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August 2009>

Waste Not

Here's a good motive to be creative: stretching out your resources to make them last longer.  I recently came across instructions on the web to modify a soap dispenser pump so that it regulates the liquid soap that comes out of it.  I've always been conservative at the sink, but my kids are notorious for pushing the thing as far as it will go.  The amount of soap that emerges comple.... read more

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Recycle & Repurpose

A couple of posts ago I talked about creating useful stuff from junk.  Recently I've had another awakening about taking still-working (but obsolete) items and using them in other ways.  I'm not talking about stripping things for parts to be used in new projects, but giving old stuff that still works a new job.I've got an old camcorder that currently records poorly to its native tape form.... read more

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Necessity's Mother

It’s always fun to putter around your self-built workshop in your garage (or den in your apartment or desk in your cubicle) and make things, but the real test of your problem-solving comes when you need to make something. You have a problem and a conventional retail product just won’t do.  Perhaps you have no money to buy said product (a more likely scenario) and you must rely on your wits an.... read more

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Something from Nothing

Of all the gadgets, gizmos and projects I see people creating across the web and the world, the most impressive are those built from junk. While I can truly appreciate anything built from store-bought parts, he who creates something from the dumpster has all my respect. I realize that “being green” and recycling is a world-wide trend right now, but it takes resourcefulness and moxie to work this .... read more

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The Creative Urge

What makes us make things? It seems that no matter who we are, there is something inside of us that forces us to create.  I don't care what your hobbies are, there is a creative element within us all that demands we build, invent, construct and restore.  Some creativity is more conventional, like the artists that puts pen to paper or brush to canvas.  Some doesn't even seem like "a.... read more

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