A hack-box to go, filled with interconnects, LEDs, and love. Because, what better way to say I love you, than with the gift of electronics?

An ever-present challenge in electronic circuit design is selecting suitable components that not only perform their intended task but also will survive under foreseeable operating conditions. A big part of that process is making sure that your components will stay within their safe operating limits in terms of current, voltage, and power. Of those three, the "power" portion is often the most difficult (for both newcomers and experts) because the safe operating area can depend so strongly on the particulars of the situation.

In what follows, we'll introduce some of the basic concepts of power dissipation in electronic components, with an eye towards understanding how to select components for simple circuits with power limitations in mind.

From the forums:

Guy Albertelli wrote in with an unexpected use of his Alpha Clock Five kit: a turn signal machine for the back of his Xtracycle-- complete with a "SORRY" button and a random-scrolling-message mode (that isn't shown in the video). There's even a clock mode with an improvised "second hand."

One might argue that the scrolling messages could be a little simpler, but that's really missing the point: this is an awfully clever application for a bright and self-contained alphanumeric LED display.

Guy's video is embedded above. (YouTube link).

A mermaid's purse is the iconic protective egg case of certain oviparous (egg laying) sharks and skates.

Here's another version, made of crepes, perfect for protecting your eggs at breakfast time.

Capitalism Works For Me! True/False is a beautiful interactive art piece by Steve Lambert designed to spark conversation around a difficult subject. It was made after a successful kickstarter campaign and is now touring the country.

From the project description:

Start a conversation about capitalism and friends edge away slowly, and strangers even faster. This is what art is for. This is what art does well. It creates a space where new ideas and perspectives can be explored. A space unlike any other.

Our very own 12" seven segment displays were used for showing the vote tallies as viewers interact with the piece.

After being first displayed in Cleveland, it is currently on its way to Boston for the 2012 deCordova Biennial which opens January 22. You can check up on its progress and destinations through kickstarter updates or Steve's site.

Zener diodes are a special type of semiconductor diode-- devices that allow current to flow in one direction only --that also allow current to flow in the opposite direction, but only when exposed to enough voltage. And while that sounds a bit esoteric, they're actually among the handiest components ever to cross an engineer's bench, providing great solutions to a number of common needs in circuit design.

In what follows, we'll show you how (and when) to use a Zener, for applications including simple reference voltages, clamping signals to specific voltage ranges, and easing the load on a voltage regulator.

The San Francisco Chronicle ran a profile of us yesterday.

"In recent times, they have helped create an accepted definition of open source hardware, participated in the annual Open Source Hardware Summit in New York, and are in the exploratory stages of building a foundation to support open source hardware."

You can read the rest of the (front page!) article here.

Recently we have seen some fantastic DIY examples of CNC image carving with traditional halftones and alternative versions with regions generated with reaction-diffusion equations. More impressively, all of this is now possible with freely available, homegrown software released by the people behind those projects (Here and here.)

Seeing these examples reminded us of another "classic" method of making halftones: ASCII art. In what follows, we walk through the process of using making CNC halftones for engraving or carving from both vintage and automatically generated ASCII art.

One of the finest cocktails that we have ever come across is the cucumber martini, a cocktail which-- correctly executed --can be a bracingly refreshing blast of intense cucumber flavor, highlighting what is perhaps an under-appreciated member of the melon family.

Unfortunately, cucumber martinis often fail to live up to their potential, ending up as watery infusions that might be mistaken for scented mineral water. And that's an injustice.

To set the record straight, here is how to make your own thoroughly-awesome cucumber martini. To go one step further, we present three distinct variations: the Sweet Vodka Cucumber Martini, the gin-based Savory Cucumber Martini, and the non-alcoholic Cucumber Fizzy.

Here's some easy to make festive holiday candy that doesn't taste anything like candy-canes, fruitcake, gingerbread or eggnog.