Professor Bikey Bike's Bike Shop

I was recently taught a very quick and easy way to read Google News from other countries, thus gaining a more international perspective, even if you don't speak the language very well.

1. Go to Google News and scroll to the bottom of the page, where a series of links to news for other countries is available. For example:
   • Cuba
   • Deutschland
   • Venezuela
2. Once you have the link, use Google's language tools to translate the url from step 1.

That's it. Links clicked from within the translated page will automatically be translated...

GW's face from a quarter

Thanks to this guy, I went and built a super-cheap macro lense out of some spare camera parts and a used can of jalepeno Pringles®. (Stay tuned here for future macro photos.)

While randomly cleaning up from a recent Utah trip (stay tuned for more photos...), I found myself with a need to coil a long section of 3mm cordage. I decided to wrap the cord around a Nalgene I found lying about, with the intent to slip it off and finish the coil. While wrapping, I found that it looked quite good, and with a bit more effort, a very handsome cozy had been crafted.

It would appear that somebody associated with Kits/Wolf Camera thought/thinks that marketing single-use digital cameras to the rubes will make them some money. The basic idea is that one buys a digital camera from them, then returns it in exchange for a CD and prints. Considering that this sort of defeats the convenience of the digital age, we'll see how their business model works long-term.

However, in the mean time, thanks to the wonderful people at Make Magazine, and the dilligent people at cexx.org I discovered this amazing possibility: there is a way to get the pictures off the camera all by oneself. All you need is a soldering iron and an old usb cable.