Eclectic junk from the four corners of the ‘Net. And pictures too!
Why someone didn’t think of this sooner is beyond me. A towel that will turn you into a ghost. Brilliant! You can either buy one for $30 or grab some scissors and make your own. Perfect for kids that like to play at bath time or if your drying off in an Islamic country (apparently exposed skin drives them mad with uncontrollable lust).
[via core77]
If your a fan of the classic Sci-fi TV series Star Trek your going to love this.
Once cinematographer and now graphic artist, Curt McAloney has set out to compile and restore the aging behind the scenes photos and clips. This is good stuff! His attention to detail makes this a true labor of love. And this project couldn’t come at a better time, with the 40th year anniversary of the original series being marked by the airing of restored episodes of this classic (check out the side-by-side comparisons) these photos are just what the good doctor ordered. You can’t have enough Trek in your life can you.StarTrek
StarTrek – Behind the Scenes Restoration
[Shore leave and an extra ration of Romulain ale to Bill for sending me this link]
Way back in the 70’s NASA commissioned a few studies on what long term space colonies might be like. Many artistic renderings were done as visual aids and have become icons of a future that might have been. I remember seeing these on the pages of Starlog
The educational resources are simply a joy to browse through. I mean, where else are you going to find data on low-g agriculture and a Ringworld simulator?
[via MAKE, boingboing]
Space Settlement Education Information
This page fills my head with ideas! Steam engines, electrostatic generators, bi-metallic motors… Mumm.. Well if your not the tinkering kind of person then you should be happy to know that everything at Exergia is for sale. Yep, in kit form or a finished unit. So explore the wonders of science today! Or at lest by mid noon of next week. 🙂
A bit from the site:
Sophisticated demonstration models of alternative energy technologies for universities, schools and interested individuals: Stirling Engines and steam engines, fuel cells, photovoltaic objects, toys and more! Discover extraordinary ideas in energy related devices: Educational devices inspired by old and new concepts to demonstrate the physical principles of conventional and alternative energy conversion."
[via MAKE]
Ooo, an R/C plane with a cockpit mounted micro video camera/transmitter that’s slaved to a gyro on the pilots head. Lots of discussion here. Video here, here, and here (best by far, lots of close passes with the ground).
Pretty much the idea is that the camera is sending a cockpit point of view back to the pilot where he views it on a set of head mounted goggles. To add a bit of extra zing to the equation the camera pans and tilts in response to the wearers head movements. You can see the fun that could be had with this, eh? Telepresence is amazing!
Some specs and build notes from the discussion group: (prices in Canadian I think)
My equipment is old. New equipment:
Gyro:$425
headset:$699
cam: $99
video tx/rx: around $150
antenna: 8dbi patch (optional) around $60
amateur radio license is req’d because you need to exceed 10mw of power.(it’s not hard to get and inexpensive in Canada)
and also it’s easy to plug, but not easy to get good video link without video dropout. It’s not easy to explain everything for me to someone who don’t have good electronic skill, for now it’s not for everyone.
The cam in this setup is glue on a servo and allow 45 deg of panning, the servo is plug in the rudder channel if not use or on slider etc. The servo can be modified to 180 deg easily by adding two resistor on pot. lead or buying a special circuit.
Now this is a lovely photo set of early slides from the Apollo space program. There were so many hopes and dreams back then weren’t there? Maybe the next 50 years will bring these dreams to full realization.
One commenter made this remark:
"This slide, as well as two others you have posted, were used in a presentation by M. W. Rosen and F. C. Schwenk at the Tenth International Astronautical Congress in London, England, August 31, 1959."
[via boingboing]
NASA dawn of the Apollo program slides – a photoset on Flickr