Category: Hacked

Giant Insects For Science, Honest!

DragonflyI’ve waited a long time for someone to run this experiment!

The giant dragonflies of ancient Earth with wingspans of up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) are generally attributed to higher oxygen atmospheric levels in the atmosphere in the past. New experiments in raising modern insects in various oxygen-enriched atmospheres have confirmed that dragonflies grow bigger with more oxygen, or hyperoxia.

I can hardly wait for more work to be done in this field. I expect that after many generations of insects being raised in a hyperoxic environment there might be some substantial differences between them and their low O2 brothers. Maybe they should try this on fruit flies due to they rapid reproductive rate. The stated goal should be a humming bird sized fruit fly within 20 years. Quite safe outside the lab due to the extra oxygen needed unless someone invents a tiny SCUBA system for them to wear… Please don’t tell DARPA about this one!
Raising giant insects to unravel ancient oxygen

Super Cool Steampunk Style Camera Mod


I still think that steampunk is a pretty neat ‘art movement’ so I’ll keep posting clever things when I find them. I ran across this dandy camera mod this evening. It’s a typical digital camera that’s been housed in a very well executed steampunk styled case. Classy! I like the little hatch on the front that lets the lens peep through. Makes me want to build something!
Electro Iconograph.

Multimeter Clock Is A Multimeter

Multimeter clock
… Well a bunch of multimeters to be exact. I found this in  my mailbox today:

Your readers are sure to get a kick out of my latest clock project. The clock consists of three multimeters, the first meter displays hours, the second displays minutes and the last displays seconds. A 16F628A PIC microcontroller keeps track of time and outputs a calculated current to each meter to display the current time.

Heck yeah, that’s pretty darn cool!

I thought it would be cool to have a clock that looks like an old Simpson 260 multimeter. The clock consists of three multimeters, the first meter displays hours, the second displays minutes and the last displays seconds.

Check out his project on his page:

Multimeter Clock – Styled after the Simpson 260 Multimeter – Hacked Gadgets – DIY Tech Blog.

The Classic Macintosh iPad Stand

A classic Mac used to house iPad

A clever hack that combines a Mac Classic with a brand spanking new Apple iPad. No, the Mac Classic no longer works after this hack but you have to admit that it’s better than leaving to molder on a closet shelf somewhere.

iPad のスタンドを自作してみる – Macintosh iPad Stand | site hirac.
[Translated via the mighty Google so non-Japanese folks can read it]

The Itinerant Photographer – The Ultimate DIY Photo Studio

I’m fascinated by these cameras. They are an entire photo studio in a box. The photographer uses a hood on the back of the camera to compose and focus and image on the ground glass inside the large box. Once the image is set, the camera is made light tight and the film ( photographic printing paper) is placed on the focal plane. An exposure is made and the photographer reaches inside the camera via a light proof sleeve and develops the paper in the chemistry that is contained in the box. the result is a paper negative that can be re-photographed to produce a positive print. So far this is the best collection of these remarkable cameras I’ve ever come across. They are still used in parts of the world where minilabs and digital cameras are rare.

[Via MAKE]

The Cuban Polaroid