Tabletop Pong on Make: Live

post from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories on 22 March 2011 09:58:42 PM. © Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

We're excited to be joining Make: Live tomorrow for Episode 5: Kinetic Contraptions. We'll be showing our mechanical Tabletop Pong, which we took to Maker Faire last year. You can check out the show preview over at Make, and join us at 6 pm PDT/9 pm EDT Wednesday for the live show.

Becky and Matt

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http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/makelivepong

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How to Choose Your Wedding Colors

post from How to of the Day on 22 March 2011 08:34:24 PM. © How to of the Day

Your color scheme for the wedding has the power to set the vibe ? so choose wisely. Focusing on the color theme early on is important to ensure that everything else obtained for the wedding is well coordinated and suited to the wedding as a whole. The colors are completely up to you but you will need to take into account where you're getting married, and the formality or informality of your ceremony and reception. The complexity or simplicity of color schemes are another part of your decision and these will depend on your personal preferences, budget, and patience! Here are the top determining factors to selecting your hues.

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http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-Your-Wedding-Colors

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Plaid Floral Skirt

post from Cut Out + Keep on 22 March 2011 06:34:53 PM. © Cut Out + Keep

I swear I use other colors sometimes.

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http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/plaid-floral-skirt

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Decoupage Drawers

post from Cut Out + Keep on 22 March 2011 06:34:53 PM. © Cut Out + Keep

Make ugly furniture beautiful

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http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/decoupage-drawers

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Beaded Insects

post from Cut Out + Keep on 22 March 2011 06:34:53 PM. © Cut Out + Keep

These are so pretty and versatile!

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http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/beaded-insects

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Native Instruments Updates Make 64-bit Macs
Happier

post from Create Digital Music on 22 March 2011 06:19:13 PM. © Create Digital Music

MacBook Pros, 64-bit, all. Photo (CC-BY-SA) Benjamin Nagel. I’m not one to post every single minor software update, but with the latest handful of free upgrades for Native Instruments software, I think it’s safe to say the 64-bit age has come to the Mac musician. Windows developer Cakewalk heralded just this sort of advance for … Continue →

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/createdigitalmusic/~3/vh0Phbdifa4/

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Throw Your Strobe To Great Lengths Using a Poor
Man's Better Beamer

post from DIYPhotography.net -DIY Photography and Studio Lighting on 22 March 2011 05:54:39 PM. © DIYPhotography.net -DIY Photography and Studio Lighting

poor man's better beamer It is not really possible to defy the inverse square law. I know I tried and failed miserably. But you can stretch it.

A better beamer is a device that does just that, it extend the distance the light from your strobe travels. So while the inverse square law is still in effect, it stretches over a greater distance.

Physics bla-bla aside, it means that light coming from your strobe will go further. Some strobes, like the SB900 has an impressive zoom functions that does just that.

Flickr used lonelyhome contrapted a poorman's better beamer using a cheapo Fresnel lens (around $1) and some plastic (I assume cardboard will do too).

The picture is really self explanatory.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Diyphotographynet/~3/aoYzyp4ESvs/throw-your-strobe
-to-great-lengths-using-a-poor-mans-better-beamer

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Open Source Hardware logo: Up for public vote!

post from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories on 22 March 2011 04:20:42 PM. © Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

oshw logo candidate

After an initial round of judging 129 entries (Whew!), The effort to establish a logo for open source hardware has moved onto the next stage. We've narrowed the field down to ten finalists. And, voting has been opened to the public, so go vote!

We're putting our own vote in for "#95," the geared logo by Fred PRATE, shown above with variations. It's one of the few that suggests both mechanics and electronics, and it will look darn good milled into a hunk of metal or silkscreened onto a circuit board.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/oshwlogovoting

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Geektastic lighting

Materials: Hemma Cord Set, copper wire, blank printed circuit boards

Description: I wanted to create some lighting for my apartment that would have a very geeky feel. After looking around and finding nothing I wanted I decided to create something from circuit boards.
I purchased blank printed circuit boards from ebay.
I used copper wire and insulated wire. (Local hardware store.)
I hooked this all into a Hemma cord set, well 3 of them for the 3 lights.

I wired the circuit boards together with the copper wiring visible as one square and two triangles. I tried using 5 of them but it was very heavy, the 3/4 seemed to be a good look and weight, they are hung with cup hooks using the hooks that came with the cord set.

I then suspended the Hemma fixture inside with insulated wiring. The piece that screws together allows for a good tight hold and the lights have held up very well for several months.

The circuit boards create a lot of visual interest because they have many different levels of light they let through. The light also creates a great visual on the ceiling above them.

Total cost was around $50 with materials left over.

~ Sara Reller