Schwippy

Schwippy Christmas Tree Returns!

The controllable Schwippy Christmas Tree is back! On the Schwippy Christmas Tree page, you can choose to control our Christmas lights while viewing a web cam image of the tree and anybody (or any thing, for that matter) that decides to run across it

This year, along with the Red, Green, Blue, and White lights, we have also added a tree-topper star and even a train that you can control.
If you want to know how the project was put together, you can visit the project page at www.Plasma2002.com/tree, but if you want to control the tree and view the webcam, make sure you visit the following link:

Schwippy Christmas Tree

Blender Defender

I put up a page detailing my latest project.

Have a cat that won’t stay off your counters? I do. I finally got fed up with it enough to do something about it: scare the crap out of him with a motion-detecting blender (while recording the results for my own amusement, of course).

Check it out at www.plasma2002.com/blenderdefender

Blender Defender via Me!

Emergency Party Button

I finally did the write-up on the Emergency Party Button that I made a few months ago. I took a short video as well.

The video does it no justice… you totally need to be there to experience the awesomeness.

If you want to see how it was done and what all it consists of, go to the Emergency Party Button page at www.plasma2002.com/epb

Control The Official Schwippy Christmas Tree

This year, we have set up a Christmas Tree with lights that can be controlled via a web interface for all to enjoy! On the Schwippy Christmas Tree page, you can choose to control our christmas lights and view a webcam image of the tree and anybody (or any thing, for that matter) that decides to run across it

If you are bored and feel like playing with our lights, go to the following website.

http://tree.schwippy.com

Rock Paper Scissors 25

Who knew that one of the best games ever invented could get even better?

Along with the three common hand signs that can be thrown, 22 more signs have been added, each with their own set of rules on what beats what.

Click the image for a full size view

Check out the main site for a different chart that you can buy a large print of and put on your wall for reference.
Rock Paper Scissors 25 @ UMOP

Poetry at the Mall

If you’ve ever been to a mid to high end mall, chances are that you have seen one of those advertisement machines that incorporate a hanging projector that project stuff on the floor. Well, I just came across something over in the Make Group that would use something to that sense, but it isn’t interactive like the commercial advertisements. Rather, this is simply a performance piece.

I usually wouldn’t post about a performance piece like this, but this short film just kind of hit me and I don’t really know why. I felt like I was inside the world of the artist, which is exactly what any movie creator/producer/artist wants for his/her viewer. That is an incredibly difficult thing to do to me. I just cant be immersed into a film that easily.

Thats why im posting about this. The movie is meant to be projected onto the floor, so while watching the film, try to imagine yourself standing in the immediate center and seeing all this around you. Oh, and one more thing, try to give this piece your full attention… it definitely deserves it. (Its probably time you took a break from WoW anyways, don’t you think?)

The story comes in two parts : You are alone in the center, suddenly the craziness of this world, crowds, people shouting, emotional impulses. Second part is a ballet, the world is turning, you remain still in the center watching it all. A character, a little lens dances solo and approaches you, … desire … desire … dance … and slowly going away without realization. The crowd moves away, living you by yourself, again.

AVRA _ cinema poetic machine @ Instructables

Worlds Oldest Business Is No More

Just try to make a guess on how old the world’s oldest business would be. 50 years? Nah, Carl’s J.R. restaurants are older than that. How about 100 years? Not even close. Ok, ok… enough senseless guessing. The worlds oldest business record is held by a Japanese company called Kongō Gumi, which has built many famous Japanese temples. Kongō Gumi has been in the temple building business for over 40 generations. 40 generations! What does that work out to in years? Try 1,428!

According to Wikipedia:

Headquartered in Osaka, the family-owned construction company has origins dating back to the year 578, when Prince Shotoku brought Kongō family members from Baekje, Korea to Japan to build the Buddhist Shitennoji Temple, which still stands. Over the centuries, Kongō Gumi has participated in the construction of many famous buildings, including the 16th century Osaka Castle, Hōryū-ji in Nara, and Shitennō-ji.

But it looks as though the business has finally lost its ongoing record. While they still hold the record for the longest running business, they lost the record for the oldest business still running when they were bought by the Takamatsu Corporation.

Now heres the question… Who is the world’s oldest business that is still running? It doesn’t look like many people have an answer for that one.

Business Week [Via BoingBoing]

Tangible Reactable What What?

Check out this instrument synth device. Aparently made by some hard core geeks.

The reactable is a multi-user electro-acoustic music instrument with a tabletop tangible user interface. Several simultaneous performers share complete control over the instrument by moving physical artefacts on the table surface and constructing different audio topologies in a kind of tangible modular synthesizer or graspable flow-controlled programming language.

Reactable [Via DialyCupOfTech]

Hampster Prance

Finally! Put your hamster to some REAL use! Make him work for his own well being. Load a sheet of paper into the shredder, and your little buddy just does his thing, running his little butt off, and presto; a few gear reductions later, an instant hamster bed made from purely recycled credit card applications and unfiled TPS reports.

This is artist Tom Ballhatchet’s design, which he plans to put on display in Milan, Italy.

Check out his hanster shredder and his site below.

Tom Ballhatchet [Via Gizmodo]

Best Dock Ever.

When it comes to peripheral docks, usually you don’t get that much choice in terms of customization. Chris decided he didn’t like that. At all.

He made himself a dock out of Legos! Its actually 3 docks in one. Chris can hook up his Pocket PC, get some more tunes on his iPod, and charge his Nintendo DS all at once.The site is just a Picasa web album, so I can’t verify it, but it seems that he most likely has a USB hub tucked under there to tie it all to one usb cable and one power cable. And if you look on the side there, it looks like theres a spare USB port for just about anything else you could think of putting in there.

The dock looks good. Almost perfect. It seems as though the iPod dock was meant to be there. Theres no doubt that this took quite a few re-building to get it just right. Good job Chris! I definatly wouldn’t mind having this up on my desk next to my monitor.

Lego Dock Web Album [Via Engadget]