Kathleen Chapman

Kathleen has always enjoyed technology and the sciences (biology and entomology). She has worked as an entomological research technician, end user services tech, home educator, and technical project admin. Her continued interest in technology led her to join the Gadgeteer team in 2014.

Fold your own really cool Halloween mask using cardstock

wintercroft dragon1

I spied this awesome Halloween (or festival) mask on the Make: website. Wintercroft sells all kinds of mask templates (the above is the Dragon Mask V1) and instructions that are immediately available as PDF files after your purchase. All you have to do is print the templates out on paper, adhere them to the cardstock, cut […]

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Metallic microlattice: the unheavy metal

boeing microlattice

Boeing is considering using metallic microlattice in future airplanes and yes, it is balanced on top of the head of a dandelion. It’s “approximately one hundred times lighter than Styrofoam” (from HRL Laboratories) – that’s how lightweight this new material is. It is described as an “ordered network of interconnected hollow struts made from a

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Waterfield Designs Cozmo 2.0 laptop bag review

waterfield cozmo2 1

Backpacks and messenger bags have become our preferred everyday carry bags. But what happens when you need something a little more business-like? Waterfield’s newly updated Cozmo 2.0 laptop bag seems to be the type of bag that would be useful in a business setting. While reviewing the bag, I found that it is even more

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Purchase your own personal underwater robot to explore the deep blue

openrov 1

Before I pursued a degree in entomology, I first considered marine biology. I’ve always marveled at the unusual life forms out there, many of which exist in the ocean and many are in places most of us don’t have access to. The company OpenROV has sold personal underwater robot kits for those like me who

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Adidas uses 3-D printing to create custom running shoes

adidas futurecraft

I have incredible difficulty finding comfortable exercise footwear because I have flat feet. Most of the time I find myself exercising without shoes at all. This may no longer be a problem for people like me with the advent of the Futurecraft 3D, which is a 3-D printed, customized midsole for running shoes. Adidas, in

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The new Microsoft Band 2 is available now for pre-order

microsoft band2

The release of the Microsoft Band 2 was announced on October 6. It is a Bluetooth 4.0 (low energy) activity tracker that has continuous heart rate monitoring to track your heart rate, calorie burn, and sleep. It also provides tracking data for the number of steps taken, running, biking, golfing, or working out and has

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Modern pendant lighting to accentuate your modern decor

modgen compass light

The Compass series chandelier by Modgen caught my eye and is sure to do the same with any of your guests. It’s a simple, elegant LED pendant light that would fit wonderfully with modern style furniture and decor. The light has an outer aluminum casing with an inner plastic ring and is 375mm x 45.7mm and

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Choetech 3-Coils Wireless Iron Stand Charger (T516) review

choetech 3coils wireless ironstand charger 1

I’m a latecomer to the world of wireless charging. I’ve been doing just fine plugging in my phone when necessary; however, it has always been in the back of my mind to give wireless charging a try. So when the Choetech 3-Coils Wireless Iron Stand Charger was available to review, I was eager to check

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Ferrolic is a clock with hypnotically beautiful flowing numbers

ferrolic clock

The clock called Ferrolic by Dutch designer Zelf Koelman is like a lava lamp clock that does not emit light. The magnetic fluid (a black fluid with magnetic particles suspended in it) within an aluminum casing is attracted to the clock’s electromagnets to form the numbers. The best part is that it comes with software that is

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The completely redesigned Chromecast app is awesome and available right now on Google Play and iTunes

chromecast app

The Chromecast app is completely redesigned and is now available in Google Play and iTunes. It works with the latest Chromecast and the first generation Chromecast as well. It allows the user to browse through the content on all the Chromecast enabled apps on your phone (under the What’s On tab); use playback controls like

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The new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio are $35 each and are now available for purchase

chromecast

When I purchased my current Chromecast, I was disappointed that it didn’t support the 5 GHz WiFi band. The 2.4 GHz band is just a bit crowded in my neighborhood and my streaming can sometimes suffer. But today Google announced that the newest Chromecast (which works with iPhone, iPad, or Android devices, plus Chromebook, Mac,

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Farm 432: Farming insects for food to feed the future

Farm 432 1

Entomophagy is “the human consumption of insects and arachnids as food” according to Entomophagy.com. Now don’t get squeamish, but this may very well be the future for feeding the world. Did you know that there are an estimated 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) insects (about 900,000 species) on the planet according to Smithsonian Information? That seems like

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Gmail Android app adds new Unsubscribe and Block email address features

Unsub 1a

The Gmail Android app has recently added Block email address and Unsubscribe to the list of menu overflow items. To block someone who bombards you with unnecessary emails, all you have to do is open the email, tap on the menu overflow icon (three vertical dots) located within the email next to the reply button

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Nike Vision Run X2 Sunglasses (EV0798) review

nike runX2 sunglasses 1

There’s just nothing worse than exercising in glasses or sunglasses when they slip, bounce and fog up because of perspiration. When the Gadgeteer was asked to review the Nike Vision Run X2 Sunglasses, I volunteered to see if they might function better than others during exercise. What I found was that they are excellent sunglasses

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The Android Marshmallow features I’m looking forward to

android marshmallow

Since I purchased my Nexus 6 phone, I have thoroughly enjoyed receiving immediate system updates from Google. The Android 6.0 update known as Marshmallow has been described as an incremental upgrade in which certain features are being updated and the bugs of the previous OS are being fixed. Even so, I still find myself eagerly

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Fascinating self-extinguishing candle holder

moment candlestick

This cast iron candle holder called Moment was designed by Norwegian designer Lars Beller Fjetland according to Dezeen. It is an amazingly simple design that uses a movable pendulum attached to an arm with a cupped extinguisher. The pendulum’s needle-like tip is inserted into the side of a candle such that when the wick burns

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Tylt Flyp-Duo Reversible USB Charge & Sync Cable review

tylt flyp duo reversible USB cable 1

We’re a mixed Android and iOS home and I’ve been thinking for a little while that it would be nice to have a micro-USB to Lightning cable adapter to carry with me when I’m out-and-about. This would allow me to only carry one cable with the adapter should any of us need to charge our

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Calculate the total gas cost of your next road-trip and save using Gasbuddy

gasbuddy trip calculator 1

If there’s a tool available to help me save money, I’ll use it. One of the tools I use is the Gasbuddy app. I’ve been using it for a while now and I love it. Anytime I need to fill up my vehicles, I search for the cheapest gas prices near me using this app;

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