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How To: Build Your Own Projector Screen at Home for Less Than Fifty Bucks

A few weeks ago, we saw a simple 128 inch DIY Projector Screen that looked like a pro built it—and it only cost $200. But this one is even cheaper, and looks just as good. It's also simpler because it's painted right onto the wall. In the video below, How To Lou shows us how to make it with just some white or silverscreen paint, a few pieces of casement molding, and some black velvet for the trim.

How To: Steampunk Your Next Party with the Elixirator, a Truly Exquisite DIY Robotic Bartender

So, you want to throw a steampunk party and you have almost everything in place—your steampunk persona and iPhone are ready to go, and you've even got your own steampunk straight razor. What's missing? The Elixirator, that's what. The Elixirator is a steampunk cocktail-making machine by Botronics that can hold four different ingredients and mix up to ten drinks. It has a Picaxe microcontroller for a brain and was built using a lot of pieces from thrift shops. It has a plasma globe at the top ...

How To: There's Metal Hiding in Your Pepto-Bismol and Here's How You Extract It

Got an upset stomach or a little heartburn? America's favorite pink pill will cure it right up. But did you know that there's actually metal hiding in those chewable Pepto-Bismol tablets? Yes, metal. Technically, it's a poor metal, but metal's metal, right? Well, we do tend to eat a lot of iron in our diets, because it carries oxygen throughout our bodies, so consuming metallic minerals isn't anything abnormal. But you'd never think that Pepto-Bismol is actually made up of metal.

How To: Send Your Secret Spy Messages Wirelessly Through Light with This DIY Laser Audio Transmitter

Looking to transmit some super-secret audio communications to your other spy buddies? A laser is the perfect tool for getting your sounds heard from a small distance—without anyone intercepting them— even if it's just a cover of your favorite pop song. A laser audio transmitter uses light rather than radio waves to transmit sound. This is a much more secure way to send audio communications because the laser is a focused beam of light, whereas radio waves are not controlled, so they can be pic...

How To: Discover the Hidden Colors in Everyday Objects with This DIY Video Spectrometer

A spectrometer is a device that splits light into all of the different colors it's composed of that can't be seen with the naked eye. It does this by using a prism to refract or bend the light. Jeffrey Warren over at Public Labs created a tutorial showing how you can make your own video spectrometer and create spectra like the one pictured below. Any guesses as to what the subject is? Believe it or not, that's what whipped cream looks like when viewed through a spectrometer. You can do this w...

News: Freaking DIY Magma! Syracuse University Creates Recyclable Red-Hot Lava Flows

Believe it or not, it's possible to make your very own lava—if you have a furnace capable of heating up to 1,200 degrees Celsius, that is. Bob Wysocki and Jeff Karson started the Syracuse University Lava Project to study basaltic lava and give students a hands-on way (hypothetically, of course) to learn about it. Oh, and they also want to use it for art projects. Sign me up for that class! It all starts with 1.1 billion-year-old basalt gravel, which apparently anyone can buy. They put the gra...

News: Colloidal Display Turns Soapy Bubbles into a Transparent 3D Projection Screen

We've all played with bubbles as kids, but I think most would agree that they're not exactly the most functional of objects. An international team of researchers made up of Yoichi Ochiai, Alexis Oyama and Keisuke Toyoshima wants to change that. They've figured out how to project both 2D and 3D images onto a micro membrane (soap bubble) using ultrasonic sound waves and a standard projector. The bubble is made of a solution of sugar, glycerin, soap, surfactant, water and milk. The glycerin and ...

News: Artist Burns Chairs into Decorative, Fragile Steel Ring Seats with Fire

For his thesis at Design Academy Eindhoven, artist/designer Tuomas Markunpoika Tolvanen created this incredible chair using tubular steel cut into thin rings. How did he get them to stay that way? He burned them. His project is called Engineering Temporality, and the inspiration came from his grandmother whose Alzheimer's disease is deteriorating her health and memories. Once he cut the rings, he laid them over an existing chair, only partially covering it. The fire acted as a varnish, creati...

How To: Create a mid-century modern wood wall hanging piece

Remember summer camp? Remember the smell of the log cabins? The feel of the treated wood? Well, you can create something for your home that's perfect for a nostalgic summer camp aesthetic. Meg Allen Cole (recently of Threadbanger) was inspired to make this mid-century modern wall hanging piece made from a small wooden log (or branch) when she was at a relaxing, wooded vacation spot in Maine. And she shows you how to make one, too!

How To: Write an effective letter of complaint

Step1. Make sure you get your facts straight. Note down the dates, names, and numbers, what was said etc while talking over the phone. It is also essential that when you present your letter of complaint that it is chalked full of facts so that when it reaches a decision maker you may get justice properly. Do not write a novel that is 30 pages. Keep it short and write in bullets. Remember that they are interested in facts only.

How To: Make your own soap like the pioneers

This is a clever video that teaches you how to make a craft that is both fun to make, and also a useful item to have around the house- soap! This is from Living a Simple Life Blog and details how to make soap, just like the pioneers. To do this, you will need some equipment, a scale, scent, colorant, lard, lye, coconut oil, plastic containers to hold ingredients while you weigh them, a stainless steel pot, safety glasses, rubber gloves, a miter box, scraper, curing racks, a funnel and a plast...

How To: Crochet a left handed seed stitch scarf

Teresa Richardson from the crochet-mania blog will be teaching us how to crochet a left handed seed stitch scarf. In her video, she is going to be guiding us through the process of crocheting single and double seed stitches as well as providing us with step by step instructions on how to make the scarf. Teresa designed this tutorial with beginners in mind, so newcomers are more than welcome to utilize and learn from it as well. Be sure to have a crochet needle and some yarn handy prior to wat...

How To: Aerate your soil using a broadfork

Aerating your soil is an essential part of gardening, but it can be long and back-breaking work. In this episode of Growing Wisdom, Dave Epstein will teach you how to use a broadfork to aerate your soil. Using a broadfork, you can aerate the soil without damaging the soil's ecology.

How To: Play "The Cat's Meow" by Joanie Madden on tin whistle

Watch this winds tutorial video to learn how to play Joanie Madden's "The Cat's Meow" on tin whistle. This video is best for intermediate tin whistle players, as beginners may find it too difficult to learn how to play Joanie Madden's "The Cat's Meow" on tin whistle. For note names and music, visit www.thesession.org.

How To: Self test for cholesterol

One very important aspect of self management is testing your cholesterol levels. Anyone over 20 should should test their cholesterol levels. This how to video shows you how to take an at home cholesterol test. Although there is no substitute for visiting a doctors office, this at home test can be a good start.

How To: Make edible grape and olive centerpieces

Meghan Carter visits Chef Jason Hill to discover the secret to creating beautiful and delicious edible centerpieces. Jason, host of the YouTube Channel Chef Tips, shared the essential elements for an attractive green and purple grape centerpiece as well as how to make something your guests will want to eat. You can also try creating the olive tower.

How To: Block Those Annoying Cookie Consent Notices from Appearing on Websites in Safari

As a means to combat annoying and intrusive advertisements in Safari, Apple added native support for content blockers on the iPhone. Instead of being bombarded by notifications, banners, and pop-ups, content blockers prevent them from opening, which can also be said about those annoying cookie consent notices that many websites now have.

How To: Simulate a RAT on Your Network with ShinoBOT

A remote administration tool, or RAT, is a piece of software used for remotely controlling machines. They are commonly used by tech support to gain remote access for troubleshooting purposes, but RATs are also an important part of a hacker's advanced persistent threat (APT) toolkit. Unlike standard administration RATs, these tools are designed to be delivered stealthily and operate undetected.

How To: Wipe your hard drive completely clean

Systm is the Do It Yourself show designed for the common geek who wants to quickly and easily learn how to dive into the latest and hottest tech projects. We will help you avoid pitfalls and get your project up and running fast. Search Systm on WonderHowTo for more DIY episodes from this Revision3 show.