Parrot drives robotic bird buggy:

University of Florida grad student Andrew Gray built the Bird Buggy for his parrot to drive around the house. “When it’s time to put the bird away, Bird Buggy is able to dock itself to a base station utilizing a web camera,” Gray says. (Thanks, Sean Ness!)

An epidemiology alphabet:

The only alphabet guaranteed to make you want to wash your hands. Made by one, Jennifer Gardy.

In related news, this video taught me that the parasite giardia is sometimes called “beaver fever”. Why? Because one of its major reservoirs — species that can comfortably host a parasite and pass it on to others — is, yes, the beaver.

Now here’s the part you probably don’t want to hear. Giardia is transmitted via what’s known as the “fecal-oral route”.

Now, nobody intentionally goes out and eats beaver shit. (One hopes. But this is the internet.) But beavers do shit in the woods. Near woodland streams. Which means that unwary hikers and backpackers can end up ingesting giardia when they drink from what appears to be crystal-clear waters.

Via the Worms and Germs blog

[Damn, this is so badass. -egg]

Augmented Reality Welding Mask:

This welding mask uses HDR video to ensure you see just how sloppy that weld was.

The creators of the MannVis augmented reality welding helmet have come up with a set of complex algorithms which allow real-time processing of HDR videos at 120 frames per second — in stereoscopic 3D, no less. The process creates an effective contrast ratio of 100,000,000:1 which is far beyond natural human capability. This incredible contrast ratio is used in an augmented reality view to show the welder inhuman detail as they weld.

The MannVis Augmented Reality Welding Helmet

(Thanks, John Courte!)

HOWTO make your own automated compressed earth brick making machine:

Tristan from Open Source Ecology sez, “This comprehensive, user friendly video shows you how to assembly the Liberator CEB Press; the worlds first open source, automated compressed earth brick making machine. Made from $4000 worth of parts, this machine sets a new standard in affordability, allowing users to build almost any type of brick structure out of dirt.”

The OSE Wiki page has full instructions for building your own:

CEB Press

(Thanks, Tristan!)

“As the broken city thinks big and radically about its…:

“As the broken city thinks big and radically about its future, a developer is stepping forward with a revolutionary idea: Sell the city’s Belle Isle park for $1 billion to private investors who will transform it into a free-market utopia. The 982-acre island would then be developed into a U.S. commonwealth or city-state of 35,000 people with its own laws, customs and currency.”
Developer pitches $1B commonwealth for Belle Isle | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com, via Will W.

Excellent drive-thru “invisible driver” prank, caught on video:

Self-described “Magician Prankster!” Magic Of Rahat produced this clever video demonstrating an effective “invisible driver” prank to play on hapless fast food attendants. (thanks, Joe Sabia!)

[Damn. -egg]
Eric Standley’s intricate laser-cut “stained glass” paper windows:

Jane Kenoyer of Hi-Fructose says:

Eric Standley works with hundreds of layers of colored paper creating intricate laser cut stain glass windows. These beautifully constructed works are made up of interlacing positive and negative spaces that seem to “float” in a fabricated suspension. He begins with a drawing, this helps him create the complex range of imagery needed to make a workable design, before cutting and assembling the paper pieces.

Eric Standley’s intricate laser-cut stained glass paper windows

Cat plays shell game, wins every time:

(Via Laughing Squid)