Lïtbørd (more than some assembly required)

As you may have noticed, a global pandemics got many of us working from home. While one can argue that you can do accounting from home, it’s a lot more complicated to teach from home. Pretty much everyone is trying to figure that one out. For my part, I decided that zoom and the virtual whiteboard is not very interesting. Like many, I decided to use a lightboard.

So, the problem is, where do you get a lightboard on short notice? Well, you can build one. Let’s see how:

Building a Book Scanner (Part I: Lectern)

I’ve been thinking of making my own book scanner for a while now. Since only thinking about something doesn’t get you anywhere, I’ve actually started building it.

But before we get to the building of the device—still in progress—let me explain by design goals. The first and foremost goal is that the scanner has to be book-friendly. If you’re going to destroy the book, you might as well use a bandsaw and cut its back off, and use a paper-feed scanner of some sort. So to avoid damage, the lectern on which the book will rest has to be soft, and avoid the need to split the book open.

Keep it cool

On a couple of occasions, I presented some hardware hacks, not always very elaborate, and today I add another one to the collection: a mac book power supply holder.

If you have one of those, you know that they can get rather warm—almost hot, in fact—when the computer’s running full blast, and I thought it might be cool to have some kind of holder so that the transformer remains straight up, offering most of its surface to the ambient air.

Sustainable iPod Rack

This week, I have a half-an-hour project for you: A sustainable iPod rack. All you need is a 50 mm × 50 mm × 70 mm (2in × 2in × 2½in) block a wood, a band saw, and a chisel.

OK, it’s not entirely made of wood; you may also need felt pads underneath to make it more stable and/or furniture friendly.