“Student geeks build Rubik’s cube solving bot”
Finally, the killer app for robotics has been found! 😉
Archive of entries posted by Head Geek
“Inventables”
Neat stuff: “Translucent concrete, rubber glass, unwetable sand, suction cup tape, etc.” Stretch-sensing rubber, silver-plated nylon thread, and bendable wood too. Dr. Cal Meacham: (paging through mysterious catalog) A catherimine tube with an endiom complex of plus four. Joe Wilson: What’s that? Dr. Cal Meacham: I don’t know, but this outfit has ’em. — From …
“Breakfast is Overrated”
You know, there’s something to this. For the last couple decades, I generally haven’t eaten breakfast, and I’ve found the morning to be my most productive time. I’ve heard other people talk about the link between being hungry and being energetic or creative too. It’s worth a thought.
“Space shuttle Endeavour: ‘An incredible ship'”
I think I was nine or ten the first time I saw a Space Shuttle on TV. I believe it was one of the first landing tests, and I saw clips of it being carried up, piggy-back style, on a huge airplane, then detaching and gliding to a landing on its own. Even at that …
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“Lock Down Your Computer Like the NSA”
Feeling particularly paranoid today? Have the time and inclination to read several hundred pages of information and instructions on locking down your computer systems? Well, you’re in luck. 😉 Apparently the NSA doesn’t like Ubuntu. They provide instructions for locking down Red Hat, but no other Linux distribution.
“‘Thinking cap’ makes you better at art, math”
Remember how your parents/grandparents/schoolteachers used to use the phrase “put on your thinking cap”? Someone has actually come up with one. And it apparently works, too.
“Planet with British weather found 20 light years away”
Sounds like a fun planet to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. 😉
3D Printing
3D printing is a really interesting technology that’s quickly gaining steam. With a 3D printer (like the RepRap), you can quickly make everything from shoes to your own parts for long-dead technology to your own action figure souvenirs. Future (and much larger) 3D printers might just build your next house for you. Today’s 3D printers …
“Princess Leia demo with Kinect and holographic projector”
How fitting that a scene from a science fiction movie is not only the direct inspiration for a technology, it’s also the first demonstration of it. The demo doesn’t look all that impressive here, but I suspect it would be a lot more impressive if seen in person.
“How exercise jogs the brain”
I kind of wish that someone had thought of this when I was in school. My younger self would have considered it torture, but it would have helped me get more fit, and I think my general lack of fitness contributed to my depression.