recycle on technabob...

A Transformers backpack is a pretty cool project on its own. When said Transformers backpack is created out of seatbelts, however, then you’re on a whole other level.

The backpack is a thing of beauty, with buckles and all, as well as an interior lined with Transformers fabric. Creative–and appropriate–repurposing.

Can you believe this has been up for sale at…

Remember those wooden Jacob’s Ladder toys you played with when you were a kid? You know, the kind where you flip the top block over, and then all of the other clacky blocks flip over on themselves?  Here’s a clever modern take on the old wooden toy.

Created by artist ZacharyBear, this Jacob’s Ladder is made from a bunch of…

Raise your hand if you don’t have or have access to an old keyboard. If you didn’t raise your hand, I’m pretty sure you’re an alien. For the rest of us… what’s a girl to do with all those old keyboards? They gather so much dust! But if you’re creative enough, you can turn ‘em into jewelry.

Unfortunately, however, in order…

We featured a chair made of recycled CDs a while back; I’m pretty sure that chair will carve markings on your ass after just ten minutes of sitting. I’d rather sit on this computer keyboard armchair. It’s equally geeky but far more comfortable. I think. “Sit on a keyboard” is a thought that never crossed my mind.

Called “Text-ile”, the…

Here in Chicago, we just got started with a city-sponsored neighborhood recycling program. While they’ll collect and re-purpose much of your post-consumer waste, electronics aren’t on the pick-up list. But if you’re a gadget addict like me, you probably go through batteries like they’re going out of style. So while I can’t recycle my discarded batteries through the city, I…

I’m a sucker for robots – and I love cool lamps. So when I saw these cool robotic sculptures that light up, I just had to write about them.

Handcrafted by Pennsylvania artist Toby Atticus Fraley, these robot sculptures are assembled from vintage found objects (aka “Junque”), and lovingly reconfigured by Fraley to form one-of-a-kind artworks.

Each robot has a…

Got a bunch of old electronic parts lying around? While they might end up in the trash heap for many of us, artist Ann P. Smith sees new life in old junk.

Smith takes broken down electronics and machine parts to create her amazing menagerie of animal and insect sculptures.

While they aren’t mechanical works themselves, many of her “robots”…

If you don’t happen to have enough room for one of those 22-foot tall styrofoam robots to defend the homestead, that’s okay. Thanks to the wild and wonderful creations of robot insect builder TinyMinds, you can get your hands on some little robots which should do the trick just as well.

Whether its the flapping wings of the mosquito-like Gonzo,…

Got a broken old iPod lying around? Besides dropping it in the dumpster, what else can you do with it? Well if you’re like this resourceful modder, you turn it into a mouse.

After stefferroo’s brother dropped his iPod under his car and then proceeded to run it over, it was surely headed for the trash bin. But after some…

What did the big robot say to the little robot? “Get in me belly!” At least that’s the way this amazing automaton works. The larger-than-life wood and metal robot features a tiny little robot inside its gut, and it looks like he’s the real brains of the operation.

Little Big Man 2008 is the offspring of mechanical sculptor Nemo Gould, known…

Have some old computer gear lying around? Why not do what this guy did, and turn it into something useful once more.

By taking an old Apple 5-1/4″ floppy drive he found at a thrift store, then working some electronics wizardry on the interior, modder Jeff Kobi took this old piece of tech junk and gave it new life as…

If you don’t already have a compact stereo for your iPod, you might want to check out this beauty. Featuring a natural looking cherry-veneered wooden cabinet, Versaudio’s Vers 2X certainly stands out from the crowd of plastic docking stereos which are a dime a dozen these days.

The Vers 2X offers room-filling sound thanks to a pair of 3-inch full-range…

Ever wonder what to do with your old cell phone when you’re ready to upgrade to the latest and greatest? Why not bury it in the ground? That’s what a group of scientists will have us doing if they have their way.

Researchers in the UK have devised a new mobile phone body which can simply be tossed into the…

Whooda thunk that a 40+ year-old Soviet television set would make for one of the most gorgeous computer designs I’ve seen in a very long time?

This amazing transformation started with a 1961 Soviet REKORD tv set and turned it into a modern Windows PC. A team of talented casemodders recently built a complete computer system into the antique wooden…

Check out this awesome homemade Star Wars AT-ST walker, built from a mish-mash of electronic parts, brass tubing and custom cut circuit boards.

The bipedal MiniMechadon walker is fully functional, and can hobble around just like the ones in the motion pictures. While it’s not quite as polished as the movie robots, it certainly captures the spirit of the wobbly…