DIYs & Mods

Brady Clark and Mykle Hansen made this nifty DIY speed vest for bikers that displays a light-up readout of the wearer’s speed. The vest works thanks to an Arduino open source computer, wheel speed sensor, nine-volt battery, and electroluminescent display. Hansen and Clark describe the speed vest as a “bicycle safety device and advocacy tool.” I don’t really see how ...

Here’s a video I found on Astorians.com that shows a hacked/modified Rock-afire Band from Chuck E. Cheese singing an Usher song. It’s hilarious and is on par with the other Rock-afire video we found. Link (via)

Whenever I arrive at an airport, I need to get online right away. It’s not enough they’re overcharging me for my ticket, now they want to charge me $7 for 24 hours of internet. My next flight is in three hours, what could I possibly need 24 hours of internet for. What a rip-off. Thanks to Felix Geisend�rfer of debuggable.com, ...

Hell must have frozen over because Red Bull is no longer restricted to energy drinks. It’s just released the latest drink in it’s product line, Red Bull Cola. Apparently, it tastes similar to RC Cola and contains no high-fructose corn syrup, a selling point that could prove key in future marketing campaigns. I can’t remember the last time another big ...

For those of you who will be in New York during the second week of September, we suggest you come out and visit us at the Minitek Electronic Music Festival. It’ll feature a handful of different electronic performing artists, music, art, technology and more. It takes place September 12th through the 14th and will feature both an indoor and outdoor ...

Remember the hit toy the Furby? It was the first successfully domestically-aimed robot that sold well because all the kids just had to have it. But, just like the Tickle-Me Elmo or any other Christmas time fad, it died off and everyone forgot about it. That is, until David Cranmer skinned a few of them and turned them into a ...

Here is a collection of screenshots from last weeks fourth annual ‘i am 8-bit’ art display held at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery in Hollywood. It was chock full of impressively intricate art centered around classic old-school titles like Elevator Action and Donkey Kong. They even had displays of old controllers, people playing arcade games in their underwear and ...

Just a quick heads up to anyone reading who uses PHP. If you’re looking for some text-to-speech on the quick, Jason Striegel has a great little piece on just that over at Hacks. I highly recommend you check it out and try messing around with it. The demo is pretty impressive and Jason touches on some other examples out there, ...

Twitter users take note: you can now tweet to ring a doorbell. While I’m not a Twitter user or fan of the service, I can appreciate how useful of a hack this is for people who can’t knock because their hands are full or something of the sort. The project is built around an Arduino, which is another why it’s ...

No, really. This sculpture really does suck. It’s made from a shit-ton of colorful drinking straws and you can make your own if you find yourself inclined to do so. It’s not just a sculpture, though. It’s also a lamp! Yes, light up your room and take a hit. Let the grooves flow, then, snap out of it and realize ...