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Bikestand with airpump

Is it possible to be in love with a bike stand? Yes!

...a bikestand with airpump(Heklucht), type Ypenburg The product has been conceived for an art project in Ypenburg (a newly build neighbourhood in the Netherlands). Eight products will be placed in front of eight houses. The goal of the project is to stimulate an interaction between neighbours, while pumping up the tyres of their bicycles. The hurdle is made out of polished stainless steel. Because of this, it shines like a jewel on the grey pavement.

Related:

Bicycle projects and more @ MAKE - Link.

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Amazing orrery

My friend Chris commission a custom made orrery from Fayetteville, Arkansas based artist and craftsman Eugene Sargent, it's stunning. Chris writes -

It was several months in the making, but the waiting was worth it. The Orrery has arrived and it is absolutely stunning.

Eugene did an amazing job, and I think he had fun making it because he's hinting he may make another one, perhaps to sell...

We got a kick out of the packaging when it showed up with an "Orrery Manufacturing Co." painted on the crate. We were worried about how well such an intricate little piece of useless machinery would survive shipment but the way it was crated up it could have survived anything. Seriously- the packaging was almost as complex as the device itself.

We pulled it out and set it up right away. The only "assembly" on our end was taking all the planets from the "planet box" and putting them into position (we did end up going out to Saturn). The planets are hand painted and glazed porcelain. I wasn't sure how that would look but actually they turned out pretty great I think. There's an interesting three-dimensional appearance to the planet surfaces as a result of the glazing.

Related:
Eugene Sargent's site, great stuff there - Link.

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BREAKING NEWS: MySkit - Performance editor for PLEO

Robert writes -

The AIBO super hackers have entered the Pleo party full strength by porting one of their most powerful and fun AIBO performance tools over to Pleo. "Skitter", a full featured skit creation tool for the AIBO designed by the AIBO wizard known as DogsBody, has now been reincarnated as "My Skit". It allows Pleo owners to create their own performances giving them control over Pleo's various motors including the ability to import existing animations from the original Pleo library, with the added capability of adding and synchronizing sounds to movements. Skits are then assigned to the various touch sensors on Pleo's body allowing them to be triggered by a touch to that location, or they can also be run automatically on startup.

In this video, I show Digger, Claire, and Pendragon, my 3 Pleos, doing a skit that involves a short bit of dialogue followed by a song complete with synchronized lip movements. Each Pleo is running a skit designed just for their part with it's own animations and sounds.

I'll be releasing the files that comprise the skit so all Pleo owners can perform the skit for their friends and family and be the star in their own Pleo show. I'll also include instructions on how to set up and perform the skit along with an alternate Claire script for the ladies out there that has Claire saying "Mommy" instead of "Daddy".

NOTE: Pleo owners that don't have 3 Pleos now have a fun excuse to meet other Pleo owners and perform skits for their families and friends by holding a local Pleo Party. You can find other Pleo owners in your area by visiting the Meetup thread on the Pleo World forum.

Related:

• Robert's "My Skit" - Link.
• YAPT = Yet Another Pleo Tool - Link.

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