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Stumbleupon. Solar Altoids iPhone/ iPod Charger. I love my iPhone 4 to death.

Solar Altoids iPhone/ iPod Charger

I really do. Even if it sucks juice faster than a 1st grader at snack time and I often find myself on low power with a long train ride ahead of me. I originally made my Altoids USB Charger to use with my iPhone, only to find that Apple being Apple doesn't let it's products play nice with generic USB chargers. I then set out on a long journey to find a cheap charger that would work with an iPhone 4. After sacrificing many a cheap Chinese charger to my garbage can I eventually found a great little circuit with the added bonus of having a retractable cable. In the Maker Shed: Minty Boost USB Charger.

Thing in a Jar. Thing in a Jar 7 inches by 4 inches, mason jar Pictured above is the Thing in a Jar that's usually sitting in my office at work.

Thing in a Jar

The coolest thing about the Thing is that everyone responds to seeing it by asking questions. Where did I find it? Is it an internal organ? The Thing in a Jar is made out of Sculpey, acryllic paint and rubber cement. This is the third Thing in a Jar I've made. Here's a conceptual sketch I made of this Thing before I sculpted it. 1.5 by 2.5 inches, ballpoint pen Usually when I make a Thing in a Jar, I try to keep the shape ambiguous enough so that the viewer cannot really pin down exactly what they're looking at. The glass jar acts as a physical barrier, preventing the viewer from directly accessing its contents. I think this is much cooler than, for example, a painting, which basically has this big implicit sign hanging off of it that says, "I am just a painting of an object, not the object itself.

S Homemade Soap Recipe by Robert Wayne Atkins. Grandpappy's Homemade Soap Recipe Copyright © 2007,2008 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E. All rights reserved and all rights protected under international copyright law. Click Here for a Microsoft WORD printer friendly copy of this article. Introduction During hard times sooner or later everyone runs out of soap. To make soap you only need three things: rainwater,cold ashes from any hardwood fire, andanimal fat from almost any type of animal, such as a cow, pig, goat, sheep, bear, beaver, raccoon, opossum, groundhog, etc. Soap is not difficult to make and it does not require any special equipment. Soap is a "perfect consumer product" for the following five reasons: Yurt Buildng. Here is a free copy of my book Build your own yurt, written in 1995, It has been used by a great many people who have built their own yurts.

Yurt Buildng

Our designs have progressed enormously since 1995. For a much more comprehensive guide see The Complete Yurt Handbook or see the rest of our website A complete guide to making a Mongolian Ger by P.R. King First edition 1995, Second edition 1997. Third edition, revised, updated, and expanded. 1997. Third Edition Fully revised and expanded for 1998 Internet Edition Jan 2000 The Yurt The English word Yurt comes from the Russian Yurta describing a circular trellis walled framed tent. The Kirgiz yurt with bent-wood roof poles and crown and a domed overall shape. The two tiered yurt with a pointed roof and two layers of wall section placed one on top of the other. The Mongol or Kalmuk ger with straight roof poles, a heavy timber crown, often supported by two upright poles, and fitted with a wooden door.

What can you do with an old pallet? So many things!

What can you do with an old pallet?

If you ever come across the opportunity to pick up a few pallets take a look at some of the ideas I have come across for recycling old pallets into furniture and other practical and decorative pieces. I would like to mention that the designs below were found at various sources on the Internet. Where possible I have mentioned the original source, but unfortunately too many do not. If you are the original designer for any of the furniture below, please let me know so that I can add your details.

Make furniture for your home ABOVE: Mobius Living take pallets to a new level, offering clients the opportunity to buy ready-made coffee tables. ABOVE and BELOW: Who would have thought that a humble pallet could be transformed into so many practical pieces. ABOVE: All it takes is a few reclaimed timber pallets to make up your own living room furniture In the kitchen ABOVE and BELOW: Don't stop there... In the bedroom In the garden Pallets for pets Find and prepare your pallet.