I’m jumping right into the year-end top 10s. Here are four (five eluded me — I kept finding a possibility then ditching it); so here are four lists to peruse while you’re recovering from December’s shopping hangover:
- lifehacker: Most Popular DIY Projects of 2009
Love lifehacker, love these projects. I have several favs including the inverted bookshelf, under-the-cabinet kitchen PC from an old laptop, and the monitor stand from door stoppers (a version of which will soon be atop my desk). - PopSci: The Year’s Most Amazing Scientific Images
The brain array (image 2) is a silicone mat of 32 electrodes that sits directly on the brain (not on the skull, which is what I initially thought when I looked at the photo). What an amazing and (sort of) noninvasive neural interface, which could help those with brain disease or injury. - Technology Review: Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2009
In TR’s annual list of the 10 technologies that may change the way we live, my favorite is Michel Maharbiz’s biological machines, such cyborg beetles. Imagine the possibilities! - O’Reilly Radar: The Best and the Worst Tech of the Decade
No, no, no — this isn’t that O’Reilly. James Turner’s list is a nice roundup of tech and I must say I wholeheartedly agree with his choices. In additional to the technical, he covers the social implications of the technical.
For those of you on vacation over the holidays (and especially for those of you stuck at work), hope you have the time to dream and build. Humans are makers — go out and make something!