brainwagon

Overall, I didn’t think much of the commercials that played during this years Superbowl, but just in case you missed one that everyone seems to be talking about during your coffee break, you can surf on over to Google Video and see what you missed. Super Bowl XL Commercials on Google Video [tags]Superbowl Commercials,Google Video[/tags]

I beat Josh by a single point, which probably will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me.

Courtesy of the Make Blog, go surf over and check out these instructions for building your own projection digital clock.  The idea is pretty simple: modify a  cheap digital watch from the dollar store by mounting a couple of bright LED lights behind the LCD display, and then use a lens to focus the enlarged […]

I saw some of these little cars while in Paris, and of course wondered what they would be like in collisions. Check out the video of a little Smart Car mashing into a barrier at 70mph. Smart – Google Video [tags]Google Video,Smart Car,Collision[/tags]

If you haven’t mastered the cool Japanese way of folding T-shirts, you could always watch this video (complete with Nintendo soundtrack) on making a jig out of cardboard to help out. Formidable!

I must admit: I love sushi.  Even basic nigiri and sashimi show a degree of concentration that we don’t often see in the west.   Precision.  Freshness.  Balance.  Everytime I have a meal of good sushi, I can’t help but feel better.  The flavors of fish, rice, soy, wasabi and gari are all just… I love […]

Nice notes on building a panoramic video system.  It hooks six firewire webcams together to record full motion video over 360 degrees.    Neat! [tags]Panorama,Quicktime,Webcam[/tags]

Burning a hole in a car with thermite Best quote: This is a car. It’s been chosen for destruction because it’s old, it’s white, but most importantly: it’s French. [tags]Destruction,Thermite,Google Video[/tags]

This is just completely nuts, an 8 bit computer constructed entirely from 12 volt relays. It consumes 12 amps at 13.5 volts (160 watts). Hilarious. [tags]Retrocomputing,Hacks[/tags]

SimplyPhysics has a nice page of objects which have close encounters with the magnets inside MRI machines.   Now I know why people with stints and other metal in their bodies can’t have MRIs. 🙂 [tags]Bizarre,MRI[/tags]

Another of those musical projects, this one comes via the Make blog. Paul reprograms old dot matrix printers (does anyone younger than me actually remember these?) to play musical notes. His description of the project: I’ve got an ongoing project, reprogramming the firmware in these 1985 Epson LQ-500 printers to turn them into musical instruments. […]

Yesterday I mentioned the live webcam views of the Augustine Island volcano, today I thought I’d give you a link to Google’s satellite view of the island, since it is still dark at this moment and all you can see in the webcam is black. A quick bit of Googling to find the volcanos latitude […]

Courtesy of the new forum section of the Make blog, check out Jake von Slatt’s incredibly impressive conversion of a 1989 Thomas Saf-T-Liner bus into a family camper. He apparently got the bus for about $2000 on eBay, and with six months of work it’s shaping up into quite the stylish home/ride. Me? I’m happy […]

Courtesy of the Make Blog, here is a construction article on how to construct your own 1/4 scale Dalek. I’ve podcasted about creating your own Dalek voice simulator before, so you can see that I’m crazy about Dr. Who already. I should build one of these and fit it with a voice synthesizer.

Via metamerist, some new thinking to jumpstart the new year: The World Question Center asked lots of smart folks “What is your most dangerous idea?” The answers are wide ranging and thought provoking. Check ’em out.