DIY Dust Goggles.

They’re post-apocalyptic and cool and remind me of that Tim Burton CGI flick 9 coming out this fall. They also look easy enough to do in the short time I have before she heads off into the dusty Nevada wilderness for music, parties and unspeakable debauchery. These will surely help fend off the the dust. As for the rest of the event’s festivities, well, that’s what the clinic is for.

And FYI: In case you missed it, the headline was inspired by this classic Simpsons moment:

[MAKE]

He gave us a list of tunes chock full of productive, creative goodness. We posted the songlist and a video to get you started, but you can see the rest of the vids with commentary over on the Adafruit blog. (Photo courtesy of HSmade)

• Peter, Paul and Mary – “If I Had a Hammer”
• Daft Punk – “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”
• Kraftwerk – “Pocket Calculator”
• John Prine – “Grandpa Was a Carpenter”
• Madness – “Our House”
• Elton John – “Electricity”
• Kraftwerk – “The Robots”
• Starship – “We Built This City”
• Rufus Wainwright – “The Maker Makes”
• Radiohead – “House of Cards”
• ZZ Top – “Woke Up With Wood”

The Kill-A-Watt is already one of my favourite toys, capable of telling me just how much of a juice hog the Pioneer first-gen Kuro plasma is when compared to any LCD anywhere ever (about twice), or the PS3 is when compared to a standard Blu-ray player (10X or more).

What our buddy Phil Torrone has done as an entry in Core77’s Greener Gadgets competition is made it useful as a tracker, or maybe a bragger.

When it gets a reading of your daily KWH usage, it blasts it via Xbee wireless transmitter to a PC “or internet-connected microcontroller, like an Arduino.” (I did mention Phil Torrone came up with this, didn’t I?) From there, it’s just an easy hop from your Twitter account.

Why tweet your damn KWH? Here’s what Phil says:

We feel there is a social imperative and joy in publishing one’s own daily KWH – by sharing these numbers on a service like Twitter users can compete for the lowest numbers and also see how they’re doing compared to their friends and followers.

So like, “Na na na-na na—my carbon output makes your carbon output look like a Chinese toy factory’s carbon output!” [Make via CrunchGear]

Now, just to begin, this clever bit of Chumby hacking doesn’t turn the device into a direct line to the president. Let that idea expire right here and now; you will not be discussing our nation’s nuclear launch codes with a frantic President Obama via a Chumby phone anytime soon (it is Linux, though, so who knows what someone will cook up eventually).

What it does do is allow you to experiment with this incredibly hackable device and have a fun little weekend project that will make your home office or work cubicle that much cooler. The DIY project doesn’t dial out—yet—but it will play tunes though the handset thanks to clever speaker placement. The “Future Improvements” planned for this project, made possible by the manufacturer-endorsed hacking that’s possible with the platform, are also pretty cool.

Lastly, when Obama isn’t saving the free world with his Chumby, he can unwind with Quake; feed his fish; or even give his infamous iPod a break with some relaxing Pandora internet radio tunes. He doesn’t have anything else planned for when he takes office next week, right? [MAKE — Thanks, Mike!]

Here’s the PDF file (eyes only!) you’ll need to get started on what actually sounds like a pretty neat little 15-minute project.

Basically, the audio signal from the attached microphone varies the power output of the laser. This, in turn, causes the laser’s brightness to fluctuate in a way that follows the shape of the sound wave.

At the other end, where your super spy friend awaits his kill order for those pesky neighbourhood revolutionaries, a solar cell (or photo-resistor) helpfully converts the oscillating light signal back into the husky, absurdly fake Scottish accent you’ve applied to your voice in yet another lame, cliched attempt to mimic Sean Connery. [MAKE]

AU: One for the torrenters?

Our very good buddies at Make magazine are launching their long-awaited TV show this weekend; called simply Make:, the show will bring all of the wonderful projects, maker profiles, and general DIY cheer that can be found in such quality in the magazine. And best of all, it’s on public TV, so episodes will hit the web in HD for your torrenting and streaming pleasures as they are aired, along with PDF guides for the featured projects.

As you can see from the preview above, there’s some great stuff in store–from the folks at Graffiti Research Labs, one of my favourite Makers Charles Benton’s beautiful Kite Aerial Photography, the aforementioned Burrito Blaster tutorial, and much more. They’ll also be featuring submitted videos from their YouTube channel in a special segment in each episode.

The fun starts on the web and on public TV across the country on January 3. Each station can broadcast the show whenever they want though, so here is a list of times and networks. If your city’s not on the list, put in a call!

Market(s) / Station or Network / Premiere Date Day Time
New York Thirteen/WNET airing on sister station WLIW
New York WLIW 1/7/2009 Wed 11:30 PM
New York + Philadelphia, (NJ statewide) New Jersey Network 1/3/2009 Sat 5:30 PM
Los Angeles KCET Orange or KCET Desert Cities (digital)
Los Angeles (San Bernardino) KVCR
Los Angeles (Huntington Beach) KOCE-HD (digital) 1/6/2009 Tue 6:30 PM; KOCE-HD 1/7/09 Wed 7:30PM
Chicago WTTW
Philadelphia + Salisbury DE WHYY Wider Horizons (Digital) 1/10/2009 Sat 5:00 PM
Dallas-Ft.Worth KERA 1/4/2009 Sun 10:00 AM
San Francisco KQED 1/10/2009 Sat 8:00 AM; KQED WORLD (Digital 9.3 & Comcast Cable 190) Sat 2pm & 7:30pm
San Francisco (San Jose) KTEH 2/4/2009 Wed 12AM-1AM
San Francisco (San Mateo) KCSM
Boston WGBH 2/HD
Boston + Burlington-Plattsburgh (NH statewide) New Hampshire Public Television
Atlanta + Savannah, Augusta, Macon, Columbus, Albany, Jacksonville, Chattanooga (GA statewide) Georgia Public Broadcasting
Washington, DC WETA 1/10/2009 Sat 5:30 PM
Houston HoustonPBS 1/8/2009 Thu 11:00 PM
Phoenix KAET
Tampa-St. Pete WEDU 1/9/2009 Fri 3:00 PM
Tampa-St. Pete WUSF
Seattle-Tacoma KCTS
Minneapolis-St. Paul Twin Cities Public Television (tpt2) 1/10/2009 Sat 5:00 PM; Sat 1/17 8:30AM;
Also two stunts: 1/6/09 7-8pm (#105 & 106); 2/1/09 3-5pm (#102, 104, 107, 110)
Minneapolis-St. Paul (Bemidji, Brainerd) Lakeland Public Television 1/24/2009 Sat 2:30 PM
Miami-Ft.Lauderdale WPBT 1/4/2009 Sun 11:30 AM
Cleveland WVIZ
Denver + Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, (CO statewide) Rocky Mountain PBS
Orlando WMFE
Orlando (Daytona Beach) WCEU
Sacramento KVIE
Baltimore + Washington, Salisbury, Pittsburgh (MD statewide) MPT Digital
Charlotte +Â Raleigh-Durham, Greenville, Greensboro, Wilmington, (NC statewide) UNC-TV
Indianapolis WFYI
Indianapolis (Bloomington) WTIU
Nashville Nashville Public Television 1/31/2009 Sat 11:30PM (NPT2 in Feb)
Grand Rapids (Kalamazoo) WGVU 1/4/2009 Sun 7PM-8PM
Albuquerque New Mexico PBS
Oklahoma City + Tulsa, (OK statewide) Oklahoma Educational Television 2/23/2009 Mon 10:00 PM
Louisville + Charleston-Huntington, Lexington, Paducah, Bowling Green, (KY statewide) Kentucky ETV Network
Austin KLRU-2 (cable) 1/4/2009 Sun 11:30 AM
Tulsa RSU Public Television 1/9/2009 Fri 1:00 PM
Flint-Saginaw + Alpena, (Manistee, Cadillac) CMU Public Broadcasting
Syracuse WCNY 1/10/2009 Sat 6:30 AM
Topeka

Much more at: [Makezine.tv]

Most impressive to me are the laser-etched bricks that adorn the sides of this gingerbread bridge, based on the Oberbaum Bridge in Berlin. And, as everyone knows, laser etched gingerbread tastes best.

Instructables member rstraugh, we salute you and your Epilog laser. [Instructables]