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Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#621

Post by aosaigh »

samtho wrote: post #591
appplication wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What approximate physical location are you in? This is my dream, but right now I’m wasting away in SF. I’ve been looking for properties with a stream but they seem pretty far between.

I own 4.2 acres in the Sierras north of US-50 between Kyburz and South Lake Tahoe at 5,600ft elevation. It was not easy to find, but there is a seasonal creek that runs through it fed by snowmelt. I had to drill a well 600ft down to find water year round, there are no utilities so I had to dig out for septic, get propane storage for generator power, and I have a gravel path via an easement into an adjacent property t…

This is fascinating. Do you write about any of this stuff elsewhere?

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#622

Post by djmips »

alphabetter wrote: post #38

It is software-related, but also physical: pong with the bats moved by exercise bikes: http://lushprojects.com/cyclepong2/ It's been around more than 15 years in various forms now, but people still love playing it. If you're in London it is at https://www.novelty-automation.com/

So you're in the same arcade as Tim Hunkin?

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#623

Post by djmips »

adanto6840 wrote: post #490

"DJ" (music) control for toddlers - colloquially referred to as "the buttons" in our family, they've brought substantial peace to our household & they've helped our kids improve at negotiation/compromise/etc. Details here: https://dantonio.info/projects/the-buttons/

I read your article - followed the intro quite closely and then looked for the solution and it was 'the buttons' followed by a bunch of technical stuff that kind of made me loose focus. So in the end I don't know exactly what 'the buttons' is hahah. Reminds me of the Hudsucker Proxy. 'You know, for kids!'

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#624

Post by jacquesm »

yen223 wrote: post #614
jacquesm wrote: post #470

This whole thread is amazing, bookmarking it, too many rabbit holes for one day.

I am pleasantly surprised by the variety of responses here. I'm really glad I asked the question

I'm glad you did too :) What also amazes me: the general quality of the work on display. There is probably some self selection going on there but every link that I've followed leads to something that a seasoned pro would have reason to be proud of.

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#625

Post by djmips »

Huhuhn wrote: post #406

I once built an elevator for a vacuum robot in my old dorm which had two floors. The elevator was moving twice per day to each floor. Was as cheap as buying a second vacuum robot. Video of the device in action: https://youtu.be/F_gTlU9w7dQ Image documentation of the build: https://imgur.io/gallery/y1dB4zr

ha! that's too good.

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#626

Post by djmips »

gilbetron wrote: post #209

My family and I built a two story house as a family cabin in 1992-4, which was a cool experience, albeit exhausting and humbling. The only things we didn't do were the foundation and some of the finish drywall. Everything else we did mostly in a single summer, from the first floor joists to the roof (which we did in 90F weather!). Great experience, really helped me understand what is behind the walls of my future hom…

That's my biggest project too! Building a house with the family. We also made the foundation using cinder blocks! The only thing we got help with was digging the original hole and smoothing the concrete floor in the basement where a friend came by with his gasoline powered trowel. I sure remember doing the shingles because I did a lot of them!

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#627

Post by djmips »

westcort wrote: post #521

Most were made when I was a child. The first was a power stealer that used radio waves to power an LED. The second was a large wooden glider around 5 feet long and wide. The third was a pair of glasses for reading while walking using a half-silvered mirror and a magnifying class to project miniaturized mirror-reversed book pages into my eye so I could read while walking between classes in college. The fourth was a st…

cool stuff! Why not return to the world of making stuff?

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#628

Post by djmips »

monological wrote: post #110

Started a company to build chip testers. Didn't go anywhere, but I had a ton of fun doing the hardware and software. One specific example is writing a Linux driver to interact with your IP block running on the FPGA. Got to see what happens on the other side of the kernel. https://www.geminicomplex.com/

I had chip tester on my resume when I was starting out because it sounded impressive - actually it was wood chips - for a pulp and paper company...

Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?

#629

Post by djmips »

joostdecock wrote: post #103

Shoes. I've made plenty of clothes, bags, and other more common sewing things. But making shoes is a cut above. And I recorded the process in an attempt to show that it's not even that hard in this 'Shoes from scratch' series on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1gv5yv3DoZNdz-LJFykg6mMf...

really cool!!
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