“Brilliant, you say?” Why, it’s only half a cockle shell I’ve fashioned into a sturdy set of gills at the base of my torso. Fortunately, they’re embedded beneath my skin, providing endless amounts of highly concentrated oxygen due to being soaked overnight in the SolidSmack Cool Tools of Doom n’ Stuff! 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
Download the MP4 Video or MP3 audio.
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Watch the embedded video below!

Cool Tools of Doom: 1:08 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
606 – Two designs this week, just to prove we’re not completely low class when it comes to stylish design accoutrements to deck out your downtown loft. The 606 Universal Shelving system by Dieter Rams is our fav way to save space. Classy and classic, Find it at Vitsoe.com or, with an insane amount of luck, on Craigslist.
Roll and Hill – The fab light designs from Roll and Hill make us want to burn our oculars with the rays shot from 10-bulb chandeliers. Not your typical chandelier mind you. The modern design is iron, glass, clean lines and a high price. Check out all the lights at Roll and Hill.com

APPS
Redshift Astronomy – Okay, so by now we’re all familiar with the latest Mars Expedition and probably have just a little bit more interest in space. That I do Josh and with the Redshift Astronomy app, you can sound like an astronaut from the comfort of your own Lazy Boy. 3D Flights, 100,000 stars, and a slew of other nifty astronomy tools. $11.99 on iTunes.
NASA App – And if carrying an astronomy reference guide of that caliber seems like too much, be sure to check out the free NASA App for iPad. Live Streaming NASA TV that includes videos from around the agency, as well as updated Twitter feeds and Official Countdown Clocks. For iOS and Android!

DIY
Adalight – If fear of leaving your house keeps you from enjoying a good light show set to music, grab the Adalight LED Project kit. Create realtime ambient lighting effects all over your home. It’s a great way to get familiar with Arduinos and a little Processing. Price? $50 at Adafruit.
PaperCraft Resistor Helper – And to help you or your kiddos along the way to ultimate electronic knowledge, what about the PaperCraft Resistor Helper . I love it, papery and totally helps me figure out resistor values. Print it out, fold it up and find values for 4 and 5 band type resistors. Free on Adafruit.

ROCK AWESOMENESS
istick – The computer has been reinvented. The iStick is a $69 USB Stick sized computer with Multi-Touch and 3D acceleration. 1 Gig of memory, 4 Gigs of storage, supports mouse and keyboard. Android based, but powerful enough to make your jaw drop.
LaCie Rugged Key – And if a portable computer wasn’t good enough, how about adding 32 giga bitties of storage. The LaCei (Lah-see) RuggedKey can stand up to a 100 meter drop. It has those USB 3 transfer speeds and comes with the coolest orange cover you’ll ever see.

What’s on cadjunkie?
Videos 24-31 of our Classical Guitar Series will be releasing over the next week ladies and gentlemen. In this sequence we’ll be finalizing the neck surfaces, the headstock, and the peg holes. Stop by cadjunkie.com for a quick peek and be sure to sign up for the Cadjunkie newsletter to stay on top of what’s happening.

What’s on Engineer vs Designer?
And this week on EngineerVsDesigner we’ll be talking to Duann Scott of Shapeways. Don’t miss it!! Listen on iTunes or at EngineervsDesigner.com

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

Author

Josh is founder and editor at SolidSmack.com, founder at Aimsift Inc., and co-founder of EvD Media. He is involved in engineering, design, visualization, the technology making it happen, and the content developed around it. He is a SolidWorks Certified Professional and excels at falling awkwardly.