Hackaday Newsletter 0xA3

Help us keep hackers safer! [HACKADAY]() The Book That Could Have Killed Me [Read Article Now»]( Danger is My Middle Name By [Elliot Williams]( Last week, [Al Williams] wrote up a [his experience with a book]( that provided almost too much detailed information on how to build a DIY x-ray machine for his (then) young soul to bear. He almost had to build it! Where the “almost” is probably both a bummer because he didn’t have an x-ray machine as a kid, but also a great good because it was a super dangerous build, of a typical sort for the 1950s in which it was published. Part of me really loves the matter-of-factness with which “A Boy’s First Book of Linear Accelerators” tells you how you (yes you!) can build a 500 kV van der Graff generator. But at the same time, modern me does find the lack of safety precautions in many of these mid-century books to be a little bit spooky. Contrast this with modern books where sometimes I get the feeling that the publisher’s legal team won’t let us read about folding paper airplanes for fear of getting cut. A number of us have built dangerous projects in our lives, and many of us have gotten away with it. Part of the reason that many of us are still here is that we understood the dangers, but I would be lying if I said that I always fully understood them. But thinking about the dangers is still our first and best line of defense. Humility about how well you understand all of the dangers of a certain project is also very healthy – if you go into it keeping an eye out for the unknown unknowns, you’re in better shape. Safety isn’t avoiding danger, but rather minimizing it. When we publish dangerous hacks, we really try to at least highlight the most important hazards so that you know what to look out for. And over the years, I’ve learned a ton of interesting safety tricks from the comments and fellow hackers alike. My ideal, then, is the spirit of the 1950s x-ray book, which encourages you to get the hack built, but modernized so that it tells you where the dangers lie and how to handle them. If you’re shooting electrons, shouldn’t the book also tell you how to stay out of the way? From the Blog --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Amstrad E-m@iler, The Right Product With The Wrong Business Model]( By [Jenny List]( Jenny looks at a 2000s product that was ahead of its time, but failed anyway. [Read more »]( [The SS United States: The Most Important Ocean Liner We May Soon Lose Forever]( By [Maya Posch]( It was the fastest ocean liner in its day, and it might get scrapped. [Read more »]( [3D Printering: Adaptive Bed Leveling]( By [Al Williams]( Should you use a probe to handle your non-flat print bed? [Read more »]( [Hackaday Podcast]( [Hackaday Podcast Episode 277: Edible Robots, a Personal Eclipse, and DIY PCBs to Die For]( By [Hackaday Editors]() What happened last week on Hackaday? The Podcast will get you up to speed. [Read more »]( If You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [Solving Cold Cases With Hacked Together Gear]( [2024 Business Card Challenge: Go Tic-Tac-Toe-to-Toe with Them]( [Making Your Wireless Keyboard Truly Low-Power]( [$3 Smartwatch Can Run Python]( [Enjoy Totality Every Day With This Personal Eclipse Generator]( [Rock Out Without Getting Knocked Out]( [Hackaday]() NEVER MISS A HACK [Share]( [Share]( [Share]( [Terms of Use]( [Privacy Policy]( [Hackaday.io]( [Hackaday.com]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update preferences]( Hackaday.com · 61 S Fair Oaks Ave Ste 200 · Pasadena, CA 91105-2270 · USA