The Lego Technic 42009 Mobile Crane MK II - Fully completed

In my previous postings titled: The Lego Technic 42009 Mobile Crane MK II - new toy to play for the next couple of weekends and The Lego Technic 42009 Mobile Crane MK II - Half way through. Another couple of weekends to completion I talked about my latest Lego project. Many weeks have passed and I finally completed the construction.

Below is the complete model.

The giant crane angled away.

The gearing.

It is a pity that you need batteries to make the various things on the model move. I would have preferred a manual model. Since this is my first Lego model with a motor, and the lessons that I learned, I will stick to non-motorised model from now onwards.

A loft window that turns into a small belcony design

Saw this picture and I wonder whether this is already commercially available?

Would love to put one up on my roof. Gives a good reason to convert the empty space in the roof into a loft!

The Lego Technic 42009 Mobile Crane MK II - Half way through. Another couple of weekends to completion

In my previous posting titled: The Lego Technic 42009 Mobile Crane MK II - new toy to play for the next couple of weekends I talked about my latest Lego project. Many weeks have passed and I have completed part of the construction.

Behold, the extent of the current build. This is only part of the completed project i.e. up to book 3 of 6 books!

The mini figurine is not part of the set. My son decided to add one of his for effect. During construction, some of the stickers were used.

The pair of 10 wheels can be seen in the shot below. The center axle is fixed but the other 4 are steerable.

The representation of the V8 diesel engine that would actually power the real machine. As the wheels move, the piston heads move as well.

A close up of the engine bay.

The various gears that help move certain parts of this Lego set.

The rear end of the crane.

A very long crane.

Hopefully I would be able to complete the other 2 booklets in the next couple of weeks.

Visiting Graham Hill's Amazing LifeEdited Apartment

Where most people have to make lots of compromises in comfort and quality to live in New York, and give up a lot of the things that people have in bigger homes, Graham has demonstrated that you don't have to give up a damn thing.

More in http://www.treehugger.com/interior-design/touring-graham-hills-lifeedited-apartment.html

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (10)

Nissan iPhone Case

Okay, so the press release announcing this product is a thinly-veiled attempt to extoll the virtues of Nissan’s self-healing paint finish through the medium of the iPhone case. Which is fine, and perhaps even useful, because the Nissan case could offer something in the way of smartphone protection. You drop the case, it scratches, and then the paint reportedly heals the scratch. The Nissan branding may be hokey, and we’re not really sure why the Juke logo is on there, but it’s a cool little piece of technology wrapped up in an otherwise mundane product. Thanks, Nissan.

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (9)

BMC impec Lamborghini Edition

It’s not uncommon for automakers to put their name on bicycles. Take this GMC Denali-branded road bike. But if you wanted to pay much, much more than that for a bike, there’s always this one. Lamborghini paired up with Swiss bikemaker BMC to release a Lamborghini-branded version of the high-end impec carbon fiber road bike. Aside from its drop-dead gorgeous looks with matte black paint and hypercar-orange accents, there’s not much different between the ordinary impec and the Lambo edition, besides the price. If you managed to snatch one of the 30 produced, it’d set you back $26,000—almost $10,000 more than a similarly equipped non-branded impec. We’re sure some Lambo owner somewhere wouldn’t bat an eye at paying so much for a bicycle. The saddest part is thinking of this machine sitting in a garage collecting dust while he’s out tearing up the tarmac in an Aventador.

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (8)

Mercedes-Benz Furniture Collection

Sure, your couch may be comfy, but does your current living room "reflect the progressive, dynamic design idiom of our current show cars and concept vehicles, offering an exclusive, emotional experience outside our vehicles," as Benz design head Gorden Wagener says in a release? If you’re looking to pay a pretty penny for the sake of a chair with an "unmistakable automotive identity," look no further. Or, just pull the bench out of your old pickup truck and move it into the living room.

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (7)

Isaac Mizrahi Chevy Malibu-Inspired Fashion Collection

Famed women’s fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi reportedly drew inspiration from the 2013 Chevy Malibu, as well as "women across the country that embody the persona of the new car," for a limited release fashion collection. Essentially, it’s a marketing campaign aimed to grab the attention of GM’s target market of the Chevy Malibu: Women.

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (6)

Audi E-Bike

Billed as a "high-end sports machine," Audi’s e-bike is basically a trials bicycle with a 3-hp electric motor. It looks cool, and who wouldn’t want to ride a bike with a "Power Wheelie" mode? Unfortunately, the Audi suffers from some of the same problems as all electric bikes, which is that it’s hard to pin exactly who needs or wants something that’s not quite a bicycle but not quite a motorcycle. Plus, this one is heavy: Despite the bike’s carbon fiber reinforced polymer construction, it still weighs more than 24 pounds excluding the battery and motor (most modern carbon fiber road bikes usually stay under 20 pounds). And it’s also a single speed. Hope you don’t live on a hill.

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (5)

Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows Motor Yacht

If Jag’s speedboat concept had us seriously pondering the possibilities of luxury-carmaker-produced boats, Mercedes-Benz’s collaboration with Silver Arrows Marine gives us pause. Merc is being coy with the details of it’s 46-foot yacht, which purposefully looks nothing like any traditional ocean-going vessel. But we’ll be honest: While the futuristic styling is pretty cool, this looks like the kind of malevolent machine that would ruin James May’s day.

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (4)

Jaguar Speedboat

As preposterous as it sounds, Jaguar’s Concept Speedboat looks stunning. Jag unvieled it at the end of October to get consumers thinking about the various applications of Jaguar’s XF Sportbrake wagon (like towing your speedboat to the local boat launch). No word on whether you can buy a Jag-branded trailer hitch.

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (3)

Audi Doggie Golf Shirt

Perhaps your pup is no good with a putter. That doesn’t mean he can’t look the part. Audi’s line of pet products includes this golf shirt for dogs featuring the four rings, allowing you to use your canine as a further piece of testimony to your Audi fandom. We’re a little dubious of the dressing-up-dogs trend, but we certainly wouldn’t say no to the Audi R8 USB drive.

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (2)

Ferrari Golf Collection Driver

Released in August, this driver slathered in prancing ponies and Ferrari rosso was a collaboration between the Italian automaker and Cobra Golf. The club is based on Cobra’s top-of-the-line ZL Encore; while Ferrari engineers reportedly tinerked with the aerodynamics. It’s endorsed by Ian Poulter. If you’re looking to boost the horsepower of your golf game even more, Ferrari offers branded shirts, shoes, gloves, and golf bags—but sadly, no golf cart version of the 458 Italia.

Other non-car products car manufacturers make, by Popular Mechanics (1)

Audi R18 Ultra Chair

The Audi R18 Ultra Chair was inspired by Audi’s successful Le Mans prototype of the same name. While it lacks wheels and thus has a top speed of 0, this is an admittedly impressive piece of lightweight auto engineering. Design duo Clemens Weisshar and Reed Kram fashioned the chair from the same carbon fiber composites and sheet aluminum found on the R18 ultra racer. The pair then collected load data from more than 1500 "testers" at the Milan Furniture Fair in April (yes, furniture builders collect "load data"). Using that massive amount of information about sitting down, the designers teamed up with Audi’s Lightweight Construction Center and altered the chair’s geometry and carbon fiber weave bias to shave off another two pounds of weight. The final version of the chair, now on display at Design Miami/, weighs in at just under 5 pounds. (For reference, Ikea’s minimalist steel-and-plastic Jeff folding chair tips the scales at 6 pounds.)

Tiny Cabin design

Saw this article. Brilliant design. Like it a lot.
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Finland requires permits for any building over 96 square feet - one might think that means anything short (or long) of a shed would fail to fit the bill, but this little beauty manages to work with those incredible restrictions.

Built for just over $10,000 by Robin Falck, the structure is affectionately dubbed 'Bird's Nest' and features a simple first floor and a 50-square-foot sleeping and storage loft.

Made mainly of recycled materials, it was built quickly and effectively with a little architectural help and some creative thinking, inspired in part by impending military service and the desire to have something neat to return to.

What the cute little cabin lacks in indoor space it makes up for with an outdoor patio for lounging or sleeping under the stars as well as a lofted wooden footpath further extending its footprint without breaking the building-code rules.

A Brief History of the Steam Engine

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Print - A Brief History of the Steam Engine - Popular Mechanics

Some very important DIY tips that everyone should know

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Print - Know Your Stuff the 110 Best DIY Tips Ever - Popular Mechanics

Hammacher Schlemmer's flying hovercraft

This is the hovercraft that glides over land and water yet also soars in the air up to 70 mph with the aid of integrated wings. A 130-hp twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled gasoline engine -- turbocharged and fuel-injected -- drives its 60" wood/carbon composite thrust propeller while a 1,100-rpm 34" lift fan inflates its durable vinyl-coated nylon skirt for hovering above the ground.

Operating in fresh- or saltwater and up to 30% inclines over sand, mud, grass, swamp, desert, ice, and snow, its wings and horizontal elevator enable pilots to simply hop over water- or land-based obstacles up to 20'-high unsurmountable to a typical hovercraft.

A joystick controls three vertical rudders and the elevator, a twist friction-lock throttle controls forward speed, and a variable drive system controls the lift fan for hovering. Braking is provided by lowering the lift fan's rpms; comes to rest on Kevlar composite landing skids.

Its low center of gravity and composite fiberglass/PVC hull enable it to operate in winds up to 25 mph and waves up to 6' when in flight. Two nine-gallon gasoline tanks provide a 160-mile range. Supports pilot/passenger payloads up to 600 lbs. for flight.

I am a bit surprised by the price list. The listing is USD190,000 but based on the photos, it doesn't look USD190,000 worth of stuff. I bet you can build one for just USD19,000 tops.

Video by NASA on the landing sequence of the Mars Curiosity rover

Yesterday, the Mars Curiosity rover — the $2.5 billion, six-wheeled lab that’s the latest brainchild of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena — touched down on Mars.

This video from NASA shows the technology used to land the rover on Mars. Just brilliant.

30-Floor Building Built In 15 Days - Video of the construction process

Saw this video of a 30 floor building completed in 15 days using pre-fab materials. Just brilliant.