I’m touched, it’s like seeing your child graduate. I have inspired others to follow and improve upon my works. After seeing my photo of the "neo-Victorian New Age Flemming like valve" on Flickr, Donald decided to hollow out a light bulb and build one of his own. Hats off for using a UV LED to excite the dye out of a highlighter marker! He also incorporated a Basic Stamp microcontroller in it so it has some nice flickering when it’s started. Watch the video to see what I mean.
Category: Cool
Classic Video Games Sounds
Liven up your day with sounds of classic video arcade games. If I were you I’d load some choice sounds from ‘Berzerk‘ on to your cell phone. Nothing like a little having ‘Fight like a robot!’ announcing an incoming call during a staff meeting.
DIY Video Camera – The VanceCam VC25P
I like the idea of building something that fits your needs as opposed to going out and buying it. Building your own video camera is a little exteem but hey, I like that even more.
This is a one-of-a-kind "film-look" digital camcorder custom-built specifically to shoot the independent feature film, Cold Day in Hell. The camera module is based on a Hitachi HV-C20A/E, 1/2" format, 3 CCD industrial PAL camera with 700 lines of resolution.
I love the fact that they used a mechanical shutter in the camera. I bet the camera operator even got to yell ‘speed!’ when there were doing a take.
Amazing Micro Bug Pie Attack!
Quite the amazing video, even if it is a viral ad for a new Samsung cell phone (the Ultra Edition II to be exact). I want to learn some more about the making of the video, bugs are notorious for not taking direction.
Millimeters mater (may ridirect to the Samsung page in 15 seconds)
[via notcot, vaicomit]
US Version of British Hit ‘IT Crowd’ On NBC Mid Season
I’ve said before that I’m a big fan of the British TV series ‘IT Crowd’, a show about two nerds surrounded by non tech supervisors in an equally tech illiterate company. Well in the grand tradition of British television programming migrating across the pond to the US shores, the IT Crowd has been picked up at a mid season series on NBC. Not h best of situations for a TV show but at least it will be in the air. The cast will include two US actors, Joel McHale ("The Soup") and Jessica St. Clair ("For Your Consideration") and an original member of the British series Richard Ayoade. I’m hoping that that spark of the original show will be carried over with Ayoade, if not this will crash and burn like the US adaptation of "Ad Fab" did.
[via lonelocust]
NBC’s New Shows for the 2007-08 Season
Variable Polychromatic Sunglasses
Researchers have come up with sunglasses that can change hue and density at the flip of a switch. It works by altering the charge of an electrochromic polymer that is sandwiched between the lenses of the glasses. So far the researchers have created glasses with stable elements that change from clear to dark blue and less stable glasses that are in green or orange. A multi colored unit is in the works.
I’m quite happy to see research like this being done. Although I have to admit that I had an idea like this almost 20 years ago. My idea was not as simple as single variable density lenses but incorporated a LCD matrix and sensors to provide a high dynamic range of vision that we can currently enjoy. Oh well, I have lacked the funding to pursue this project but if any venture capitalists are out there looking for an investment drop me a line.