[Cesar] recently got a PSP display up and running with his FPGA development board. That’s a nice project, but what we really like is that he set aside a lot of time to show how it’s done every step of the way. This isn’t just a tutorial on that particular screen, but an overview of the skill set needed … Read More → "Up your FPGA game by learning from this LCD control prototype"
Sometimes it seems the world is so screwed up we should just build a new one from scratch–and now we finally know how much such a project would cost.
In gloriously geeky fashion, economics students at Lehigh University tried to estimate how long it would take and how much it would cost to build the Empire’s ginormous man-made planetship if we were to get started today.
The students started by assuming the Death Star could be made from steel, and that the ship would be about as steel-dense as a … Read More → "Finally, a cost estimate for building a real Death Star"
Step by step this massive snow drawing was trampled into freshly fallen snow by artist Sonja Hinrichsen with the help of 5 volunteers last month at Rabbit Ears Pass in Colorado. I love that a piece so expansive and yet so temporary can be created with a few pairs of well choreographed snow boots.
via Colossal
Remember the days when you’d actually have to push on your Hot Wheels to get them to move? It appears those days are gone, thanks to Hot Wheels RC Nitro Speeders ($20-$35). Powered by dual 30,000 RPM motors, these tiny RC cars come with a controller that doubles as both a charger and carrying case, and can reach scale speeds of up to 600 mph.
via Read More → "Hot Wheels Nitro RC Speeders!"
A remote drug delivery system has successfully been tested in a human trial. A microchip was implanted in 8 women and delivered a drug to treat osteoporosis once a day for 20 days. There were no adverse affects and, compared to a control group of women who injected the drug, the microchip-delivered treatment was just as effective.
The miniature chip, 5 cm long and 3 cm wide, was implanted under local anesthesia in just 30 minutes. It contained 20 tiny reservoirs, each of which holds 600-nanoliters of drug solution, over which a thin layer of platinum or titanium contained the drug. … Read More → "Drug delivery microchip implanted in patients, passes human trial"
As a sworn bike lover, I remain fascinated by the evolution of bike culture and the bicycle as a cultural agent, from its design and engineering history to its beauty to its role in the emancipation of women (only after telling them not to cultivate ‘bicycle face’). While digging … Read More → "Vintage photos of early 1900s Australian bike culture"
Complexity scientists have made great strides in understanding the behaviour of single networks. Now they want to know what happens when networks become connected to each other.
In the last decade or so, the study of networks has had a profound effect on the way we understand the spread of everything from fashion and ideas to forest fires and disease.
But this better understanding … Read More → "The emerging science of connected networks"
… Read More → "Japan will have a space elevator by 2050"It might the stuff of science fiction dreams, but a Japanese construction company has announced that it will have built a working space elevator by 2050. Where can I join the queue?
According to the The Daily Yomiuri, construction company Obayashi Corp has announced it will have built a space elevator capable of shuttling passengers 36,000 kilometers above the Earth by 2050.
via Geekosystem
In the world of electronics, the size of a device directly relates to its ability to pull ahead of the competition — especially when it comes to fitness-tracking gadgets. The latest and greatest in this field has emerged from the most unexpected of places, with Epson, a company known for its printers and projectors, releasing the world’s lightest GPS watch. This timepiece, specifically designed for … Read More → "Epson joins fitness market with world’s lightest GPS watch"
