Friday fun: 'Zombieland' Trailer

For this weeks Friday fun I thought I would post the trailer for Zombieland featuring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and Bill Murray. A nerd, a redneck, lots of zombies, and even more laughs. What else can I say except I love this movie



Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: The Last Starfighter Theatrical Trailer

It's Summer movie time, and I thought you might enjoy this trailer from another one of my favorite 80's movies, "The Last Starfighter" featuring Lance Guest and Catherine Mary Stewart:



If you haven't seen this movie before, then check it out. It's a great flick!

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: MythBusters - Diet Coke & Mentos

Personally I think dropping a Mentos in to a bottle of Diet Coke is a waste, but then again I am a Diet Coke addict. If fizzing geysers are your thing then check out this clip from the MythBusters:



Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: H.A.L.E. - High Altitude LEGO Extravaganza

Earlier this week I came across the site for the High Altitude LEGO Extravaganza or H.A.L.E., and was just blown away as to how these people took their LEGO NXTs to new heights:



For more information check out the H.A.L.E. site at: http://www.unr.edu/nevadasat/hale/

Have a great & safe weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun part deux: Fireball Shooter

OK, OK, I can take a hint! Apparently some of you think the previous "Compressed Air Rocket" project is a little too tame for the 4th of July. So for all you pyromaniacs out there here's another project from makemagazine that should make your Fourth:



Disclaimer: Be safe and smart, not reckless and stupid. Don't fire this thing at any person including yourself or any other animal. Nor do you want to point this thing in the direction of a fireworks stand, redneck with a shotgun, or a pile of black powder kegs stacked on top of a bunch of plutonium rods In short, use some common sense! (Hopefully that will keep everyone safe and any lawyers off my back)

Have a great & safe weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: Compressed Air Rocket

Since this weekend is the 4th of July I thought this "Compressed Air Rocket" project from makemagazine would make a nice Firday Fun post:



Here are links to pdfs for the article and the template for the rocket. If those links don't work then go here: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/04/weekend_project_compressed_air_rock.html

Have a great & safe weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: Retro Wireless Handset

Are you tired of your Bluetooth headset, and you want to have a little fun? If the answer is yes, and you happen to have a spare handset from an old phone then try this hack from makemagazine:



One of the fun things I can see someone doing with this is walking around a supermarket late at night while talking to a friend on the other end. I wonder what the other shoppers would think?

You can find more information here: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/01/weekend_project_retro_wireless_hand.html

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: LNE - LEGO PackBot

brdavis5 built a really cool all-terrain vehicle based on the Lego NXT system called the LNE. Check out this video of the LNE as it goes through various obstacles and storm troopers:



You can find more images at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=229082

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun rerun: Max Headroom - Paranoimia

I posted this Max Headroom clip a little over a year ago, and I decided to repost it to celebrate the upcoming release of "Max Headroom: The Complete Series" DVD set on August 10th, which is just two months away:



Another reason why I am reposting this clip is that I just like the song.

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: Lego printer fun!

I know this video of a Lego printer has been featured on Digg, PCWorld, and Geekosystem, but this is so cool I just had to post it here again. Depending on your tastes the music may be a little too loud so adjust your speakers accordingly:



Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: BigDog Beta

I thought I would finish off my binge of BigDog robot videos with this video from pantlessknights showing an early BigDog prototype (read parody)



I wonder what the BigDog left on that beach in Thailand?

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

BigDog Beach'n

Here's another video from BostonDynamics featuring the BigDog robot. This time the BigDog is strutting his stuff on a beach in Thailand:



Imagine working on a robot such as BigDog and then going to some exotic beach to test it out. Talk about dream jobs! Cheers ~ Jim

Friday fun: Boston Dynamics BIGDOG Robot

If you are in any way interested in robotics then you have to check out this video from boingboingvideo of Boston Dynamics BIGDOG Robot:



The BIGDOG is designed for military use and is one of the most advanced quadruped robots out there. It's a pretty interesting concept, and the Boston Dynamics and BIGDOG links provide a lot more information.

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: Portable computer commercial from 1977

This week's Friday Fun may be a little redundant in that I already posted this video on my 8-Bit Retro Computing blog, but I just get a kick out of this classic commercial for the IBM 5100 Portable Computer courtesy of MrClassicAds:



The commercial is from 1977 which happens to be the same year that I graduated from high school. I guess back then that a computer weighing about 50 pounds really could be considered a portable. By comparison my netbook is about 1/50th of the weight of the 5100, and orders of magnitude more powerful. It's incredible to see how technology has progressed over the years.

Have a great weekend ~ Jim

Friday fun: Evasive Beeping Thing

Here is another weekend project from makemagazine. I am quite certain that those of you who enjoy playing pranks on your coworkers will enjoy building the Evasive Beeping Thing:



If you plan to build this little beastie then you should check out this link at the makemagazine site which includes errata, user comments, and further links including one for the updated schematic.

And if you have a moment please check out the Geeks Who Care blog, and drop me a line or leave a comment if you have any suggestions.

Have a great weekend ~ Jim