CrunchyTech: The Latest from Boing Boing

Friday, December 25, 2009

The Latest from Boing Boing

It's a Scutigera coleoptrata Christmas, everybody!
Original blueprints of the Eiffel Tower
Christmas tree made out of bicycle parts
Tokyoflash watch winners
Watchismo competition winner
December 1945 issue of Popular Science
Pyramid Power! Classic 80s-era clock back in stock
FCC unimpressed by Verizon's reply
Flex-fuel electricity production
Tetris Pillowcase

It's a Scutigera coleoptrata Christmas, everybody!

Posted: 17 Dec 2009 03:47 PM PST

He's made a list. He's checked it twice. You'll find your gifts behind the toilet.

(Thanks to Arkizzle, fulfiller of Christmas wishes!)

Previously:

Original blueprints of the Eiffel Tower

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 02:11 PM PST

At the Eiffel Tower's official web site, you can check out scans of the original blueprints created by Gustave Eiffel in preparation for the 1889 World's Fair. The famous tower in Paris was the source of much controversy (many thought its skeletal design ruined the classical cityscape) and remained the tallest structure in the world until the Chrysler Building in 1930.

[via Gizmodo]

Christmas tree made out of bicycle parts

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 12:50 PM PST

This Christmas tree in London is made out of recycled bicycle wheels, donated by a non-profit that ships bike parts to Africa to help with health care transportation in rural areas. A neat idea executed by a cool architecture firm, even though I don't think it really looks like a Christmas tree.

[Architects Journal via Inhabitat]

Tokyoflash watch winners

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 11:28 AM PST

We'd like to extend our thanks to those of you who have given generously to charity this year; three of those who did so, and who correctly answered a challenge, were selected by our pals at Tokyoflash to get a gift of their choice from their wonderful catalog of bizarre watches. Watch winner Thomas Smartwood donated to the Salvation Army and the public library in Des Moines; Sean Corbett donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Chris Haigy donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York.

Watchismo competition winner

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 11:17 AM PST

Congratulations to Boing Boing reader David Glicksman, who won the draw for a spectacular timepiece from Watchismo.

December 1945 issue of Popular Science

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 10:12 AM PST

One of the highlights is a story explaining how nuclear power—remember, this is only five months after Hiroshima and Nagasaki—could be harnessed peacefully, to produce energy in America. The piece includes diagrams showing how a nuclear generator might be designed. Fun for comparing with the cutaways of modern nuclear reactors that Cory posted last week.

Also neat:

A piece on the development of auto-pilot technology.

A guide to working with color photography

A story about one man's collection of 36 working, scale-model engines

Popular Science, December 1945

Thumbnail image from Flickr user x-ray delta one, via CC

Pyramid Power! Classic 80s-era clock back in stock

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 08:47 AM PST

Seiko's legendary talking pyramid clock returns in updated form, featuring LED lighting and sharp corners. It's Japan-only for the moment. [via CrunchGear]

FCC unimpressed by Verizon's reply

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 10:13 AM PST

Verizon's new $350 early termination fee and "gotcha" internet access charges recently attracted FCC attention. It is not amused by the company's reply, which has already drawn the Wrath of Pogue. Verizon's answers are "unsatisfying and, in some cases, troubling," says the FCC's Rick Kaplan. Kaplan seems particularly moved by Verizon's claim that exiting customers should foot the bill for the advertising used to attract them in the first place.

Flex-fuel electricity production

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 02:59 PM PST

Bloom boxes are fuel cells that create electricity using a variety of energy sources. Powered by natural gas, they could produce cleaner power for Western homes. Running on plant waste, they could bring grid-less power to developing countries. And they could also be used as storage/backup for solar and wind generation.