I love this advertisement from America’s Independent Electric Companies.
It reads:
More Power To You! America’s independent light and power companies build your new electric living
Tomorrow’s higher standard of living will put electricity to work for you in ways still unheard of!
The time isn’t too far off, the experts say, when you’ll wash your dishes without soap or water – ultrasonic waves will do the job.
Still hasn’t happened yet. I’ve seen lots of gadgets that SAY they do this, but none of them have been made readily available.
Your beds will be made at the touch of a button.
Yours do that? Mine sure doesn’t.
The kids’ homework will be made interesting and even exciting when they are able to dial a library book, a lecture, or a classroom demonstration right into your home – with sound. (Some of this is happening already)
Thank you, Internet! You HAVE fulfilled the dreams of the 1950’s!
To enjoy all this, you’ll want a lot more electric power, and the independent electric companies of America are already building new plants and facilities to provide it. Right now these companies are building at the rate of $5,000,000,000 a year, and planning to double the nation’s supply of electricity in less than 10 years.
America has always had the best electric power service in the world. The electric companies are resolved to keep it that way.
Can I just take a moment to THANK the electric companies of yesteryear?! They stepped up the production of plants to meet our needs so well that we feel that electricity is a RIGHT. Whenever we get a huge snowstorm here in Utah, the weight of the snow can snap a line. When the people of Utah are out of power for more than a few hours, they SUE electric companies. Outages and brownouts are rare because these folks had the foresight to build.
Mind you, I wish they had built more windmills and less coal burning plants, but it’s not really fair for me to expect them to foresee the energy crisis as well as the need for it.
If you and your husband can’t agree on how many blankets you need for perfect comfort – and he tosses them off while you shiver with cold-
You can solve this problem so easily – as so many other smart couples have done – with a General Electric “Happy Marriage” Blanket.
Just ONE fluffy-light General Electric Blanket with Dual Comfort-Selectors is all you need – and you each enjoy personal comfort.
You choose the warmth you like… he chooses his – and GE’s Sleep Guard adjusts automatically to bedroom temperature changes.
The ad goes on to say that it’s washable and available in many colors.
The funny thing is, this EXACT electric blanket is still available today. The Sunbeam blankets have dual control, even now. Personally, I prefer an electric mattress pad instead. The Sunbeam Queen size also has dual control, but it lays UNDER you, heating up, so if your partner kicks off the covers, you’ll still be warm. The best new feature they’ve added since the Sixties is the auto-off feature, so the pad turns itself off after ten hours, even if you forget to. I LOVE that feature.
Now that it’s getting colder, it’s time for me to start using the heated mattress pad again. I’m so grateful for it when the weather gets chilly.
Die cutting has been a staple of crafting for centuries. Originally just cookie cutters sharpened to cut paper, a new generation of digital die cutters is available that use a razor knife and computerized control to cut any number of shapes with the same precision. This means you don’t have to have a library of dies and you aren’t limited by the size of the dies you have.
There are two types of digital die cutters vying for the craft market: Self-contained cartridge-based cutters that require no computer or computer expertise, and computer driven cutters that are less expensive and more flexible, but have a higher learning curve and require a computer.
THE PROVOCRAFT CRICUT
The Cricut machine by Provo Craft is easy to use. It doesn’t need to be hooked up to a computer so it is portable. The cartridge designs are cute, although to get them to look like the examples on the boxes you will need to cut the same shape a number of times in different colors and layer them together.
If you buy cartridges at regular price they are expensive ($69-$89). They go on sale often, however, and I’ve been able to get them as cheap as $25. You can scale the images from 1†to 5.5â€, in specific increments of generally ½â€.
The original Cricut will cut paper, cardstock, vinyl, and contact paper up to 6â€x12â€. The Cricut Expression gives you have more size options up to 12â€x24†and can also cut chip board, but it is bigger making it not as portable (it doesn’t have a handle like the original Cricut). You need to put your paper on a tacky mat that holds the paper down while it’s being cut. The Cricut comes with two mats and they last quite a long time if you keep dust off of them. Additionally, you can revitalize your old cutting mats using the techniques in this Youtube video:
The Gypsy is an accessory cartridge that can load and store all of your other cartridges. It is due out October 4th. It also does custom layouts of images and can scale them in more ways.
Cricut is expensive however. By the time you’ve got a machine and a library of cartridges it’s easy to be over $1000 into it.
They have over 100 cartridges with fonts, shapes (garden, animals, travel, boxes, tags, seasons, holidays, etc.) licensed (Disney, Hello Kitty, SpongeBob, etc), “Classmate†(50 states, word builders, letters made of an item that starts with that letter)
You can only use shapes available as cartridges. With the Cricut Design Studio software you can blend and combine images from cartridges using your computer, and there is a third-party software program called Sure Cuts a Lot that takes your own images and fonts and cuts them on the Cricut machine. I have not tried it. It Costs $75-90, and it does not come with a design program. Frankly, if you want to use your computer, get the Silhouette SD, which is a lot more versatile.
The list prices for the various Cricut Machines (the machines also go on sale at local craft stores and on the web):
Here is a step-by-step guide showing how to use the Cricut.
The fact that she used this elaborate machine to die cut the word “Simplify” for her wall is an irony that was obviously lost on her.
QUICKCUTZ SILHOUETTE SD/ GRAPHTEC CraftRobo
The biggest competitor to the Cricut is the CraftRobo Silhouette SD. The Silhouette SD is just like a computer printer—in fact the computer actually thinks it IS a type of printer called a plotter. Instead of a print head, it has a razor knife.
Like a printer, it comes with a USB cable to connect it to your computer and you have to install a driver. It comes with a design program that lets you draw your designs and lay in whatever text you want. You can draw cut lines and perforations using different line colors. The cutting area of the Silhouette is 9†x 39†for cutting vinyl or other backed material, but if you need to use the cutting mat it is limited to 8 ½†x 12â€. You cannot cut chipboard, foam, or fabric with the Silhouette SD.
The Silhouette SD also has an SD camera card slot that you can use to store your designs on. This allows you to take the cutter with you and cut designs without your computer attached. CraftRobo provides a library of designs that you can access on the Web, and the cutter comes with 100 free downloads from the library. Cutting from the SD card is not as easy as using the Cricut, but it does work. It’s certainly easier than setting up your computer each time you want to cut.
Like the Cricut, you have to put paper on a tacky carrier mat, which lasts quite a while if you keep the included cover on it. The carrier has precision markings and placing paper is more accurate than the Cricut—so accurate that you use the “registration†feature to cut around full color printouts from your printer—a very handy feature for cutting out heart-shaped photos, for example, which the Cricut cannot do.
The Silhouette SD costs $250 and comes with everything you need to get started except an SD card. Consumables include razor blades and tacky mats, both of which are an inexpensive $10 and last for dozens of cutting sessions. The Silhouette SD cannot reliably cut stock heavier than 100lb. paper, however you can “re-cut†the same cardstock over to make sure a cut goes all the way through.
Here is a video of a demonstration of the Quickcutz Silhouette:
THE VERDICT
If you are both computer savvy and creative enough to do your own designs, you’ll be happiest with the Silhouette SD. Other than cutting the thickest stock, it can technically do anything the Cricut can do. For example, my husband uses it to cut out playing cards after printing them, and he has designed some paper tuck boxes that can simply be folded up like origami. Neither of these functions would be possible with a Cricut. It borders on being a professional tool, and the company that actually makes it, Graphtec, has higher-end machines specifically designed for professionals. It does not come with a wide library of shapes, so if you’re looking to cut out Mickey Mouse, You’re going to have to do quite a bit of design work yourself.
If you prefer not to deal with computers, the Cricut is for you. Its wide library of cartridge designs and accessories ensures that you’ll find the stock shape you’re looking for. Be prepared to spend a bit of money, or start a cartridge lending pool with your friends.
When it comes to papercrafts and scrapbooking, die cutters are becoming as ubiquitous as scissors and paper. Make sure you take into account your financial limitations and technical abilities when you choose the die cutter that is right for you.
An image of a bionic brain implant chip taken through the microscope with my iPhone.
BW Jones is a scientist at the University of Utah:
Retinal neurophysiology scientist. My work involves disorders of retinal degeneration and how those diseases affect the intrinsic retinal circuitry including the implications for rescue of vision via gene therapy, and retinal bionic or biological implants.
Since he works with brain implants all the time, it’s probably not a big deal to see one in person, but for the rest of us, just seeing what they look like is awesome. The fact that he took the photo by sticking his iPhone up to a microscope, is ten kinds of awesome.
A laser spot bounces on a figure being drawn on paper, trying to escape the labyrinth of lines. There is no camera nor projector; this is an experience where the audience can touch and interact with a beam of pure light – and even play a pong game with bare hands. The quality of the laser light, and the fluidity of the motion makes for a very unique experience.
This project is in development right now, but wouldn’t it be a fun toy to have at a party? I can’t wait until we can buy one at the local Radio Shack!
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am
I had never heard of Nixie Tube Clocks until yesterday. I’m in love, but I’m far too cheap to buy them. I can’t bear to spend three hundred dollars on a timepiece when I can buy a clock just as accurate (if not as steampunky) for ten bucks.
Here is a great blog entry with links to a bunch of places that sell Nixie Tube Clocks:
The neon tubes, when combined with blackened bronze, silver chrome, and stunning woods, become an unusual blend of science and art, making a functional item a pretty piece of home decor.
Here is a video of a clock in action:
If you don’t know what nixie tubes are, here’s a link to Wikipedia:
A nixie tube is an electronic device for displaying numerals or other information. The glass tube contains a wire-mesh anode and multiple cathodes. In most tubes, the cathodes are shaped like numerals. Applying power to one cathode surrounds it with an orange glow discharge. The tube is filled with a gas at low pressure, usually mostly neon and often a little mercury and/or argon, in a Penning mixture.
Although it resembles a vacuum tube in appearance, its operation does not depend on thermionic emission of electrons from a heated cathode. It is therefore called a cold-cathode tube (a form of gas filled tube), or a variant of neon lamp. Such tubes rarely exceed 40 °C (104 °F) even under the most severe of operating conditions in a room at ambient temperature.
They look awesome and there are less expensive options if you are able to solder electronic kits. For me, I’ll just have to admire them from afar.
Cause temporary blind spots (dazzling) from the reflection. Do not point it at reflective surfaces. The FDA certifies that it is not powerful enough to cause permanent eye damage.
See the beam. Yes, you can see the beam indoors and outdoors at night, not just the spot.
Point to items outdoors in broad daylight that are kilometers away.
See the spot on low clouds.
Point the beam to stars and other astronomy.
Damage itself if used for more than 100 seconds per burst.
Scare away that damned crow from the power pole outside my bedroom.
The big question a reviewer has to ask, especially when they like a gadget, is why someone would buy it. Now, there’s a significant portion of gadget’s page readers who don’t need a reason to buy a high-powered laser, they only to know where to get a matching shark. But for you practical folk, here are the legal uses I’ve come up with:
Outdoor guides, scoutmasters, and birders who want to point out plants or wildlife in broad daylight.
Astronomy buffs who want to dazzle other astronomy buffs with their ability to point out specific stars.
Safely scaring away birds and wild or feral animals away from a distance.
I came up with a much longer list of illegal uses, but I won’t repeat those here.
To be frank, high-powered lasers are marketed to people who need a reason not to buy them, and if you’re in that group, this is definitely the laser for you.
The laser also has a low power mode for boring things like PowerPoint presentations. $299 from Skylasers.com.
Laura Moncur’s Review:
When Mike and I tested the SKYLaser high-powered green laser, we could only think of testing it with our cat. He he enjoyed it greatly, but we were scared of blinding him, so we only let him play a little bit.
This is a VERY bright laser. Not only can you see the laser point, you can see the beam.
Warning: This laser is freakishly bright and can put a burn mark on your eyes if you look at it too much. I’m not talking turning the laser on your eyes. If you look at the laser point on the wall, you will have an afterimage on your eyes for a LONG time (several hours). It also can burn your skin if it is held in one place too long. It’s intense enough to pop balloons.
It’s intense enough to melt a credit card.
Additionally, it is a Federal offense in the U.S. to shine a laser pointer like this at an aircraft and illegal to shine at drivers of cars in some states.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am
When I was a kid, I watched a cartoon called Yogi Bear. Yogi and BooBoo spent every episode obsessing about stealing picnic baskets. Picnic baskets like the ones that Yogi stole are available even to this day, but as a child of the Seventies, I had never seen a picnic basket in real life. I always thought they must contain the BEST food in the world. As a starving kid, the picnic basket had been elevated to such a level of imagined delectability, that nothing in the real world could ever compare.
Of course, as a child of the Seventies, we never had a picnic basket. We owned a cooler. That’s where all the good food was when we went to Lagoon or up to the mountains. This blue Coleman cooler was lugged around to every park and outdoor activity in the Salt Lake Valley when I was a kid. Mom and Carol would make the best sandwiches with bologna, cheese and mayonnaise. Just the sight of a blue Coleman cooler makes my mouth water, even after all these years.
This Kelty Pop Duo bag gives the old Coleman cooler a run for its money, now. Just like the cooler, there is a work space where you can make sandwiches or cut fruit, but the Pop Duo isn’t a huge bulky box like the Coleman is. I could carry it alone without any help and the pockets look roomy enough to carry enough bologna sandwiches for the whole family (the soda, however, will have to be stored somewhere else).
The mystic of the picnic basket is alluring to me, mostly because of the imagination of Hanna-Barbera. If you have never seen a Yogi Bear cartoon, here is one that is pretty typical of the show.
Wouldn’t it be cool if you never had to charge your cell phone again? What if your phone was able to stay charged just by collecting the radio waves that are already flying around the air around you. That is the technology that Nokia is working on today.
The Nokia device will work on the same principles as a crystal radio set or radio frequency identification (RFID) tag: by converting electromagnetic waves into an electrical signal. This requires two passive circuits. “Even if you are only getting microwatts, you can still harvest energy, provided your circuit is not using more power than it’s receiving,” Rouvala says.
This is one of those technologies that will eventually show up in our lives and years later, we’ll be saying to ourselves, “Remember when we had to charge our cell phones? We used to have cradles and car chargers and habits in our lives just to make sure our phones were charged and you little whipper snappers come in here with your fancy self-charging phones.” Of course, by then, I’ll sound like an old miner and wave around a cane like I’m going to hit you with it.
I am a complete Weird Al Yankovic fan and have been since “Another One Rides The Bus.” His latest song is a Doors style parody with Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist from the Doors, on the synthesizer! You can see it here:
I love it when Weird Al gets technical! For reminiscing appeal, here’s “It’s All About The Pentiums.”
When I was a kid, I watched a cartoon called Yogi Bear. Yogi and BooBoo spent every episode obsessing about stealing picnic baskets. 
Wouldn’t it be cool if you never had to charge your cell phone again? What if your phone was able to stay charged just by collecting the radio waves that are already flying around the air around you. That is the technology that Nokia is working on today.