The friendly robotic bartender we’ve covered a couple of times before hit the airwaves last week. [Jamie], the inventor of Bar2d2 sent in a link to video of the barkeeper in action. The story runs from 0:30-4:40 and covers a bit about the build, the conversion to automatic drink mixing, and plenty of happy liquor-guzzling party goers.
We get a good look at the drink ordering interface called Lazy Drinker. It runs on a laptop and communicates wirelessly with Bar2d2. Looks like you can get your hands on the software for free but the hardware, either in kit form…
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Bar2d2 on the Discovery channel
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DIY coffee table scale
[Guus] screwed together this coffee table which doubles as a scale. No welding was required to put it together - just some bolts, pulleys, miscellaneous fittings, and an original design. The weight is indicated through the (unlabeled) position of the counterweight arm. Currently it is limited to measuring 10kg (22 pounds), but can easily be boosted by adding a heavier counterweight. It looks pretty robust, maintenance-free, and fitting for any living room workshop’s weighing needs. [Guus] is also the proud inventor of the rock radio, and he is working on creating Man-Y-Man: a modular play system allowing children to create up to 1520 unique…
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Energy efficient fridge hack
We’ve already covered a pipe bomb mini-fridge this week, but inventor [Tom Chalko] provides us with today’s fridge hack. He noticed that chest-style (laying down, see above) freezers were more energy efficient when compared to normal stand up refrigerators at the same size, despite the colder temperatures involved. This is largely due to the fact that these chest-style freezers keep cold air in like water in a bowl, even if the lid is open. He has written a very thorough report on his findings (pdf), as well as a detailed walk through of the manageable task of converting a chest-style freezer into…
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Autogiro POV nostalgia
This bit of nostalgia really caught our attention. A german hacker or “inventor” as we were called back then, came up with this interesting concept. He would project an image on to the moving blades of an Autogiro, relying on the POV effect to make it appear complete. While this is not the same system of utilizing POV that we currently use, it relies on the same principles. It looks like he’s hanging the projector or “magic lantern” from below the Autogiro, using the length of the rope to hang it as a focusing system. Were this to have…
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Adafruit releases new TV-B-Gone kit
Recently, our friends over at Adafruit released a new version of their popular TV-B-Gone kit. Built in cooperation with [Mitch Altman], the inventor of the TV-B-Gone, the new kit sports four high power IR LEDs, two wide beam and two narrow beam. The four LEDs give the new TV-B-Gone increased range, with a maximum distance of over 150ft. One of the most impressive features of the kit is the fact that the new TV-B-Gone is universal and can now work in Europe and Asia in addition to the US. Users are able to select which region they want to…
Life
When The Door Is Closed
Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.Nothing can replace hard work.Luck is something that happens when opportunity to meet readiness.—–Thomas A. Edison, Inventor and founder of Edison Electric Light Company———-When one door closed, another door opens. But sometimes we see and regret the dooris closed too long until we do not see another door that was open.—–Alexander Graham Bell, The discoverer and Former President National Geographic Society–searchsearch
Business
Faces on Money
Have you ever stopped to think about who actually is on our American dollar bills? I did some research on these people and came up with some fascinating details: On the $1 one dollar bill: GEORGE WASHINGTON. Our 1st President, 1789-1797. Died of a throat infection in 1799. His picture is also in the quarter dollar coin. On the $2 two dollar bill: THOMAS JEFFERSON. Our 3rd President,1801-1809. Mr. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. His picture is also on the nickel coin. On the $5 five dollar bill: ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Our 16th President, 1861-1865. Assassinated in 1865. Mr. Lincoln…
