http://bill.thomlex.com/taxonomy/term/1/0 en http://bill.thomlex.com/node/294 <p><img class="imgright" src="/files/pictures/basc-front-sm.jpg" border="0" alt="" title="Front of BASC-1" /><br /> For your amusement, I present my sixth grade science fair project. This would be from 1976. This gadget will add two binary numbers together. (You can also subtract by making one of the numbers negative). I called it BASC-1 (Binary Adding/Subtracting Calculator). In this picture, you can see it adding 75 + 103 = 178 (1001011 + 1100111 = 10110010). The thing was built in a box I got from a surplus store that was used to view microfilm. (for you young-uns, back before the internet, they used to keep archive documents (like old newspapers at the library) on little pieces of film called microfilm, and you'd use a viewer to project it onto a computer monitor sized screen). BASC is built onto the transluscent projection screen.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> <p><img class="imgright" src="/files/pictures/basc-inside-sm.jpg" border="0" alt="" title="BASC-1 Inside" /><br /> Perhaps the coolest thing about this is that it's built completely from switches, wires, light bulbs and batteries. There are no chips, transistors or other electronic components. Here you can see the inside. Each of the switches is a quad-pole double-throw switch. The ones column added two digits together and was relatively simple, but each of the other columns had to also add a third carry digit, and was a bit trickier. Although once I figured out one adder, all of the others were the same. The wooden block on the left side is where the lights are; I used that and drilled a hole for each light to give it the clean circle you see in the picture above.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> <p><img class="imgright" src="/files/pictures/bill-basc-sm.jpg" border="0" alt="" title="Bill Working on BASC-1" /> And here is your humble narrator, trusty soldering iron in hand. Gotta dig those glasses.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> <p><img class="imgright" src="/files/pictures/basc-schematic.jpg" border="0" alt="" title="Front of BASC-1" /> And here, (since a few have actually requested it), is the schematic for the adder with carry. The C+1+X line is actually a clever trick. If you ran the line through the second set of switches, you'd need a fifth switch to make things work.</p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/294#comment Technology Mon, 01 May 2006 02:00:09 -0400 bill 294 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/290 <p><img class="imgright" src="http://images.livescience.com/images/060428_speedy_robot_01.jpg" alt="" /> Runbot is a two-legged robot that walks. fast. It&#39;s one foot tall and moves 3.5 leg-lengths per second, which is twice as fast as it&#39;s closest competitor, Spring Flamingo (developed at MIT). If Runbot were a human, it would be walking 10 feet per second. Runbot was developed at the University of Gottingen, the University of Glasgow and the University of Stirling in Scotland.</p> <p><a href="http://www.livescience.com/technology/060428_speedy_robot.html">Link</a> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/290#comment Technology Fri, 28 Apr 2006 14:16:46 -0400 bill 290 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/283 <p><img class="imgleft" src="/files/pictures/alex_balloon.jpg" alt="" /> Quaketronics is two brothers who make an inexpensive ($99) rig for shooting your own high-speed photographs. I met them at the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://makezine.com/faire/">Maker&#39;s Faire</a> this last weekend (which was extremely cool, btw). This picture is of my son Alex popping a balloon.</p> <p><a href="http://www.quaketronics.com/">Link</a> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/283#comment Humor Technology Art Wed, 26 Apr 2006 03:39:54 -0400 bill 283 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/about <p><b>What is thomlex.com?</b><br /> Thomlex is the Hunt family website.</p> <p><b>What does "thomlex" mean?</b><br /> It's a mash-up of the names "Thomas" and "Alex".</p> <p><b>Who are those cute faces?</b><br /> Why those are Alex and Thomas, of course.</p> <p><b>Who runs this joint?</b><br /> That would be <a href="/user/2">Bill</a>.</p> http://bill.thomlex.com/about#comment Technology Wed, 19 Apr 2006 14:05:14 -0400 bill 24 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/69 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://www.babsoninsight.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/18ce60ef1099451b32bff5b2a5e0dea1/graphic/medical_test_tube_with_dna_strand_200x250.jpg" alt="" /> How to extract DNA (and RNA) from anything living using household materials.</p> <p><a href="http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/units/activities/extraction/index.cfm">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/69#comment DNA Technology Tue, 11 Apr 2006 23:08:00 -0400 bill 69 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/73 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://www.mini-minty.com/images/minty_red.jpg" alt="" /> Build your own MP3 player that fits inside an Altoids gum tin. Charges its internal battery over USB and mounts itself as a drive, runs for 12+ hours on a full charge and looks very cool. Full instructions here, including schematic (they&#39;ll post source code soon), or they can build it for you.</p> <p><a href="http://www.mini-minty.com/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/73#comment Music Technology Sat, 08 Apr 2006 19:11:00 -0400 bill 73 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/75 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://www.quoke.com/full_su/Bleak.jpg" alt="" /> Yet another shameless plug for Bill&#39;s art. This one&#39;s called <em>Bleak</em>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.quoke.com/single.php?id=98">Link</a> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/75#comment Technology Sat, 08 Apr 2006 15:02:00 -0400 bill 75 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/78 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2006-04-05/0406plizard-a.jpg" alt="" /> Mechanical Engineers from Carnegie Mellon University built a robot that can sprint across water. The robot was built to emulate the motions of the basilisk lizard, an iguana that lives in the rain forests of Central and South America.</p> <p>The inventors imagine a day when a more developed version of the robot could be equipped with biochemical sensors that monitor water quality; be deployed with cameras for spying, search-and-rescue or exploration; or be outfitted with bacteria to break down pollutants.</p> <p><a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/regional/s_440639.html">Link</a> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/78#comment Robot Technology Water Thu, 06 Apr 2006 18:10:00 -0400 bill 78 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/85 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://homepage.mac.com/aklego/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2006-01-09%2022.27.57%20-0800/Image-ED10331B81A011DA.jpg" alt="" /> Knitting machine constructed entirely from Legos. There&#39;s a <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/aklego/iMovieTheater23.html">video</a> as well.</p> <p><a href="http://homepage.mac.com/aklego/PhotoAlbum22.html">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/85#comment Knitting Lego Technology Tue, 04 Apr 2006 22:47:00 -0400 bill 85 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/88 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://www.humanillnesses.com/images/hdc_0001_0001_0_img0014.jpg" alt="" width="335" height="227" /> Wake Forest University School of Medicine reports the first human recipients of laboratory-grown organs. Children and teenagers received bladders grown from their own cells. Since the engineered bladders were grown from the patients&#39; own cells, there is no risk of rejection. The laboratory-grown organs showed improved function over time -- with some patients being followed for more than seven years.</p> <p> Scientists are now working to grow 20 different tissues and organs, including blood vessels and hearts, in the laboratory.</p> <p> (link seems to have moved <a href="http://www1.wfubmc.edu/news/NewsArticle.htm?Articleid=1821">here</a>).</p> <p><a href="http://www.wfubmc.edu/news/NewsArticle.htm?Articleid=1821">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/88#comment Technology Tue, 04 Apr 2006 18:09:00 -0400 bill 88 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/89 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2006/03/060331153727.jpg" alt="" /> Understanding the workings of insect ears could lead to new microphones able to capture and analyse extremely faint sounds. Scientists have been studying the workings of the &#39;ears&#39; of a locust. These are micrometer-thick membranes with complex and varying structural properties.</p> <p><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060331153727.htm">Link<br /></a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/89#comment Hearing Technology Mon, 03 Apr 2006 13:01:00 -0400 bill 89 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/92 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/fusion/LaserActiveTracking/index-e_files/applis_s.gif" alt="" /> As computers become smaller and smaller, one of the problems is how to control them, when keyboards can&#39;t shrink beyond a certain size. Alvaro Cassinelli, Stephane Perrin &amp; Masatoshi Ishikawa have developed a system that uses lasers to track hand gestures to this end.</p> <p><a href="http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/fusion/LaserActiveTracking/index-e.html">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/92#comment Hand Gestures Technology Sat, 01 Apr 2006 16:26:00 -0500 bill 92 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/93 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://www.hektor.ch/About+Hektor/In-Action.jpg" alt="" /> Hector is a robot that spray paints digital art on walls.</p> <p><a href="http://www.hektor.ch/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/93#comment Technology Sat, 01 Apr 2006 16:12:00 -0500 bill 93 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/94 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/qf/c/ScientificAmerican/9-1952/xlg_ecc.jpg" alt="" /> Complete with tapedrive and typewriter. Operates at around 0.12Mhz, has roughly 2K of memory and each tape holds around 360K. It has 200 tubes, compared to hundreds of millions of transistors in a modern PC.</p> <p> The thing that caught my eye about this is the typewriter. It&#39;s a Flexowriter by Singer. I bought one when I was 15 (it was 20+ years old by then). It was basically a typewriter that could read and write punched tape. I used it to print receipts for customers on my paper-route, and I was the shizits among my fellow paperboys.</p> <p><a href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/03/31/announcing-a-general-purpose-digital-computer/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/94#comment Computer History Technology Sat, 01 Apr 2006 16:02:00 -0500 bill 94 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/96 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://acg.media.mit.edu/people/simong/installationNew/images/IntroSliced_03.gif" alt="" /> Simon Greenwold at MIT Media Lab developed a system that tracks virtual 3d objects in real space. A screen/camera combination is used to view an environment. A 3d mouse is used to create 3d blobs in that environment. The system remembers the locations of these blobs and combines them with the real elements of the environment. (link from <a href="/bumblestumble.stumbleupon.com"><a href="/freelinking/BumbleStumble">BumbleStumble</a></a>).</p> <p><a href="http://acg.media.mit.edu/people/simong/installationNew/cover.html">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/96#comment 3D Technology Wed, 29 Mar 2006 12:38:00 -0500 bill 96 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/101 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://www.atlimp.com/swampfox.jpg" alt="" /> Tom Rose built an under-water rebreather from inexpensive parts from Home Depot. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebreather">rebreather</a> scrubs carbon-dioxide out of air, allowing it&#39;s user to re-use the air they breathe out. A rebreather is much lighter than the equivalent weight for a standard scuba setup, and the diver is less detectable, since their exhaled air isn&#39;t sent into the water as bubbles.</p> <p><a href="http://www.atlimp.com/pend2.htm">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/101#comment Technology Water Mon, 27 Mar 2006 15:51:00 -0500 bill 101 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/102 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://www.woodthatworks.com/Images3/images2005/spectrum-front-view-white.jpg" alt="" /> David C. Roy builds sculptures that are wound up like a clock, then various pieces spin to make visually-interesting patterns.</p> <p><a href="http://www.woodthatworks.com/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/102#comment Technology Art Mon, 27 Mar 2006 15:32:00 -0500 bill 102 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/103 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://www.ejamming.net/2.0/_images/stage_large.jpg" alt="" /> Connect your midi instrument to your computer and jam with musicians around the world. I built a similar technology almost 20 years ago so a friend and I could jam together through a 1200 baud modem connection. Unfortunately, there was enough delay that it wasn&#39;t much more than an interesting curiosity.</p> <p> This site charges to jam with others, but as the mechanics are very simple, if it becomes popular, I wouldn&#39;t be surprised to see open-source versions pop up quickly.</p> <p><a href="http://www.ejamming.com/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/103#comment Music Technology Mon, 27 Mar 2006 15:22:00 -0500 bill 103 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/100 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/03/25/business/mgmt.span.jpg" alt="" /> James R. Lavoie and Joseph M. Marino of Rite-Solutions set up an internal stock market where employees could buy and sell business ideas. The highest-valued stocks are seriously considered for implementation.</p> <p> The market was begun in January 2005. Mr. Marino, president of Rite-Solutions, says the market has already made a dramatic difference in their business. One idea which he didn&#39;t support found overwhelming support in the internal market, and was implemented. It now accounts for 30% of Rite-View&#39;s total sales.</p> <p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/business/yourmoney/26mgmt.html?ex=1301029200&amp;en=0d90ed5116e769d0&amp;ei=5090&amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;emc=rss">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/100#comment IP Market Technology Mon, 27 Mar 2006 04:05:00 -0500 bill 100 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/107 <p><img class="imgright" src="http://www.popmodernism.org/scrambledhackz/gfx/logo_small.gif" alt="" /> Sven König wrote software that will take a piece of music/video and automatically divide it into 16th beat samples. It will then listen to another sound-source (such as your voice), and find the best match for each sample of your voice in the original group of samples. It does this real-time, and interesting performance art can be generated with it.</p> <p>To be honest, I&#39;m not thoroughly impressed with the actual songs/videos it produces, but it&#39;s a great concept and the raw technology can no doubt be be improved and used by other technologists and artists to interesting effect. The site is a bit daunting. You may want to check out this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/eRlhKaxcKpA">video</a> for a quicker understanding.</p> <p><a href="http://www.popmodernism.org/scrambledhackz/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/107#comment Music Technology Thu, 23 Mar 2006 20:41:00 -0500 bill 107 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/112 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://www.unitednuclear.com/aerogela.jpg" alt="" /> Aerogel is the lightest and lowest-density solid known to exist; it weighs only three times that of air. It holds 15 entries in the <a href="http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=47186">Guinness Book of World Records</a>, including best insulator. It is 99.8% air, yet is incredibly strong structurally, and can support thousands of times its own weight.</p> <p> Aerogel is used in various capacities by <a href="http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/aerogel.html">NASA</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.unitednuclear.com/aerogel.htm">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/112#comment Technology Wed, 22 Mar 2006 14:24:00 -0500 bill 112 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/120 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://static.instructables.com/pub/b0/b2e4f0/75b9c74f38b493ce5f29ad9b.medium.gif" alt="" /> Build circuitry to put LED images on your bicycle wheels. Here pacman chases his ghostly friend.</p> <p><a href="http://www.instructables.com/ex/i/3C61E5B2FF42102880EC001143E7E506/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/120#comment Technology Sun, 19 Mar 2006 15:42:00 -0500 bill 120 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/121 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://mysterycircuits.com/melloman/melloopen.jpg" alt="" /> Mike Walters built his own Mellotron from a set of old Walkmans. The Melotron , invented in the early 60s, was the original sampler, playing one tape loop for each key pressed.</p> <p><a href="http://mysterycircuits.com/melloman/melloman.html">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/121#comment Music Technology Sat, 18 Mar 2006 14:06:00 -0500 bill 121 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/127 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://scotthaefner.com/kap/gallery/fullsize/anacapa10.jpg" alt="" /> Scott Haefner suspends a camera from a kite and takes some great aerial photography.</p> <p><a href="http://scotthaefner.com/kap/gallery/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/127#comment Technology Art Fri, 17 Mar 2006 00:13:00 -0500 bill 127 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/130 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://www.mazeplay.com/images/pics/maze%20picture%202005%20to%20use-photo.jpg" alt="" /> Mazes cut into corn fields.</p> <p><a href="http://www.mazeplay.com/showpic.php?maze=1">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/130#comment Farm Technology Art Wed, 15 Mar 2006 14:25:00 -0500 bill 130 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/133 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://www.thelongtail.com/the_long_tail/images/hitalbums2_2.jpg" alt="" /> <p> A few posts ago, I linked to an article about micromarketing and the long tail. This link is a blog by the subject of that article and will soon become a book. The graph here shows the percentage of hit (gold, platinum and multi-platinum) records being sold as a percentage of all records being sold. That number is decreasing.</p> <p>Chris Anderson, the author, proposes this trend will continue across all products that are marketed, with the result that people will buy fewer of the blockbuster products (like gold records or Tom Cruise movies) and buy more niche products.</p> <p><a href="http://longtail.typepad.com/the_long_tail/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/133#comment Future Technology Tue, 14 Mar 2006 19:40:00 -0500 bill 133 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/134 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://www.heatnglo.com/sharedImages/homeFeatAqueon_Gray.jpg" alt="" /> This fireplace is fed with water and electricity. The fireplace separates the water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis, then burns the hydrogen (along with some of the oxygen for color), producing heat and water vapor. Yeah, it&#39;s far less efficient than just an electric heater, but it&#39;s mighty cool. Oh, one other hitch: it&#39;s priced at $49,900.</p> <p><a href="http://www.heatnglo.com/products/fireplaces/aqueon/aqueonhome.asp">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/134#comment Fire Technology Tue, 14 Mar 2006 03:41:00 -0500 bill 134 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/137 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/gallery/images/GrandTeton_Global.jpg" alt="" /> Terragen is open-source software that generates high-quality nature scenes. On startup, it looks daunting with a ton of parameters to tweak and no clear usage path. But after following the tutorial for five minutes, I was creating scenes on par with this one.</p> <p><a href="http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/137#comment Technology Art Sun, 12 Mar 2006 19:42:00 -0500 bill 137 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/138 <p> <img class="imgleft" src="http://www.mobileread.com/upload/news/2004-05/cubic.jpg" alt="" /> JP Brown built a robot out of Legos that solves the Rubix cube. This one&#39;s been around a while, but still mighty cool.</p> <p><a href="http://jpbrown.i8.com/cubesolver.html">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/138#comment Game Lego Technology Sun, 12 Mar 2006 19:13:00 -0500 bill 138 at http://bill.thomlex.com http://bill.thomlex.com/node/139 <p> <img class="imgright" src="http://fingergear.com/images/BioUSB_silver_top.jpg" alt="" /> USB drive with built-in LCD screen and fingerprint authentication. Plug it in to a computer and boot from it, then after authenticating, have access to a full OS and apps on the stick. Comes with Linux, Open Office and other apps.</p> <p><a href="http://fingergear.com/bio_computer_on_a_stick.php">Link</a></p> http://bill.thomlex.com/node/139#comment Technology Sun, 12 Mar 2006 17:09:00 -0500 bill 139 at http://bill.thomlex.com