background preloader

Hack your solar garden lights.

Hack your solar garden lights.
Solar garden lights.... How on earth do they manage to sell something with a solar panel, rechargeable battery, step-up converter, LED and the plastic and metal casing for a dollar/pound. You can't even buy the bare components for anywhere near that, in fact the solar panel alone would probably cost you five times the cost of the whole light! This project is about hacking your solar lights to make them different colours and potentially increasing the battery life too.Solar lights are great to hack. They're cheap enough not to worry if you mess up, and very gratifying because they are effectively free to run due to being powered by sunlight. Here's the test subject for this project. Inside is a small NiMh cell and a PCB with the LED, a small inductor, a switch and a COB (Chip On Board) which is basically a bare integrated circuit which is stuck to the board, connected and then covered with a blob of black resin. Now put in your new LED noting the polarity (long lead is positive).

25 tipos de caminhos diferentes para o seu jardim - Blog Construir Confesso ter um pouco de inveja quando vejo grandes ou médias propriedades com um grande quintal, afinal, é sempre bom ter algum tipo de contato com a natureza e toda a sua beleza. Bom mesmo é quando você está estressado e sai de casa na tentativa de esvaziar a cabeça, e é onde entra o jardim, um lugar que com certeza acalma qualquer um. Sentir o cheio da grama, das flores, ouvir pássaros cantando é maravilhoso. É claro que quem tem um jardim, tem um caminho por onde passa para não machucar nenhuma planta, certo? 1. 2. 3. 4. Agora vamos para as fotos?! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. E aí, o que acharam? Até a próxima! Fonte: goodshomedesign Aproveite também para conhecer nossa LOJA VIRTUAL, onde você encontrará vários cursos em DVD com CERTIFICADO reconhecido pela ABED – Associação Brasileira de Educação à Distância. Gabriela Miranda Olá!

Buddhas Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation Ninja Remote Stealth Television Gadget Author: Gadget Mania Filed under: Gadgets, News, Spy and Security Date: Mar 11,2012 On. Off. Volume Up. Places you could use the Ninja Remote (not that we’re encouraging you): At home (we are not responsible for your couples therapy bills)At school (c’mon teen geeks, you know you’re tired of those boring history videos)In the doctor or dentist’s waiting room (if they’re going to waste half your day…)At friends’ houses (leave it there for a few days, then come back later to retrieve it)On photography trips (as a super long range shutter remote) The Ninja Remote is here to give you real ultimate power. Product Specifications Prank device allows you to control virtually any TV or digital cameraWorks up to 400 feet away (a good ninja is never seen!)

Grey Duck Garlic: How to Grow Big Garlic Top Ten Tips for Giant Sized Allium Bulbs! Do you want to grow prize winning garlic? Would you like to raise really large garlic bulbs? Garlic responds well to optimal growing conditions and with a little special care your crop can increase dramatically in size. Right: Tiny but cute Siberian bulb on the left and large elegant German Red bulb on the right. With a little effort and some soil preparation, you can grow huge gourmet garlic for top chefs, high end restaurants, CSA’s, Farmer’s Markets or yourself. Hardneck gourmet garlic can sell for $8-$30 pound (depending on market and quality). 1) Use good quality large seed garlic: If you want the biggest bulbs at the county fair start with good quality seed garlic free from disease. Start with BIG cloves. We have noted that larger cloves are more resistant to adverse conditions and frost. Below right: Romanian Red bulbs typically contain 2-6 extra large cloves. 2) Prepare soil well: Soil should be loose, loamy and easy to dig. References:

How Animals See the World The human eye is pretty amazing, but there are some things it cannot do such as see ultraviolet light or detect images at a great distance. The visual capabilities on non-human creatures can help to open our eyes to the possibilities beyond our limited sight. This infographic, published by Mezzmer, looks at vision from some animal’s point of view. [Click here for full size version] Embed This Image On Your Site (copy code below): <div style="clear:both"><a href=" src=" alt="How Animals See the World" border="0" /></a></div><div>Courtesy of: <a href=" Journal</a></div> About the Author (Author Profile)

FABtotum - Microwave-sized 3D Copier in $1,000 - A Multi-purpose Personal Fabrication Device The FABtotum is a multipurpose "personal fabrication device" — about to crush its goal on Indiegogo — that combines the technology of a 3D printer, a 3D scanner, and a CNC milling machine all in one microwave-sized package. Wondering what that means? Well, basically it's like having a hyper-efficient mini manufacturing facility on your countertop. Not only can it turn out plastic objects seemingly from thin air (like any other desktop 3D printer currently on the market), but it can make perfect digital copies — and subsequent printed plastic duplicates — of any relatively small object, much like the Photon 3D Scanner. Want something "printed" in a material other than plastic?

Easy Chart on How to Use the Herbs from your Garden…and Spices Too! « Home Grown Edible Landscapes Jun 14 I don’t know about you, but as much as I enjoy growing herbs I admit sometimes I can’t remember the best ways to use them in my kitchen! This chart from might help! Want to print out a copy? Click HERE! How To Mix Chalkboard Paint in Any Color We love using chalkboards as backdrops for displays and parties (like this one here!). So we were super excited to learn that you can create your own custom colors-and it's really easy! We first learned how from Martha Stewart whose tutorial you can read here. Supplies: 1/2 cup acrylic paint (choose any color you like, or mix colors together to make the perfect shade!) 1. 2. Once your chalkboard has fully dried be sure to slate the surface before using it for the first time. Have fun creating any color combination you like!!

New diode promises to uncork optical computing bottleneck When it comes to speed, photons leave electrons for dead, which means optical computers will be much faster than their current electron-based cousins. While diodes for use in optical information processing systems already exist, these require external assistance to transmit signals so cannot be readily integrated into computer chips. Now researchers at Purdue University have developed a "passive optical diode" that not only doesn't require any outside help to transmit signals, but is also so small that millions would fit on a computer chip, potentially leading to faster, more powerful information processing and supercomputers. While massive amounts of data are transmitted around the globe through fiber optic cables, the optical signals must be converted into electronic signals when they arrive at their destination for use in computers - and vice versa.

Storing Vegetable Seeds - Gardening Our Self Sufficient Home Every spring we invest in a variety of garden seeds, plant as much as we can fit into our garden, and stash the remaining seeds. When the seeds are pulled out the following spring I always question how viable they are after being stored in a ziplock bag in the pantry all summer and winter. So, the challenge is how to store garden seeds to maximize shelf life. The 3 most important factors in seed storage are moisture, light and temperature. Seeds germinate in warm, moist, and bright environments. The amount of light seeds are exposed to is simple to control by the container used to hold the seeds as well as the location of storage. My solution is this: seeds vacuum sealed inside mason jars then stored in a cabinet in the basement, which maintains a fairly constant temperature, or in the refrigerator. I used wide mouth mason jars and the wide mouth jar sealer attachment for the food saver vacuum sealer. Once sealed, the jar sealer attachment is removed and the vacuum seal remains intact.

What causes the smell after rain?" Most people notice a distinctive smell in the air after it rains. It's frequently linked with spring, as the smell of fresh cut grass is associated with summer. You'll find it in a lot of poetry and also on many inspirational lists of things to be happy about. But what causes it? As it turns out, the smells people associate with rainstorms can be caused by a number of things. Another sort of smell is caused by the acidity of rain. Another after-the-rain smell comes from volatile oils that plants and trees release. These are a few common rain smells, but there are also all sorts of other scents after it rains. How to Grow Your Own Superfoods Indoors 21th November 2012 By Carolanne Wright Guest Writer for Wake Up World No need to bypass all the health perks of fresh superfoods this season — simply grow them inside on a sunny window ledge. As the weather turns colder in the north hemisphere, now more than ever it is important to fortify the body with nutrient dense foods. What better way than with unprocessed superfoods? An economical and fun undertaking, cultivating a micro-superfood garden is easier than you may think. With food costs skyrocketing this season, consumers are looking for novel ways to stay nourished on a budget. Effortless to grow, these four superfoods are perfect for an indoor garden. Arugula Sometimes referred to as rocket, arugula is a mildly spicy, fast growing superfood. Cilantro Cilantro is an exceptional herb that controls blood sugar, detoxifies heavy metals and possesses strong antibacterial properties. Oregano Watercress Forget ornamental houseplants — cultivate an indoor mini-garden instead. About the author:

Lessons Drawspace Pro Lessons are designed for artists of all levels and educators, and are logically organized into resources and activities. Eventually, all lessons and E-books authored by Brenda Hoddinott will be available here: four to eight brand new lessons and newly-revised older lessons are being added every month! Upgrade Now: Download all 310 lessons and 4 e-books! Try for Free: Download lessons marked as "Free"! 1.1.R1 Glossary Of Art Terms Definitions of art-related terms used in the resources and activities of Drawspace Curriculum (updated February 2013) $3.99or Upgradeto access all files 1.1.R2 Travelling Back in Time with Graphite A few fun tidbits of information about the history of graphite $0.99or Upgradeto access all files 1.1.R3 Examining Graphite and Grades Understanding the differences between H and B grades of graphite $0.99or Upgradeto access all files 1.1.R4 Seeing Grades in Drawings Graphite drawings demonstrate the visual qualities of H and B grades of pencils Download Download

Black Beans and their Sprouts Show Anticancer Activity Photo by Sandi Barr By Case Adams, Naturopath Researchers from Mexico’s prestigious Monterrey Institute of Technology have determined that black bean sprouts are anticarcinogenic against breast cancer, liver cancer and colon cancer cells. The researchers sprouted black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and then tested them and their constituents against cancer cell lines of various types of cancers. The researchers found that after three days and five days of germination, the phytonutrient extracts isolated from the sprouts were able to inhibit the growth of all the cancer cells tested. They also tested the same sprout isolates against non-cancerous (healthy) cells as controls, and found no negative impact upon healthy cells. The researchers then isolated some of the constituents of the sprouted beans, and found that the saponins and flavonoids had the greatest inhibition against liver and colon cancer cells. Learn about the scientifically perfect diet. Ranilla LG, Genovese MI, Lajolo FM.

Related: