Author: Matt Maldre

Who knew traffic cones could be cars? 'Cone Shaker' Hot Wheels stack perfectly. Two found, now the quest begins…

People who have used a camera for decades remember when horizontal was the default way to take a photo. If an everyday person turned the camera sideways for a vertical shot, that was considered a fancy technique. For much of…

The Hot Wheels “Draggin’ Wagon” is designed to hold LEGO minifigs. The minifig’s hands clasp perfectly onto the handles. This is a standard $1.29 Hot Wheels available at any store that sells Hot Wheels. (Not one of the premium kinds.)…

The Kodak Charmera is a cute $30 digital camera by Kodak. The tiny camera even has a LCD preview screen. The Charmera requires a micro SD card to store photos. The card doesn’t come with the camera. You have to…

October vibes: installed a giant Halloween spider web, cancelled cable, saving $70 on Xfinity internet, worked on Cubs scorecards

Ever kicked a black walnut down the sidewalk? Congrats, you're a seed dispersal agent! These golf ball-sized nuts seem designed for sidewalk soccer—and you're helping the next generation of trees survive.

Most people stick to a handful of sites. But there’s still a whole web to explore.

Every so often, I come across a post that reminds me why I started blogging in the first place. Not because it’s flashy or viral, but because it feels like the early web — people writing, linking, and thinking out…

Yesterday's Blackwing promotion had an unintended meaning for their "10.01.10" pencil.

A kneaded eraser is part tire, part chewing gum, part volcanic ash.

Swedish word of the day: "ganska" = rather, quite, fairly, pretty. So "ganska cool" = pretty cool. Not to be confused with my initial reading of "gangsta cool"

(This is a now page. If you have your own site, you could make one too, and be included with other cool people who have a now page) Updated September 18, 2025, from Glen Ellyn, IL USA(Wow. It’s been nearly…

Has anyone actually bought a Kodak Charmera? Because everyone I know got the same "shipping not available" error at checkout. Starting to think this is more marketing stunt than product launch.

What happens when you draw your age in circles 49 times? You wear an actual groove in the paper. My pencil kept catching on the rut I'd created. Turns out this simple art exercise became a lesson about breaking free…

Write today's date + a small life moment on every lightbulb you install. Years later when it burns out, you'll get the sweetest surprise. Just discovered one from when my daughter was 14 months old!

I looked up "ancillary" in my Google Photos. It came up with some curious results.

Before phones, those awkward waiting moments were actually micro-meditation sessions. We'd stare off into space, observe our surroundings, let our minds wander. Now we scroll instead of reset. We traded mental balance for digital distraction.

Here's where we live in the vast universe: Earth -> Solar System -> Local Interstellar Cloud -> Local Bubble -> Orion-Cygnus Arm -> Milky Way Galaxy

Stumbled across a 1995 Curtis comic strip in the Art Institute of Chicago's collection. Now I'm emailing them asking if they'd ever do a full comic strip exhibit. Someone on Bluesky dared me to ask, so here we are.

The Art Institute doesn't own any Banksy works, but their search engine created the next best thing—accidental connections between street art, ancient sculptures, and Impressionism. See how Bankoni, Monet, and Bakst became honorary Banksy works.

You can build this in your backyard! 104 landscape stakes + string = your own Sol LeWitt croquet course. Takes conceptual art from museum walls to playable outdoor experience. Instructions included

Do you ever get app notifications from fast food restaurants? Do you ever wish they were a bit more customized to you specifically?

Here’s a fun idea: take a bunch of autographs, cut the shapes apart, and move them around into a new drawing. The inspiration came from this four-signature FC Barcelona card posted by Topps on Facebook. So many interesting curves, loops,…

My 2018 supply of “Frozen Treats” is down to five stamps. My kids LOVE them. Like, LOVE LOVE. Who doesn’t want their mail to smell like refreshing popsicles? Now is an excellent time for the US Postal Service to announce…

Have you ever looked at discarded paper and seen potential? In a fascinating video shared by Leigh Hanlon on Facebook, one creator transforms ordinary trash into something extraordinary—a handcrafted notebook with character and soul. Here’s the video. The Magic of…

Hidden gem alert. Just discovered Cheap Cuts on Spotify—only 4,512 monthly listeners but their genre-blending sound is incredible. Neo soul meets UK grime meets southern gothic? Yes please.

At the eye doctor: the waiting room chairs have an optical illusion pattern. Way to mess with your vision before the dilation kicks in.

I can't believe the super-fun postage stamps that are available in 2025. Chris Ware, Spongebob Squarepants, Goodnight Moon, baby wild animals, Keith Haring, and Hank Aaron.

Crop a fireworks grand finale photo tight to the center and it looks exactly like a planet exploding.

A train ride to nature should be relaxing, right? Not for this fisherman, who looks ready to cast us out instead of a line. What’s going on here?

Both the Yoda shirt and my t-shirt project grapple with the challenge of knowledge dissemination. How do you make abstract ideas tangible? Can clothing truly be a vessel for wisdom?