The shards of glass have been tossed in the air. You have but 5 seconds to roll across the floor to the protection of your desk, escaping the falling glass and weeks of applying bandages to the small, uncomfortable gashes. The SolidSmack Cool Tools of Doom n’ Stuff is here to help. Have something cool you’ve come across? Don’t hide it in your neck skin! Send it on in to smoth@www.solidsmack.com. Kick it!
How to Watch/Listen
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Watch the embedded video below!
Cool Tools of Doom: Episode 1:04 from EvD Media on Vimeo.
The SolidSmack Cool Tools of Doom n’ Stuff is GO. This video is a sub-5 minute feature of some of the coolest finds we’ve discovered on the web.
This week look at:
DESIGN
Grit – Grit! We need it. You need it, I need it, Josh definitely needs it. And we all know, that’s what it takes to make things happen. But how does it start? The Hidden epiphany brought about by warm showers and beers on the couch? Jonah Lehrer gives this talk that will inspire you and show you why grit is so dang important.
Bamboo laptop stand – And while you’re sitting on the couch with that beer, waiting for that aha! moment, a slick laptop stand might come in handy. The Macally ECOFAN bamboo stand is a slick design with dual fans. Keeps your lap and laptop cool for $37.
APPS
Procreate – Two awesome idea generating apps this week. First, Procreate is an iPad app boasting over 100 features for all of you creative types. Sketching, Inking, Painting and so much more. Great with the Jot Pro stylus we mentioned last week. It’s in the app store for $4.99.
Artrage – And our other app is Artrage. The iPad app is a scaled down version of the wonderful painting software. It brings you painting and sketching tools. The tool set is really, just spectacular with a UI that makes creating as much fun as it should be. In the App store for $2.99
DIY
ModKit Micro Programming for anyTHING? It does exist and MODKit Micro is making the make happen all over your space. Modkit Micro is a graphical programming environment for microcontrollers and just achieved funding on Kickstarter. It’s web-based and kid-friendly. Check it out at modk.it. Thanks Eric Young!
DIY Skatebord fan – If you’re looking to spice up that clunky, old office with something new, you’ll want to take a look at what notlabs is cooking up. Their DIY Skateboard fan can’t be ridden, but it does look totally rad. See the steps to make your own at Notlabs.
ROCK AWESOMENESS
Firehose work pants – Men’s pants! Don’t call them that in the UK! Righto. Men’s PANTS. Work Pants to be exact, made from 100% pure, rugged, 11.5 oz Fire Hose MAN canvas. MAN CANVAS!? The pants are awesome and perfect for workin’ hard!
BarrowLenses.com – Josh. Can I borrow your Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye lense? Probably not. FINE. I’ll take my business to BorrowLenses.com. What, praytell can you do there? For a small price you can borrow just about any lense you can imagine. Lenses, Bodies, Video, audio equipment and MORE.
What’s on cadjunkie?
What is going on at at cadjunkie? ArchViz people. If you’re interested in learning more about architectural visualization, you’ll want to check out this series! We take you from start to finish, working through modeling and very soon creating the sweet visualizations.
What’s on Engineer vs Designer?
And this week on EngineerVsDesigner we talk with John Jacobson of Quirky.com, the product development site that puts the U in… product? Yeah, find out how they’re making Social product development happen. And tune in each Monday, or subscribe via iTunes, for a fresh interview.
Ask SolidSmack
And there you have it! Send your cool tool finds to smoth@www.solidsmack.com. Or ask us a question in the comments or via email about diy, design, tech or anything else. Smoth would love to help.
SolidSmack readers ROCK. Sign up for our newsletter there in the sidebar and be sure to take the EngineerVsDesigner listener survey going on NOW at engineervsdesigner.com
Johan Lehrer Image: Pop!Tech 2009
