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Entertain Me
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Laminar
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Dec 17, 2007, 12:11 PM
 
Since classes are over, I'm putting in 8-9 hours per day at work. It's been less than 1 hour and I'm already bored out of my mind, and I'm looking for new ways to entertain myself. I spent the last couple weeks rewatching The Venture Brothers, which was good. I'm thinking about going through Arrested Development again, but I need something to do while I take a break between episodes. I liked Portals but I beat that in a couple days and I'm at a loss as to what I can do.
     
Kevin
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Dec 17, 2007, 12:26 PM
 
There are sites like Hack a Day all over the net that have neat ideas and projects for the average geek to accomplish. I've been really pouring over these sites a lot the past few months. Getting the itch to get my soldering gun and my PC board making applications out.
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 12:27 PM
 
I've definitely looked through most, if not all, of Hack a Day, great site. I liked the Disco Floor best.
     
osiris
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Dec 17, 2007, 12:37 PM
 
If you have spare time, some basic soldering skills, and the will to potentially and permanently blind yourself, build a dangerous laser!
You can use an old DVD drive or DVD player (the players have different voltage, but are more powerful)
Give it a google.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 12:40 PM
 
I saw the video. I do have a flashlight that uses 2 AAA batteries, that I think would work, but I don't have any spare DVD drives lying around. I don't even own a DVD burner. But every time I see a kid holding a balloon I wish I had that laser...
     
Kevin
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Dec 17, 2007, 12:41 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
I've definitely looked through most, if not all, of Hack a Day, great site. I liked the Disco Floor best.
Yeah I saw that.. awesome. I wish I had the time/resources and was a bit younger.
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 12:43 PM
 
One thing I have been wanting to try is to pick up a USB fingerprint reader on eBay for like $10-20 and figure out how to combine that with an old 1GHz Dell and a 15amp solenoid (car trunk popper) to make a biometric door lock system.
     
osiris
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Dec 17, 2007, 12:50 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
I saw the video. I do have a flashlight that uses 2 AAA batteries, that I think would work, but I don't have any spare DVD drives lying around. I don't even own a DVD burner. But every time I see a kid holding a balloon I wish I had that laser...
My feeble soldering skills produced mixed results. I've noticed that the instructions for focusing the laser are omitted from all the DIY lasers guides. Except for one - and they want $20 for the plans. :/
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 12:53 PM
 
I was at Radio Shack picking up a AA battery holder for a different project I was working on when I spotted a AA-powered soldering iron for $5. It turns out they forgot to take the tags off after Black Friday, so they gave me that price anyway (regular price was $20). It's great-push the button, wait 7 seconds and you can solder. Let off, and the tip's cool almost instantly. Which is good, because our dog has a tendency to lick stuff, I managed to catch her right before she tried the tip of my plugged-in 30 watt iron.
     
osiris
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Dec 17, 2007, 01:00 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
I was at Radio Shack picking up a AA battery holder for a different project I was working on when I spotted a AA-powered soldering iron for $5. It turns out they forgot to take the tags off after Black Friday, so they gave me that price anyway (regular price was $20). It's great-push the button, wait 7 seconds and you can solder. Let off, and the tip's cool almost instantly. Which is good, because our dog has a tendency to lick stuff, I managed to catch her right before she tried the tip of my plugged-in 30 watt iron.
I bought the same iron - it has a little LED on it? I got reamed out of $10 for it though.
It's so convenient, and dog safe!
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 01:02 PM
 
Yep, the same one. What do you do to take care of the tip? The tip on my 30 watt is awful, but I've never done anything to keep it nice. I was actually buying a new tip when I saw the iron and ended up buying that instead.
     
osiris
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Dec 17, 2007, 01:20 PM
 
You have to apply solder to the tip and use something like a heavy cotton rag to tin it. You want a nice clean silver coating on that tip.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 01:35 PM
 
Well so far I've kept myself entertained by playing with some pictures in Gimp. Hopefully lunch will kill an hour or so. But I still have to find something to do until 5. Any good Flash games or anything?
     
medicman55
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Dec 17, 2007, 01:49 PM
 
You know what you could do....you could try to figure out what is wrong with my Power Mac G4!

That would be fun, right?
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 01:58 PM
 
Done.
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 03:13 PM
 
Since I'm getting my parents a new digital camera for Christmas, we'll have an extra one lying around. It's a 4MP HP camera, and it's awful. The battery life is terrible and the pictures absolutely suck. I was toying around with the possibility of making that into a mini picture frame. The internal memory could hold hundreds of pictures at such a low resolution. I just need to figure out how to get the software side to work.
     
shifuimam
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Dec 17, 2007, 03:36 PM
 
I would tell you a hilarious story, but it would probably be deemed inappropriate for MacNN.

So here's a quickie:

A week ago this past Wednesday I consumed far too much vodka than I should have, and about fifteen minutes later, I threw up from it.

On my neighbor's carpet. Not mine. HUMILIATION FTW.

As far as things to do - do you have a Wii? There are a couple Flash game sites designed specifically to be used with the Internet Channel on the Wii - you can play Tetris and various arcade and puzzle games with the Wiimote, both with the pointer and holding it like a regular video game controller. I found it rather addicting, although sometimes the browser runs out of memory and the games freeze.
Sell or send me your vintage Mac things if you don't want them.
     
zro
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Dec 17, 2007, 03:50 PM
 
     
Railroader
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Dec 17, 2007, 04:24 PM
 
I will dance for you.
     
nonhuman
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Dec 17, 2007, 04:31 PM
 
The secret to getting through the work day is to always get your lunch at a bar, make friends with the bartender, and gets lots of free shots every day. That's what I did when I had an office job anyway.
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 05:30 PM
 
I left for "lunch" at 1:30, and I just got back. I ended up going with a couple friends to a deli that's about 2 blocks from my house, so afterwards we decided to go home and see my dog. My roommate was watching a movie so we watched that too. But I'm bored again. I've overplayed the Colin McRae demo already, and I don't know what else to do.
     
ajprice
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Dec 17, 2007, 05:38 PM
 
Get back to work!

It'll be much easier if you just comply.
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 05:50 PM
 
...give me something to do!
     
nonhuman
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Dec 17, 2007, 05:56 PM
 
What do you do?
     
ajprice
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Dec 17, 2007, 06:03 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
...give me something to do!
Do your job, its what you get paid for .

It'll be much easier if you just comply.
     
nonhuman
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Dec 17, 2007, 06:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
...give me something to do!
Go judge on OurStage.com.
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 06:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by ajprice View Post
Do your job, its what you get paid for .
My job is to fix problems when they arise. Nothing's come up yet.
Where's Dakar to make the obvious joke when it's needed?
     
ajprice
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Dec 17, 2007, 06:13 PM
 
Lol go and break something then .

It'll be much easier if you just comply.
     
medicman55
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Dec 17, 2007, 06:19 PM
 
You could write my final paper for me. I'm not done with school yet.
Macbook Pro
Power Mac G4
Macintosh S/E 30
     
Chuckit
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
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Dec 17, 2007, 06:24 PM
 
No, I’m not going to be your monkey.
Chuck
___
"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 17, 2007, 06:25 PM
 
That's the weird thing. When I had homework to do there was no end of distractions for me. Now that there's no reason to procrastinate, I can't find a thing to do.
     
Peter
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Dec 17, 2007, 06:41 PM
 
we don't have time to stop for gas
     
- - e r i k - -
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Dec 17, 2007, 08:04 PM
 
Read:

Damn Interesting

Acts of Gord - The Book of Chronicles

Questionable Content: New comics every Monday through Friday <- Best internet comic ever. I plowed through 1033 strips in three days at work. Good procrastination material.

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iMOTOR
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Dec 17, 2007, 08:23 PM
 
     
nonhuman
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Dec 17, 2007, 08:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by Peter View Post


My copy came in the mail the other day. I'll be reading it while in Santa Fe for Christmas. (Yes, I'm a nerd. Yes, I'll also be using the information in the book to make buttloads of money.)
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 18, 2007, 01:50 PM
 
I entertained myself today by sleeping in until 11. So far so good.
     
dav
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Dec 18, 2007, 02:00 PM
 
short, but enjoy
one post closer to five stars
     
Dakar the Fourth
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Dec 18, 2007, 02:11 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chuckit View Post
No, I’m not going to be your monkey.
What's it like to have dinner with you? It must be excruciating.
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 18, 2007, 03:43 PM
 
I'm bored again. I'm thinking about going home and playing Forza, that I rented last night for free. Family Video had a deal, offering a free rental if you'd cut up your membership card to another video place. I remembered that I had an old Hollywood Video card in my wallet that didn't work anymore. Bam. Free $6 rental.
     
osiris
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Dec 18, 2007, 03:50 PM
 
I blackmail video store employees to get free rentals.

But they stopped carrying betamax, so I stopped caring about the cinema in general.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 18, 2007, 03:51 PM
 
I quit after laserdiscs.
     
Dakar the Fourth
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Dec 18, 2007, 03:51 PM
 
Originally Posted by osiris View Post
I blackmail video store employees to get free rentals.

But they stopped carrying betamax, so I stopped caring about the cinema in general.
Nice to hear your Lair is up to 1983 standards. How have I not eliminated you yet?
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 18, 2007, 03:54 PM
 
Your henchman's Stanza broke down.
     
osiris
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Dec 18, 2007, 04:00 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth View Post
Nice to hear your Lair is up to 1983 standards. How have I not eliminated you yet?
'Cause I rock old school style.
Plus the fact that you drive around in a Barbie Dream Girl Corvette doesn't add much to your credibility.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
Laminar  (op)
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Dec 18, 2007, 07:22 PM
 
So I got bored of playing Forza and went back to work. Weird.
     
- - e r i k - -
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Dec 19, 2007, 12:46 AM
 
Originally Posted by dav View Post
short, but enjoy
Enjoyed.

I seem to remember this from 2003 though

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