SparkFun gets a cease and Desist

[Nate] over at SparkFun Electronics has posted a cease and desist letter he received from SPARC industries. Apparently their legal department feels that his name is close enough to theirs to ignite a legal battle. They are demanding that he transfer his domain to them immediately to extinguish the flames. This all seems a bit silly, his name isn’t really at all like theirs and his product isn’t similar either. To add to the peculiarity of this, going to their site throws up a big red malware warning for us (in chrome).

[thanks IraqiGeek]

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Halloween props: Skeleton springs from coffin

[Tony's] trying to scare the kids again this Halloween. This year’s creation is a skeleton that springs up from a coffin. His creepy coffin is built from plywood and in the classic style it gets narrower at each end. Inside, there’s a full-sized rubber skeleton affixed to a 2×4. Pneumatic rams are used to lift the lid and spring forth the skeleton from the dead.

He’s planned his performance well. The finished system uses a fog machine and looped audio for ambiance. A motion sensor detects innocent victims approaching, kills the music, opens the coffin lid, and adjusts the lighting. The coffin is right next to the door so when the doorbell is pushed and the skeleton springs upright this should scare the bejesus out of you. See how effective this in the video after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mixed Necklace

I had a brief, but intense fling with turquoise about a year ago... I hope to find the time to make & design more pieces like this soon.

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Mixed Amber Blossom

These images are just some things that caught my eye & I didn't want them to sink into oblivion, they're too beautiful. Most are long gone, but a few are still available in our catalog, viewable at http://www.amberjewelry.com/default.aspx

The names aren't necesarily correct if you end up searching on a term, I'm just adding them on the fly.

About the Mixed Amber Blossom:

We had a handful of these & hope to bring back more this year. A hair tie made of mixed amber petals with rough amber skin or bark still showing in places. A great example of what can happen when the designer "listens" to the amber...

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Little Amber Dragonfly

We had only a handful of these & they all flew away, but we managed to keep a photo of this little one.

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Lemon Dagger

A lovely slice of amber containing two complimentary colors in an unusual combination, flattering both.

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Lady Luck

I was sitting across the table from my boyfriend in a diner, wearing these. He kept staring at me & finally I said, "Um. What are you looking at?" He smiled & said, "Your earrings are very suggestive..." I said, "Are you taking me to Las Vegas?..."
:) This seriously happened, but I didn't get to go to Vegas (at least not yet!). We just got these in, I've wanted them forever.

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