Hacks

Strongly bond metal to glass with rear view mirror adhesive

Strongly bond metal to glass with rear view mirror adhesive

The glue that holds rear view mirrors in place is amazing stuff, that breaks all the normal rules about adhesives: it holds a joint between two extremely smooth, entirely nonporous surfaces that are subject to near-constant mechanical vibration, extremes of temperature, and ongoing exposure to UV radiation. And it holds for years, even decades. If you are faced with one of those “impossible” gluing problems requiring a strong metal-glass or glass-glass bond, try using a rear view mirror repair kit on it. They can be had for a couple bucks from most hardware stores.

USB host mode on Nexus One

Normally, when you connect your Android mobile to your PC you’re mounting it as a device. If you want to do it the other way around, you’re going to have to put the interface into USB host mode. Android hacker Sven Killig has got his Nexus One running in host mode and has connected all sorts of interesting devices to it. In addition to a USB keyboard, mouse, webcam, he’s also got an external monitor running X.

Industrial robot arm catapults flaming bowling balls

Industrial robot arm catapults flaming bowling balls

This is a publicity stunt for a company that makes energy drinks called “Mana” and “Health” packaged to look like WoW or other fantasy-video-game potions. What’s more, we have hit their video of the robot in action before. But I could not resist that fireball photo, and this link has some good technical info about interfacing with the robot, hacking the release mechanism, and framing that awesome night shot using a blinking LED “tracer” bowling ball. Just don’t forget to buy some Mana Energy Potion while you’re there!