm". For more information, visit http://www.teamhassenplug.org/robots/...
One rope + a little yankee ingenuity, and you've got yourself THE lazy man's lawn mower. Korey99's self-propelled mower runs on autopilot:
I can't tell if this is supposed to be stand-up comedy or serious instructions, but it's still a cool video.
The itch chair, designed by Dana Gordon and Alejandro Zamudio Sánchez, is a futuristic chair that scratches the back of the sitter.
Paul Yperman’s Droid Control Ship has been two years in the making, and required a whopping 30,000 LEGO bricks to build. Says Brothers Brick, "Paul’s build differs in the surface textures of the model. He uses tiles and greebling elements in shades of gray to add realistic-looking details, which really enhances the appearance of this amazing creation."
Ever wondered how a digital combination lock works? Instructables member Nino123 is kind enough to demonstrate the inner workings, with a step-by-step HowTo on building your own.
This video demonstrates how to play music on your iPod Touch. From the people who brought you the Dummies instructional book series, brings you the same non-intimidating guides in video form. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to play music on your iPod Touch, For Dummies.
This video demonstrates how to adjust the volume of your iPod Touch. From the people who brought you the Dummies instructional book series, brings you the same non-intimidating guides in video form. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to adjust the volume of your iPod Touch, For Dummies.
In this video we are going to build upon hammer on and pull off skills. We are going to introduce tapping, which can be used to further enhance your soloing. I'll go over some basic tapping tips to get you started, and walk you through a classical riff. Then I'll introduce our first guest guitar teacher, Parker Fly. I'll turn over the controls to Parker and he will take it from there. Parker will demonstrate the riff. First he will play it slow, then he is going to open up and really smoke it...
The Fireworks 8 pen tool lets you create straight or curved line segments by placing points. Pen tool creates object lines that can be altered by sub-selecting and modifying one or more control points. In this Fireworks 8 video tutorial you will learn how to use Vector Pen Tool, and adjust its parameters. Make sure to hit "play tutorial" in the top left corner of the video to start the video. There is no sound, so you'll need to watch the pop-up directions. Use the Vector Pen Tool in Firework...
Visibility is controlled by an object's visibility track. In this 3d Max video tutorial you will learn how to add and use a visibility track. Make sure to hit "play tutorial" in the top left corner of the video to start the video. There is no sound, so you'll need to watch the pop-up directions. Add & use a visibility track in 3ds Max.
Watch and see how to steer using the push and pull method. The steering wheel should normally be controlled with both hands. Turning the wheel as far as it will go is called 'full lock'. This type of driving is crucial if you plan to drive on a track or be a good precision driver. Steer a car using the push and pull method.
Many homeowners wish that their master bedrooms were larger or perhaps their dining room and living room were one. You can often create larger living spaces in your home by removing non-weight bearing walls. It is always tempting to just start knocking things down but demolishing a wall can be tricky. But with a little planning, you will avoid a house full of dust, long waits to duplicate moldings and trim, and other unplanned construction expenses. The main problem with demolishing walls is ...
