The Crosley IcyBall (wikipedia) is a commercial early-twentieth century portable chemical refrigerator that runs without moving parts or electricity. Cooling is caused by the evaporation and re-adsorption of ammonia into a water-based solution, which is a spontaneous process that can be reversed by applying heat, as from a campfire. Authentic IcyBalls are valuable antiques, but […]
I love old-style manually-operated tools. They frequently feature in my survivalist fantasies: the zombies come, the power grid collapses, and I’m the only one left who can still build killdozers because all my tools are manually-operated. Then one day Alyson Hannigan runs screaming into my compound, in terrible distress and in dire need of my […]
Del Cruiser has been working on building a “bakfiets” (box bike/cargo bike) from junked bikes and parts. He’s keeping a photojournal of his progress on Flickr. This project was inspired by the “Carrier Pidgeon” , which is a chinese-made imitation that has a shorter payload. By nature, bakfiets take some time getting used to due […]
In an unusual expression of love for a classic flick, Jason Urban decked out his etching press with glow-in-the-dark tape, all vector-style. … and here I was thinking Tron-folk read their texts on wireframed Kindles :/ More pics for the viewing over at Printeresting. [via Geekologie]
I got a nice response, both here and on Twitter, to my Lost Knowledge column on wire-wrapping. Folks had memories, both fond and otherwise, of wrapping circuits. In the comments, Tai Oliphant posted a link to his Z80 computer project, which was wire-wrapped (with over 350′ of 30-gauge wire!). Z80 Microcomputer Project More: Lost Knowledge: […]
Rediscover the lost art of cable and wire organizing known as cable lacing.
The twice-monthly Lost Knowledge column explores the possible technology of the future in the forgotten ideas of the past (and those just slightly off to the side). Every other Wednesday, we look at retro-tech, “lost” technology, and the make-do, improvised “street tech” of village artisans and tradespeople from around the globe. “Lost Knowledge” was also […]
