Women aren’t the only crafters out there. Slide over scrapbookers, knitters and jewelry makers, men are in the DIY game too. And ManMade features projects that are masculine or at the very least gender neutral like those yellow baby showers.
Seriously, we’re digging this site. Where else can you find everything from bicycle pants how-to videos (peep it below) and DIY mouse pads to a whole post on 5 Ways to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew. They also seem to have a love for Mario. We send love to anyone who respects the more superior Nintendo brother.
I have neither the skill or ambition to create such a beautiful project. However, it does look absolutely amazing! Check out the video below created by Australian based animation company ‘Dee Pee Studios. [via LH]
It has been a long time since I took a math class. I realized that when I followed the steps on the Wolfram Alpha sample question and still couldn’t figure out how to get the answer. To be honest it was a bit of an ego check. I always thought I was pretty good at math, but I obviously didn’t retain much of what I learned. But anyway enough about how awesome I am. This looks like a great tool for parent’s that help their kids with their homework. No more math tutor for you Zion. Hop on over and take a look and remember, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
All you have to do is enter the equation you want to solve: (solve 3x + 52 = 1999) and click the Show steps button. Pretty nice if you ask me.
I have yet to read the book, but this story of a self-taught Malawian boy building a windmill to bring electricity to his village is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Mind you, he built this windmill out of parts from a junk yard. I am totally blown away.
And that is just the beginning. William Kamkwamba was kicked out of school because his family could not afford to pay the roughly $80 a year tuition. Instead of hanging his head, William went to go to the library. It was there he found the book, Using Energy. In the book he read about windmills and how they could generate electricity as well help with pumping water. Here is an exert from his blog:
Determined to continue my education, I began visiting a local library, funded by the Americans, where I quickly fell in love with science. As the hunger clawed its way across our country, the library was where I escaped and became lost in discussions of electromagnetism, simple motors and electricity — my favorite topic, since only 2 percent of Malawi enjoyed such a luxury.
I didn’t read English well, so I mainly taught myself these things by studying the pictures and diagrams. By the time I saw my first windmill on the cover of an American textbook called Using Energy, I was able to apply all this previous knowledge and set out to build my own. Within six months, I’d constructed a windmill that provided my family with continuous electricity and completely transformed the way we lived. A later machine allowed us to irrigate a small garden to grow produce year-round.
After reading this and watching the video below, it makes me take pause when I think to complain about something I can’t do. Obviously, if you want to do it, you can. You can find more information about William at his blog. You can also purchase his book, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.
Would you like to have a vine dedicated to you at a famous Oxfordshire based vineyard? Well, check out Adopt a Vine, a service that allows you to own a small piece of a famous vineyard. The kit comes with information on your personalized vine, along with a Privilege Card that entitles you to attend a delicious wine sampling session, have a vineyard tour, and there’s even an invitation to the harvest picking and a discount in the vineyard shop.
Using a similar design as the Newspaper Basket, this cocktail dress, made entirely of tax forms, is insane! Using duct tape as a lining, the paper was weaved, cut, and sewn together to make a stylish dress.
I am not too crafty, but love to pretend I am…and so I subscribe to millions of DIY blogs to inspire me. I finally saw a post that both inspired and empowered me to be able to try my hand at one. The newspaper basket was easy to construct and the direction on How About Orange was sooooo clear.
Evil Mad Scientist posted 17 cool magnet tricks, from making your own functional compass to waking up/putting to sleep your laptop.
[Via EvilMadScientist]
If you are a science nerd, or too broke to grab a bottle of wine [we are in a recession!!!] then check out this DIY tutorial on how to make your own wine with just a few simple ingredients and materials needed. Somebody do this and invite me over…looks dope.
