It's basically one of those coffee sleeves you get to keep from burning your hands, but with a few strong magnets embedded inside. So if you need an extra hand to tie your shoes, fiddle with a smartphone or PMP, you can just stick your coffee to the nearest streetlamp. And it looks like it might be even more protective for our delicate nerd hands than those wimpy cardboard ones. [Lifehacker]

Look at how sharp these seem. A pair of them and some of those nanopaticles that aid healing and I could be the next Logan. [TMZ]

Point Clouds with Depth of Field from Kyle McDonald on Vimeo.

Those are the results of Kyle McDonald's at-home structured light 3D scanning, a technique that recreates images in "point clouds" purely from data on shape, color, and the relative distance between objects. Using only a digital camera and a projector, McDonald shows how you can replicate the effect that distinguished Radiohead's music video for "House of Cards," released last year:

While you'd need an advanced laser set up to do things just like Radiohead did, this guide will still have you blowing minds in no time. [Instructables]

To put it mildly, the Fan Page has neither a slick interface (frame navigation ahoy) nor the kind of inter-locking, wiki-style organization that such a subject cries out for. Still, what the Good Eats Fan Page has is in-depth information on all the food, gadgets, and clever work-arounds Alton has covered on his much-loved show, and lots of it. Want to know more about the pressure cooking Alton was doing in that one episode? Check the equipment list, grab recipes and location links from the episode guide, or, heck, Ctrl+F-search the entire episode transcript. If it's not covered on the site, it's probably somewhere in the user forums.

It's the kind of geeky, obsessed site that restores your faith in the web's promise—and makes you eager to do crazy things with your kitchen equipment.

Over at Maximum PC, we just posted a guide that show's you everything you need to know to build the cheapest PC I'd recommend to anyone for use as his or her main PC. It's a surprisingly beefy machine, capable of playing games, ripping DVDs, editing video and photos, and playing 1080p video with nary a dropped frame. For a mere $647, we managed to pack a quad-core CPU, a great video card, 4GB of memory, and Windows 7 Home Premium into a surprisingly fashionable mid-tower. However, if you don't need as well-rounded a general purpose PC, you can go cheaper, especially if you're willing to make some sacrifices. Let's take a look at the parts we used, and then we'll start making cuts.

Let's look at the price chart. If you're not a gamer and aren't using one of the handful of applications that's accelerated by general-purpose GPU-based computing, then there's no good reason to spend 25% of your budget on a videocard that will lie fallow for most everything you do. The Gigabyte motherboard sports integrated graphics that will do everything you need to do, including hardware accelerated decode for video playback. Pulling the videocard brings our total cost down below $500, to $481. Not too shabby, but we can save even more.

If you're not going to be running tons of apps, editing photos, or encoding videos, that quad-core is massive overkill. To save a few bucks, we're going to replace that quad-core Athlon II with a single-core Sempron LE-1250. It costs less than a Blu-ray disc at Best Buy, a mere $32. Unfortunately, that still doesn't get us below $400, so we need to dig deeper.

Since you ditched the quad core CPU, your PC won't be up to running many applications at once, so we can cut back on memory. You can buy a generic 1GB stick for $22 at Newegg, which is the minimum requirement for Windows 7.

Since you won't be creating content, there's absolutely no reason to spend big bucks on a massive 500GB hard drive. In fact, you could probably even get by installing Windows on a decent-sized flash drive, but that's more expensive than what we have in mind. It's tough to beat a more-than-adequate 80GB drive for a mere $35. Oh, and while we're at it, you should ditch the optical drive. Odds are, you won't need it for anything after you set up your machine, and it's easier and faster to install Windows from thumbdrive (which you probably already have anyway).

After more than halving the price of our PC, Windows is looking mighty expensive. At $105, the OEM edition of Windows Home Premium is more than a third of the total cost of this machine. It's time to start thinking about Ubuntu, which will get our total price down to a cool $200. But wait, we can go even cheaper.

If you're just going to browse the web on this machine, why spend money on a real CPU? A Foxconn Atom motherboard that comes with the CPU costs a few bucks less than our AMD motherboard alone, so it's time to trim the fat, yet again. Sure, we could spend a few bucks more and get the same CPU in a motherboard equipped with Nvidia's Ion chipset, but EVERYTHING MUST GO!

For a machine with power requirements this meager, there's absolutely no reason to spend 20% of our budget on a quality power supply. Instead, let's get a case that includes an integrated power supply. It may not be reliable, but it sure is cheap!

Now, I'm reasonably certain that there's no way to build a cheaper machine. The only bad news? You just built a nettop.

Don't forget to check out Will's complete guide to the cheapest PC he'd actually recommend you to build.

Will Smith is the Editor-in-Chief of Maximum PC and has been building PCs longer than he cares to admit. He enjoys long walks, Rock Band, and is anxiously awaiting the first great Android Phone and the Apple Tablet.

Top image by Tim Rogers/Flickr, used under CC License

It's no easy project, since if you want to do it the way shown, you'll have to conjure up a Subaru blower fan motor, some neodymium magnets and a big-ass tube to put the whole contraption in. I'll let Instructables show you the rest. [Instructables]

The project isn't very expensive or difficult, but it does involve cutting into the desk's surface. Make sure that a) you know what you're doing and b) you're fully okay with defiling your workspace (albeit with good reason). All you'll need from the hardware store is a standard wall socket and faceplate. You can even do what Pat did and add a switch too, for especially hard to turn on devices. Hit the link for more pictures and details on Pat's DIY project.

He's never attempted woodworking before, but tackled this project with absolute determination. I'm a huge space geek, and have been fascinated with the night sky almost all of my life. I've talked of wanting a good telescope, and it would have been very easy for him to just make a stop by the store to pick one up. That he spent weeks working on this for me makes it the most special gift I've ever received.

Sure, you couldn't make a Kindle or a 47-inch Plasma TV by hand—at least nothing comparable in quality to the real thing—but did you even try? Huh?

So Rachel, you've got a really nice husband, but he's probably cheated on you in the past year. That's the only logical explanation. [Make]

If you're unfamiliar with the Ambilight technology, it's a backlight system in some Phillips televisions where the color of the screen is transmitted to LEDs behind the television set, so that the background lighting matches the color on the screen. Fans of the technology claim it reduces eyes strain and enhances the theater experience.

DIYer Fun3 wanted to recreate the effect on his television. His solution was to wire an Arduino to a series of LED strips and and control the color by a USB cable hooked up to his HTPC. Check out the video below to see it in action.

Check out his site for schematics, code, and a ton of tips and tricks for calibrating your LEDs to your home theater. If you've experimented with back lighting your home theater—color changing or otherwise—let's hear about it in the comments.

So, in addition to frying data, the resulting flash from the gun will also fry your retinas. It even has a built-in MP3 player with a 2-watt amp for sound effects. Needless to say, if you do decide to build something like this, I wouldn't go aiming it at credit cards, hard drives, passports or living creatures. Hit the following link for instructions. [codeninja via Hack a Day via Technabob]

By day Craig is a hot tub/spa service tech, so his self-styled 20-sided decision die is a little plumbing-centric for my taste. My hack would probably stick to the three basic life paths: nachos, sleep, and beer. To start charting your own course, full instructions can be found here. [Make]

The bedbugs are attracted to carbon dioxide, so you'll want to use something like dry ice to lure them out of your bed and into somewhere where you can confirm the infestation. All you need is an insulated 1/3 gallon jug, 2.5 pounds of dry ice pellets and a piece of paper. That's about $15 worth of equipment in total. And dry ice can be easily had at many supermarkets, ice cream stores, and the like. Wan-Tien Tsai of Rutgers University explains the setup, which uses the dry ice and a type of rigging to trap the bedbugs inside:

She stood the jug in a plastic cat food dish with a piece of paper taped on the outside of the dish as a ramp up to the rim. The bowl's steep, slippery inside, with an added dusting of talcum powder, kept bugs from crawling out again.

In tests in real apartments, the homemade setup detected bedbugs as well, or better, than did two brands of professional exterminating equipment

I'll tell you what, even if you don't suspect bedbugs at home, I wouldn't hesitate to use something like this at that seedy hotel you might find yourself staying at for the holidays. [Wired Image via WestchesterGov]

Rain Gutters as Cable Management Tools

We're all about creative cable management here at Lifehacker, so we were instantly drawn to reader Seandavid010's rain-gutter cable management setup. Granted, you can find other cord-wrangling solutions, like the one Adam used when he made his cordless workspace, but the rain gutter approach yields impressive results. Sean was nice enough to send in his entire step-by-step, check out the full post to see it.

$5 IKEA Coat Hanger Offers Solid Cable Management

Weblog BitsOfMyMind shares a very simple idea that turns an inexpensive coat-hanger rack into a simple and streamlined cord management solution.

Back when Adam detailed how to go cordless in your workspace, he championed a $10 cable management add-on from IKEA. Many readers wrote in and said they couldn't find the IKEA wire-manager he used, so this clever hack is a welcome addition to our cable-wrangling bag of tricks.

Open a Bottle of Wine with Your Shoe

Got a bottle of wine on hand but no corkscrew to get it open? You can argue all you want about whether or not the guy in this video really needs more wine, but you can't argue with the results.

Make Cookies in 90 Seconds with Your Waffle Iron

Baking cookies in your oven is fine and all, but if you want to turn out some tasty cookies in a very short time, consider turning to your trusty waffle iron. Turns out you're only 90 seconds away from crispy, chewy, cookie-goodness.

Create a Cat Haven from Ikea Shelves

The climbing trees at pet stores are ridiculously expensive and take up tons of floor space. Help your kitty jump to a royal view, Super-Mario-style, without cluttering your floor or wasting money.

Remove Splinters Using a Banana Peel

Bananas are a good source of potassium, but turns out the peels can do more than just store the fruit. Apartment Therapy outlines seven ways to put used peels to work, including removal of those inconvenient splinters. Photo by keepon.

Get More From Cheap Vodka Than a Hangover

Sooth headaches? Clean razors? Kill bees? Vodka is handy for all sorts of uses besides the traditional one. The clear and high-proof alcohol can be used for all manner of tricks. Photo by Carsten Lorentzen.

Coke Can Clean Your Toilet in a Pinch

When your toilet's got rings and lime scale stains and you've got no cleaning gear on hand, grab a can of Coke out of the fridge.

Turn IKEA Cabinets Into a Cordless Desktop Stand

The new iMacs, and similar all-in-one LCD desktop systems, make for a mostly cordless computing experience. Using two pieces of IKEA furniture meant for laptops and modems, you can hide the remaining wires and up the elegance.

Disposable Mugger's Wallet Gets You Off Scott Free or Gets You Beat Up

A mugger's wallet is a disposable second wallet that you're more than happy to give away to a mugger. It contains a few bucks, a non-essential ID, but not much else that would endanger your identity.

DIY Car Dash Camera Mount

Ever wished you had some high-speed chase footage after you finished tearing down the freeway after crooks? Of course you have! You need a quick, cheap DIY camera mount.

Remove Stubborn Batteries and Other Cool Magnet Tricks

As if the sheer magnetism aspect of magnets wasn't magical enough, weblog Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories points out 17 very cool tricks that put your magnets to great use. For starters, a strong magnet can be the perfect tool to remove batteries from the grips of a stubborn spring.

Use Vicks VapoRub To Cure Toenail Fungus

We've heard that Vicks VapoRub can cure toenail fungus before (it's also helpful when you've got a cold!), but the New York Times recently put it to the test. The results: The thyme in VapoRub can in fact do the job.

Repair a Broken Ethernet Plug with Zip Ties

We've all been there at some point: You've got a perfectly functional Ethernet cord that somewhere along the line had its tab broken off. Don't buy a new one or re-terminate the cord. Fix it with zip ties.

Open Beer Bottles with Bic Lighters

If you lack for a piece of paper, a ring, or just don't want to risk bursting another bottle, Wired explains the time-honored tradition of popping the top with a Bic-type lighter.

Outlet-Hanging Charge Station For Your Small Gadgets

If a full-sized charging station is overkill for your single cellphone or iPod, try this smaller gadget cradle that mounts neatly on a wall outlet. Craft blog Zakka Life put together a simple tutorial for making a cradle that's perfect for single, regularly-charged items—the kinds of things you dump out of your pockets upon returning home.

Have a favorite post from 2009 that highlights a clever use or novel way to repurpose an everyday object? Let's hear about it in the comments.

This strange contraption is a DIY plenoptic camera.

Still don't know what that is? I didn't either, but Make explained that "instead of capturing a flat, 2D array of pixels, a plenoptic camera uses an array of microlenses to capture 4D lightfield data. This data can then be processed to create a final image that is focused on any part of the scene." Basically, this means that it takes a lot of little images from different viewpoints and those can then be transformed into your ideal picture. If you want to get dreamy about describing this process, you could say that it lets you travel back in time and fix bad focusing mistakes of the past.

It looks crazy in action, too:

You can follow the links to Futurepicture and actually read all about how to make one of these camera rigs yourself. And if you do that: Please send along some images. I have a fascination with these trippy, crazy things. [Futurepicture via Team Droid via Make]

Seriously, I wish all computers came like this from the factory. Or at least mine. Check Nick's photographies and how-to documentation at [Bit-Tech]

Everyone knows light exposes film, but other forms of radiation do as well-a fact you can use to take pictures in some pretty unusual ways.

It's also how radioactivity was first discovered. In 1896, French physicist Henri Becquerel stored some x-ray film in a drawer along with a uranium rock. He suspected that uranium might emit strange rays when exposed to sunlight, but this sample had been kept entirely in the dark, so he was surprised to find, on developing it, that the mineral had exposed the film. The discovery of natural radioactivity won him a Nobel Prize.

It's not hard to repeat Becquerel's experience at home with standard film. I took apart a 10-pack of Fujifilm ISO 3000 instant film and wrapped each piece in tinfoil. This must be done in absolute darkness because 3,000-speed film is extremely sensitive. (I sacrificed the first pack practicing in the light.)

Next I set a big, flat butterfly-shaped earring directly on top of the wrapped film. I suspended the most radioactive thing I have, a small radium puck from an old classroom set, several inches above the earring. This allowed the radiation to shine through it and onto the film, exposing it right through the foil wrapper. Then I developed the film by pulling it through the rollers of an old Polaroid camera (once again, in complete darkness).

This exposure took about 36 hours, determined by trial and lots of error. If you're willing to wait longer, less-radioactive sources work too, even common salt substitute. Yes, sodium-free salt (potassium chloride) is sufficiently radioactive (from the isotope potassium-40) that after several months, a saltshaker-ful will form an image on film. Provided you don't forget and eat the radioactive source on your breakfast.

Achtung! Stronger radiation sources such as radium watch hands, and any source that's flaking off fine particles, should be handled with care to minimize exposure and avoid contamination.

Photo credit: Mike Walker

Popular Science is your wormhole to the future. Reporting on what's new and what's next in science and technology, we deliver the future now.

All you need to do is download the PDF, print it out on card stock, cut it out, tape the ends closed and ipop some LEDs in there for color. As you can see in the image above, the light filtered through the layers throws a festive pattern on the walls. [Sparkle Labs]

This step-by-step guide from DIY web site Instructables is far from difficult—all it requires is a few household tools, along with some thin pieces of wood and, of course, a stylish bistro tray. Plus, not only can you use the extra space to store flash drives, power cords, or other miscellaneous computer items below the laptop, but you can also still use the tray to carry drinks and such when it's not holding your laptop—and where once the tray was stylish but prone to spillage, it is now a spill-free multitasker.

We had a tough time finding the exact tray used in the post, but it looks to be this one from CB2. IKEA has similar trays that could work, though, if you're looking for something a bit different. If you find one that you like, feel free to share in the comments.