http://toolmonger.com/2009/07/10/mom-and-pop-places/

http://toolmonger.com/?p=27194

Everyone here has probably suffered the plight of searching through a high-volume store which may or may not have that fiddling little part you need to finish up a project. A can of stain, a loose bolt, or a bit of sheet metal can be devilishly hard to find, especially in massive chain stores with their wares stacked forty feet high and maintained by salespeople who may not have any idea where to find what you need or what you’re talking about.

The answer? Most toolmongers probably know it: the local hardware store. Though they won’t be able to sell you enough drywall to put a second floor on your house, that little two-room hardware store at the end of the block is a great way to find what you need. The owners are usually the ones manning the counter, and tend to know their inventory inside out and backwards. You enter with a question, leave with a solution, and your money stays close by.

(Thanks to Flickr user moyix for this great CC-licensed photo.)

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/07/simon_mwauras_junk-built_home_autom.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

The really cool thing about the maker featured in this YouTube video is that his home automation system is cobbled together from salvaged components and bits of junk. My advice is to ignore the insipid voice-over and fast-forward to 0:23, where the good stuff starts. Via AfriGadget.

http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2009/07/surgical_adhesives_targeting_specific_tissue_properties_for_improved_stickiness_1.html

Tissue adhesives for surgical procedures are becoming more and more popular, because they are commonly used as a replacement for suturing. Improving the quality of these adhesives can be achieved if the material is custom tuned to the tissue type that it will be sticking to. Now MIT researchers, in collaboration with investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Universitat Ramon Llull in Barcelona, have developed a line of glues, each targeting a different tissue type.

From the MIT announcement:

"The delineation of tissue-specific mechanisms for material adhesion leads the way for tailoring materials to individual needs and applications. This exciting work may well change the clinical use and continued evolution of soft-tissue sealants and adhesive materials," said Elazer R. Edelman, principal investigator and MIT's Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Professor of Health Sciences and Technology.

Adhesive sealants could improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs by cutting medical complications after surgery, such as leakage through incisions, and improved wound healing, according to Natalie Artzi, a postdoctoral associate who led the research in Edelman's lab.

Although there is already a billion-dollar market for such adhesives, "they haven't reached their true potential," Artzi said. Existing materials have limitations that often force doctors to compromise between adhesion strength and tissue reaction. For example, said Artzi, for a given tissue, the material may be adhesive but release toxins that could affect healing. Alternatively, the material could be quite tissue compatible, but degrade quickly, becoming non-adhesive. If the glue doesn't work, a doctor must switch to sutures or staples.

The problem, according to the MIT team is that while surgical adhesives rely on intimate interactions between the adhesive and the tissue in question, the properties of the target tissue have been largely ignored in designing adhesives. Instead, "one general formulation is proposed for application to the full range of soft tissues across diverse clinical applications," Artzi and colleagues wrote in their Advanced Materials paper.

The new work characterized a variety of interactions between one kind of glue (hyrogels composed of polyethylene glycol and dextran aldehyde, or PEG: dextran for short) and tissue from a rat's heart, lung, liver and duodenum (the first section of the intestine). The team found, for example, that the glue worked well with tissue from the duodenum, but poorly with that from the lung.

They then went on to "identify the functional groups in the material that are responsible for adhesion with tissue functional groups, and created a model to optimize adhesion for each tissue," Artzi said. In particular the paper explains how variation of chemical reactive groups in the material could be matched to the variability in the density of respective reactive groups on different tissues to regulate tissue-material interaction.

Press release: MIT team aims to tailor surgical glues for specific applications

Image: interface between a surgical glue (green) and tissue samples (red, blue and black) from the heart, lung, liver, and duodenum. The glue works best with duodenum tissue (note smooth interface), and worst with lung tissue (pockmarked with holes).

Abstract in Advanced Materials: Aldehyde-Amine Chemistry Enables Modulated Biosealants with Tissue-Specific Adhesion

http://toolmonger.com/2009/07/10/doh-headlight-trouble/

http://toolmonger.com/?p=27237

We can’t really say we’ve been here exactly, because we haven’t, but we do understand the busted-ass-car-have-no-money syndrome. It’s a crippling disease that strikes us all at one time or another. In this example we have what used to be a nice car, now ravaged with duct tape and a few flashlights.

With a little bailing wire and a few pieces of gum, this aftermarket install would be a perfect candidate for Mad Mike to do some of that electronic pimping he’s famous for. It’s a horrible waste of a good Mag-Lite too.

Note* Props to Joel for sending us to There, I Fixed It.

MacGyver Headlight [There, I Fixed it]

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/07/how-to_cheap_standoffs_from_nylon_t.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

CuriousInventor points out this head-slappingly simple substitute for standoffs - likely of interest to anyone whose marvelled at how much these bits of hardware can actually cost -

Tan Tran came up with a cheap substitute for aluminum standoffs: nylon tubing. Polyethylene does a decent job too, and can be had for under $.10 a foot at your local hardware store. The 1/4" OD (outside diameter) stuff shown in these pics accommodates up to #8 size screws.

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ufpmPTr3liE/altoids-tin-catapult-enforces-your-cubicle-kingdom

You annoying co-workers are always asking to "borrow" a mint, then return to their desks to annoy you with overly-loud headphone tunes. Speed up their mint deliveries and earn major creative cred with this clever Altoids tin project.

All it takes is an Altoids Gum tin, a coat hanger, electrical tape, rubber bands, a coat hanger, and a small bit of cardboard to turn a measuring spoon into a surpisingly forceful catapult. We haven't tried it out ourselves—we usually have nobody to take aggression out on at home offices but our pets—but you can see the power of similar models in various web videos. By the time next Friday rolls around, Tony from QA will have to to start working on that binder clip trebuche if he wants to lay claim to your realm once again.

http://toolmonger.com/2009/07/10/its-just-cool-minty-boost-usb-charger/

http://toolmonger.com/?p=26915

The Minty Boost from Adafruit is a simple charger circuit that fits in an Altoids gum tin along with two AA batteries, and will charge almost anything (e.g., MP3 player, cell phone, camera…) that charges via a USB port. You could go the solar charger route for your cell phone, but the latest one of those is around $90, and only works with certain phones. Or you can get a rechargeable power pack from Energizer® (Energi To Go®) or Duracell® (PowerSource Mini), but these seem to run in the $40-$90 range. The Minty Boost is less expensive, and you get to build it! A kit (you will also need an Altoids gum tin) is available for $20.

On the other hand, I don’t think I’d want to try explaining this to the TSA people at the airport.

Minty Boost [Corporate Site]
Solar Charger [Powcell]

http://toolmonger.com/2009/07/10/dealmonger-picquic-teeny-turner-7-bit-micro-screwdriver-for-5/

http://toolmonger.com/?p=26781

Fry’s has the Picquic Teeny Turner 7-Bit Micro Screwdriver for $5. Shipping is not available — in-store pickup only. The Teeny Turner is 2.75″ long, 1.1″ wide, and has a magnetic bit holder. The included micro bits are straight 2mm, straight 3mm, Phillips #00, Phillips #0, Torx T5, Torx T6, and Torx T8.

While in the same $5–$8 price range as jewelers’ screwdrivers sets (such as those from Moody, General, and Stanley), the Teeny Turner’s shorter length will allow it to get into smaller spaces. Torque is cheap with this tool, and you can handle those small screws in your knives, notebook computers, and so on.

Little wheels keep on turnin’…

Teeny Turner [Corporate Site]
Teeny Turner [Fry's]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

http://toolmonger.com/2009/07/10/tv-tonight-more-cowbell/

http://toolmonger.com/?p=27232

(TV Tonight, Friday, July 10th, 2009) We get a new How It’s Made tonight, but no Will Ferrell.

All times are central

• This Old House: East Boston Project (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• Modern Marvels: Copper (History, 6:00 pm)
• Deconstructed: Soda Fountain, Humidifier, Oven and Glucometer (Science, 6:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Bathroom radiator towel warmer, using hand planes, removing crabgrass (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• Deconstructed: Slush Machine, Optical (Barcode) Reader; Camera Flash, Microwave Oven (Science, 6:30 pm)
• How It’s Made: Carved Wood Sculpture, Flatware, Cow Bells and Fountain Pens (Science, 8:00 pm) NEW
• How It’s Made: All-Terrain Vehicles, Alpine Skis, Laser Cutters and Marble Sculptures (Science, 8:30 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Super Cars (Science, 9:00 pm)
• Forge and Anvil: Blacksmith’s Basic Show. Episode 102 (RFD-TV, 10:30 pm)

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/07/computerized_twitter_embroidery.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

Rachel @ CRAFT points us to a project by Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi Called Pa++ern, which takes user input and transcodes it into wearable messages. Pa++ern program will be on display at the Beams Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. Their Twitter plugin launches on July 11.

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/07/3x3_button-animated_matrix.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

Nick Hardeman's 3 x 3, big-button LED matrix goes by the name "Nove Bit" and looks about as easy to porogram as possible. I'm guessing one of these (or even a wall-full of them) would go nicely as interactive art for the home. The simple/universal appeal would likely make them a hit with most.. More info and other project pages on Nick's site ... and just so you know, Nove Bit was on display @ the last Maker Faire.

More:

Compact LED matrix wearable

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/07/the_brie_that_ate_sheboygan.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

How could I resist something called "Blowing Up Cheese With Nitrous Oxide"? It's a piece, in PopSci's "Kitchen Alchemy" column (which, as an on-again/off-again geek foodied, I've started following), on aerating Brie with Nitrous to create delicious cheese foam (and you thought aerosol cheese was fun before!).

I'm surprised there aren't more of these sorts of fun, geeky, makery molecular gastronomy how-tos outside of the hardcore food media. I love trying things like this in the kitchen, and I bet lots of other makers do too.

Turns out, in order to maintain the texture of the foam once created, they had to use agar:

In order to create structure in our aerated cheese while still keeping a soft, melting texture, we looked towards agar, which would form a gel at a relatively high temperature, thus ensuring that our bubbles remained trapped in the cheese. The downside to using agar by itself is that it has a hard, rubbery texture and can fall prey to syneresis--expulsion of liquid--over time.

Fortuitously, agar has synergistic properties with locust bean gum. Research shows that when agar and locust bean gum are combined at a ratio of 9:1, their gel strength and elasticity increases. This solved both of our issues: increased strength and a desirable soft smooth texture. Finally, we needed to figure out how much agar and locust bean gum we needed to make this experiment work. When using hydrocolloids, it is always best to use the minimum amount necessary so as to get the maximum flavor impact from the dish. In this case we determined that 0.3 percent by weight of the total base worked perfectly. Try it yourself.

Blowing Up Cheese With Nitrous Oxide

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/QU3WI8q2sag/score-a-free-slurpee-tomorrow

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Coming down off your holiday high and can't believe you have to wait all the way to Labor day for some more holiday fun? Take heart, tomorrow is Slurpee Day!

Some random Slurpee facts, courtesy of 7-Eleven:

• Slurpee drinks are all served at 28 degrees.
• Slurpee was "invented" when some sodas were put in a freezer to cool them down - and they became all slushy.
• Winnipeg, Canada is generally thought to be the Slurpee capital of the world, due to their amazing Slurpee fanaticism.
• When Slurpee first hit the market, it wasn't self-serve. The machine was behind the counter and the clerk served the product to you.
• At Slurpee, we call it a BrainFreeze. The scientific name for it is Sphenopalatine Ganglioneuralgia. Really.
• Sugar is the anti-freezing agent in most Slurpee drinks.
• American Slurpee is injected with air. Canadian Slurpee is not.
• Every day more than 11.6 million Slurpee drinks are consumed around the world.
• In 2004, 7-Eleven created an edible Slurpee straw.
• Only one private individual owns a bona fide Slurpee machine. The rest are in 7-Eleven.

We don't know about you, but not only are we now craving a Slurpee but we're dying to know who the sole private owner of an authentic Slurpee machine is. Check out the link below to find a 7-Eleven near you and score your free Slurpee.

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/encxCrKZEFU/open-a-banana-like-a-monkey

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.There is a strong chance that you've been opening bananas wrong your whole life. Take a cue from our simian friends and start opening a banana with the efficiency of a hungry monkey.

It's possible you've been opening bananas the most efficient way, but more likely you've been opening them—like we have—the completely backwards and frustrating way. Most people start by grabbing the stem of the bananas and using it like a pull tab to get the banana open. This usually works with a somewhat high degree of success, high enough to keep people doing it and writing off the occasional banana opening mishap as problem with a faulty banana and not a problem with their technique. Watch the video below to see a demonstration of how monkeys open bananas:

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/KNhDrmNP784/google-now-translates-uploaded-documents

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Google Translate could previously take pasted text or web URLs for translation, and the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer was offering on-the-fly translation. Now Google's made it easy to put desktop documents through its multi-language processing.

Hit "Upload a document" on the Translate main page, and you'll be prompted to upload Word documents, PowerPoint presentation files, PDFs, HTML files, or straight-up text files. All of them are transformed into HTML and translated to your language of choice. That means you lose any special formatting, of course, but you get a fairly speedy turn-around to get a grasp on what's being said in a foreign language file.