Build Yourself a Sparkleball!

Got a few leftover plastic cups, a string of Christmas lights and some patience?

Make a Sparkleball!

Here's how, courtesy of sparkleball.com.

So sayeth the mysteriously unnamed creator of the Sparkleball site:

"I finally taught myself how to make Sparkleballs and now have made dozens. I've had Sparkleball-Making Parties. I made Sparkleballs for a bar in San Diego. Friends say I should start a business or charge for the instructions.

But every Christmas when I hang up my original Sparkleball and plug it in, I'm reminded of that dark Texas night and how it's those little detours we take in life that give us the most joy. And I reaffirm the fact that if I, an egghead serious negativizer, can get this much pleasure from something so simple, maybe I need to give it away. This website lets me do that.

Just call me the Missionary of Sparkleballs."

Oooh ooh! Me first!: "You are the Missionary of Sparkleballs!"

Wonderful! Saw it on notcot.

Lego Anatomy

An image by Jason Freeny that made me giggle...

Very useful in case you were wondering what our plastic friends look like on the inside.

(found it on nerdcore via ffffound)

Best. Gift. Ever. = Titanium Halligan Bar

Good Morning SuperForest!

We've posted about Halligan bars and their utter gift supremacy before, but nothing could prepare my bloggy self for the sheer joyous thrill that rang through my spine when first I hefted my very own new Halligan bar!

My dear brother, SuperForester Will, saw fit in his infinite generosity and wisdom to provide me with the best zombie-fightin', door-smashing, get me the heck into/outta here tool in the world.

In high tensile strength titanium, no less.

Less than half the weight of steel!
Will NEVER rust!
Electrical conductivity = 1/6th of steel!
Heat conductivity = 1/8th of steel!

5.25 pounds of pure, unadulterated awesomeness! The kind of awesomeness one can hand down to countless heirs. That's "heirloom quality" awesomeness!

And the bestest part? It has eyelets for a strap!!!

Swoon!

This year, give someone you love the gift that will never wear out, and can be used to escape from countless zombies: a titanium Halligan bar.

I swear, it just purred at me.

Nothing says "dapper gent" like a titanium smashing tool.

Will ordered mine from the fine people at Tico Titanium Inc. in good ol' Michigan.

A special thanks to my brother, who is the best brother in the history of siblings.

Translucent Concrete is So Hot Right Now!

We can now make concrete that light can pass through, and is 30 percent lighter than traditional concrete.



Just think of the many incredible uses for translucent concrete!
Translucent buildings. Translucent roadways. Clear bridges.

Fun.

How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You

Howdy SuperForesters!

Matthew Inman created this helpful “How to” guide on how to better understand the actions (and motivations behind those actions) of our furry friends. Check it out, here are some signs to look out for just in case you have always been wondering if your cat is plotting a treasonous plan to dispose of you. Apparently, this is something a lot of people out there stay up all night worrying about so I hope this helps.

Thanks Matthew, I don't have a cat but next time I encounter one I'll be sure to look out for these signs. You can never be too careful. The complete guide can be found here!

Have a Lovely Day!

-C

Smart art

While many of us grew up being told to eat our veg, it's very likely we, instead, became skilled at avoiding them (i.e. by feeding them to the dog or slyly popping them into our pockets). Now that we're older, it's only natural that some of us followed up such vegetable-dodging creativity with amazing vegie art. Ju Duoqi, a female artist who lives and works in Beijing, has gone about recreating Western art masterpieces using vegetables such as tofu, ginger, lotus roots, coriander and sweet potato.

Of her work, Duoqi says, "In the summer of 2006, I bought a few kilograms of peas, and sat there quietly for two days peeling them, before stringing them on a wire and turning them into a skirt, a top, a headdress and a magic wand. I used a remote control to take a photo of myself in them, and named it Pea Beauty Pageant. That was my first work of vegetable art."


Read more about Ju Duoqi here.

SuperForester Iman Presents: Build - The Little Rice Sack That Could!

Wow! Would you like to know how to to turn one of these:



Into one of these?



Here's the newest member of Team SuperForest, SF'er Iman, to teach you how!
Take it, Iman:



Hello SuperForest,

Iman here once again!

Coming at you straight from San Diego where I have just completed my second post, hopefully the second of many to come. Once more let me thank you! You beautiful reader, for this world (and blog) would not be the same without you. I hope you find the message of this post as handy as I have.

First, get an empty rice sack...


Cut it like this.


Then, sew up the side, like this...


Flip the top over to make a lip and sew it like this.


It should look like this.


Another strip of rice sack, bent over...


And sewn shut...

Sew this handle onto the top lip, flip the whole works inside out, and there you have it:

The Little Rice Sack That Could!

Hooray!

(Amazing Iman. Such a helpful post!)

Build: Clementine Candle

Yesterday I was browsing through instructables (heaven!) and came across this little beauty of an idea.

It seems that all one needs to create a beautiful and fragrant oil lamp is a knife, a tangerine (clementine), and a small quantity of olive oil (or other type of combustible.)

Here's how you do it:

1.) Get all necessary parts.
2.) Make a nice lateral slice (like a belt) around the tangerine.


3.) Carefully peel, taking care not to tear or rip the peel. It is important to leave that little bit of white stringy stuff at the bottom as it will serve as your wick.


Should look like this.


4.) Fill the "bottom" with olive oil. Can also use lamp oil, vegetable oil, mineral oil, whale oil, mink oil, ferret oil, or banana oil. (I made a few of those up. Any oil will work. Try crude if you can get it. Jokes!)


5.) Trim the "wick" down so it's approximately 1/8th to 1/4 inch above the oil.

6.) Light, put the "hat" on and enjoy!

7.) Most IMPORTANT: Don't leave this deceptively benign candle burning unattended, as the moment you do, it will explode, covering everything nearby with hot, burning oil. Jokes and jokes! Seriously, don't leave it burning and go to the deli for custard. It will burn your situation down and you will cry. And then we will cry when we find out what has happened.

These pictures all come from instructable user bluesky, who got the idea from apartment therapy.com

Nerdbots!

Hi all!

These are simply cute.

A couple in Missouri makes these robots out of things they find in antique shops. They're called Nerdbots!

Each one has so much personality.









Great idea! Who doesn't dig robots?

(Thanks again, to the great SwissMiss for the heads up!)
Happy Thursday!
N

Build: Treehugger Presents DIY Solar Panels!

Good Morning!

Treehugger has a very cool post up about how to build your own solar panels out of the surplus cells you can buy in bulk from ebay.

It's all a matter of connecting them together and mounting them in a frame. Easy!

Here's treehugger's story.



And here's an instructable on the same.