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What's the Coolest Thing You've Ever Built?
Josh Lindenmuth asks: "In high school I was involved in an engineering competition where we needed to create a machine that could move 100 lbs of groceries from a disabled person's car up and down a set of stairs, and then into their kitchen. It was probably the coolest thing I ever built (there were only 3 of us on the team), even though the wooden treads started splintering halfway up the stairs (we didn't have a metal shop, so it was made entirely out of wood, spare boat parts, and conveyor belts) and then it completely destroyed the stairs on its way down (it weighed over 300 lbs)." That's Josh's story, now he wants to know yours. Cool computers, cars, hovercraft, handheld devices, fusion reactors — what is the most interesting gadget, product, or device that you've ever built on your own?
Period!
I built a reality simulator. You're living in it right now. Neat, huh?!
There was that one time I built a machine that could propel cats to the moon. It almost worked, too.
One time I made a "Jump to Conclusions" mat. You see, it was this mat that you would put on the floor... and had different conclusions written on it that you could jump to.
I think many /. readers weigh >300lbs, period.
This message printed on 100% post-consumer recycled electrons.
Feet tend to distribute wait in a nice, convenient way. That, added to the fact that muscles allow us to slowly descend our feet to contact the step. A 300lbs robot composed of wood, probably does not have this feature. Plus, wood is much harder than flesh (duh). Get a 300lbs pirate with wooden pegs for legs and watch him fuck up your stairs in a few weeks.
I don't know, but I'm thinking he'd view his project as much more of a success if he simply re-defined it. Machine for carrying groceries up stairs? No! Automatic Staircase Destroyer? Hell yes!
The enemies of Democracy are
Been working on a list of my biggest inventions and intellectual property items that flopped in a big, big way. My coolest inventions and IP flops are:
But my all time coolest thing I have built, and my biggest tech flop, is one I called an abtaser:
Abtaser
Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, religion destroys spirituality
have you considered a rewarding and successful career with the United States Government?
Your self are living in one of my own collection of home built reality simulators. I'll give you credit for being the only one of my simulated worlds to develop a reality simulator inside your simulation.
Greetings,
Your Lord and Creator.
P.S. If you think that's strange you should see the 4D Holo-presentation I got the other day attatched to a subspace mail message. It's from a giant lizard like creature who claims that I am living on a planet in a miniature universe he carries in a little marble on his keychain....
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
You work for Microsoft, don't you?
You missed the major factor - contact surface area. If you've got a polished wood floor, a 120lb woman can very easily damage it in high heels if the surface area of the heel is small. I imagine a 300lb geek dressed as a pirate in high heels would go right through to his parent's basement.
Back in high school I made a really huge bong out of 1 liter soda bottles and aquarium tubing.
You are so boring that when I see you my feet go to sleep.
That reminds me of a joke:
A scientist goes to God and says, "We don't need you anymore. I can create a human from nothing more than a handful of dust."
"Alright then, let's see," God replies.
"No problem," says the scientist, and he bends over to scoop up some dust.
"Hold on," God interrupts. "Get your own dust."
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