Kyle A Koch, an industrial design student at the University of Cincinnati, has created a document scanner out of his iPhone and some cardboard. Basically he created a dock that elevates the Iphone high enough to properly capture 8.5×11 documents. You can buy the dock premade or if you’re the handy type, build one using the free EPS file as a guide. Hit his blog here for the instructions, and click here for his store to purchase a premade dock.
(Image courtesy of Kiifu via Flickr)
My soon-to-be 2-year-old son is at the “I want to do this myself” stage. It wasn’t that long ago that this little guy was still trying to flip over on his back and now he wants to make coffee for you. It’s both exciting and scary at the same time. For these independent kids, Babble.com has put together a “Do-It-Myself Guide” just for their reference. They have some useful tips and some not so useful but fun tips, from how to blow your nose, curing an ice cream headache to greeting a dog. Check it out at Babble.
Do You Know How to fold this?
The other day I was trying to show my son how to make a paper airplane, but no matter how hard I tried it just didn’t look like an airplane. Then I tried something simpler, a boat – still no luck. What’s happening here? OMG I’ve forgotten how to do it! This age thing is definitely taking a toll on me. Oh well that’s what the World Wide Web is for right? I found a few how-to sites and these are some of the better ones out there. Enjoy.
OrigamiUSA
http://www.origami-usa.org/
Origami Club
http://www.origami-club.com/en/
OrigamiTube
http://www.origamitube.com/
Animated Origami
http://www.origami.org.uk/
Try Andoid on Your Computer(Image courtesy of Engadget)
Want to find out what’s all the fuzz about Android, but don’t feel like buying a $200 G1 just to play with it, here’s you chance. A few nice hackers have created a bootable CD image that you can download, burn, boot and run the Android environment right on your computer. How cool is that? Download the files here. (Engadget via downloadsquad)
The Super Secret Spy Lens
I love taking candid shots of people just living their lives and doing real things completely unaware that they are on camera. But it’s not easy. People tend to freeze or smile nervously when you point the camera at them. This little lens gadget might help. The Super-Secret Spy Lens attaches to the end of your SLR’s zoom lens, and has a secret cut-out on the side and a precision mirror assembly inside. Once attached you can shoot left, right, up, or down (it swivels 360 degrees), all while appearing to shoot straight ahead. Pretty cool if you ask me. Anyway you can get the gadget at Photojojo for $55. (jackson)
Tovolo Blue Rocket Popsicle Molds
We love Haagen-Dazs but realized it has too much sugar and fat for my son. So we started looking at low sugar or no sugar alternatives such as Lifesaver Popsicles. They’re not expensive but decided to make some ourselves. We got a Popsicle mold from Amazon and poured in our own concoction, which is 95% water and 5% fruit juice, and stuck it in our freezer. In a few hours we got our very own low sugar popsicles. So far my son is not complaining so try it and let me know how yours turnout.
image courtesy of Kodak
I don’t remember the last time I had to replace the battery in my old film camera. It just seemed to last forever. Then I switched to my first digital camera at the end of 1999. It was a Canon with a 1″ LCD display and the battery lasted only 40 shots. I remember taking that Canon to Beijing in the cold winter month of December. I was only able to take 20 pictures before the battery ran out. I ended up buying lots of batteries to compensate for the poor battery performance. It has gotten a lot better since then. On average you can get about 200-400 shots per charge. And if you have one of those SLRs you’ll get about 700-800 shots between charges. It’s not great but way better than what I had to deal with back in 1999. Not enough? Well you may squeeze out a few more shots if you follow these tips at Photographybay.
How to clean you keyboard
Have you looked at your keyboard lately? Find anything interesting lodged between the keys? If yours is anything like mine then you might consider putting up yellow tape and quarantining your home! For something less dramatic, you can try these keyboard cleaning tips from inc.com. (jackson via lifehacker.com)
Welcome to my world. This blog is about gadgets, technology, photography, travel, interesting pictures, and kid stuff as seen through the eyes of a geeky father. Please drop by often to see new stuff.
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