I always thought my ex-girlfriend’s cat was a little weird: It would avoid drinking from its water bowl at any cost and would only quench its thirst by drinking from a running faucet.
When I used to arrive at her apartment, it would lure me behind it either to the kitchen or bathroom sink, jump up and stare at me until I would turn on the faucet.
While this sounds cute and adorable, it provided a certain restriction. If I wasn’t going to be home until late, how else would it drink? If I filled its bowl with water, the cat would just nudge it, play with it, and spill the water across the floor. Although this is harmless, after it walked in the small puddles, the house and the bed sheets would receive a beautiful share of its footprints.
An automatic faucet, which would turn on when the cat is thirsty and turn off as its thirst is quenched would have made a wonderful solution.
Sixerdoodle Electronics have provided a neat Do It Yourself project of this desired automatic faucet. It is installed with a tiny infrared (IR) sensor to turn on when the cat is by, and turn off when the cat is done. Full instructions, images, and how to of this amazing DIY creation is provided at their site for all cat lovers to view.
I may not need it anymore, but I am sure that many have hoped for such an invention and may want to make one on their own.
This table was built with the lights embeded right beneath the surface, so as you run your hand across, it is still flat, smooth and beautiful. Since the lights are not installed on the table, when it is not running, they are not visible, and it looks like a regular table. As the LED is started, the table comes to life with different patterns and messages.
As seen in the video below, it seems the patterns of lights are interchangeable and customizable for preference of messages and shapes.
The images are of the actual construction of this project.
Most of us have seen the intriguing Microsoft Surface commercials and their possibilities, but can we really afford one? A Do It Yourself version has been developed by Eyebeam.
For the much lower cost of $500-1000, the Cubit Project is available, allowing you to download the software and also instructions of building one all by your own.
In addition, a Cubit kit including all the hardware necessary to build the Surface like product is being talked about. This would consist of all the necessary materials, instructions, and requires you to just provide a computer to hook up the table to. Although a price has not been mentioned for the full kit, additional information is available at their site.
This DIY may not have the Microsoft brand stamped to it, but I believe that many may look at that as one of the more attractive features of the project.
If you have been interested in the Surface product, would you consider a full purchase of the original, building one all by yourself, or getting the Cubit kit?
I myself had hundreds of VHS tapes laying around with different TV shows, movies, and music videos that I watched over and over. With the speedy progress of technological innovation, it seems they have become completely useless, so quick.
This great do it yourself hack has brought the video tape back to life, in a classic and practical daily use. It has transferred our long lost video item into a cool looking USB Hub.
This diy project requires one of these loved tapes, an actual USB hub, some cables, and an optional switch. You can find the directions at Instructables, along with visual imagery and how to.
For me, this project brought tears to my eyes along with nostalgic memories. How about you? Do you miss the VHS tapes?
Looking to test out your scratching skills? Don’t have the money or resources to buy a professional scratch pad? Would you like to test out your creativity first before investing in a new DJ hobby? Then this quick and easy Do It Yourself project is for you.
The video below shows how easy it is to create a home made scratch pad for some simple Deejaying using a greasy pizza box (the grease is not a must). For the DIY creation, the only materials needed are: the pizza box, an optical mouse, a simple screw, scissors, some tape…and some form of music or DJ software to play with (the video presents FutureDecks Lite for Macs).
The directions are very simple, and both the creativity and imagination should be praised.
A new design is bringing a Do It Yourself cellphone appearance assembly.
There are the old square puzzle games that allow you to slide tiles into different positions in order to solve them and come up with one whole picture. This concept is similar to it, but to be used on your cellphone.
Instead of changing your faceplate like the memorable Nokia 5100 and 6100 series that individuals went crazy for, this provides the tiles on your actual mobile device. There are different sized tiles for the separate areas on each cellphones, but it is a great idea.
People will buy the tiles one time and then begin to print their own selected images to be pasted on these tiles. Then you will be able to have interchangeable personally picked pictures on your cellphone. Completely customized look for your cellular.
An Ode to the remarkable masterpiece of Pink Floyd The Wall.
This modification is different then the wooden PC mod, but definitely makes a Pink Floyd fan want this recreation in his/her own home.
The drawings of the animated scenes of the Wall movie are painted on its sides along with the symbolic hammers that were seen marching in the film.
The case has a beautiful black and red finish, and some lyrics have been written on its top. A full sized hammer is attached to its top and may be used as a carrying handle.
This work should be appreciated and may be understood by all the steps taken for such an art piece. If you are interested in the Do It Yourself instructions, or just seeing the artist’s timeline for this Pink Floyd PC mod, you can find it at the Mod Nation.
On the other hand, the making of video is found right below.
How cool would it be to start the bonfire at your next camping outing using a handheld flashlight? -one that may be used to light matches and even strong enough to pop balloons.
This Do It Yourself project is extremely clever; tt consists of taking the laser eye from a DVD burner and combining it with a small usable flashlight.
The Kipkay video below takes you step by step through the entire process, which is not a simple DIY project. It does involve soldering, wiring, and intricate work, but the final product is unbelievable.
By the way, since the laser is powerful enough to light a match, we do recommend being careful making this project and keeping it our of the reach of children.
Would you like your dog to go out to the backyard anytime it wishes? Are you sometimes too tired to even let it out, let alone feed it? Would you like to have an automatic door that allows an easier way for you to take care of your dog?
Colorado State University students have built an automatic dog door that provides your dog the freedom to exit to the backyard and enter right back in anytime it wishes.
In order to exit, there is a soft switch at its feet, so as soon as it walks on it, the door will lift up and let it out. By an Infrared device attached to its collar, the dog (and only the device wearing dog) will be able to get back in the house as soon as it walks under the sensor.
Along with this new found independence, this entire contraption also provides automatic feeding and replenishing of the water bowl. And last but not least, the owner can record a short message, so the dog will know its owner is announcing feeding time.
This Do It Yourself project is not a 5 minute one and deserves more than a few materials and hours, but for some of us, our dog (and time) is so worth it.
You can find more information of this project, along with the material list and DIY instruction at DesignNews: GadgetFreak.
In case you want to see it in action before you take on the task, a video made by the student inventors is right below.
