Carrying small pliers and screwdrivers can be helpful and comforting. When traveling without checked baggage, I feel strange leaving behind my small multitools. Being without tools is weird.

Pressed into service recently to teach handcuff escape workshops to high school students, I built this. The huge, functional, see-through demonstration handcuff. Learning how the ratchet and pawl mechanism works helped… Read the rest of the article: Look at the size of this demonstration handcuff

Researchers at the ETH Game Technology Center of the Swiss national technical institute in Zürich, have applied their considerable talents to the critical problem of immersion in 2D side-scrolling, 8-bit era… Read the rest of the article: Swiss Researchers solve side-scrolling immersion

This delightful Lovelace & Babbage Analytical Engine is gathering support on LEGO Ideas (formerly CUUSOO) where the community can up-vote fan-made play sets into consideration for production. Featuring Lada Ada Lovelace and Charles… Read the rest of the article: Help convince LEGO to produce "Lovelace and Babbage" play set / Raspberry Pi case

At the beginning of the summer my son Ronan, age 12, and I built him his first high-powered gaming PC. Me being a dad and all, I did so happily,… Read the rest of the article: An online Java course for kids, taught via Minecraft

Just look at it.

Manipulating safe locks can be fun and profitable! It also takes practice. I recently bought a used safe combination dial lock and mounted it to a  piece of reclaimed wood. Mounting a dial lock… Read the rest of the article: Fixing a safe lock with a bullet casing

Artist Lee John Phillips has begun to lovingly draw the over 100,000 items housed in his late grandfather's toolshed. He plans to catalog every single tool, part, gadget, and bit of hardware over the… Read the rest of the article: Illustrator is drawing every item in his late grandfather's tool shed

Just look at it. WTFDuino (Thanks, Marc de Vinck!)

I built the Imperial Melody Discharger, an articulated Stormtrooper helmet music box, for the Star Wars Day ("May the 4th be with you") vinyl Stormtrooper helmet art show . For… Read the rest of the article: Imperial Melody Discharger – Stormtrooper helmet art build notes