I want to take some awesome time lapse videos but I don’t want to spend allot of money. To be specific I don’t want to spend more than $100 in total. My goal is to keep the whole rig around $50.

Im going to try this with CHDK. CHDK is a Canon firmware hack that adds all sorts of geeky features to old canon point and shoot cameras. These features are motion detection, timelapse, scripting and remote control. The motion detection is pretty awesome and fast enough for pictures of lightening strikes.

For the camera to be in budget I’m going to have to resort to ebay. On ebay you can search by section or category and then choose options like only show point and shoot. From there  you can choose the search term canon. Sorting the listings by lowest priced first and buyitnow helps keep the sorting to a minimum. From this point you will only have to sort out the cameras with problems. Click here and this link will do all that work for you. ( Yes people sell broken cameras. Not everything is thrown in garbage cans when it breaks.)

The next parts of the project will be for power and storage. I can make it real simple and just buy a High capacity SD Card and purchase some strong batteries. But what fun would that be?  For storage We can add an eye-fi card and virtually have unlimited storage and get to see and collect the pictures as they are taken. The only problem with this is that eye-fi cards don’t have the write protect switch that is needed for CHDK. Greg Klein’s blog has a great solution for this on his blog. Basically he modified his eye-fi card so it will work.

Power can be an issue if during the span of time lapse your battery runs out. I can think of a few solutions. I have an idea of taking large battery pack and stepping down the voltage and wiring the leeds into the battery compartment. Thats a bit crazy but can be useful if you plan on taking your rig to a remote location with no chance of power. Solar power can be a great idea but its both expensive (out of budget) and a theft risk if you plan on leaving your rig out unsupervised. Another solution is to buy a simple external power cord and plug the camera directly to a wall outlet. This works because most cameras have this option. Another very similar idea is running the power supply to a power inverter in your car or buying a power supply that has a cigarette plug. You can find all these power options on ebay.

So thats the plan for now. I will post more when I get it to building. Also Checkout this life hacker article for more info.

- Here are some hysterical examples of trolling dating profiles to brighten your day.
- Honesty is the best policy when decorating a cake.
- Powerful and shocking full color photograghs of the third reich.
- The infamous Prodigy’s smack my bitch up video has a great parody on youtube.
- Heres the full story behind the applebees waitress who was stiffed by a self righteous pastor who was then publicly humiliated as she deserved.
- Pictures of naked chicks catching fish is as strange as it sounds. Hot chicks making monster faces is even stranger.

That is two Rib eye steaks coated in kosher salt. Kosher salt is not as fine as table salt. Table salt would probably just disappear  Dry Brining is a process of tenderizing steak. It really works well and I hear you can use this process to make cheap cuts into more choice cuts. Basically you do this on one side of a steak for 1 hour per inch.

Oh yes of course you can wash off all that salt before cooking. Just remember to dry your steak really well before searing any steak.

To see this process in action check out Jakatak69′s youtube video for more   info.

It seems strange that the sun sets at 4:30pm this winter. I don’t remember it being this way before.  It sets nearly 4 hours later in the summer. Maybe I’m just a forgetful ass from sick. I am surrounded by sickness. Everyone at work and home has a flu, cold, cough, runny nose and or all of the above. The holidays can be rough but well get through it.

- Watch people freakout in this Brazilian elevator ghost prank.
- Zoo weekly facebook users had some interesting comments on facebook.
- My friends are obsessing over this new game for Google maps!
- Watch people turn into the undead! Meth is a hell of a drug.
- Here are some banned toys for the naughty list. Give the gift of Polonium this holiday.
- Chris Arnade is a photographer who photographs and tells the stories of addicts who struggle to survive on the streets of NYC. The Red Light district in photos is an article on his work. His tumblr blog will keep you thankful for the square life you live.

Hello all. I met the Girl friends family for thanksgiving. We stuffed ourselves only to repeat the same thing at my families house. We virtually had two thanksgivings in a row. Double the food. Double the awkward. Double the deserts! I only hope my belly will forgive me.

- Heres some thanksgiving advice from earths favorite intergalactic space monster Oderus Urungus. Oderous is wise beyond his 43 billion years.
- The onions has some great tips when hosing a perfect thanksgiving.
- Here are some reasons not to deep fry your turkey this year. Not convinced? How about some hilarious real examples.

Hello everyone. Gearing up for the holidays after the superstorm sandy. I was one of the very lucky few to not have lost power and smart enough to fill my gas tank before the hurricane hit us.

- Laina AKA Overly Attached Girlfriend is back with the Overly Attached Computer.
- Lazlow the host of my favorite radio show lives in one of the most devastated areas of Long Island / NYC from hurricane sandy. His blog has some great pictures.
- Filthy nasty hateful things people people put their computers through.
- This bridge is the undefeated champion. Many have tried all have failed.
- Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie looks so completely Awesome!
- This american life did a show about one womans family investigation that led to the conclusion of a 100 year old family mystery. There were many twists and turns. A truly amazing story. I don’t care if it aired in 2008.
- Misa and Fukumaru are best friends.There friendship is documented with excellent pictures. Just another reason why cats are better than dogs.
- Skydiving cats just might break the internet.

- FDNY Incidents Facebook page with some great pictures.
- Hurricane Sandy Crisis Map from google.
- Long Island Power Authority Outage Map – Here you can see where they are restoring power to areas of Long Island.
- Connecticut Light and Power Status Map.
- Con Edison of New York Power Status Map.
- Atlantic City Electric Power Status Map.
- Jersey Central Power & Light Power Status Map.
- PECO Power Status Map.

Why so serous? Heres some more fun links.
- 11 Viral Photos That AREN’T Hurricane Sandy – please stop sharing them!
- NYC Empty Subway Pictures.
- Hurrican Sandy vs. Irene comparison.
- The town of Port Jefferson in NY has some good pictures on their facebook page.
- The Atlantic website sorts many of the fake hurricane photos from the real ones.

Send me more useful links and I will include them.

WTf is easily one of my favorite podcasts. Its also one of the most successful podcasts for a reason. Its real and raw and the host does not shy away from exposing the most intimate of details about life, pain, anxiety, success and failure.  Oh, did I mention its also funny? and that most of the guests are comedians?

In the earliest podcasts Marc was more unsure, anxious and searching for the reason his career has landed him in his garage talking with friends. Why is he divorced twice? WTF?
If you follow the earliest episodes to more recent you can literally watch someone pick themselves up from their bullshit make sense of it all and become one of the most respected podcasters in the world.

… or you can just hear nearly every comedian you love on his show in an intimate real conversation about who they are off stage and what makes them tick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii3xznO6qEI

His website is wtfpod.com
Android app is here
iPhone is available too.

Good times with better friends.
Podcasting with these people is like herding cats.
Chad, David, Jonnee, Liam, Mitch and Tim!