diy

This week, the Crave team reveals its favorite Super Mario Bros.-themed lighting fixture, along with a $50 solution for adding sound effects to your doorbell. Japan offers up an off-the-grid vending machine and a rice cooker that communicates with your smartphone.

Plus, Crave's most dedicated "Star Wars" fan shows off his tattoos. And in Geek News, Eric discusses (no spoilers) the controversy surrounding the Mass Effect 3 ending, and shows off the trailer for a new space horror film, "Prometheus."

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For Bryan Duxbury and Adam Ellsworth, a shared interest in DIY Arduino projects and a conversation at a Christmas party led to a pretty bright idea and an unexpected side business.

The two San Francisco residents are the creators of the Interactive 8bit Question Block lamp--a Super Mario Bros.-inspired piece of home decor. For fans of the game, the lamp should instantly look familiar, as it resembles the blocks that Mario hits to earn coins and other loot. The design alone already makes it pretty cool, but that's not where the fun ends.

To turn the light on or off, you must punch (actually, a gentle tap is enough and recommended) the bottom of the block, and every time you do so, it makes a coin sound just like in the video game. On every eighth tap, you're rewarded with the 1-Up sound. It's a piece of Super Mario Bros. come to life.

This project may never have seen the light of day, however, had it not been for a chance meeting at a company Christmas party. … Read more

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At some point, you'll realize that your finger isn't always ideal for using on your phone or tablet.

For me, the epiphany came when I realized that a stylus would help me draw more accurately on my tablet. But because I was not willing to spend $10 to $30 on a piece of metal or wait for the product to ship, I opted for a DIY solution.… Read more

This week, the Crave crew and Admiral Sackbar recount the myriad geeky DIY gadgets and projects recently featured on the Crave blog. Also, Donald pitches his idea for a new Ewok TV special; Marvel comics take on a new dimension; and two upcoming movies, "The Lone Ranger" and "Battleship," are the subject of a healthy Geek News debate.

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What's cute and fuzzy and ready to defend your precious flowers to the last petal? Why, an Ewok Village flower vase, of course.

For barely $10, supplies from your local arts and crafts supplies store and your own backyard or neighborhood park can help you show off your Star Wars street cred. In the final installment of our Crave series based on projects from Bonnie Burton's "The Star Wars Craft Book," a crack team of crafters fights for what's right by turning a common glass jar and some twigs into an Ewok village flower vase. … Read more

Piccolo is a prototype open-source platform that comes as a kit. With a target price of less than $70, it's an attractive computer-controlled plotter for tinkerers.

By swapping the tool head, one can use Piccolo for small-scale laser cutting, 3D printing, or drawing applications. … Read more

One Romanian man's tribute to the end of the space shuttle era may leave you slightly misty-eyed.

His YouTube video, complete with a soul-searching ballad, shows off a Lego space shuttle reaching the stratosphere last December with the help of a 56-ounce helium-filled meteorological balloon, GoPro Hero, and a Spot GPS device. Keep an eye out for the epic frost buildup on the shuttle nose during the 114,829-foot ascent. … Read more

The Nerd Revenge 2000 is a high-powered crossbow that shoots pencils--up to 10 of them consecutively from its magazine.

Constructed of wood, it has a simple firing and reloading mechanism, as well as a range of about 16 feet with its tough elastic band.

In the vid below, it sends sharpened pencils through both sides of a sturdy cardboard box. It also skewers an apple very neatly.

Fitted with archery field tips, the pencils become rather terrifying, flying through the air at 97 mph. … Read more

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With the abundance of USB-dependent devices, it's surprising more cafes, offices, and homes don't have outlets like the U-Socket.

After stumbling upon a photo of an iPhone plugged directly--no AC adapter--into the wall, I soon discovered that USB outlets, or wall sockets, not only exist, but are very easy to install.

Unless you're a helpless tech addict, you won't need these in every room, but the kitchen, bedroom, and office are a few places that would seriously benefit from such an installation, saving the headaches of looking for AC adapters.

U-Socket, and other generic … Read more