This is a fantastic video with staggering statistics. As social media continues to permeate into the fabric of our societies, it will radically change how the world interacts with each other. Enjoy.
Remember those real-world merit badges based on the virtual achievements you get for checking in to places using Foursquare that we told you about? They’re approved and on sale now.
The 1.5-inch embroidered badges have Velcro on the back for attaching them to your jacket, backpack, or whatever other fabric you want to decorate. Options include Mari Sheibley-designed badges “Local,” “Superstar,” “Crunked,” and “Super Mayor” for $5.99 each.
Seller Nerd Merit Badges is also offering a 17-inch laptop sash with several badges so you can show off your location-aware cred at your next meeting or social media conference.
When we reported on the badges earlier this week, we were waiting to see if Foursquare would give Nerd Merit Badges the go-ahead to put them on sale. The photo below was apparently all it took to get the company’s approval:
We also found this photo of the badges on a real live clothing item in an update from Nerd Merit Badges’s Twitter account.
Tags: foursquare, nerd merit badges
How would you like it if your phone started charging whenever you dropped it into your pocket? That may eventually be possible, thanks to a carbon nanotube-based ink that can turn many common fabrics into conductors, or even components of a charge-storing supercapacitor. These won’t be showing up in a clothing store near you anytime soon, however, as ensuring that the fabrics only direct the charge to appropriate devices—and not, say, to a sensitive body part—will be a separate engineering challenge.
Textile fibers are actually uniquely suited to transforming into electronics when combined with the seemingly ubiquitous carbon nanotube. Fibers made of cellulose, like cotton or polyester, are highly porous and can absorb large amounts of water and other polar solvents. When flexible single-walled carbon nanotubes are placed near polymers like these fibers, they have large van der Waals interactions with them, and can be treated with acid that helps them form hydrogen bonds with the fabric. This allows the flexible carbon nanotubes to wrap around the fibers in very high volumes, as the porous fabric gives the nanotubes a large surface area to work with.
Do you know how many soldiers died at Little Big Horn? Neither do I. (Editor’s note: about 270 US soldiers.) The story of the battle may be rattling around in our brains, but the specifics? Forget about it. If you have mastered time travel and are looking for someone to do your dirty work, why not zip back to that fateful day, grab someone who would have died, heal their wounds in the future, and then put them to work stitching up the ripped fabric of time? That’s the premise of Darkest of Days, and while it’s interesting on its surface, the game itself doesn’t seem to want to explore the concepts it’s built around.
Originally posted 2009-09-08 18:25:46. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Today’s featured workspace has several clever DIY solutions to a variety of office ailments like USB hub placement, cord management, and easy access to frequently used ports.
Lifehacker reader Jason Devilla tweaked and tinkered with his workspace until, with a healthy dose of DIY action, he found a setup that worked for him. He made his own monitor stand with a cable-management chamber built into the base. He turned a metal holder designed for cutting boards into a laptop stand with the addition of a swatch of fabric.
To help with the cables he has to use on a daily basis he positioned them where they were accessible but unobtrusive. Check out the photos below to see how he hid his USB hub inside his pencil cup and made a little stand for his audio jack out of a binder clip so he could easily plug his headphones in.
If you have a workspace of your own to show off, throw the pictures on your Flickr account and add it to the Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell Pool. Include some details about your setup and why it works for you, and you just might see it featured on the front page of Lifehacker.
You want somewhere to hang your various sets of keys, but the generic plastic and metal monsters at the hardware store make you cringe. Time to build your own!
This DIY key holder is quick and simple to make. Take a shadow box picture frame, line it with a sturdy paper like wallpaper, screw in the hooks for the keys, and you’re in business. You can modify it to your heart’s content—in fact, a little fabric and batting would make the whole affair fit for the key to the city. The DIY Ideas has the how-to details on building a suitable stash for your keys.
Have a favorite DIY project for your home landing zone? Let’s hear about it in the comments.
Lightboxes aren’t just for the professionals any longer. Using them to illuminate your Craigslist and eBay listings can help make a sale, and amateur photogs can get professional-looking shots with one. Create your own using K’nex and a little know how.
At first the idea of using our favorite childhood toy to make a light box may feel slightly silly, but the slim design of the pieces would be beneficial in keeping unwanted shadows or darkness out of your final photograph. Plus, it’s a fabulous excuse to bust out the toy box again. Here’s what you’ll need:
Hit the full post on DIY weblog Spin Hand Spun for all the assembly details, including how to grommet your fabric to encase your structure.
Do you use a light box to give your photographs a professional touch (maybe a simple cardboard one perhaps)? Share your expertise in the comments.
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