DO IT: Projects, Plans and How-tos

After a few uses, they'll look like they're covered in goop, but these are the best sports earbuds I've ever owned.

A little bit of rubbery glue (let it dry first!) on the back of your earbuds will keep them seated solid during any sweaty exercise you can throw their way.

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If you’re anything like me, you know that music greatly enhances any type of exercise, especially running. But you’ve likely also discovered that earbuds never stay in place after a few minutes of sweating. Tired of dealing with this annoyance, I’ve been experimenting with a fast, cheap and dirty way to keep your earbuds where they belong, and the results so far are great.

I have a preference for Apple earbuds — the sound is adequate, they are pretty comfortably in my ears (better than most that I’ve tested), and they’re cheap (a huge advantage for someone like myself who has a propensity for losing, breaking, or washing my earbuds). But while the smooth, white plastic casing looks super stylish, it doesn’t create the friction necessary to keep the buds firmly set into the ear canal. I also noticed over time that the rubber ring around the circumference has a tendency to crack and peel off, revealing an uncomfortably sharp lip that hurts when you try to repeatedly force the earbuds deeper and deeper into your ear (which is how I spend most of my energy when I’m running).

The connection between the ear and the earbud’s lip isn’t where most of the earbud grip comes from, however — it’s actually the back of the ear fold that keeps enough pressure on the plastic to keep the tiny speaker from slipping away from you. That’s the exact area that has most of the smooth, slippery plastic, and the piece we’ll focus on modifying.

Used but unmodified earbuds, ready for updating

Gather your supplies:
-Earbuds
-Small piece of sandpaper or emery board
-Small tube of rubber cement-type glue
(both of the above are easily found in a bike tire patching kit like this one)
-”Third hand” clip/holder

Steps:
1. Sand the exterior of the earbuds to rough them up a bit. I found this was easiest with a small piece of sandpaper folded to give a rough edge that lets you get into any of the tight areas. Make sure to get around the metal screen and the back of the bud.

2. Wipe the buds clean of any dust with a dry cloth or napkin.

3. Lay a smooth bead of rubber cement glue around the outside of the metal screen, and continue it down the back of the plastic, to approximately where the circumference of the bud ends. This should adequately cover the area that your ear is in contact with.

Once the glue is in place, you’ll want to let it dry for a while. I used the vulcanizing glue from my tire patch kit (MSDS info leads me to believe this should be fine for skin contact, but no guarantees if you do the same!). I used my “third hand” to hold the earphones in place as the glue dried.

Remember that often times this type of rubberized glue remains very tacky to itself and other materials. Like I said, it’s a quick and DIRTY hack, and you’ll notice a lot of grime collecting in the glue over a very short time. You probably don’t want to stuff them into your lint-filed pockets or purse.

The results are amazing. I’m totally blown away. I’ve gone for long, sweaty runs using these, even in the rain, and have yet to adjust them or struggle to keep them in place. Not even once. In the past I tried everything from old-fashioned walkman headphones, to expensive in-ear headsets with rubber sleeve tips, to the type with the over-ear loop. And finally, with a simple tweak, I’ve got the best sports headphones I’ve ever used, for next to nothing.

After a while they'll start to look ragged, but they're still more effective than new ones

Helicopter-mounted cameras open up some interesting shot possibilities to DP’s and directors. With a remote control flying camera, you can do bigger moves than with a jib or crane, as well as aerial follow shots that might otherwise require a full-size helicopter — if a helicopter even fits into the space you’re filming.

The big trend with aerial filming is mounting a camera on a quadcopter-type platform (or tricopter, hexcopter, octocopter). The stability this setup gives is much improved over that of the traditional RC helicopter design that mimics a full-size chopper. And as the designs of these platforms improve, we’re seeing many new configurations including this one from Omstudios in Berlin, which connects a Red Epic to an eight-armed copter setup. The results: gorgeous.

The camera itself is mounted to a cradle that can pan, swivel and tilt via a controller on the ground. Although it’s not specifically mentioned in the video post, some of these systems are also designed to automatically stabilize the camera from any helicopter movement, keeping the shot steady. And the operator has a wireless video link to the camera, able to monitor the shot as it flies around overhead.

Due to the lighter weight of these RC rigs, they’re more easily affected by wind and movement, and can have a slightly shakier look than something connected to a full size helicopter — I suspect the slowed-down aerial footage shown here may be done to minimize the evidence of this. But even at that, this is great stuff, an amazing camera on a fantastic aerial platform. Long story short, I want it.

Not the same rig as above, but here’s a great example of some RC heli-mounted vide footage, from Poland I believe, of some recent riots and the organized police response. I’m trying to find information on the camera they used. Scary but incredible–that’s not an angle I’ve ever seen before.

Timelapse from Ole General Store of a five-ton, 5′x10′ oak log getting milled into slabs. Took three men, a custom mill and a small Caterpillar with forklift attachment 9 1/2 hours to get the job done. Each slab weighs in around 500 pounds.

I’m not a huge woodworking guy, but the results are really fantastic–someone’s going to make some really nice furniture out of that thing.

Add another truck to my list of favorite 4x4s.

Sure, there are Land Rovers, Landcruisers, Broncos, G-Wagens, Scouts. Even the original Hummer. But every now and then I stumble across something that I hadn’t seen before, something that makes my eyes widen and makes my feet want to step on some pedals. Case in point: my recent trip abroad, where I discovered the Portuguese 4×4 UMM. A French-designed truck that was manufactured from the late-70s until mid-90s (attempts to bring it back in the 2000s were unsucessful), it looks like an awesome mix between an early LR Defender and the VW Thing, with a French-70′s-retro-futurism slant. Leaf-sprung front and back, with a fully selectable transmission setup and body geometry that allows for steep approach and departure angles. Available in 100″ and 120″ wheelbases, and with petrol, diesel, or turbodiesel engines. There aren’t many of them, but it seems most have a utilitarian function, much like the Land Rovers in the UK.

My favorite UMM sighting occurred the morning after a stormy night in Baleal, a still-rural beach area north of Lisbon that is very popular with surfers (not far from Peniche and the world famous Supertubos beach). Watching the churning ocean while waiting for the bus to take me to my next destination, I jealously watched as a UMM pulled into the parking lot, scouted the surf conditions, then whizzed off. Something so romantic and ideal about that scene — rugged 4×4, relaxed Euro-surf lifestyle, energetic waves — I’m trying to figure out how to switch places with the guy driving that truck.

Here’s some UMM info from a fan site about these trucks (click the British flag in the top left corner for English translation). The downloadable manuals have some great diagrams for you guys who get excited about schematics (like me). Also, another fan page full of UMM pics (including the UMM Popemobile).

And below are the pics and video I took of a few of the trucks I encountered.

Eight years ago, I spent a 12-month stint living in Madrid, Spain. Much of that year involved exploring the region and finding delicious meals and local cuisines. But of course, I’m a pizza junkie, which was something of a challenge in that area. The pizzerias I found in Spain were few and far between — and for the most part, reflected the Spanish tendency for drier foods, like their beloved cured  manchego cheese. Dry cheese and bread — that’s one of their actual sandwiches. Nothing else, no spreads or tomatoes or cold cuts to lubricate the taste buds. Just dry bread and dry cheese. And the Spanish pizza was pretty much the same thing.

There were only two Madrileño pizza places that still appear in my memory banks: an Argentinian pizzeria in a part of town called Malasaña (sort of the East Village of Madrid) that I visited a few times, including a not-so-proud night at the end of the year that started there with pizza and a couple bottles of wine, and ended with a smashed camera courtesy of some large and not-so-appreciative bouncers. And a mediocre spot a few blocks away in the Plaza 2 De Mayo where I’d sip sangria in the summer and eat my pizzas, always “with extra sauce.”

I also spent one weekend of that year in Lisbon, a few hours west of Madrid. I was able to sample some local pizza at an Italian/Indian combo restaurant — something I’ve never seen before — and found that their naan-like dough actually worked pretty well. A novelty, but not anything I spent much time thinking about after my return to America.

Fast forward through most of a decade, where, at least States-wise, many things changed in the pizza world. A wood-fired Neapolitan pizza renaissance hit the tipping point in recent years, where you now can find envy-inspiring imported Stefano Ferrara ovens in shopping mall food courts. Still, I didn’t expect any major differences in Iberian pizza as I recently packed for a two-week trip to Spain and Portugal, my first return since that year abroad in 02/03.

In between stops at my old favorite paella places and late-night chocolaterias, I began to notice something interesting: pizzerias. Lots of them, maybe one every couple blocks in some areas. On the side streets and winding alleyways around Puerta del Sol, up Fuencarral (now a busy pedestrian-only boulevard, instead of the roadway I used to walk up). There was even a tasty-looking pizza joint on the ground floor of my old apartment building, literally one window below my former bedroom (that would have been dangerous). Finally, I stopped at a place I was walking past and ordered a simple marinara with mushroom pie. The Brazilian-flag-bandana-wearing pizzaolo got to work. 5 minutes later, I got my 13″, crispy, sauce-laden pie out of his electric oven. The outcome was a revelation: Madrid was suddenly in the pizza game.

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UPDATE: Here’s an offer to get a year of Popular Mechanics for nothing more than just a few pieces of personal information.

Once again (but only until December 3), Amazon is offering a $5 magazine subscription deal on some great titles. Perfect timing for your holiday gift buying needs — magazines are one of those gifts that are always appreciated, and they last a whole year.

Two great choices: Popular Science or Popular Mechanics — I don’t know anyone who would mind this as a present.

And there are many others to choose from at this price too. American Photo, Bicycling, Details, Backpacker — even Cosmo –  all jump out at me as fun reads.

Again, their offer is only until December 3rd, so best to get them now while the deal is still active.

Hands-down the most amazing time-lapse video ever produced.

From the vimeo description:

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Note: Still couldn’t find any appropriate, reliable source describing the technical setting for this footage. The same applies to any specific information about the responsible person in charge of the photographs. Please let me know, if you have any information, links or the like.
 
Time lapse sequences of photographs taken with a special low-light 4K-camera by the crew of expedition 28 & 29 onboard the International Space Station from August to October, 2011. All credit goes to them.
 
HD, refurbished, smoothed, retimed, denoised, deflickered, cut, etc.
 
Music: Jan Jelinek | Do Dekor, faitiche back2001
w+p by Jan Jelinek, published by Betke Edition
janjelinek.com | faitiche.de
 
Editing: Michael König | koenigm.com
 
Image Courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory,NASA Johnson Space Center, The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth eol.jsc.nasa.gov
 
Shooting locations in order of appearance:
 
1. Aurora Borealis Pass over the United States at Night
2. Aurora Borealis and eastern United States at Night
3. Aurora Australis from Madagascar to southwest of Australia
4. Aurora Australis south of Australia
5. Northwest coast of United States to Central South America at Night
6. Aurora Australis from the Southern to the Northern Pacific Ocean
7. Halfway around the World
8. Night Pass over Central Africa and the Middle East
9. Evening Pass over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East
10. Pass over Canada and Central United States at Night
11. Pass over Southern California to Hudson Bay
12. Islands in the Philippine Sea at Night
13. Pass over Eastern Asia to Philippine Sea and Guam
14. Views of the Mideast at Night
15. Night Pass over Mediterranean Sea
16. Aurora Borealis and the United States at Night
17. Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean
18. Eastern Europe to Southeastern Asia at Night

Ever wonder how those undersea cables survive the rigors of stretching from one continent to another? Here’s a cross section of the many layers that surround and protect the minute, delicate fiber optics that let us 0-1 our way through modern life.

I don’t know the origin of this photo, and could only find one other  version of it online, at the site Friends of the Pleistocene — which is a fantastic website detailing some fascinating energy-related information. Tons of photos, for us industrial-imagery geeks.

These undersea cables have been around since the days of the telegraph, and even in the age of satellite communications, still provide a very important service. In 2008, three breaks occurred to these cables, in various parts of the globe, and possibly deliberately. They resulted in some service interruptions; thankfully, it was possible to re-route the data transmissions through other avenues until repairs were made.

Check out the interactive submarine cable map courtesy of the site TeleGeography. They have a range of other maps available, and you can even sponsor the design of your own.

In my search for pizza perfection, I recently got a Mario Batali cast iron pizza pan. Last night, for a trial run (but not following the regular directions), I placed it in my broiler, pre-heated it on high for 20 minutes, then prepped a pizza using Trader Joe’s pizza dough (left out for a couple hours to warm up). Normally their dough is too sweet for my liking, so I gave it a fair salt and peppering before adding sauce and toppings (still no cheese in my diet, and still loving it). Milled some Cento tomatoes (They’re the most consistently good canned tomatoes I’ve found — I even have a “subscription” for them from Amazon, get a case every two months), and added a few kalamata olives, basil, and a small section of tofurky sausage.

Cooked it for 4 minutes 45 seconds on “high” broil setting.

The results were phenomenal. Crispy outside, doughy interior. Nice amount of puff. The bottom toasted nicely.

Interesting to compare the results of this iron pan to a pizza stone. I’m not really using it the way it’s intended, but by putting in the broiler, it just works.  I’ve tried the same thing with a pizza stone, but it heats too high and burns the dough. I may have to test that again, but for now, I think I’ve found my new “quickie-pizza-fix” solution.

Check out some pics:

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(Makers and DIY’ers: Make sure to add me on twitter and subscribe to my feed.)

BoltDepot has a great selection of charts used to identify and explain the wide variety of screws, bolts, nuts, washers and other pieces used for building just about every project you can imagine. Wood screws, machine screws, carriage bolts, lag bolts, square heads, torx, ogee washers and more.

There’s even a section about the grade/strength types of the different materials used for the fasteners. Very handy indeed.

Types of Screws

Types and Styles of Screw Heads

Screw Drive Types

Nut Types

Washer Type

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