Modspiration: What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Posted 08/24/2007 at 6:22pm | by Chris Adcock

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Of all of the things required to execute a great mod, inspiration is often the hardest to come by. Let’s face it – thousands of mods have been done on what is basically the same box. Being original requires a bit of real inspiration under that condition. But, inspiration cannot be bought or learned, and even generous souls can’t hand out any extra they may have. Newegg doth not have packages of five for sale.

While I cannot give any inspiration out – I can share how I received my latest batch.

For me, inspiration is easiest to find in places I rarely visit. Places like museums, strange towns, and the eye doctor. So I packed my bags and headed out to the Pacific Northwest coast for some sand, sea, and Sun. Well, maybe just sand and sea.

I love fog and mist. They clear the mind for me. And, they have the added benefit of being eerie (always a plus). But, site seeing only goes so far (especially in the fog)– so I had to build! Of course, vacation rule #17 (no working on computers during vacation) kinda got in my way. But, ever undaunted - I pushed forward.

Title: Half-Life BC. Medium: sticks and stone. Unfortunately, I lack the skills required to make an extensive prehistoric Half-Life game mod. So I moved on...after disassembling it so it couldn’t fire on me.

This is the CaveSys 54g. No mancave is complete without one! It never drops a connection (that would require having one). Peripherals are often overlooked modding subjects. That’s inspiration right there! Too many mods stop at the box and maybe mouse and keyboard. Why not mod the router and modem?

Behold…The iStone Nano (right)! Coming in at about the size of a quarter, all one has to do to hear their favorite tune is click the two stones together. Best of all, no DRM and all the music is free! And this thing has volume! Unlike Apple, I didn’t go for ear buds or shy from making noise – this one plays out load. Your co-workers WILL hear this – for hours on end. You can “rock” the house out!

This is my greatest discovery and inspiration! I call it the iPhish. Sure, laugh. Point out that while it has some interesting features, it’s not much of a fish. Of course, the iPhone….well, I’ll leave that to the other bloggers. I could see a router hidden inside a model of one of these. That would be cool!

NOTE: Do not put live iPhish up to ear (trust me on that one).

So it may be my inspirations are a bit odd. Then again, the most inspired mods I've ever seen seem to be a bit odd.

Next week I will be attempting to upholster part of a computer. This should be interesting – as I have never done it before.

‘Till then, Happy Modding!

This week’s bit of bling comes via YouTube via Paul Capello via The Best Case Scenario. Turn it up!