mad_ideas's Profile

I've recently started going into Home Automation with Z-Wave modules and although im in australia (We use a different frequency so i don't have any options like HVAC and door lock control) I have been reading up on the US doorlocks and I must say they are impressive and all have manual options incase of power/battery failure (depends what type you get)

I'll give a simple example of how I would set this up (And currently have part setup)

I have a wireless IP cam at the door and once movement is seen i get a email sent to my mobile with the picture I then connect to the cam on my android phone
and see who's at the door and can speak and listen to them.

It could be my aunty coming to visit and im at the shops so I say hi and then send a command to unlock the door she goes in and I continue shopping and come home.

Now of course if the power is out she can call my mobile and i can give her a code to unlock the door manually then change it when i get home.

We have a few of these on our decking and they are damn comfy

We have tried a few things and painting the rattan white or black with a modern colour or pattern cussion really makes it blend it quite nicely.

You can also try wrapping rope or strips of material around the base to give it a new look as well.

This is easy for DIY

You can just have a piece of wood and measure out the distance for the poles then use a metal bolt and affix it on the board and your done

If you want it so be more stylish you can have a metal tube slide over the bolts (Chrome or Copper) and you can easily buy the caps for the end so it looks pretty and paint the wood in a gloss white and it's very modern

We have had the same thing available for a while now in Battery form

NoPoPo batteries are AAA and AA batteries that run off water, beer, urine, coke etc

They output 500mA at 1.2 or 1.5v i don't have the specs with me but they will light up a led torch for about 20 hours on a small amount of water these would be better for a DIY version as they are cheap and more environmentally friendly.

You could make a nice lamp out of a few of these of course they have a limit on how many recharges they can use same as the earth battery the copper and zinc won't work afer a certain amount of refills

I personally have a samsung galaxy tab and love it :)

It's portable and really is a great device altho the new devices have dual core the tab is being updated to honeycomb and will work even better.

Granted its using a mobile phone interface but samsung have done a great job of making it work on the tab and altho i've never had any slowdowns like you have mentioned i know some people have so i know it's an issue with some people.

But i honestly like this tab and reccomend it if your a fan of android phones the switch from phone to tab is a smooth experience

Hell i paid the original $900 for this (I'm in australia) and im very happy with my purchase the 7" size really is the perfect size i think

I know the US version has call features disabled which sucks but i use mine as my phone as well and getting sms and voice calls on it really is quite fun (Downside is you need a hands free ear piece otherwise the tab only does speaker phone)

There are a few ways to hide it behind a sofa

My personal favourite is to have some type of cabinet that would suit your place

Then have the top cut so a small piece can be removed.

Then for under $60 you can get an accuator and hook that up in the cabinet and make a shelf for the projector and then the accuator will move the projector up and down.

Now if you wanna stick to the shelf then there are some simple ways to hide the cable

One way is to buy a few small types of statue and attach the cords ont he backside using the shape of the statue to hide the wiring

(Got some wooden sculpted deers for $1 and RCA cables run along the backside to hide the wires)

You can also get some old books (water damaged if possible) and carve a path in the back of the books for the wires to hide

You could also get some white contact paper and wrap a strip of that around the wires to make it blend into the back wall more as well

Another option could be have fun with the wire make it into a shape of something on the wall here's an example
http://dudelol.com/img/power-cord-art.jpg

Many many options you can do i've got 5 more ideas on how it could be done as well.

Another option could be mount an SD card adapter in the nes and the carts are actual SD cards and once it's put into the system it runs a rom of the same game on the PC

Plug tetris into the nes and it runs the emulator with tetris

Good use for all of those old 64mb sd cards and still gives you a nes collection and physical way to start a game :)

This is an australia product from 2 years ago and while the pictures of it look nice when you see it in person it's bigger and not really curved.

It outputs a decent amount of air but on high speed it can have an annoying sound it's a great idea and i wanted to get two for my house but the picture doesn't live up to the look when in person sadly

Still would work in alot of places i just suggest you see it in action and listen to it on high first

Leave it as is you need some small stools that match the the cocktail cab and make it it's own area with a rug

Honestly you will be surprised how well it looks when it's setup in it's own little area

If possible id get the legs chromed or atleast tidy them up and use a rug and some modern small stools to make it pop

I'm currently moving into my new house in a few weeks and have a small room and with the TV it overpowers it abit so i have hidden it myself which is quite easy

Get a wall cracket for the tv that leaves a around 10cm behind the wall and the back of the tv

Then get a actuator and mount it on the wall behind the tv and then get a nice canvas art that will go over the tv and wire some power to the actuator and your done

I've already got all the parts and have done a mock run of it and it works well and has only cost $130AUD all up (Not including the canvas art)

I'll have to take some pics and do a writeup for AT