How To: Things to Do on WonderHowTo (02/01 - 02/07)

WonderHowTo is made up of niche communities called Worlds. If you've yet to join one (or create your own), get a taste below of what's going on in the community. Check in every Wednesday for a roundup of new activities and projects. 

Thanks to all of our moderators and contributors this past week: Christopher Voute, Mr. Unknown, Mr. Falkreath, Cerek Tunca, Rex Gordon, and our newest Math Craft contributor, Adrian Rossiter of antiprism.com.

As always, we would like to remind lurkers on site: WonderHowTo is a community effort, and the site belongs to all of you. The more knowledge we can pool together, the more we can learn from each other. With that said, join in. Write a tutorial. Post to a World (all community corkboards are public!). We are a curious bunch, and we want to see what you've got to share!

Below, this week's highlights: Constructing complex, mathematical playing card sculptures using free software, Minecraft activities galore, hiding a USB in everyday items, making your own electrifying Jacob's Ladder, and more!

Challenges and Workshops

• Minecraft World's Weekly Workshop—Join the WonderHowTo Minecraft server this  Saturday, February 4th at 2:00 pm PST, 5:00 pm EST for a step-by-step tutorial on creating your own suffocation trap (with an extra added surprise!). More details on the workshop here; if you still haven't joined the server, there are details on getting whitelisted here.

• Minecraft World's Weekly Challenge—If you can't make Saturday's workshop, then participate in the weekly server challenge! This week's theme is "Buildings Throughout Time", so post your very best medieval masterpiece to the Minecraft World community corkboard for a chance to snag some server perks. More info here.

• Astronomical Observing News—Cerek Tunca's Astronomy World is a community hub for posting astronomy inspired pictures, art, news, and more. This week's AON (Astronomical Observing News) highlights stargazing tips from February 1st through the 6th. Click through now for the full rundown!

• Community Byte—Both newbie and veteran programmers are welcome to join Null Byte's weekly community coding projects. Held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:00 pm PST, 8:00 pm EST, coding sessions take place on Mondays and Wednesdays (instructed by moderator Sol Gates), and HackThisSite walkthroughs take place on Fridays (instructed by admin Alex Long). Meet up on the Null Byte IRC at the appropriate time! More details here.

• Weekend Homework—Looking for another way to get involved with Null Byte? Then check in every Friday for admin Alex Long's Weekend Homework. Up for grabs this week: Are you up for compiling a brief overview of the history of hacking? Or putting together a guide to binary numbers? Do you know how to create a simple port scanner in Python? If you're willing to contribute your knowledge, simply message Alex or post an article directly to the community corkboard.

How-To Projects

• Vodka is good for more than just drowning your sorrows. If you're not much of a drinker, Yumi of Secret Tips from the Yumiverse shares 11 ways to make use of that old bottle you've had lying around forever. Click to enlarge, or click through to view.

• Gearing up for the dreaded all-nighter? We've all suffered through our fair share of them, and unfortunately, we don't always make it to the finish line. Pick up some handy tips below for ensured future success. Click to enlarge, or click through to view.

• Fear of Lightning World admin ChristopherVoute never ceases to amaze with his prolific and electrifying projects. This week: Parts 1 & 2 of an ongoing guide to making electromagnetic weapons, and the WonderHowTo staff's personal favorite, a step-by-step tutorial on creating your own Jacob's Ladder. Don't know what that is? It's sick—see it demonstrated below.

• Remember when Cory Poole posted instructions for creating the platonic solids out of playing cards? Well, Adrian Rossiter of antiprism.com joined Math Craft this week with a thorough guide on designing your own playing card sculptures using his software program Antiprism 0.20 pre-release (download here). If you take a stab at it, post your results to the Math Craft community corkboard.

• Did you miss last Saturday's Minecraft server workshop? No sweat. Instructed by admin Kendra W and moderator Andrew Osborne, Kendra has generously summed up all the tips the team presented in an accompanying How-To article. Contact Kendra or Andrew if you're interested in co-instructing a future workshop or taking on a topic of your own.

• Mr. Unknown of Info Security World invites his readers to migrate to his newly created World, Wire Storm Technologies. Interested in becoming a WS Technologies contributor? More information here. This week: How to keep your computer clean and running at its optimal performance, and how to find out who unfriended you on Facebook.

• Do you find nothing more beautiful and epic than the Hubble Space telescope? Then why not build your own proportionally correct model? Astronomy World's Cerek Tunca shares step-by-step instructions for crafting your own mini version with inexpensive materials you can pick up at your local hardware store.

• If you're interested in the process behind building robots, keep an eye on Rex Gordon's Robot Realms. Rex has posted two parts in a series on his ongoing plan to build Magnus, a 250-pound robot-in-progress: Part 1, Intro & Materials; Part 2, Designing the Drive System.

• Everybody runs into a nasty virus once in a while. If you're a Windows user looking for a surefire cure, Mr. Falkreath has you covered with a thorough step-by-step on scanning for viruses using a Linux Live CD/USB. To keep up on future articles, visit Mr. Falkreath's profile and click on "Follow" or check in time to time on Null Byte.

• Null Byte admin Alex Long posted several fascinating How-To's this week: Advanced social engineering techniques (1, 2), how to make thermite at home (safety first!), how to conceal a USB flash drive in everyday items for stealth hacking on-the-go, and more! Check the blog roll for a full rundown.

I Made It

• In addition to his guide to designing your own playing card sculpture using free software, Adrian Rossiter of antiprism.com posted an image of his handcrafted zigzag tensegrity based on a small stellated dodecahedron. Made with thirty units, the tensegrity consists of pairs of barbecue sticks secured with elastic and woven into a complex model. Insane!

• The folks on the Minecraft server have been busy this week! There are too many cool builds to list here, so I'll just highlight the WonderHowTo staff favorite of the week, Gussefant's steam fortress (check out the Minecraft community corkboard to view all—I'm also a huge fun of the Fibbonaci Tower). The fortress is full of all sorts of cool gadgets and gizmos, including a mail notifier, a doorbell with killer arrows, a "sun roof" that opens and closes, a secret escape route, and more. Check out a few select pics in the gallery below, click through to see more.

Got Something to Share?

If you've got a relevant How-To, a source of inspiration, or a finished project, post it to the corkboard in one of the applicable Worlds above. If your project is unrelated to these areas, you can publish a How-To article directly on WonderHowTo, or you can start your own World if you've got the passion—or just post directly to the WonderHowTo company corkboard.

Got a question? Comment below or email rmansur@wonderhowto.com.