3-D Printers = AMAZING

When my dad was younger, in the late sixties, he knew a girl who lived in NYC and worked at Seventeen. She had a device that recorded television and he thought, "Wow, now that's going to be huge!" He was right. He saw the future. Years later, we had our first VCR. It even had its own remote control...that you had to plug into the VCR, creating a living room trip wire that surely caused disaster when we got up to get more Crystal Pepsi during an Ewok Adventure commercial break. The point is, Dad knew people were going to love that device, he just had a feeling. I have that same feeling now when I look at these 3-D printers. I'm not sure if they will ever be as universal as the VCR, but I definitely want them to be big someday! Hmm, Laserdisc or DVD? Only time will tell.

Here is a demo that shows the basic concept of what a 3-D printer does.





You have to request a price quote from ZCorp for their products, and I'm not sure how expensive these devices can get, but this Desktop Factory model is marketed as the most affordable at about $5000.

If right now you're thinking, "Yeah, that's cool... if you have a real big need to make little plastic models on a regular basis!" My answer to you is this. What if we fill the printer with cake? And then, you could just use the computer software to create a 3-D image of anything, like, the head of David Bowie (much like Jordan and I did when we made our medieval shield for Witzel's class), and then, the printer would just carve out a cake in the shape of David Bowie's head! Whether it's Labyrinth Bowie or Ziggy Stardust Bowie, it's all the same. That cake is delicious and you just printed it in your own home!

My friend, Roxana is a sculptor, and she thinks it's amazing. When she lived in Italy, her workshop had a giant machine that you could program to carve marble.

You can actually create 3-D objects with a regular printer as well, by using software that takes a 3-D image, flattens it to a 2-D image, which you can print, and then fold into your desired 3-D object. For example, here is a turkey.

I think they use a program called Blender, but there is an even more popular program that I'm blanking on - does anyone know the name? I saw guys use it to take characters from video games, and copy their helmets and weapons into the program, so they could essential fold these giant paper swords. I loved it. I think you can actually download a template of a Tron helmet here which is pretty much why the Internet exists and why it rules.

The chocolate inhaler - not so sure it's going to sweep the nation - but the 3-D printer definitely has possibilities. Now if they could just make one with a plug-in remote control...

Related:

The Onion: Do You Remember Life Before the Segway?

If you wear this on Halloween, I will punch you in the face

Cocoa Huffs?

This is a chocolate inhaler. You heard me right. You just breathe it in, like you have some sort of strange and delicious ashtma, and then your tastebuds are flooded with the smooth, rich taste of chocolate. It's called Le Whif. Check out their official website here.

I loved this quote from the site reading, "Edwards says inhaled chocolate is just the beginning. New culinary innovations that involve eating by breathing are being developed by the Foodlab at Le Laboratoire, Edwards' art and science innovation center in central Paris." Eating by breathing? Just the beginning? Do we even want this to begin? Is breathing food as opposed to chewing it some sort of improvement? I don't know if  a turkey sandwich cloud is going to be as cool as the real deal.

How badly do I want to go the Foodlab though? Will Willy Wonka be inside it? Will I get to float on a chocolate river or what? Obviously the answer is yes. 

Breathing in your food in is so futuristic. It seems like there are always two conceptions when it comes to the food of the future. Either you push a button on a machine, and out pops whatever you want. PB and J? Done. IN-N-OUT burger? Done. It's there in that little door like an automat and genie all in one. The other futuristic food conception is always just, "your food needs are met with this pill." But, think about it. Why would that even be cool? How is turning a sweet, Thanksgiving dinner into a freaking Tylenol PM cool in any way? What is the benefit?

I sort of wonder if eating by breathing is going to catch on. Some chefs actually will create a dish that comes with like, a balloon you pop, and it's full of like, I don't know oyster vapor or something, and it enhances your eating experience. You never know. 

When is someone going to just bake our heads into a pizza and let us eat our way out of it? Wasn't that an episode of The Simpsons? It was like a stuffed crust thing? What about how Scott is promoting pizzas with such a crust. Check it out.

Please be real someday

Think Geek pretended to sell these ton-ton sleeping bag as an April Fool's Day joke, but so many people wanted one that now they're trying to get it endorsed by Lucas so they can actually make it! How badly do you want one? It has a light saber zipper pull! Also, if you caught the fact that I misspelled "tauntaun," you fell right into my nerd trap! Nerd alert! Confirmed.

I can't stop watching this.

I'm not sure how accurate this book title is.

Everybody bakes bread? Really? Even babies?

Oh, really oatmeal cookie?

Oh, really oatmeal cookie? Are you really that "outrageous"? Why? Because most of your raisins are weirdly concentrated on one side? Because Starbucks is putting magic mushrooms in their pastries now? I seriously doubt it. Listen, if you're going to say you're outrageous, you better be ready to live up to your name. Not just sit there in your case, and then sit on a plate, and then get chewed up, and then go inside someone's stomach. Wait, that is kind of outrageous, if you think about it. 

Also, if you want to be truly outrageous, you should consult this person and then watch this.