Cocktail pick storage

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Cocktail pick storage

I received a fun holiday present – a set of metal cocktail picks. They are very pointy, which I like, but this very feature raised a dilemma: where to put the darned things?! In a drawer is no good – you’ll get poked when you reach for the pastry brush.

cocktail picks   Salt shaker

I looked around the kitchen (a good way to get ideas) and my eyes lit on the salt shaker. Perfect! Food snobs that we are, our pepper lives in a grinder, not in a shaker. That meant there had to be an extra shaker somewhere, and (miraculously enough) I managed to locate it. The picks dropped right into the holes – clearly it was designed for this very purpose.
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Fixing a bad frequency fuse bit on an AVR

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ATtiny2313

This is a quick note on AVR programming with the AVRISP MkII programmer, with which it is possible to foul up your clock fuse bits. =)

(This might be plain as day to some out there, but *I* didn’t know about it, so I thought I’d jot it down.)

Minor problem: I was programming some AVRs when I thought I might try to change the clock fuse bits to use one of the low-frequency internal oscillators. Apparently, it is possible to change the clock frequency low enough that the ISP interface can no longer program the flash– at which point it *seems* as though the chip is lost. These are inexpensive chips, (around $2 each), but the cost can add up quickly if you don’t fix the broken ones. Besides, they’re made of plastic, so you can’t even recycle them into a trivet.
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The Perfect Ammunition for Valentine’s Day

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Valentine's day ammo 2

The holiday that we all collectively love to hate is sneaking up on us, which brings us right back to that all-important question: Exactly what type of projectiles should we be shooting at people? (Isn’t that what you think of when someone mentions Valentine’s day?) And yes, we’ve found the answer: Customized conversation heart ammunition.

Don’t have a decent catapult for the job? This is your perfect excuse to build one. You can make a Lego trebuchet (a leguchet), like we did, or take a peek at all the hot trebuchet action on Make this week and get creative.
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Jasmine Fruit

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Jasmine (Stephanotis) Fruit

Our jasmine vine produced a fruit. We didn’t know they could do that.
Heck, we didn’t even know what kind of jasmine we have. It can be a little confusing, because are several vines called jasmine: Jasminum (Jasmine), Trachelospermum (Star Jasmine), and Stephanotis (Madagascar Jasmine or Bridal Veil). There is a Gardenia called Cape Jasmine, and I’m sure there are still other flowers sharing the name.

Our plant is Stephanotis, which produces clusters of sweet-scented white blossoms. It attracts hummingbirds, who feed from the flowers and perch on the vines to keep watch over their territory. And, we have learned, it occasionally produces a large inedible mango-shaped fruit.
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JellyBean versus the Digi-Key packaging materials

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JellyBean versus the Digi-Key packaging materials

Digi-Key is a great place to order electronic components. Their online search is great, they ship quickly, and their prices are reasonable. If you have cats, there’s one more good reason to order from Digi-Key: They use interesting environmentally friendly packaging materials.

A day when a Digi-Key box arrives is a red letter day at our house. I get the components in the box, and the cats get everything else, and those are (apparently) some extremely exciting packaging materials. Typically there are layers of both white tissue paper and perforated brown kraft paper. Both types are krinkly– which cats are really into for some reason– but the brown perforated stuff is a particularly special treat. Our two cats will perfect their running leaps to pounce on it. They will fight over it, where the victor gets to roll around in it and get cozy inside– as JellyBean above has done.

Why? Well, I’m no feline psychologist, but I’ll take a few guesses as to why it’s so popular: (1) it’s easier to sink teeth and claws into than regular paper, (2) it’s more flexible, (3) it tears more easily, (4) if you’re hiding in it, you can still see out, (5) it’s very krinkly, and (6) it slides well on the hardwood floor.

All in all, it’s much better than a plain cardboard box, although they often get that too.

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Remaking a Maker Bag

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tool belt stitches from outside

Last year at the Maker Faire they gave away nifty canvas tote bags that have nice large handles and are a great shape and size.

The recent call for proposals for this year’s Maker Faire has just reminded us (1) that we need to choose a project to submit (we brought our dining table last year), and (2) that we were going to do something cool with that bag! Some time ago, it was suggested in this instructable that there be a Make Bag Re-Make contest this year. In that spirit, we are providing this guide to improving your bag and making it a little more useful. We have added a zipper closure and pockets and loops for pens, tools, business cards, an mp3 player, and of course, our favorite slipstick.
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Two strange little facts

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I often come interesting little factlets while browsing wikipedia, but here are two that really struck me as remarkable:

1. The super bowl is, in fact, named after the super ball. That confirms which of the two is actually more important.

2. Trans fats are not only incredibly dangerous to humans, but the are also largely to blame for the fact that whales have been hunted to near extinction!

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DIY exhibit in Chicago

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Shipment

We’re infiltrating Chicago! More accurately, we’re sending a few of our projects there for a little while. In the box are: the RC Sweeper, Shuffle Headphones, a holiday LED ornament and menorah, and ornament and menorah kits.

They are heading to an exhibit on DIY called “Pass It On! Connecting Contemporary Do-It-Yourself Culture” at the A+D gallery, which is affiliated with the Department of Art and Design at Columbia College Chicago.

This exhibit is unique in that all of the items on display will have accompanying instructions for viewers to take home. There will be some incredibly creative folks participating in the exhibit, so if you’re going to be in Chicago this spring (March 1 to April 14) be sure to check it out.

Thanks to the A+D folks for inviting us!

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Cashews: the nut you can’t buy in a shell

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Ever since we discovered them, we have been enjoying (and eating far too many of) the highly addictive Thai Lime & Chili Cashews from Trader Joe’s. These things should carry a warning label: “CAUTION: MAY BE HABIT FORMING.”

Anyway, while we eating them, we were asked if we knew why you can’t get cashews in the shell. We had no idea. Actually, we’d never thought about it. But, come to think of it, you can get almonds, walnuts, pistachios, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, pecans, and even macadamia nuts in a shell, but not cashews.

Why? It turns out that the cashew shell is toxic. However, that raised the question of what a cashew looks like in its shell. Again, we had no idea. When we found out, we knew more people should see it. Weird looking, isn’t it? And caustic, too!
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Make a Computer Chip Trivet

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Computer Chip Trivet: Deployed and Ready For Action!

You’ve just finished cooking something tasty on the stove and now you need a place to set it down on your dining table. You could reach for that old cast iron trivet, or a simple cork trivet, or the even the trendy silicone one.

But, if you really want to impress your geeky friends, this is the one to whip out.

Here is a genuinely useful kitchen tool that you can make: a trivet built out of old computer chips.
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