Quote from: Deozaan on July 06, 2013, 08:20 PM

So the first step, in my opinion, is to get a pointing device so I can point it out to others.

Uhm, I don't think that laser pointer is going to be powerful enough to mark a star.  Plus it would take the laser months to years before it reached the star in question, depending on the distance in light years.  If you did get a laser that powerful, it would be military grade and illegal to own.  Like, you could shoot down aircraft with it.  

The purpose of pointing at something is that you don't need to be able to actually touch it. :-P You just need to single it out from the other options.

the green lasers have been getting very popular in Egypt.

Very interesting. I wonder why pointing (green) lasers at aircraft is illegal in the USA, but doesn't seem to cause any problems in Egypt. . .

Very interesting. I wonder why pointing (green) lasers at aircraft is illegal in the USA, but doesn't seem to cause any problems in Egypt. . .

  It's illegal because lasers, like any other bright light, will temporarily blind the pilot.  Even with the headlights of a vehicle shining directly into a pilots eye will reduce his/her night vision up to 30 minutes, the time it takes a humans eye to re-adjust to the dark conditions.  This is why any flight-line vehicle MUST turn off their headlights when approaching an aircraft in the dark, with the exception of emergency vehicles.  A laser only has to contact the retina for a fraction of a second to hinder night vision.  Depending on the power and distance from the laser, you can even be permanently blinded by laser light.

  As a pilot, when taxing at night and encountering another aircraft's lights along the taxiway/runways, I always close one eye to prevent it from being affected, which was taught in ground school and my flight instructor.

Depending on the power and distance from the laser, you can even be permanently blinded by laser light.

I presume they use led lights(?) - they come with a warning that they will damage your sight if shined directly in the eyes. A lot of cyclists dont realise their power - I've had to flash my lights at a few that were blinding me with a lamp at the wrong angle.

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Thermomix. Totally insane. Just crazy what you can do with it. Off the hook. No words to describe it. I'd heard about it and thought, "Meh, whatever." No... It's simply mind-blowing.

A close friend of my wife gave us one.

You have to see it in action to believe that it can do. You'll read about it a bit, but it doesn't sink in until you SEE it done.

A few things you can do:

• Make flour
• Make butter
• Make ginger ale

Speaking of... I think I'll crack a bottle of ginger ale that I made with it right now!

As far as gadgets go, you can do a lot worse than a "weather station".

I've gone through a couple but here's my current favorite:


It's $55, looks great, and has the features I love:

• Shows BOTH indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity (with highs and lows for both), at the same time (outdoor sensor included).
• Shows current date and time, and has internal clock battery so won't lose time when losing power.
• Powered by included ac adapter (warning: will *not* run purely off batteries for long)
• It also tries to predict weather and shows moon phase but i think those are useless.

For some reason it's not for sale on amazon -- but is available at the maker's site: http://www.acurite.com/weather/weather-stations/color-weather-station-with-forecast-temperature-humidity-02038w.html

Note:
There are a million of these weather stations sold at all kinds of price points.  Personally this one hits the sweet spot for me in terms of displaying nicely all the key information without lots of extra useless info.

They say it has a 300ft range.
The previous brand I had was a colossal pain to get and keep the base and sensor "synchronized"; this one seems care free.

Quote from: 4wd on July 08, 2013, 01:49 AM

...They've been made a restricted import in Australia due to the mentally deficient pointing them at aircraft approaching Sydney International. ...

Really? Had they been shown to be mentally deficient?   
Are these people also allowed to vote and drive cars?

It's actually worse than 4wd has described.

A couple weeks ago I had to get some photocopies certified as originals, which meant a trip to the local police station to have that done. Browsing around the counter, I saw a laminated sheet of "prohibited/illegal weapons". And yep - you guessed it... laser pointers are "weapons". 

I suppose the millions of hollowed out carcasses of crashed airplanes serve as testament to the dangers of laser pointers.

5mW 532nm Green Light Laser Pointer - Deep Blue + Silver (2 x AAA)

My green laser came a couple of weeks ago and I love it! It is awesome! I was so giddy when it arrived (I didn't check my mail until past midnight that day) that I played with it for a while and then slept with it next to my pillow. Wow, I'm such a geek!

This is sorta not up to the strict rules of Gadget Weekend, but I'm dyin' to know if anyone tries this!

http://www.dumpaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/life-hacks-dumpaday-8.jpg
Printer whining that the cartridge is out of ink? Pop it open and press a reset button?!

Got a KVM switch so I could switch between an old and new machine while using same monitor, keyboard, speakers:

http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-2-Port-DVI-D-Cable-GCS932UB/dp/B002TQYSN8



The darn thing actually works (surprised me)!

Quote from: mouser on August 16, 2013, 10:33 AM

Got a KVM switch so I could switch between an old and new machine while using same monitor, keyboard, speakers:

http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-2-Port-DVI-D-Cable-GCS932UB/dp/B002TQYSN8

(see attachment in previous post)

The darn thing actually works (surprised me)!

KVMs rock! I had a 2-port and a 4-port KVM that I used to use years ago, but I only use 1 or 2 and rarely 3 computers now, and use Synergy - a software KVM. Different use cases though. But they're not DVI... both VGA.

At the moment, my current plan for my next machine is a server running a virtual environment and then VMs running inside. A different way to get around the issue of multiple machines.

If I ever get around to it that's the plan for my Linux server - most likely using Turnkey Linux.

I really need to get an actual KVM for my workbench, though, which is actually an old microwave cart that sits next to my desk. Currently I have a sort of manual KVM setup. I have a second video cable running from the VGA port on my monitor, a USB sharing switch connected to my wireless keyboard receiver. The mouse is a lot clunkier. I have a pair of the USB extension cables from old Logitech wireless mice that have a base to plug the dongle into. When I switch between computers I have to physically unplug the dongle from one and plug it into the other or just stick with the keyboard.

It's kludgy but not bad for a bunch of pieces I just had laying around. Still annoying, though, especially since I have to unplug the second set of cables from my server to use it on the workbench. A 3 machine KVM would be so much more convenient.

Just spent the morning going through this entire post.

There's some people here with real issues... including me