Hackaday Podcast Episode 285: Learning Laser Tricks, Rocket Science, and a Laptop That’s Not a LaptopThis week on the Podcast, we have something a little different for you. Elliot is on vacation, so Tom was in charge of running the show and he had Kristina in the hot seat.
First up in the news: the 2024 Tiny Games Challenge is still underway and has drawn an impressive 44 entries as of this writing. You have until 9AM PDT on September 10th to show us your best tiny game, whether that means tiny hardware, tiny code, or a tiny BOM.
Then it’s on to What’s That Sound, which Tom and Kristina came up with together, so there will be no pageantry about guessing. But can you get it? Can you figure it out? Can you guess what’s making that sound? If you can, and your number comes up, you get a special Hackaday Podcast t-shirt.
Now it’s on to the hacks, beginning with an open-source liquid-fueled rocket and a really cool retro trackball laptop. Then we’ll discuss screwdriver mange, the Wow! signal, and whether you’re using you’re calipers incorrectly. Finally, we look at a laptop that that isn’t really a laptop, and one simple trick to keep things aligned on your laser engraver.
Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

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Episode 285 Show Notes:
News:

Show Us Your Minimalist Games, And Win

What’s that Sound?

Know that sound? Submit your answer for a chance at a Hackaday Podcast T-Shirt.

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

Open Source Liquid Rocket Reaches For The Sky
Laser Art Inspired By The Ford Motor Company
Learning How A Nuclear Missile Stays On Target
Fighting The Scourge Of “Screwdriver Mange”
WOW! It Wasn’t Aliens After All!
A Trackball Retro Laptop

Quick Hacks:

Tom’s Picks:

Are You Using Your Calipers Wrong?
Building A Paper Tape Reader To Read Bytes
Atari Announces The Atari 7800+ Nostalgia Console

Kristina’s Picks:

2024 Tiny Games Contest: Save The Stranded Puppies Of Moon Base P!
Help The LEGO Camera Become A Reality
2024 Tiny Games Contest: Coming At Ya With Zero-Dimensional PONG

Can’t-Miss Articles:

This Is Not A Laptop, It’s A KVM Combo
Laser Cutters: Where’s The Point?