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Pretty neat, using zippers as sensors, then making music - “”Zipper Orchestra” is interactive video installation: a combination of the “Conductor Musical Score” as a physical controller and the “Zipper Actions Collage Video” as musical display. Users can play music by zipping and unzipping the physical zipper. The screen is a fashion collage, filled with 9 video clips from different people zipping and unzipping their clothes. By moving 9 sub zippers and 1 main zipper attached in a canvas, users can control the individual zipper motion in the screen as a conductor” - Thanks Hadley! Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 2, 2006, 6:57am

Here’s a homebrew version of the classic Super Mario, in 3D! [via] - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 2, 2006, 7:05pm

The latest Citizen Scientist is out and one of the projects is how to photograph the International Space Station - ” The International Space Station (ISS) is so large that the sunlight it reflects toward the Earth is highly visible for an hour or so before sunrise and after sunset. The Space Station is so bright that it is easily photographed with a camera mounted on a tripod” - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 2, 2006, 11:56am

MAKE Flickr photo pool member Csc934 writes - “It needs to be wider for stability. Here’s how it went during one class. The audio is a little rich on the trumpeting sounds, but most of the details about the design are on the recording.” - Build photos and audio.

Related:
Build your own hoverboard - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 2, 2006, 7:09am

Jipa writes - “This time we have something not-so-serious for all the modders out there with broken HDD(s). I had some dead HDDs lying around and I started wondering what could I do with them. After opening one and testing if it still run, I couldn’t resist scratching the spinning disk with a screw driver… “ - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 1, 2006, 6:37pm

Norman writes - “I added this web page just for fun. While looking at some proofs, it occurred to me that their structure resembled musical scores, so as an experiment I decided to see what they “sounded” like. Essentially, the musical notes correspond to the depth of the proof tree as the proof is constructed by the proof verifier. A fast higher note is produced for each step in the construction of a formula. A sustained lower note is produced when the formula is matched to a previous theorem or earlier proof step, to result in a new proof step (which corresponds to a proof step displayed on the Metamath Proof Explorer page that shows the theorem’s proof). Is it “music”? I guess that’s for you to decide. It is richly structured, with underlying themes that on the one hand seem to repeat but on the other hand are interestingly unpredictable, teasing your mind as the piece progresses.” - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 2, 2006, 12:30am

Ryan writes - “Capacitive sensors have historically been regarded with fear and hostility among hobbyists. They’re notoriously flaky, unreliable, and difficult to design. Further, they traditionally fall in the “analog domain” which is something the casual microcontroller hobbyist can sometimes wince at. They usually require fancy shielding, and are unsettlingly sensitive to changes in things like temperature, humidity, air pressure, cosmic radition, my girlfriends feelings, and the mushroom kingdom stock market index.

d lately though that capacitive detection doesn’t have to be so scary. With a few simple design rules and a little signal processing, you can do some immensely cool stuff with basically no effort at all. (And as many parts!) This project is just one simple example. There are all sorts of ways you could couple a theremin-like antenna set up with some signal processing to produce fun results. I hope to try more of them!” - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 1, 2006, 10:14pm

This is interesting, Wind farm construction out in Illinois is being halted, because the giant turbines might interfere with military radar - some folks don’t care for Wind Farms either, it can spoil their view of the ocean - [via] Link.

In MAKE we show you how to make a Wind Powered Generator - With a motor and some piping, it’s suprisingly easy to build this inexpensive, efficient windmill generator. MAKE 05 - Page 90. If you make one and/or have access to wind farms and military radar, could you drop us a note and let us know what could be going on?

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 1, 2006, 11:17am

Hacked Gadgets has a follow up to to the hard drive laser oscilloscope, here’s how to make one - “A hard drive voice coil circuit is hacked to allow it to be directly connected to a stereo output. This allows audio to move the hard drive read write head. Mirrors are positioned on the center of the platter and hinged on the side to allow a way for the laser to be moved in two axis. The read write head is connected to the hinged mirror so that they move together. And finally a laser is mounted to the hard drive pointing at the hinged mirror. Crank up the tunes and have fun!” - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 1, 2006, 10:50am

Dejapong writes - “Make a hardwood bow with no special tools, setups or working space for under 20 bucks. Everything was purchased at Lowes. “ - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 1, 2006, 9:07am

Jason writes - “Tired of mashing the tiny buttons on his DVR remote, this maker decided to build something better. Starting with second-hand game controllers, an unused universal remote and a dream, he produced a beautiful, polished and functional replacement. “ - Link.

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Originally from MAKE Magazine on June 1, 2006, 12:29pm

Mark Frauenfelder:
Pee Wee’s Playhouse is my favorite kids’ show of all time. In fact it’s one of my favorite shows of all time. Yo Gabba Gabba looks like it just might be the first great kids’ show since Pee Wee. Check out the awesome trailers. I have no idea when or if the show will launch. Link (Thanks, mattereaterlad!)

Originally from Boing Boing on June 2, 2006, 4:49pm

Cory Doctorow:
A tipster working for the IRS claims on his blog that the IRS’s archiving has been outsourced to the lowest bidder, an unnamed company in Florida. If true, it means that this company will control the most intimate details of the finances of virtually every American.

“Sections of each agency “not related to the inner workings of the government” are being made to “bid” for the work they had done previously. Im part of the file retention unit (basically, the archives) of the IRS, and our section is one that has to bid.

“Yesterday], we lost that bid, to a company in florida. Which means that our government will no longer be controlling your tax documents that are archival in nature (and we also store documents for this tax year) it will be in the hands of the lowest bidder.”

This is also happening to other governmental agencies, not just the IRS. Corporations aren’t controlling the “inner workings” of each agency, but everything ELSE is being sliced up and delivered.

href=”http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/irs/breaking-irs-archive-control-sold-to-lowest-bidder-177771.php”>Consumerist)

Originally from Boing Boing on June 1, 2006, 4:21pm

Cory Doctorow:

The Oops List is a page with links to hundreds of images and movies of vehicle crashes.

Link

(Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

Originally from Boing Boing on June 2, 2006, 12:20pm

David Pescovitz:
On Memorial Day weekend, Clara Jean brown of Baldwin County, Alabama, prayed to the lord to protect her family from a storm in the area. Seemed like a good idea, until she said “Amen” and was struck by a bolt of lightning. From Associated Press:

The 65-year-old Brown said she is blessed to be alive.

Firefighters said its likely she was hit by a bolt of lightning that apparently struck outside and traveled into the house…

A family member said he will no longer assume it is safe to be indoors during a lightning strike.

The safety of praying is now up for debate though. Link

Originally from Boing Boing on June 2, 2006, 11:31am

Cory Doctorow:
Carrie Vaughn’s “Real City” is the latest science fiction story on Futurismic, about a world where computer-generated film effects have replaced sets and locations and costumes. It’s the story of a startup bent on reviving “location” films, as an art-house prestige medium, and the problems they face trying to get a screen heartthrob to adapt to the old ways. It’s thoroughly engaging, a nice little romance story.

He filmed in the alley behind the RealCity offices, with a full crew on hand to make it seem more like a real set. Cass came along to watch, and felt a buzz in the air at the sight of the camera on the dolly, the boom mike, the cables, the lights, the chairs. For a hundred years, Hollywood had been filled with sets that looked like this, before the blue screens, then the three-dimensional blueboxes took over. It wasn’t just a piece of history coming to life; it was a different medium being revived. Films done on location felt different, and she wondered if this hum of energy, the excitement that jumped from person to person with a glance or a word, was why.

Link

(Thanks, Jeremy!)

Originally from Boing Boing on June 2, 2006, 10:16am

Cory Doctorow:
CChits is a web-app meant to help people find and share cool music that’s been released under Creative Commons licenses. It’s built on Ning, a site that makes it easy to clone and customize web applications; in this case, CChits clones the popular link-sharing site Digg.

Link

(Thanks, Kenji!)

Originally from Boing Boing on June 1, 2006, 7:35pm

Cory Doctorow:

Ape Lad sez, “I can’t believe no one has pointed out the unintentional goatse (worksafe link) on the Captain Copyright site, which is clearly lifted from the famous Superman pose. Also, ironic that most of the elements of his costume are borrowed from elsewhere: Shazam’s arm protector thingees, the Sentry’s belt, and the Spectre’s color scheme.”

Captain Copyright is the cartoon mascot of Canada’s Access Copyright agency, part of an “educational campaign” to “help children.”

Link

(Thanks, Ape Lad!)

Originally from Boing Boing on June 1, 2006, 7:16pm

Shown at the Cybersonica 06 Sonic Art Exhibition.

Mind Your Head by Philip Marston is a simple and playful installed object which the viewer/participator (by wearing the headphones and walking under and around the suspended light) can audibly experience the invisible electromagnetic frequencies which leak and radiate out of an ordinary fluorescent tube light.

The headphones, with an EMF (electromagnetic frequency) pick-up attached, provide a new form of intimate but unnerving physical interaction with an overlooked mundane object, which hopefully highlights our every increasing environmental exposure to man-made electromagnetic fields.

More from Cybersonica 06.

Originally by chris from Pixelsumo on June 3, 2006, 6:31am

German artist Martin Kippenberger once proposed a subway system for the entire world, connecting Los Angeles to Helsinki, Tokyo to Rome, Münster to Dawson City. Greek islands, Canadian towns, Swiss lakes, pharaonic tombs – there would be entrances everywhere.

So Kippenberger actually began building these things – doors in the earth, leading nowhere – including this portable subway entrance.
But then he died.
The project ended.

Here are some construction specs and photo-speculative images to ponder.

So who’s up for re-starting this thing? After all, an entrance was built on the roof of the World Trade Center – but, even though the towers have been destroyed, the entrance is still there, hovering invisibly above Manhattan. It leads to an unexplored subcavern deep inside Mammoth Cave – where you’ll find a door to the Vatican. Which leads to the International Space Station. Which leads to the aerotropolis. Which connects onward to Cape Farewell, via the
Cabinet Magazine National Library. Rumor has it, an Australian bone surgeon once uncovered another entrance in a patient’s rib. Eve was an entrance.
Etc.

(Thanks to Brand Avenue for pointing out Kippenberger’s project to me – nearly seven months ago. And thanks to Andrew Blum for reminding me of The New Yorker cover, above, which I’ve been saving in a box of files since August 2002).

Originally from BLDGBLOG on June 1, 2006, 12:44pm