DIY foamcore cat toy balls

It does not take much to make a cat toy.  Often times, they will make their own toys out of stuff around the house (even if you do not want them to) such as shoelaces.  They like crumpled up paper balls.  They like the plastic pull-off safety tab from the milk bottle.  They like chewing … Continue reading DIY foamcore cat toy balls

Cat-scratcher cost-savings analysis

In the previous Cat Scratcher post, I forgot to include the following picture, taken in a local PetSmart of similar (but more cheaply made) products: The small cat-scratchers go for $10.  The larger, more fancy ones — the ones most similar to the one I designed and made — go for $25.  In mine, the … Continue reading Cat-scratcher cost-savings analysis

Adventures in cat-scratching -or- how a laser project became a regular project

When you first start out with the laser cutter (for me, not in-person but via a service like Ponoko), it seems that everyone’s “hello, world” project is a set of coasters.  I have done a couple of projects since then, but have had one in particular in my eye that is actually not that much … Continue reading Adventures in cat-scratching -or- how a laser project became a regular project

Arduino Halloween Lights

I have talked about this to several people and have described the details to a couple, but I figured I should finally document the setup I have for my Halloween/Christmas/everyday computer-controlled lights. I have never really done traditional Christmas lights at any of the places I have lived in Portland. Between high ceilings, basement offsets, and … Continue reading Arduino Halloween Lights

iPhone car mount, status update 1

As you probably don’t know, I’m working on a car mount for my iPhone. I saw an instructable on how to make one that seemed nice, but I’m not keen on the velcro and I’m not sure I kept the plastic packing piece it requires. I also spied a mounting solution from ProClip that seemed … Continue reading iPhone car mount, status update 1