DIY soda recipes  Aug 06 2010

Here are some DIY soda recipes. I'd really like to try that ginger ale at some point.

Potato bins  Apr 17 2009

How to construct a build-as-you-grow potato bin. Start with a base and some potatoes planted within it and then just keep building up and dumping in dirt. Come harvest time, the box will be full of potatoes.

I'm told a rule of thumb for potato harvests is 10 pounds per pound of seed. I got 25 pounds for my one pound, so I guess I shouldn't be too disappointed about the results of my first year planting potatoes. Still it's nowhere near the 60 pound average that Greg Lutovsky's customer's experienced. In hindsight I think I got lazy in hilling my potato plants as they were growing. Sometimes I would let them get to be 8 or so inches tall and jungle-like before dumping more dirt in and covering the stems.

Make your own x-rays: buy a dental  May 02 2006

Make your own x-rays: buy a dental x-ray machine on eBay and use it with Polaroid film. Mit photos.

DIY book publishing  Mar 03 2006

37signals has published their latest book, Getting Real, as a PDF download that they are distributing themselves. After more than a day, they've sold over 1750 copies at $19 apiece:

That's exciting. These numbers demolish the sales pace of our first book, Defensive Design for the Web, which was released through the traditional publisher/bookstore model. DIY publishing: There's a new sheriff in town.

If you do the math, that's ~$33,000 in sales in one day. I don't know what the advance would be on a book like that, but they've got to be approaching it, and if/when they reach that figure, the profit margin on subsequent sales will be much higher than the royalties paid by a publishing company. Interesting experiment.

Glee Gum sells "make your own chewing  Dec 28 2005

Glee Gum sells "make your own chewing gum" kits for $10. "It's really easy: Soften the chicle gum base, either in the microwave or on the stove. Then you add the sugar, corn syrup, and the flavor packets, knead it a little, and WOW! You've made your own gum!"