Marshmallow Soldiers

We had a great time this past Saturday at the Summer Science: Air Rockets and Marshmallow Shooters at the North Richland Hills Library made possible by the Tarrant Makers (AKA FortWorth Makerspace)  

Father's Day 2013

I was just given the most awesome Father's Day gift. My wife and son put together a custom zombie survival kit. We'll be well prepared (with candy) for the coming apocalypse.

This Japanese Multiplication Method Will Divide Your Brain By Zero [Video]

This Japanese Multiplication Method Will Divide Your Brain By Zero [Video]: "

When I first saw this Japanese multiplication method, I just couldn't believe it. Then I tried it and it works perfectly, but still can't understand how it works—or how anyone found this method. More »

Codebox: Lose your head with OpenCV

Codebox: Lose your head with OpenCV: "

OpenCV is a 'library of programming functions for real time computer vision.' An open source project supported by Willow Garage, the library contains over 500 algorithms for image manipulation, object detection, feature extraction, and a variety of other tools you can use to write programs that can 'see.'

The OPENCV Processing and Java Library, a project maintained by Stéphane Cousot and Douglas Edric Stanley at the École Supérieure d'Art d'Aix-en-Provence, provides a wrapper that allows you to use a subset of OpenCV in Processing. In honor of Halloween, this Codebox will show you how use OpenCV to remove people's heads in real-time from a video feed. For example:

Future posts will cover less gruesome applications for this awesome library.

Installing OpenCV Processing and Java Library

The fist step in using the library is to download and install it from http://ubaa.net/shared/processing/opencv/. The site's documentation is great — just follow the steps listed on the "Installation Instructions" on the main page. Once you've followed the steps, fire up Processing, and then try out the code in the detect() example, which puts a red rectangle around any faces (frontal view) detected in the webcam. You should see something like this:

Create Enormous Bubbles with a Super-Size DIY Bubble Wand [DIY]

Create Enormous Bubbles with a Super-Size DIY Bubble Wand [DIY]: "

Two years ago we shared a DIY bubble wand guide, this amazing video—featuring a super-size version of that DIY bubble wand—prompted us to dig the old post out of the archives. More »

Easily Add Images to Your Google Contacts with Picasa People Photos [Digital Pictures]

Easily Add Images to Your Google Contacts with Picasa People Photos [Digital Pictures]: "

A new feature in Google's Picasa image management application, which is incredibly good at identifying faces, allows you to set Google Contacts photos for every contact you have a picture of in a couple clicks.

This Is How Lockheed Martin Paints F-35 Fighters (Spoiler: With Lasers) [Airplanes]

This Is How Lockheed Martin Paints F-35 Fighters (Spoiler: With Lasers) [Airplanes]: "

This is the most advanced painting facility in the world. It was created by Lockheed Martin for one single purpose: To make the F-35 Lighting II almost invisible to radar. As you can imagine, they don't use spray cans. More »