Mar 9 2009 Kangaroo Broke Into Home, Mistaken For Ninja
A kangroo recently broke into the home of Beat Ettlin while he and his family were sleeping. He mistook the kangaroo for a ninja and began to pummel the 90lb beast.
The 42-year-old told Sky News Online: "I just saw this black thing. I thought it was a lunatic ninja, an intruder. It just fell on top of us on the bed.
Finally, Beat was able to subdue the kangaroo in his son's room, and kick the leggy bastard out the door.
"When I got in there, it was against the wall by the window, trying to get out I think so I just jumped on top of it. I got him in a headlock and pressed him to the ground.
"I had to open the door with one hand, pressing the kangaroo to the wall with the other hand. Finally, the door opened and I could actually release it.
Good looking. Of course, how could you not kick a kangaroo out of your house with a name like Beat? That would be like being named POW and getting your ass kicked by a koala that broke in through the attic.
Oz Dad Fights Off 'Lunatic Ninja' Kangaroo [skynews]
Thanks to Alex, Jazzy 8 Ball, and Victoria, who have all punched ninja-roos in the pouch and lived to tell about it.
Feb 26 2009 Kid Designs Homeless Domes Out Of Trash
12-year old Max Wallack is a boy. A 12-year old one. Max Wallack, 12-year old boy, understands the plight of the homeless. Not really, because he's never been homeless, but he still feels for them all the same. Did I mention he's an inventor? 12-year old boy-inventor Max Wallack designed a homeless dome for the less fortunate, out of trash.
12-year-old Max Wallack stole the show at Design Squad's Trash to Treasure contest with his "Home Dome." The dome provides shelter for the homeless and is made from plastic, wire and packing peanuts.
This isn't his first big win. "When I was six," Max said, "I won an invention contest that included a trip to Chicago. While there, I saw homeless people living on streets, and beneath highways and underpasses. I felt very sorry for these people, and ever since then, felt that my goal and obligation was to find a way to help them. My invention improves the living conditions for homeless people, refugees, or disaster victims by giving them easy-to-assemble shelter."
Good looking, Max, I'm proud of you. It's a nice change to see a youngster finally using their superpowers for good. Because if I were you I'd have been x-ray visioning through all my teacher's shirts. ZOMG, check out the chest hair on that shop teacher -- it's like a forest!
Hit the jump for a video about Max and his invention.
Continue Reading " Kid Designs Homeless Domes Out Of Trash "
Jan 20 2009 Fire Hazards: $5,000 Paper Houses
The Wall AG is a Swiss company out to solve the problem of homelessness, particularly in third-world countries, with the Universal World House -- a $5,000 paper house.
This isn't mere papercraft--the Universal World House is a $5,000, 390-square-foot modular home, outfitted with plumbing and boarding facilities to support up to eight (eight!) residents each. The secret of its construction is its "paper" shell; the resin-soaked cellulose, made from recycled paper, is shaped into honeycomb walls, which provide structural integrity and insulation to the houses.
Concerned about your ability to slaughter an animal in your new abode? Worry not!
It has been designed so that a family can slaughter an animal on the veranda, wash it in the shower and hang it, along with fish, on an integrated washing line.
Sweet! The only problem is the, uh, the paper. Remember The Three Little Pigs. Even the dumbest one used straw. Just saying.
$5,000 Paper House is the World's Swankiest Hobo Pad [gizmodo]
Thanks to kristy, who was smart enough to build with Styrofoam.
Sep 5 2008 Sure, Why Not?: The Enter Doorbell
The Enterbell is just that, an Enter key doorbell. Pretty straightforward. No ess curves required to understand this one. Unfortunately, it's currently only a concept created by Li Jianye. Wait a minute -- a concept? How hard is it to glue an Enter key to a regular freaking doorbell? Not very if you don't glue your hand down your pants first (I'm typing one-handed). Seriously though, if you want an Enter doorbell, don't wait for Li, just yank a key of your choice off a coworker's keyboard and glue that puppy on. Enter key alternatives include 'Home' and 'Insert'. Or, if you're not into the whole technology thing, you could just hang a sweet knocker. Knock knock. Who's there? Enter. Enter who? Me from behind, I'm feeling kinky!
Geeky Doorbell Speaks For Itself [ohgizmo]
Jul 14 2008 Impressive: Homemade Paintball Sentry
Some dude made a paintball sentry that automatically detects moving objects and lights them up (with paintballs, not light, silly!). It's pretty freaking impressive. Skip to 2:00 to see an impressive distraction test, 3:30 to see a kid on a trampoline getting destroyed, and then keep watching to see the thing shooting at a guy speeding by in a Jeep. The kid that made the unit hopes to sell them once he's fine-tuned the design, but claims, "My ridiculously low income is the only thing slowing me down." Tell me about it, paintball sentry maker, I'm right there with ya. My ridiculously low income is the only thing keeping me living in my parent's attic. Well, that and I've befriended the mice. Haven't I, Cheesy Weesy? You're my little mousey wousy, aren't you? Gimme kissy. OW, YOU BIT ME YOU LITTLE....uh-oh. Aw George, I can still tend the rabbits, can't I?
Some Guy Went and Built a Sentry Gun [kotaku]
Thanks to Harry and Sev, both of whom could easily dodge the paintballs with their l33t ninja skills
Jul 8 2008 Garden Zombies Add An Undead Touch To Your Flowerbed, Hopefully Scare Solicitors
Tired of staring at the same damn group of garden gnomes in your flowerbed? Well how about (un)livening things up a bit with a Garden Zombie? Garden Zombies cost $90 and the 32"W x 20"D x 8"H sculptures look like they're climbing out of the ground and ready to gnaw on some headfruit.
Not for the faint of heart, the life-sized, gray-toned zombie will claw his way out of your garden plot or family room corner, pleading for assistance with the most lifelike eyes you've ever seen. His macabre expression is captured in such great detail in quality designer resin and finished so realistically that you'll swear you can hear him breathing!
Garden? Maybe. Inside the apartment? F*** no. The last thing I need to see while stumbling my way to a midnight snack is a zombie climbing out of the floor. I'd decimate my tighty-offwhities (if I was wearing any) and cry like a baby. Eventually I'd come to, grab one of my zombie-survival kits, and proceed to kill the poor sap that lives in the apartment below mine.
May 20 2008 FakeTV Acts Like Television, Deters Thieves
The FakeTV is a $50 array of super-bright LEDs that flicker on and off to resemble the light given off by a television. The idea is that a burglar will see this, think you're home watching television when in fact you're on a family vacation that's making you want to kill yourself, and pass on robbing you blind.
FakeTV uses a built-in computer to control super-bright LEDs to produce light of varying intensity and color that light up a room just like a real television does. The light effects of real television programming -- scene changes, camera pans, fades, flicks, swells, on-screen motion, and more, are all faithfully simulated by FakeTV... fills a room with color changes, both subtle and dramatic, in thousands of possible shades. FakeTV is completely unpredictable, and it never repeats.
The FakeTV uses substantially less energy than leaving a real television on, and doubles as an epilepsy detector. Video after the jump, but WARNING: We are in no way, shape, form, taste, smell or color responsible for any resulting seizures.
Continue Reading " FakeTV Acts Like Television, Deters Thieves "
May 1 2008 Company Specializes In Secret Passages
Creative Home Engineering is a firm that specializes in build secret passageways into your house. Which is pretty much the awesomest thing I've ever heard (besides hearing that American Gladiators was coming back, but before I saw one and realized it was a disaster). They make everything from the stairs you see here, to bookshelf doors and rotating fireplaces. Prices range from $5,000 to $250,000 depending on how ridiculous you want to get. You know, growing up I lived in a house with a little secret passage. It was in the upstairs hallway. I was always afraid to see where it led but one day I went for it and climbed in. I fell two stories into a hamper by the washing machine. It was awesome.
Several more hidden passageway pictures, and a link to the company's gallery, after the jump.
Apr 15 2008 DIY Security System Is Awesomely Dangerous
I love DIY projects. Especially ones that involve automatic weaponry. So needless to say this one's a hit in my book. Hanif Molavizadeh, an Afghani citizen, rigged up this little security system to keep his home safe from unwelcome guests. If the system's alarm is tripped it dials Hanif's cellphone, which he then uses to talk to the intruders via speaker phone. If that's not enough, he can remotely fire a few rounds from the AK-47. Oh hell yes! During a test run Halif "forgot" to remove the live ammo, and a bullet shot through his window and ricocheted off a neighbor's place. I say "forgot" because I'm pretty confident that was just Mr. Molavizadeh's way of letting the neighbor's know not to f*** with his stuff. Now, not to fire my own assault rifle or anything, but I definitely had the idea of booby-trapping the doors in my house with guns a long time ago. Unfortunately I read a story about how that's illegal. And now I can see why -- I accidentally killed the cat-sitter.
Kalashnikov Equipped Burglar Alarm [uberreview]
Dec 5 2007 Poor Man's Do It Yourself Security System
Some guy designed a system to take a picture with a cameraphone and send it back to you whenever you text it from another phone.
Utilizing a couple of cameraphones, a microcontroller, solenoid relays, a photoresistor, wires galore, a soldering iron and a robust picture messaging plan, this cameraphone activated cameraphone can be used to snap pictures of a pre-defined location whenever you get curious.
I'll admit the system is fun to watch in action, but come on. Video camera systems aren't that expensive. Plus they have the added benefit of, you know, not looking like a freaking bomb.
Video of the device in action after the explosion.
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Aug 14 2007 Spyke The Pet Spying Robot
Meccano (famous for its Erector Set like building toys) is about to drop Spyke, a WiFi compatible robot that can be controlled via the internet. It is advertised as both a home protection robot (takes picture and sends email if motion sensor is activated) and pet checker. What a happy day this is! Now I can check on my pets while I'm at work. Hey look, there's my dog eating cat turds out of the litterbox! Oh joy, the cat is peeing in my monitor again! The robot is sweet, but some things are better left a mystery.
Spyke The Pet Spying Robot [BotJunkie]
