Model Rockets

A model rocket can be a very enjoyable thing. There are literally thousands of models that you can launch. www.estesrockets.com is a great place to buy your rockets. You can also get rockets at some craft stores (Hobbytown, Hobby Lobby, etc.) A good beginning rocket would be the Rascal & HiJinks Launch Set. A good set of engines for that would be the A8-3 Engines. Always make sure that the engines will work for the kind of rocket that you have before launching it or else it probably won't work.

3D Printers

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding 3D printers recently (or maybe not.) I've found both a good 3D design program and a good 3D printer. I found a 3D design program (well, some magazines that I read found it) called Tinkercad. You can go to www.tinkercad.com. It is really easy to learn and can be downloaded directly to your computer. I've also found a 3D printer called the Solidoodle 2, which you can find at http://store.solidoodle.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=56. The base model costs around $500, which is almost a quarter of the price of the Makerbot, which is the industry leader in preassembled 3D printers (at least I think so.) It comes preassembled , so you can start printing right out of the box. The Solidoodle 2 is the cheapest 3D printer I've found. You can also find things to print at www.thingiverse.com, where you can upload your own designs and download other things. You can use a 3D printer to make household items, toys, presents, etc. They use ABS plastic (the stuff Lego's are made out of.)

Solidoodle 2 Premium

How To Make A Snow Golem

I will start making how-to videos about different stuff you can build in Minecraft. I'm going to post a new one every weekend. Here is the first one.

Here is a link to my channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/omputercayeekgay?feature=mhee
Please link and subscribe.

Minecraft

I have found an awesome game called Minecraft. Basically what you do is you have to make a shelter before night because then the monsters come out. You can make things like swords, a bow and arrow, a boat, a rollercoaster... The possibilities are endless. It costs $26.95. Here is the link: www.minecraft.net. I would recommend this to basically everyone in the world.

What you can do with a Dremel.

Here is an example of what you can do with the Dremel I mentioned in my last post. I turned a Wiimote Pez dispenser into a laser pointer and flashlight (Pic.1). I took a laser pointer/flashlight that you can get for about a buck in the checkout aisles of some grocery stores and stuck it in the storage compartment of the Pez dispenser and drew a line around the end. I then took my Dremel and cut it out. I also cut holes for the buttons in the lid. It works just like when the laser pointer/flashlight was outside of the Pez dispenser.

Pic. 1

Helpful Tools

A very good place to find tools for small projects is is www.dremel.com. I have a 7300 MiniMite Cordless (pic. 1). It is very powerful. You can get almost anything in an attachment for it. Here are most of the accessories. You can also find the bits at most hardware stores. A cutting wheel is very helpful (Pic.2).

Pic. 1

Pic. 2

Paper Airplane

I own the rights to this video.

Hovercraft Video

This is a video of the hovercraft in the previous post in action.

How to Make a Hovercraft

The Tools Required:
1. Drill
2. Sandpaper (a sander is helpful.)
3. Hole Saw
4. A Stapler
5. A Wrench
6. Utility Knife

The Materials Required:
1. A large board (must be light enough for one person to lift easily.)
2. 4 bolts like this one (Pic.1) that can go through the board with room to spare.
3. A piece of thick plastic that fits about 6 inches from every side of the board (Pic. 2.)
4. A leaf blower. (The leaf blower isn't attached so it's okay if it is being used some of the time.)
5. A large plastic sheet that when is spread over the board has some slack.

Optional Materials:
1. Spraypaint
2. Colored Duct Tape

The Skills Required:
1. Be able to use a drill, a sander (or sandpaper), a stapler, a hole saw, and a wrench.

What You Need To Know:
1. The plastic inflates and is called a skirt. The way hovercrafts move is they blow air into the middle and it escapes out the sides and lifts it. Then it can move easily.

Step #1 Sand the board completely.

Step #2 Trace the shape of the leaf blower output after you take off the extension three inches from the back of the board.

Step #3 Using the drill, drill a starting hole. Then use the holesaw to cut out the opening (Pic. 3.)

Step #4 Stretch the plastic around the board, fold a few smalls folds to keep the air in and staple it about an inch in on the top. There should be some slack.

Step #5 Take the hard plastic and duct tape it on. Then drill the holes for the bolts and stick them in. Then use the utility knife to cut the duct tape, but don't cut the plastic.

Step #6  Cut slits on the edge of the soft plastic facing towards the hard plastic. The air will fill up the middle and lift you up.

Step #7  Make a brace if necessary for the leaf blower. Then stick the leaf blower in and fire it up! Cut or cover the slits as necessary. This model needs you to push it. If you are using a plug-in leaf blower you could use a power strip attached to a extension cord to also power a fan for propulsion.

Pic. 1

Pic. 2

Pic. 3

How to Make a Simple Website

The Tools Required:

1. A computer

2. For Windows: Notepad. For Mac: TextEdit. Both of these come with the computer.

The Skills Required:

1. Know how to make a word document and save it.

What you need to know:
1. If it is inside < > it will not appear on your website. If it is inside them it is called a tag. The tags control how the webpage looks and what is on it.

Step #1 First open either Notepad or TextEdit. It will work in Microsoft Word or Pages but it's more complicated and Notepad and TextEdit work just as well. 

Step #2 Type <html>. You always put that at the beginning, no matter what other code you have.

Step #3 Hit return and type <body>. Hit return again and type <p> (whatever you want to be on your website) </p>. You put a slash when it's the end tag.

Step #4 Hit return again and type </body>. Hit return again and type </html>.

Step #5 If you are using TextEdit click Format and click Make Plain Text. Click Save As. Where you name the type (whatever you want).html.

Step #6 Open it and if you did it right it will open in your default browser. It will not be on the Internet unless you sign up for a hosting plan which costs money per month. But it is a cool trick to impress your friends. If you get good you could make a website on the Internet if you wanted though.

Here is a chart of Html tags: http://www.rewritables.net/htmltagchart.htm