Man Uses Google Books to Build Fully Functional 1906 Oldsmobile

I’ve always thought of using Google Books as a way of passing time. Reading fictional tales of knights and sorcerers in a far off land. Never once had it crossed my mind that you could use Google Books as a reference for say, building something. Even then, I would only imagine them providing handy information like replacing a leaky faucet or applying drywall.



Well, leave it to Bob Ferry of Louisville, Kentucky to make your hobby look like Popsicle stick crafts. Using nothing but Google Books to provide him with over 10o back issues of Popular Mechanics and Popular Science, Bob managed to construct a fully functional 1906 Oldsmobile Model B Runabout from scratch. Holy cow. So what did you do today?

Source: InsideGoogleBooks

Micro USB Car Chargers

The Micro Usb Car Charger is a cigarette lighter to USB adapter so that you can use the same cords that charge your devices on your computer in your vehicle!  At a price of under $10 this is a great alternative to buying an adapter for each device you would like to charge in your car.  Usually those will range from any where between $20 to $30 each, ouch!


I think the main reason I really like this product is A it's black (I really like black electronics) and B it's low profile.  Basically it barley sticks out of the lighter socket in your car, which is great.  I already own a similar product for all my automotive charging needs but this one really catches my eye.  The 12V DC adapter that I currently own sticks out over an inch further then this one does.  You wouldn't really think this is a problem but because of the added length my charger tend to hang a pry the adapter out of the socket or at least dislodge it enough to quit charging my devices.

There are my thoughts now.  Go buy this because it's good, handy, and will save you money!

EverWin Micro Sized USB Car Charger (Black)

iLuv IAD215BLK Micro-size USB Car Charger, Black

UPDATE:  Do you like white electronics better?  Well then have your cake and eat it too with this white version that's only $4.99!

2ND UPDATE: If you don't mind a USB charger that sticks out a little bit more then check out this one.  http://goo.gl/u77L

It's almost 75% cheaper then the other even with shipping!

OBD2 Android App

Here is a great project I've found on the interwebs.  I've been looking for a program like this for my Android phone since I picked up my G1 in Oct, 08.  Unfortunately I've never been able to find an app for Android like this one so this guy is really hitting a good market here.  

It looks like it just the next few days we'll have an updated application to play around with and test.  Good thing for me that I've updated to the latest Cayanogen ROM for my Android phone.  The reason being is that unfortunately this application will only work on Android 2.1 and up due to the new Bluetooth protocols this operating system implements.

I've also found the Bluetooth module that you would need to make this work for about $50!  I'll have to post up a link to buy that product later because I can't seem to place my finger on it right now.  You can also check out the developers pages and get the correct model of Bluetooth chip that you will need to make this work with your Android app.

Here's a great example of some older similar product that doesn't have software for the iPhone or any Android.  I tried to contact the President when I originally purchased my Android phone to try to convey to him how cool his product was and that the market for Android would be huge very soon.  Sadly they still only list software for older phone systems like Blackberry, Palm, and Windows Mobile.  

Check out Brad Hein's main page here at GTOSoft and here is a link to his blog for updates GTOSoft Blog.