Jill and Eric Penne

Filed under: Technology, Videos, Celebrities, Design/Style, Electric

Jay Leno likes him some electric Tango. No, not the new dance craze all the kids are talking texting about, but rather the oddly-narrow but very quick two-seater from Commuter Cars. Now, regular Autobloggreen readers have seen the Tango before, posing beside George Clooney or perhaps drag racing Tesla Roadsters, and many have commented (less than favorably) on its, um, nonconformist appearance. Perfect fodder, one might think, for a crack by someone who knows a thing or two about comedy. Instead, our man Jay Leno plays things pretty straight as he chats with its creator Rick Woodbury before taking it for a spin.

Watching the clip, you can tell that Leno really likes it, especially from behind the wheel. He reports it doesn’t feel like a small car inside and really only looks weird from the outside. He likes that it’s unique and finds the fact you can lane split with it to be hilarious. However, the real reason he states “It makes you smile…” has less to do with the Tango’s width as it does with the fact that “it goes like stink,” a point which he happily reiterates.

Despite its turn-of-speed, one of the Tango’s biggest shortcoming is its 40 mile range at highway speeds. The car’s heavy lead acid batteries are great for keeping it upright around hard corners, but you can’t expect to go too far with yesteryear’s technology. During their pre-drive talk, Commuter Cars’ Woodbury revealed that the company is finally about to put lithium battery pack in a test car, and he expects for it to go up to 200 miles. All of which strikes us as a much more reasonable number if he ever expects to bring skinny back. Hit the jump for video of a little Tango in Jay’s Garage.

[Source: Jay Leno's Garage]

Top Gear

Continue reading VIDEO: Jay Leno does the electric Tango

VIDEO: Jay Leno does the electric Tango originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

Filed under: Technology, Videos, Celebrities, Design/Style, Electric

Jay Leno likes him some electric Tango. No, not the new dance craze all the kids are talking texting about, but rather the oddly-narrow but very quick two-seater from Commuter Cars. Now, regular Autobloggreen readers have seen the Tango before, posing beside George Clooney or perhaps drag racing Tesla Roadsters, and many have commented (less than favorably) on its, um, nonconformist appearance. Perfect fodder, one might think, for a crack by someone who knows a thing or two about comedy. Instead, our man Jay Leno plays things pretty straight as he chats with its creator Rick Woodbury before taking it for a spin.

Watching the clip, you can tell that Leno really likes it, especially from behind the wheel. He reports it doesn’t feel like a small car inside and really only looks weird from the outside. He likes that it’s unique and finds the fact you can lane split with it to be hilarious. However, the real reason he states “It makes you smile…” has less to do with the Tango’s width as it does with the fact that “it goes like stink,” a point which he happily reiterates.

Despite its turn-of-speed, one of the Tango’s biggest shortcoming is its 40 mile range at highway speeds. The car’s heavy lead acid batteries are great for keeping it upright around hard corners, but you can’t expect to go too far with yesteryear’s technology. During their pre-drive talk, Commuter Cars’ Woodbury revealed that the company is finally about to put lithium battery pack in a test car, and he expects for it to go up to 200 miles. All of which strikes us as a much more reasonable number if he ever expects to bring skinny back. Hit the jump for video of a little Tango in Jay’s Garage.

[Source: Jay Leno's Garage]

Top Gear

Continue reading VIDEO: Jay Leno does the electric Tango

VIDEO: Jay Leno does the electric Tango originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

How sleazy could any company be with an adorable blue hippo for a mascot? Baltimore-based BlueHippo provides the answer: really, really sleazy.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has had it with the company, which offers computers on layaway to those too poor to buy one outright. Buyers put up $99 to $124 in down payments, then make regular payments of $36 to $88. After 13 of these payments, the company says it will send out a computer, while the payments continue until the balance is paid off.

This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

How sleazy could any company be with an adorable blue hippo for a mascot? Baltimore-based BlueHippo provides the answer: really, really sleazy.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has had it with the company, which offers computers on layaway to those too poor to buy one outright. Buyers put up $99 to $124 in down payments, then make regular payments of $36 to $88. After 13 of these payments, the company says it will send out a computer, while the payments continue until the balance is paid off.

This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

Usually I write about ham radio. But looking at communication devices of the future from the past, I thought it would be fun to have a Star Trek: The Original Series Bluetooth communicator for a cellphone. I worked with Dave Clausen to hack one together from a toy Star Trek communicator, a Bluetooth module, and a microcontroller. Following are the directions and program to make your own. And of course a video to show how the Star Trek Bluetooth Communicator works.

And if you really want to geek it up, the Star Trek Bluetooth Communicator can also be used with the Yaesu VX-8R ham radio. It also makes an awesome gift. Read on for the full tutorial.

Read more | Permalink | Comments |

Read more articles in MAKE Projects |

Digg this!
This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

Usually I write about ham radio. But looking at communication devices of the future from the past, I thought it would be fun to have a Star Trek: The Original Series Bluetooth communicator for a cellphone. I worked with Dave Clausen to hack one together from a toy Star Trek communicator, a Bluetooth module, and a microcontroller. Following are the directions and program to make your own. And of course a video to show how the Star Trek Bluetooth Communicator works.

And if you really want to geek it up, the Star Trek Bluetooth Communicator can also be used with the Yaesu VX-8R ham radio. It also makes an awesome gift. Read on for the full tutorial.

Read more | Permalink | Comments |

Read more articles in MAKE Projects |

Digg this!
This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

Kiwi businessman Wayne Eyre dropped a pretty penny on this fantasy home theater build, but the results are impressive. Many have suggested that it’s supposed to be Captain Nemo’s Nautilus, but there’s no mention of deliberate Verne overtones in the original article. The last photograph above, for instance, shows leaking “plutonium torpedoes” in part of the installation, but plutonium wasn’t even discovered until 50 years after 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was published. [via Dude Craft]

Read more | Permalink | Comments |

Read more articles in Home Entertainment |

Digg this!
This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

Kiwi businessman Wayne Eyre dropped a pretty penny on this fantasy home theater build, but the results are impressive. Many have suggested that it’s supposed to be Captain Nemo’s Nautilus, but there’s no mention of deliberate Verne overtones in the original article. The last photograph above, for instance, shows leaking “plutonium torpedoes” in part of the installation, but plutonium wasn’t even discovered until 50 years after 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was published. [via Dude Craft]

Read more | Permalink | Comments |

Read more articles in Home Entertainment |

Digg this!
This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

In the Make: Online Toolbox, we focus mainly on tools that fly under the radar of more conventional tool coverage: in-depth tool-making projects, strange or specialty tools unique to a trade or craft that can be useful elsewhere, tools…
This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

In the Make: Online Toolbox, we focus mainly on tools that fly under the radar of more conventional tool coverage: in-depth tool-making projects, strange or specialty tools unique to a trade or craft that can be useful elsewhere, tools…
This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

Ever need to repair an awkwardly shaped object but have trouble keeping it steady while you work? The always-clever Martha Stewart suggests getting some assistance from sand, using it to hold odd-shaped objects at just the right angle while your glue dries.

Push the piece far enough into the sand so it no longer wobbles, then begin the repair. Keep a plastic storage bin filled halfway with sand in the garage to use for this purpose, whenever something breaks.

We can also see things like kitty litter or sugar working in this same instance—in case you don't have a bag of sand hanging around your garage. It's a quick fix that doesn't require any added assistance or time spent holding things together while drying.

Have a similarly quick household fix methodology of your own? Sound off in the comments.

This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

Ever need to repair an awkwardly shaped object but have trouble keeping it steady while you work? The always-clever Martha Stewart suggests getting some assistance from sand, using it to hold odd-shaped objects at just the right angle while your glue dries.

Push the piece far enough into the sand so it no longer wobbles, then begin the repair. Keep a plastic storage bin filled halfway with sand in the garage to use for this purpose, whenever something breaks.

We can also see things like kitty litter or sugar working in this same instance—in case you don't have a bag of sand hanging around your garage. It's a quick fix that doesn't require any added assistance or time spent holding things together while drying.

Have a similarly quick household fix methodology of your own? Sound off in the comments.

This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

The muse, she is a fickle mistress. And whether you’re writing blog posts or songs or long-form fiction or technical manuals, sometimes you just can’t seem to make the words fit together.

More than anything, I think that’s what National Novel Writing Month is about. It’s about pushing through that wall that sometimes forms between you and inspiration. It’s about committing not so much to the timeframe, but to those 50,000 words.

And that’s a lot of goddamn words.

This show is for all the writers out there, but it’s also for the readers. It’s all about authors and books and writing and creativity, and all the myriad of amazing forms they take.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 78: Book It [hosting provided by Antisoc] Size: 38.2 MB Running Time: 41:42

Intro: Baddd Spellah – “Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)”
Baddd Spellah and Beefy: the greatest story ever told!

Track 1: Metaforce – “Writer’s Block”
As you can tell from the lack of updates over the past couple of weeks, I am currently suffering from a bit of the ol’ writer’s blockage myself. Ere go this track seemed a proper starter.

Z’s 1st interlude: “Help those of you participating in this month’s National Novel Writing Month challenge over that final hump.”
Big up to all my NaNoWriMoers!

Track 2: Better of Metal, Bitches – “Reading Rainbow”
This song is pretty awesome, but don’t take my word for it.

Track 3: Bloodhag – “Madeline l’Engle”
I have long suspected that this show needs more tesseracts.

Track 4: Beefy – “Write a Song About”
A Beefy/Advantage mash-up, of sorts.

Track 5: People Within – “Write All Day”
You can pick up the audio for this entire show for free over at Archive.org.

Track 6: Lords of the Rhymes – “9-Fingered Frodo”
I sometimes forget how very much I enjoy Lords of the Rhymes.

Track 7: mc chris – “Neville”
This one is a personal highlight from mc’s Part 6 Part 2.

Track 8: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets dialog / Danny Dementor – “Death (Adolescent Mix)”
And I would characterize this as one of the best WRock songs of all time.

Z’s 2nd interlude: “But that’s also this vocation’s drawback.”
Another proposed title for this ep. was simply “Writing is Hard.” Oddly, while calling oneself a writer is almost effortless, living up to that moniker is significantly more problematic.

Track 9: Switchblade Kittens – “Size 12 is Not Fat”
From the Kittens’ Rebel Princess LP, a fine album even for those not into chick lit.

Track 10: TwiRockett Music – “Be Safe”
I entertained the notion of including a number of different Twi Rock songs, but in the end this one won out because it has such a similar feel to the follow-up track.

Track 11: NeverEnding Story dialog / Limahl – “NeverEnding Story”
This song’s inclusion may seem a tad counterintuitive, but NeverEnding Story is a fine piece of nerd cinema, so I thought it fit.

Track 12: John Anealio – “George R.R. Martin is Not Your Bitch“
John actually has a song about NaNoWriMo that would’ve worked even better in this edition, but I’ve literally been waiting 3 months to play this one!

Z’s final interlude: “That annoying voice that is your internal editor.”
Due to budget cut-backs, I was recently forced to fire my internal editor.

Track 13: Elvis Costello and the Attractions – “Every Day I Write the Book”
Do you hear the interplay of the bass line and the keyboard lead? That is called songwriting magic.

It seems as though I totally forgot to credit the background music in-show, so allow me to point you toward the Final Fantasy 7 OC Remix “Every Story Begins with a Name.” It’s by Big Giant Circles and zircon, and comes from the Voices of the Lifestream collection.

I’ll go on record as saying that this probably isn’t gonna be one my most popular episodes. It alternates at times between harsh metal and ultra-mellow pop fluff, but, in all honesty, that was kind of the point. The creative process is a lot of things, but above all else it is uneven. Messy even.

I reckon that made for sort of a bumpy musical ride, but I actually think it came together pretty well. Here’s hoping you think the same.

This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.

The muse, she is a fickle mistress. And whether you’re writing blog posts or songs or long-form fiction or technical manuals, sometimes you just can’t seem to make the words fit together.

More than anything, I think that’s what National Novel Writing Month is about. It’s about pushing through that wall that sometimes forms between you and inspiration. It’s about committing not so much to the timeframe, but to those 50,000 words.

And that’s a lot of goddamn words.

This show is for all the writers out there, but it’s also for the readers. It’s all about authors and books and writing and creativity, and all the myriad of amazing forms they take.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 78: Book It [hosting provided by Antisoc] Size: 38.2 MB Running Time: 41:42

Intro: Baddd Spellah – “Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)”
Baddd Spellah and Beefy: the greatest story ever told!

Track 1: Metaforce – “Writer’s Block”
As you can tell from the lack of updates over the past couple of weeks, I am currently suffering from a bit of the ol’ writer’s blockage myself. Ere go this track seemed a proper starter.

Z’s 1st interlude: “Help those of you participating in this month’s National Novel Writing Month challenge over that final hump.”
Big up to all my NaNoWriMoers!

Track 2: Better of Metal, Bitches – “Reading Rainbow”
This song is pretty awesome, but don’t take my word for it.

Track 3: Bloodhag – “Madeline l’Engle”
I have long suspected that this show needs more tesseracts.

Track 4: Beefy – “Write a Song About”
A Beefy/Advantage mash-up, of sorts.

Track 5: People Within – “Write All Day”
You can pick up the audio for this entire show for free over at Archive.org.

Track 6: Lords of the Rhymes – “9-Fingered Frodo”
I sometimes forget how very much I enjoy Lords of the Rhymes.

Track 7: mc chris – “Neville”
This one is a personal highlight from mc’s Part 6 Part 2.

Track 8: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets dialog / Danny Dementor – “Death (Adolescent Mix)”
And I would characterize this as one of the best WRock songs of all time.

Z’s 2nd interlude: “But that’s also this vocation’s drawback.”
Another proposed title for this ep. was simply “Writing is Hard.” Oddly, while calling oneself a writer is almost effortless, living up to that moniker is significantly more problematic.

Track 9: Switchblade Kittens – “Size 12 is Not Fat”
From the Kittens’ Rebel Princess LP, a fine album even for those not into chick lit.

Track 10: TwiRockett Music – “Be Safe”
I entertained the notion of including a number of different Twi Rock songs, but in the end this one won out because it has such a similar feel to the follow-up track.

Track 11: NeverEnding Story dialog / Limahl – “NeverEnding Story”
This song’s inclusion may seem a tad counterintuitive, but NeverEnding Story is a fine piece of nerd cinema, so I thought it fit.

Track 12: John Anealio – “George R.R. Martin is Not Your Bitch“
John actually has a song about NaNoWriMo that would’ve worked even better in this edition, but I’ve literally been waiting 3 months to play this one!

Z’s final interlude: “That annoying voice that is your internal editor.”
Due to budget cut-backs, I was recently forced to fire my internal editor.

Track 13: Elvis Costello and the Attractions – “Every Day I Write the Book”
Do you hear the interplay of the bass line and the keyboard lead? That is called songwriting magic.

It seems as though I totally forgot to credit the background music in-show, so allow me to point you toward the Final Fantasy 7 OC Remix “Every Story Begins with a Name.” It’s by Big Giant Circles and zircon, and comes from the Voices of the Lifestream collection.

I’ll go on record as saying that this probably isn’t gonna be one my most popular episodes. It alternates at times between harsh metal and ultra-mellow pop fluff, but, in all honesty, that was kind of the point. The creative process is a lot of things, but above all else it is uneven. Messy even.

I reckon that made for sort of a bumpy musical ride, but I actually think it came together pretty well. Here’s hoping you think the same.

This is not an original post by Eric and may not contain all the text. Click here for the full article.