Fun Time! Invent A Modern Science Kit, Win $50,000!

Ah, the days of the good ol' chemistry set are gone. Too many WMDs in the box just waiting to blow up in our faces!

Lament the death of reason no more! SPARK (Science Play and Research Kit)  is challenging you to envision a modern day chemistry set and if yours is picked you can win $50,000.

But it goes beyond just chemistry. They say they are "looking for ideas that can engage kids as young as 8 and inspire people who are 88. We’re looking for ideas that encourage kids to explore, create, build and question. We’re looking for ideas that honor kids’ curiosity about how things work."

Sounds like we might be able to keep STEM education alive and kicking with notions like this.

Circuit Stickers

And as a follow-up to yesterday's post, I offer Circuit Stickers. From the CrowdSupply crowdfunding website...

"Circuit Stickers are electronic stickers that you can use to build glowing, sensing, and interactive projects without any complicated equipment or programming skills."

These look like the perfect things to go between all that conductive ink.

Circuit Scribe: Draw Circuits Instantly

Here's another Kickstarter project that I've given my money to.

I think it's very important that children learn about electronic devices as soon as possible. When I use the term 'electronic devices' I mean circuits. This nifty pen can draw the conductive part of the circuit replacing wires or board traces and it's perfect for prototyping. You can use anything you would normally draw on; paper, wood, plastic. They also sell a group of magnetic circuit components (LED, buzzer, 8-pin dip socket, etc.) that offer no-glue, no-solder choices for creating your electronic wonder.

While you won't build a cell phone or tablet with these, you will begin to understand how these consumer toys works.

Travel Photo of the Week

Rumtek Monastery, Sikkim

Imagination Playground

An amazing creative playground for kids! With prices! Flexible. Durable. Re-configurable. Gets them exercising their bodies and brains. Everything you'd want in a toy for your young child.

The Dawn Of The Jeff-O-Caster

I've built my own amps and wired my stuff and such. But I've never built a guitar. And guess what? I still haven't.

What I have done is design an idealized platform, that I've had others execute, that I will assemble into a guitar I've dreamed about for a long time. I hope it sounds as good in reality as it does in my head. We'll see.

Now it's up to me to finish. Everything has been given its coats of Osmo and I'm letting it dry overnight. The pickups have been mounted (more on them and the electronics later) in the mounting plate and are resting on the body. More updates as they occur.

I want to thank Seth Johnson of Best Guitar Parts for all the woodwork and part gathering. Not to mention superb customer service. I think he has a future.

Beautiful Small House Made Of Reclaimed Wood

A small home made from reclaimed materials in Driftwood, Texas. Built by Reclaimed Space. For more photos, click HERE.

Fun Time! Google Map Of Middle Earth!

Do I really need to do any more than give you the URL?

You Can Get Bionic Eyes

In a few weeks the Argus II retinal implant will begin to be available to patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa. Although it will not offer full sight, it will offer some vision to these patients.

The device, which looks a bit like Google Glass, is connected to a tiny electrode array that’s been implanted in the user’s retina and that transmits information to the visual cortex.

The study is small (only 30 people) to start, but if successful, the device will certainly improve and become just the beginning of a long list of implantables. Backers also hope it will be approved for use in patients with macular degeneration.

Before They Pass Away

Humans have been a very destructive force on this planet. Things die when they come into contact with us. And not just wildlife and their habitat. Entire cultures and people have been forced into extinction.

Photographer Jimmy Nelson has documented some of this world's last tribal people. From the Gauchos of Argentina and Ecuador to the people of Lo in Nepal, the threat of extinction at the hands of modernity is a very real thing.

"Before They Pass Away" documents the lives of these people in far flung corners of Earth, before they are lost to the sands of time.

And remember: what goes around, comes around.

Travel Photo of the Week

Blue Ridge Mountains

Let Children Play

There has been a debate running about at what age a child should start formal education. This is a hot topic at our home. Even though both of our children are grown, my wife (who is a child development specialist) and I both agree that most children are ill equipped, both intellectually and emotionally, to start school before the age of six.

It seems that the English are beginning to agree. This article in New Scientist discusses the research going on in England that shows that young children need more play and less goal oriented instruction during their early years. In the words of the article, children's play is "an adaptation that enabled early humans to become powerful learners and problem-solvers."

Perhaps educators and the public should go back and read Summerhill.

The Making Of John Lewis' 'The Bear & The Hare'

There's an absolutely stunning Christmas advertisement for John Lewis International that's been making the rounds and here is a nice "making of" video that's just as wonderful.

Studio Shed Company

Studio Shed is a Colorado company that makes beautiful pre-fab structures intended to be backyard storage, studio or living spaces. Sizes up to 12" x 24" and you can configure the interiors any way you like.

Neat video, too.

Meet 83-Year-Old Luigi Prina, Builder Of Flying Model Ships

Hack Your Useless Inkjet To Print Electronics Circuits

Here's another good idea for printers. Do you have an inkjet printer you're not using? Well now you can get it to print out circuits.

Kurzweil has an explanation on how to do it. From the site....

"The technique, called instant inkjet circuits, allows for printing arbitrary-shaped conductors onto rigid or flexible materials and could advance the prototyping skills of non-technical enthusiasts and novice hackers."

It'll cost you about $300 to get started, but if you do a lot of prototyping that's cheap. Imagine how this and 3D printing in the classroom could revolutionize tech education.

Will 3D Printers In Schools Inspire A Third Industrial Revolution?

That's a good question. Public school is mostly concerned with preparing students to accept and perform in hierarchical, authoritarian based employment situations. What happens when young people realize that they can ACTUALLY make their future?

We might find out. MakerBot has decided that they want to see a 3D printer in every school in America. If this happens, a whole lot of students are going to be able to pull away the veil that conceals the mystery of industrial processes.

As MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis said when announcing this endeavour, ""It can change the whole paradigm of how our children will see innovation and manufacturing in America,"

Here are links to my sources, Motherboard and Marketwatch if you want more on this.

Travel Photo of the Week

Atlantic Ocean Road, Norway

I Wonder What It's Like To Be Dyslexic by Sam Barclay

Here's another great Kickstarter project. Graphic designer Sam Barclay is dyslexic and having struggled with this, he decided to try to create a book that offers non-dyslexics a window into the dyslexic world.

Watch the video, you'll get the idea.

Where Is Childhood Homelessness Getting Worse?

"I can tell your future, just look what's in your hand."

Bonus Sunday Fun Time! Patchblocks Synthesizer Modules!

And while I'm at it, here's another innovative audio product that could shake things up. Patchblocks are programmable synthesizer modules that you can program to be any combination of functions. Oscilators, filters, delays, all are available by using your computer and the Patchblocks software editor to chain together the various "blocks" to create the patch and then load it into the Patchblock to either produce and/or process sound. Here's some video.


Not available yet, but you can sign up to get them on their Kickstarter campaign. I've ordered a couple.

Fun Time! KORG littleBits Synthesizer Kit!

At last: a modular synthesizer for everybody. Why is it for everybody you ask? Because it's only $160, that's why!

The geniuses at KORG figured out that there was a market for this and it's being released in cooperation with littleBits, the company that puts out other cool modular electronics kits.

The synthesizer kit contain all the usual building blocks of subtractive synthesis: oscillators (two!), a filter, random voltage generator, envelope generator, even a keyboard and a sequencer. Just snap the blocks together (they stick together with embedded magnets) and you too are making obnoxious bleeps and buzzes!

Below is a video of the synth in action. I've already ordered mine.



This Kickstarter for Patchblocks looks interesting, too.

Jellyfish Are Taking Over The Oceans

More bad news for the health of our oceans. Australian jellyfish researcher Lisa-ann Gershwin says popular beach resorts around the world are seeing huge increases in jellyfish "bloom" activity, a result of overfishing and changing water temperatures. And it's not just in one or two locations.

"The French and Spanish Rivieras, Chesapeake Bay, the Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii ... some of the numbers are staggering," says Gershwin and adds that the explosion in jellyfish populations is a visible indicator that life in the oceans is out of balance.

If you want to read more, here's a link to the CNN article.

Starfish Dying From “Disintegrating” Disease

Starfish are disintegrating. A malady that used to only harm a small percentage of the creatures is now befalling whole populations. It starts when an animal loses an arm or bits of an arm and proceeds over a few days to dissolve it into a gooey mess.

Although scientist are not quite sure what is doing this, they are agreed on one thing: rising water temperatures are putting starfish under stress and weakening their immune systems.

Research continues and if you'd like to read the online Time article I got this from, click here.

Travel Photo of the Week

Valley of Vang Vieng, Laos

Thorium Powered Automobile

How about a car that you only have to fuel up once every century?

Connecticut based Laser Power Systems is developing a new method of automotive propulsion that uses thorium, one of the most dense materials known in nature. Thorium is so dense it has the potential to produce tremendous amounts of heat, producing steam to power a mini turbine.

Here's the complete scoop from Industry Tap.

Pozie – A Pallet House By Mark Fielding

Can Water Replace Gasoline?

Scientists have discovered a a safe method of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, then using the two gases to make the flame of a welding torch. The only byproduct of the flame is water.

The process, called Safeflame, is also a lot cheaper and safer than traditional propane and acetylene torches, according to the researchers who developed it.

My first question would be, "Couldn't we use this for cars?"

Fun Time! Hilarious Video Of Dogs Shaking In Slow Motion!

Cities Under Strain

So many of our cities are under stress. Population decline, loss of taxable real estate, soaring pension costs, all these contribute to a city going under.

The Wall Street Journal has an interactive chart showing American cities that are facing these problems and how bad they are. Click HERE to see how your city is doing.