DIY Polymath, idea hamster; off-planet ambitions, carbon negative.
given
. I'll be visiting the PCU offices tomorrow. I've saved a bit of money and am looking at investing much of it in a credit union.
HOWTO: generate several thousand volts with water droplets and soup cans.
From the page: "It is possible to build a very simple high-voltage generator which has no moving parts and is powered by the energy of falling water. By dribbling water through some old soup cans, several thousand volts magically appear. The magic lies in the fact that water (as well as everything else!) is made of vast quantities of positive and negative electric charge in perfect balance. It's not too hard to cause an imbalance. Water normally has zero net electrical charge because it contains equal and opposite charges. "Kelvin's Thunderstorm" is a gravity-powered charge un-canceller. "
Thanks to Stock Trader for stumbling this great physics lecture video my way. Someday, I'm going to use for a project, and I already have one in mind.
Real people doing good. That's my idea of a hero, costumes make them even more super.
From the page: "It is the epic tale of Master Legend, a "real life superhero" who is just one of the many people around the country who assemble homegrown Bat Man lives, with personas and costumes and utility belts and sidekicks. And yes, this is all true."
DIY 3 axis CNC driver board. Single sided construction, 5-6 amps. Parts list, schematic, PCB mask in PDF, everything you need.
From the page: "This board is one single sided PCB which is capable of being manufactured by the DIY'er. It utilizes a DB25 connector that is configured to use a standard DB25 cable assembly for PC connection. It is capable of handling stepper motors with power supplies up to 35V. The MOSFET drivers are capable of very high current drive (>20A). However depending on the PCB material shouldn't be used at currents greater than 5 or 6A, without beefing up the traces from the FET's to the connector."
Seems to be a very handy writing tool, Free/Open Source, of course!
From the page: "StorYBook is a free, open source story writing software for creative writers, novelists and authors that helps to keep the overview over the strands when writing a book, a novel or a story.
StorYBook assists you in structuring your book. Have all your data in one place. With StorYBook you can manage chapters, scenes, characters and locations and assign them to the related scenes. "
HOWTO: store and germinate pecans from seed.
From the page:
"Dry Storage is required for the nuts as soon as they are harvested..."
"Stratification is the period of time from drying to planting..."
"Pre Soaking is used to stimulate germination..."
Good semi-technical introduction to starting pecan trees.
From the page: "Let's plant a pecan from seed."