http://art-smart.ci.manchester.ct.us/how_to/how_to_hi_shirt.html

fold an origami Hawaiian Shirt ( a short sleeved sport shirt).

The origami shirt is one of my favourite models: it is easy to make, and looks great! In the site above you will find step-by-step instructions to fold it, with pictures. The hawaian look is optional, of course: I for instance made this soccer-themed shirt

Mentocola, in its stable form, is one of the rarest substances on Earth, since this mix tends to explode unless you handle it very carefully. This video shows how to make it. The explosive reaction, on the other hand, has become quite popular lately…

disclaimer: Making&drinking mentocola may be risky, be aware of that.

A video game is not that different from any other software development; it perhaps depends more on hardware, but even so it is very similar. When you describe a program you need the client´s opinion and plenty of information to determine how the issue was being taken prior to the new development. In the end it is obvious that albeit there won´t be much relation between the analysis and the final development, that relation will still be more or less recognizeable.

But, what about video games? To start with, Read the rest of this article »

http://cgi.linkclub.or.jp/~null/unicorn/unicorn0.html

Thanks to the instructions in this site, you can emulate Gaff and leave the same origami unicorn he left Deckard in front of your suspected replicant friends´door. This origami unicorn has an intermediate level of difficulty, but the instructions come both in origami signs and pictures for every step, which makes it a recommended model not only for the film fans but also for anyone who wants to understand origami signs better, since you can easily see how the drawings correspond to the real foldings. Good luck and happy sheepy dreams!

Last Updated 16.06.06

http://www.chennaionline.com/food/recipes/nan.asp

Nan is a wonderful Punjabi leavened bread that goes well with any Vegetable Kormas or Dhansak.

Officially Nan stands for not-a-nerd, but I just found this recipe for making Nan bread. See, we´re so cute you could eat us!

ps. Actually I´m going to try to make a loaf of Nan bread, so stay tuned for updates

Update 16.06.06 Ok, I tried… you can see the results for my first experiment below. More experiments will follow, but any advice or pictures or help would be greatly appreciated (at least I didn´t burn anything!)

Construction of a Menger sponge can be visualized as follows:

1. Begin with a cube.
2. Shrink the cube to 1 / 3 of its original size and make 20 copies of it.
3. Place the copies so they will form a new cube of the same size as the original one but lacking the centerparts, (next image).
4. Repeat the process from step 2 for each of the remaining smaller cubes.

After an infinite number of iterations, a Menger sponge will remain.

from Wikipedia

The Menger Sponge is a fractal particularly appealing to modular origamists, and I believe that for two reasons: it can be made out of Sonobe modules (the very first “brick” that every origamist learns), and given its fractal nature, it can be expanded forever and ever. What follows is a list of origami websites on this fascinating structure: Read the rest of this article »

http://www.lego.com/eng/factory/

With the free Digital Designer software you can build absolutely anything with virtual LEGO bricks right on your computer. Then you can buy the real bricks to build your creation and you can share it with thousand of other LEGO fans.

One of the problems I used to face every time I wanted to make my own lego models was that I never had enough bricks of the kind I was needing. It must be one of those “murphy´s laws” that the brick you just need is the one you lack!

Until now, there was a partial solution to this issue: the L-cad program allowed you to design your model in the computer so that you could afterwards order the pieces you wanted. This walkaround was (is) very useful, but if there were an easier option to custom design-custom order models which was backed by lego, that would be amazing, and if it were user friendly… whoa!

Well, so a big WHOA! to lego, since they have done exactly that. Besides giving the users an easy way to design models on the computer, they have made it just as easy to order those models as custom sets. Again, WHOA!!

My friend Covadonga sent me a very nice step-by-step guide to making this origami envelope, originally attributed to Frances Levangia. She writes, “I made these diagrams based on paper models because otherwise I would forget how to make it, so when I like something, since I have no idea of how to diagram, I do it in this way”. Thanks Covadonga!

While searching for information on the envelope, I came across this site, where you will find a very nice collection of letterfolds and envelopes diagrammed by John Cunliffe. This same model is included among them; for those who are learning how to read diagrams, it could be interesting to compare it with Covadonga´s instructions to see how the drawings translate themselves into foldings.

Related Article: Origami cd case

http://www.henrylim.org/Harpsichord.html

With the exception of the wire strings, this instrument is entirely constructed out of LEGO parts(…) approximate 150 lbs. weight, and an estimated 100,000 LEGO piece count (…) It’s taken two years of theorizing, designing, collecting parts, building, testing, and rebuilding.

I first knew of the Lego Harsichord after an article in make magazine, and have been wanting to write about it since then. From my point of view, this project stands on its own not only because of the sheer amount of lego blocks used, but because Henry Lim has overcome the very specific problems that arise when designing and building a music instrument, plus the added challenge of making every single part of it out of Lego (well, obviously not the strings), departing with no previous knowledge on the field!

It is true that, if you Read the rest of this article »

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/totm/index.php

It is no wonder why Pieter van Suijlekom’s reef aquarium has been chosen as “tank of the month” by the Reefkeeping online magazine. With a lenght of 6 metres and weighing 8000 kg, this is the largest private aquarium I have ever seen, and I guess it must be one of the most impressive ever constructed. (My dentist has an impressive aquarium, too: a very good idea to soothen up the patient´s nerves before the torture). It is so big that a 22-mm thick safety glass sheet had to be custom made by Tetterode Glass so that it could stand the tremendous pressure of the water inside.

The number and kinds of fish and corals lodged inside this tank is by no means less impressive. To mention a few, you will find here examples of Seriatopora hystrix, Poccilopora verrucosa, one Halichoeres chrysus and three Naso literatus (naso literatus? this must be the Cyrano de Bergerac among the fish, I guess). The tank has been accomodated on the second floor of the “Open fireplace Center”, a shop in Vlaardingen, Netherlands. As you may see in the pictures, the room has been fitted with two comfortable armchairs (I have to talk to my dentist about it), and I´m sure that if I lived nearby I would probably grab some popcorn and go to the dock of the tank to watch the fish roll in, instead of spending my money going to the movies.

ps. I have just found the monster-megatank. Still, if not in size, I think that Pieter´s aquarium is much more impressive in terms of style.

Related Article: The minitank!

Related Article: The Ecosphere

http://www.georgehart.com/trilobites/trilobite.html

These cookies are the result of my most recent research into what ancient trilobites would have tasted like if primitive biochemical processes were based on jam/chocolate/cookie molecules.

An easy recipe, served by George Hart, for the dinousaurs´ favourite cookies to enjoy at tea time. With lots of butter, chocolate and humour, what else can one ask for?

…Well, actually there´s more! you should must visit George´s site, and see for yourself some of his sculptures, his prototypes (I really want one of those rapid prototyping machines!), and his 3D puzzles, all based in polyhedra. Oh yes, and the picture of his office. I guess it looks like a phone booth from outside…

Related Article: A little bit of yummy information

http://www.geocities.jp/jun_brick/doraemon.html

http://www.geocities.jp/jun_brick/projectd.html

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Doraemon, the cosmic cat, must be one of the cutest japanese cartoon characters ever, and my personal favourite: he´s always smiling (unlike Kitty, which “speaks from her heart” and therefore has no mouth: duh!), and he always has some cool gadget to amuse Nobita (he´s got a magic four-dimensional pocket!!). This said, I was really pleased when I learned that someone had made a “real-size” Doraemon out of lego blocks. (Another proof that anything can be replicated with Lego blocks: it´s just a matter of patience and blocks -and the money to buy them). Read the rest of this article »

http://www.flipfold.com/

Use FlipFOLD for folding your pants, shorts, skirts…even towels and sheets!

Some days ago I wrote about an easy technique to fold Tshirts by hand. I have been using it since then with good results, though the technique renders irregular results: some shirts look better folded than others, some of them are better centered…

Here´s when a little bit of industrial revolution comes in handy: The FlipFold (yet another inspired name) is a very simple machine designed to Read the rest of this article »

http://www.teamhassenplug.org/robots/legway/

I’ve been able to put it on a table, and tilt the table, and LegWay continues to maintain its balance.

The Legway is a successful recreation of the famous, albeit a little expensive Segway, a transportation device which makes use of gyroscopes in order to provide stability with only two wheels. The Legway obtains the same results by adding proximity detectors (provided by hitechnic), to a mindstorms core. These sensors provide the core with precise and continuous measures of the distance to the ground, which are used to make the calculations that allow two motors to keep the thingy always up and proud.

The model shown is currently able to follow a line, and it can also be remotely controlled. Steve, the Legway designer, has also included links to the building instructions and the program he used, so you can try making one for yourself! (and if you succeed, next step is the real thing).

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7502458538500026068&q=shirt+fold

Coincidentally, it happened that this morning I had a huge pile of tshirts waiting to be folded, and so I have spent some time putting in practice the method shown in this 33 second-long video.

I must admit that I have always had some problems with folding shirts, so this was a very good opportunity to try to refine my skills, and I have to say that the method works well, though you may need to watch the video several times to understand the “flip”. A bit of advice: make sure that you’re grabbing both front and back layers of the shirt when you first pinch it, and that you’re grabbing all the layers right after you take the neck to the bottom. Notice that I say “take” instead of fold. Folding would make the neck turn inside, while you want the neck to be looking outside all the time (they show this step in more detail in the video when folding the second shirt). Give it a try!

ps. Unfortunately, the method is not as efficient on long sleeve shirts, but you can always add some extra folds here and there until it looks good.

Related Article: Tshirt Folding ex Machina: The FlipFold