If you ever go to science fiction convention or a hobby show, you will usually see some amazing displays of what you can build with LEGO blocks. We don’t mean just buildings or busts of famous people; we mean operating toy trains, cranes, cars and robots. The book contains plans and instructions for making robots using the using the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 set. This costs around $280 but those who have it say they love it. The kit has parts, motors and – most important of all: a programmable logic block containing the microchips for controlling the robots.

The basic idea is to capture screens while you’re putting your instructions on the computer and then edit the sequence you want to create a finished work. Using a webcam, the teacher’s face can be shown speaking in a corner of the video, which makes it personal.

You can zoom onto any part of a picture to call attention to details. You can add narration (with or without the narrator’s picture) and “call-outs,” These are boxes of enlarged text that can be used to emphasize a point, call attention to a change in subject, or emphasize anything you consider important.

Here are other new features in the latest Camtasia:

• A library of background images, audio effects, and dissolves.
• The ability to copy and paste new clips to the library.
• A button-click to send your work to YouTube.
• “Sketch-motion” call-outs that make it look like you’re drawing on the screen.
• Keystroke call-outs that show what keyboard shortcuts you’re using.
• Audio controls with fade-in and fade-out.

There’s a free trial of the $300 program at Camtasia.com. They also offer a free version of the program called “Jing,” great for capturing screens and video. Camtasia is available for Windows and Macintosh.

• The “Make Magazine” series from O’Reilly Publishing still exists and you can find them at makezine.com. They have instructions on how to make anything from beach chairs to tiny flying insects. And we mean tiny.
• As an adjunct to making things you might be interested in the videos for rent at smartflix.com. This is like the movie rental company Netflix but here all the videos are instructional. Watch experts teach how to make your own sword or sew ruffles. It’s a good idea but more expensive than Netflix. Ranges from around $23 a month for their “SmartFlix University,” others are $10 a week. You can find cheaper instructional videos at your library, but if not, there are lots of them here.
• And if you can’t find just the right piece of equipment for your latest electronics project, try weirdstuff.com, partstore.com, usbid.com, bgmicro.com, jameco.com.   

Using Wendy's to Make Fancy Fast Food

-FancyFastFood.com. An amusing site with ideas and sample pictures for making fast food like McDonald’s burgers look like a meal in a gourmet restaurant.

These ingredients made the fancy food shown above.

Bob’s favorite technology book series is the “Evil Genius” group from McGraw Hill’s Tab division. There are more than a dozen of these and the Evil Genius tag that appears in all their names is for marketing – just as the “(fill-in-the-blank) for Dummies” series isn’t really for dummies.

No evil genius is required to use or enjoy these books, which are filled with projects for people who like to tinker and experiment at home or school. Sample titles are “Science Fair Projects for the Evil Genius;” “Programming Video Games for the Evil Genius;” “Electronic Gadgets for the Evil Genius,” etc. The projects are similar to what you might find in “Popular Science” magazine. They tell you the cost for each project and warn of any risks. The books run around $20-$25 each and you can find them at MHProfessional.com.

MutualArt.com lists local and international art shows. We went to the special exhibit of Edward Hopper paintings at the Chicago Art Institute, but didn’t find out until we visited this site a couple of days later that there was an interesting exhibit of ceramics at an art gallery nearby. The site culls information from 10,000 art galleries and museums and has 150,000 articles from magazines. The links to exhibits, galleries, art fairs and auctions are worldwide.

We found a nifty device that’s like an iPod docking station only it’s for hard disk drives. The $44 docking station will take just about any kind of 3.5-inch hard drive; just plug them in and plug them out.

·  DuctTapeGuys.com will take care of any free time you might have by telling you about dozens of things you can do with duct tape. You’ll learn how to make a wallet or a tie or pants or a dress out of duct tape. Duct tape gowns and tuxedos were all the rage for high school proms a couple of years ago. You can make a munchies bowl in your car by taping a plastic bowl to your cup holder. Tape the box to the back of your “page a day” calendar and you have a place to put the torn-off sheets you want to save. Ah, the myriad uses of duct tape. Comes in colors too.

·  Classes.Cnet.com offers free classes on using Vista, the basics of wireless, digital cameras and many other subjects.

So you go to LifeTips.com and click on “Travel” and then “Grand Canyon.” You might prefer “Prom Guru” for advice on proper attire and demeanor at the big dance. Or you might want tips on how to take care of a Harley motorcycle.

From a celebrity diet guru we learned that bags under the eyes are caused by excessive salt in the diet. From a self-publishing guru we got the sensible advice that if you are self-publishing anything, you’re a publisher; act like one. Do the research, check for duplicate titles, etc.

If you have some special skill or knowledge, you can be a guru too. Beyond the advice and amusement level, jobs and speaking gigs can come out of this. The site offers publicity and free publishing for some. And LifeTips clients in a variety of industries pay for speakers and consultants. Anyone want to know how to be a journalist?