For a luau-themed software launch party at meltmedia, we wanted to be able to play Cornhole. I don’t know that Cornhole is a regular game played at traditional luaus, but at meltmedia luaus it is. As I am the Chief Tinkerer (see proof on Instagram) at meltmedia, I volunteered to build the game parts for the festivities. If you’re not familiar with Cornhole, it’s a very simple game: Toss little corn-feed-filled cloth bags at a 6″ hole in 24″ x 48″ board that’s about 30′ away from you. For all the official rules, go to (I’m not kidding, here) the Official Cornhole Rules page at the American Cornhole Association website. It’s hard not to giggle.

If you have even the most basic of woodworking skills and tools, you can do this.

At the meltmedia office we’re making a video podcast once a week. Our design team made a cool backdrop for the little studio area we use. It’s a big-ass inkjet direct-print on a full 8′ by 4′ sheet of foam core. As you can guess, it was a bit floppy and needed some kind of support behind it.  It also needed to be lightweight because we wanted to be able to hang it on the whiteboard behind us so we could easily remove it and replace it when we needed the whiteboard. I looked around the garage and all I had that was long enough was an 8′ 2×4. So, the entire frame is made from that single pine 2×4. I ripped three 1″ strips from it. to get the top, bottom and sides. The sides are just a long piece cut in half.

Well, we’ve moved into a new and larger space at the office and we sit at these massive wood and steel desks as teams. Our team decided we needed more “flare” at our desk, so, of course, a big-ass warp core was the first thing that popped into our heads. How hard could that be? […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ve attached PDF files of the pentagon PCB and the motherboard PCB. If I had time to label them and make them pretty, I would, but this was never designed for mass production or consumption. Use at your own risk and frustration. For those with a short attention span, I give you a photo […]

I finally finished my own UME Mark II for my own desk for me! Woohoo! My flavor of useless machines ever has a “presidential” look, as some have put it.

A car stereo, some extra car stereo speakers, some hardwood, and a ATX power supply for a computer and SHAZAM! You get a garage stereo that can play your iPod, XM radio, CDs, and AM/FM radio. This project was easy and only a little tedious to make. It was fun and it sounds awesome. Plus, the little speakers I had in my garage cabinet are not the greatest, but they’re not bad. With a 500 or 600 watt power supply, I can beef it up someday if I get the energy.

I usually put my burning cigars across the top of a ceramic mug on my workbench when I’m in the garage. The great thing about ceramic is that it’s pretty much fireproof. What fun is that? The real problem, though, is that the cigars got short enough toward the end of smoking that they wouldn’t […]