Lockpicking: Part One

I decided I am going to do a couple of posts on how to pick a lock.  This part is going to focus on the mechanisms of a lock that make it possible to be picked.


Lets talk about what happens when a lock is unlocked.  First the key is inserted in the lock.  This pushes the pins so they are now positioned above the cylinder.  The line that the pins need to be pushed up to in order to successfully unlock the lock is called the sheer line.  Now that the cylinder is pin-free the cylinder is free to move, and the lock may be unlocked.  Here is a picture to give you a better idea of what the parts are.

Now that we know how a lock is supposed to work we can learn we can exploit it.  In order to unlock the lock we need to get those annoying pins out of the way.  However we have no way of knowing how many pins there are, or how far they need to be pushed to exceed the sheer line.  Luckily for us there is a is a really simple way to get around this.  When tension is applied to the cylinder, it causes it to move slightly, creating a kinda shelf.  If the pins are pushed up while tension is being applied the pins can rest on this shelf, even what the object pushing them up is removed.  If all the pins are pushed up on the shelf then there is nothing stopping the cylinder from moving and the lock can be opened without a key.  

So thats pretty much the basics of how lockpicking works.  Next post I will describe how you can apply this knowledge and common tools that are used.

100 Followers

Now at 104 followers!  Thanks to everyone who comes to this blog for making it so successful. Please enjoy this comic of a dog on acid.

Really Bizarre Video

Really weird funny and creepy video I found.

Another Dream

So over the past couple of months I have been having a series of recurring dreams.  As far of the events of these dreams, they are nothing out of the ordinary.  In fact they could not be anymore mundane.  They all start the sam.  I am in bed, extremely tired, just lying there thinking about what time it is and whether I want to get up.  At this point I generally grab my phone to check the time and see that it is two to three hours before I have to get up.  In reality it is only five to ten minutes before I get up.  Now generally I have kinda insane dreams, so in comparison these are so normal that I tend to think they are real until a couple of hours after I get up.  This makes it extremely aggravating when all of a sudden a my remaining sleep time is ten minutes as opposed to two hours.  One interesting thing that I have learned from these dreams is that, in a dream you can check the time without opening your eyes.  

My face getting up

    

Something to Share

I found this comic yesterday and thought that I might as well share it.  It wont show the comic at a reasonable size so just click on it to open it in another window and then your browser should let you zoom in.  If that doesn't work try saving it to your hard drive and then you can adjust the size more freely.

My Green Screen

Weekend I finally got around to making that green screen I mentioned a couple posts back.  It is made completely out of bright green poster board that only cost sixteen dollars in total.  While it is not perfect, its great if you have a video project that you would like to add some depth to.

Some pics:

Building materials

I had no empty wall space so I ended up hanging it from the ceiling 

Finished project, works better then it looks.

So overall it was easy enough to make just tape some paper to a wall and your done.  However I would strongly recommend using a tripod while filming, unless you want the background to be having an earthquake.

 

An Alternative Way to Get Audio Files

Say you here a unique sound on the internet but you can't find anywhere that allows you to download it, and its not in a video format that you could easily rip it from.  You could accept that you will never have this sound or, alternatively you could download a program to record any sound that is currently playing through your computer speakers.  The one that I use is called handbrake and it works well at capturing high quality sound.  The only downside is that it requires a bit more work on the users part because you need to hit record on the program while letting the sound play simultaneously.   

An Interesting Dream

I think it was two summers ago when what was intended to be just a mid day nap, turned into one of the most interesting experiences of my life.  I laid down on the couch and had the TV on, however nothing great was on so I ended up nodding off.  Somewhere along the line of the dream I was having I began to dream, inside the first dream.  I was now at dream level two.  Now for me at least dream level two is essentially a cocktail of many psychedelic drugs, all taken at once.  I don't remember specifics but it was definitely one of the most amazing but bizarre dreams I have ever had.  Interestingly enough, even though I was dreaming two times already, some of the things from the TV managed to make there way all the way down to level two and manifest themselves further leading to the insanity.  Eventually I woke up from level two and oddly enough was in the same position on the couch that I had gone to sleep in.  Since I was in the same position, thought I was awake and stood up and walked about five feet before fully opening my eyes.  Immediately I woke up in real life extremely confused as to how I was back in this position.  My immediate thought was that I had teleported, but reality soon sank in.  To this day I have never experienced something like this in a dream but it was truly one unique experience.       

No mushrooms were consumed surprisingly 

Not What I Wanted...

So yesterday I went on Youtube looking for something that I don't quite remember.  However Youtube had other plans.  Whenever I go on Youtube I always check the recommended video, because sometimes they contain useful videos.  As I was checking I noticed the usual types of videos were being displayed; green screen shots, Minecraft and others.  However one of the video that was so aptly named "Horse Breeding" I found to be quite out of place.  I don't know how watching a video called "Retarded Horse" would make youtube think I would every watch this, but it was surprising to say the least. 

Why would anyone ever assume this

Airsoft Guns

Some friends and I decided that this spring/summer we wanted to mess around with some airsoft guns in the woods near our houses.  So after many hours of research and ninety dollars latter here is what I got.  

I decided to get two because rifle is electric and I figured it would really suck to be stuck without anything if the battery crapped out.

Here is the sidearm I decided on.  It's not that great quality(made entirely of plastic) however it shoots a about forty feet accurately and holds twelve bbs in the clip which, might seem like a small amount, works for me because hopefully I will not have to use it that much.  

  

 And now for my favorite.  Lets start with the body.  Unfortunately most of the rifle is not metal however very little is plastic and it is metal in the places that count, such as the trigger, trigger guard and hop up.  The magazine is nicely sized and holds around 250 bbs, however that does not mean it is able to shoot 250 bbs in a row.  Instead the magazine requires you to wind a gear located on the bottom that pushes the bbs into the firing mechanism.  When this thing does fire it doesn't mess around.  On average the bbs come out going about 340 fps and travel 150-200 feet before dropping.  Best part is that it has full auto and semi-auto mode  either of which is extremely fun.

Minecraft: The Eye of Sauron

So after making the monster trap I had a lot of cobblestone left over so I decided to make a tower.  I couldn't find a spot that I liked to build it on, so I decided to make an island.  

Next I laid down a basic outline and started building.  The tower is about thirteen by thirteen and is as circular as I could make it with cubic building materials.

Next I just filled the rest in by jumping repeatedly and laying down blocks, creating straight vertical lines.

 

At this point I decided to make the tower a little different then I had originally intended, so I took some inspiration from The Lord of the Rings and built this.

 

I then made a giant floating glass sphere and, using obsidian for a pupil and magma for an eye, I transformed the sphere into a pupil.

 

And there you have it.  The tower makes a great landmark as it is as tall as the game allows for, and has a massive ball of fire at its top.  Next I am going to go exploring and documenting any interesting landscapes that I encounter.  If anyone has any build suggestions leave them in the comments section and I will try to get around to them.   

 

MIni Tip

Yesterday I was working with some circuits and kept getting mild electric shocks, or burns that, while not very harmful, very extremely annoying.  However I found a good way to prevent this from happening was to cover some of my fingers in electrical tape, which being not very conductive, stopped further burns from occurring.  Hope this helps if anyone has ever had a similar problem.   

Pokemon White

So after a while waiting I finally got my hands on one of the new Pokemon games.  I have yet to progress that far into the game yet, however I am going to share with you some of my thoughts on the game so far.

The first thing I noticed once starting up the game was that it is certainly the best looking Pokemon game so far.  The graphics appear to have depth to it, which is greatly enhanced by slight changes in camera angles that happen at certain intervals in the game.  The battles themselves even have a certain depth to them which makes them much more interesting to watch.  However anyone who has play a Pokemon game (or any game really) knows that graphics can not carry a game alone.

Aside from the addition of three versus three battles, the core formula of the game is essentially the same as it always have been.  This should come as no surprise to anyone being that every game has had the same formula.  This provides a familiar experience that, in my opinion remains fun.

On of the interesting things that has surprised me so far is an aspect of the game that has remained relatively absent from the previous games.  Yes I am in fact talking about one sort of a story.  This is not entirely unwelcome, and does kinda shake things up a bit while keeping true to the original formula.  

So far I am finding this game to be enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed a Pokemon game in the past.

More Minecraft

Since I had nothing better to do yesterday due to getting my wisdom teeth out, I was playing more Minecraft then anyone should ever play in one sitting.  I managed to get a lot done in this this time, as I started and finished a massive underground mob trap, which I will be sharing with you today.

I started out making this by making a massive underground room 50 by 50 by 2 blocks.

 

Next I began digging trenches around the edges of this massive room that were to be filled with water.  For those unfamiliar with mob traps, the mobs spawn in the big room and then fall off the edges and are swept away by water currents.  

This is the room with the completed trenches and the the water flowing.

 

Next I added some more trenches that are kinda elaborate  and I couldn't get great screen shots of them so I decided not to include them.  However these trenches all lead to a funnel type thing that I do have included.  

 

Again if you are unfamiliar the funnel is made of glass because for some reason Notch decided that if mobs are swimming next to glass they will sink instead of float.  So when the mobs come into the funnel they sink, drown and whatever items they drop are swept away to the collection area shown below. 

 

Bonus pic! As I was building this structure I discovered a massive cave system that I got five diamonds from so far. 

 

So that's pretty much it.  A chronicle of my Oxycontin fueled Minecraft endeavor.  I collected a lot of materials from this build so if anyone has some suggestions for something I should build feel free to let me know.  

Wisdom Teeth

Today I got my wisdom teeth out so no real posts.  Luckily I only had two teeth that need to be pulled, and I was put out for the procedure so it wasn't that bad.  Funny thing about anesthesia, is that you don't technically sleep when you are put under so an hour long producer, to me felt like I closed my eyes for ten seconds.  This does give me a bunch of time to play minecraft so that is a bonus.  I am currently working on some underground mob traps so I will post that when I am finished.  

I don't know why but the bottom left makes me laugh

Testing Homemade Fireball

Took a little bit longer then I had anticipated, but here is the video testing my homemade fireball.

It came out better then the ones I made in the past.  The reason it took so long to light is probably because the sparkler I used as a fuse was mad old.

Minecraft anyone?

So as promised here is where I am in the wonderful world of Minecraft currently.  I have not built anything incredible awesome yet, however I feel that describing where I am settup would be a good start.  


Instead of making a house or cave that I would spend my nights in, I instead decided to level off the top of a mountain and simply hide up there.  

First thing I built.  Comes in handy when I want to get down the mountain quickly.

Creepers and skeletons quickly became a nuisance so I did the only logical thing, build a massive wall around my mountain and fill the inside with torches.

The mountain was becoming a little boring so I spiced it up a bit by turning it into a volcano. 

And now a project I am currently working on.  It's going to be a glass staircases that goes from the top of the mountain to the bedrock.  This could take a while.

So there you have it, what I've done in mincraft so far.  Tell me what you think if you have ideas about what I should build let me know. 

The Train Story

Whenever I am in a crowded hallway, filled with people who move irritatingly slow, I become extremely ticked off.  However one day as I was navigating through this cluster-fuck I had had a bizarre, yet amazing mental image flash in my head.  All of a sudden I turn into a freight train and effortless mow down any fool who dares stand in my diesel fueled path.  My reaction to this was at first amazement, thinking that I had just come up with the best idea that the world has ever heard off.  But sadly soon after this amazement was met with disappointment, as I began to realize that I would not ever be able to turn into a train.  

You have no idea how happy this scene made me

         

About that delay...

After a few days hiatus I have returned.  It occurred to me that I have not updated in a while and decided to write this "explanation" in place of an actual post.  However I would not say that my negligence is entirely my fault, I feel a portion of the fault lies with my new found addiction.  I am of course talking about Minecraft.  That's right, I have fallen prey to surprisingly simple but deceptively immersive game.  This does however present me with the opportunity for more blog posts, as I will be posting screenshots of things that I fell are noteworthy.

I have also been working on another project.  I have recently become interested in video editing and so have decided to construct a green screen.  So far it has been going well and once I find a decent method to make one I will post instructions.  

Awesome Russian Song

Here is a Russian song that I found.  It's kinda eerie but awesome at the same time. 

How to Make a Guitar Pick

If you are a guitarist, is low on both money and guitar picks, then here is a guide for you.


The materials that are needed are a thick piece of plastic (membership cards work very well), scissors, a pen or marker, and a guitar pick. 

The first step is to trace the outline of the guitar pick onto the piece of plastic that you are using.  Make it a good outline so that cutting it out will be easier.  If the pen is not working very well on the plastic, then switch to a fine tip marker.

Next take the pick off of the plastic.  You should have a nice outline of a guitar pick now.  Start cutting along this outline.  Take it slow and you will get a better looking pick.

Finish up cutting and then you're done.  I find that these type of picks work very well for playing chords, but not as much for more precise picking.  However these make a good temporary fix and can lead to a collection of unique looking picks.  I also noticed that the texture is slightly different from that of a regular pick, so that might be a turn off for some people.

For when the starving artist needs to look more desperate

  

How to Make a Fire Ball

So the other day I attempted to make a smoke bomb out of some house hold materials, needless to say this did not go the way I had intended it, however I did learn how to make something equally awesome in the process.

It actually kinda looks like this

The materials you will need are: three ping pong balls, scissors, tin foil, a small screwdriver or pins, tape(optional), and a sparkler.

The first thing you are going to want to do is to cut a small hole in the top of one of the ping pong balls.  The easiest way to do this is to poke a hole in it with a screwdriver or pin and then make it larger with the scissors.  You also want to poke a hole in the bottom of the ball as well. 

Next cut up the other two balls into small pieces.  These have to be small enough to fit through the hole you made earlier.

So now that you have more ping pong ball fragments then anyone should ever have its time to   insert these fragments into the ball you cut a hole in before.

Half way through adding the fragments to the ball it is now time to add your sparkler.  To do this place the wire side into the big hole and out through the one on the opposite end.  In case you are wondering, the sparkler acts as a fuse.  Now continue adding the ball fragments.

Now bend the wire from the sparkler towards the top of the ball so that it touches the other side of the sparkler.  Wrap the wire end of the sparkler around the opposite side of the sparkler.

Now its time to wrap this in tin foil.  This doesn't really require any special methods to be effective, just make sure that the foil is wrapped tightly around the ball.  You can use tape to secure the foil, but in most cases this should not be necessary.

Any there you have it, your own homemade fireball at your disposal.  Just be careful because once this thing has been lit there is no stopping it and eventually it will erupt into a small ball of fire.  Also keep in mind that this is fire so use common sense when using.  I am planning to post a video demonstrating this in action, and hope to have this up this weekend.  

How to add a grip to a guitar pick

If you have ever played guitar, you may have had similar experiences to me and have your guitar pick slide around in between your fingers, messing you up mid song.  This guild will show you how to add a cheap and effective grip to a guitar pick.


The materials needed are scissors, a guitar pick, instant or hot glue, electrical tape or duct tape and a small amount of tiny rocks.  

Next you will want to put a small amount of glue on both sides of the pick.  Quickly after you place the glue put a couple (three or four) of the small rocks in the glue.

After you have done this cut out a piece of tape a bit bigger then the pick, and place it on the backside of the pick so that the rocks remain facing up.

Next cut part of the tape off near the top of the pick, cutting along the top of the pick.  This will create two flaps on either side of the pick. Fold these down.

Repeat the last two steps but place the tape on the side of the pick with rocks glues to it.  Try to fold it so no bubbles appear.  After that you are done.  The pick should now have two small bulges on it that help add friction.  Plus you get less hand cramps because you do not need to hold the pick as tightly anymore.

Why Breakfast is the Worst Meal of the Day

So I have been thinking lately about breakfast and have come to the conclusion that breakfast, and not breakfast or breakfast food, is the worst meal of the day.  Ok so I know you are probably thinking "how can breakfast be bad when you have awesome breakfast food to choose from?".

Awesome breakfast food

While I agree that the food pictured above is indubitable delicious by any standards, how many of you actually get to have this everyday.  If you are like me you get to have cereal, thats right boring old cereal, which by the way never held anyone to lunch time.  If you don't agree that cereal is boring think back to the last time you had it and how it made the nutritional info on the box it came in interesting. 

High quality reading here

Plus if you are are either a student or have a job you probably have shit all time to shove a bowl of ass o's down your throat.  To bad cereal is almost as slow to eat as rice and half the time has about the same consistency as glass coated with pure sugar.  This problem is magnified if you have any form of acid reflux at which your stomach will say "fuck this" as soon as you start eating.  

Also when looked at in comparison to other meals breakfast still falls behind.  Dinner, you can literally eat anything at, hell, even breakfast food if you are feeling adventurous.  Even lunch, even though it has much less of a selection then dinner, acts as a break from a day of school or work while breakfast starts off the work/school day.  

So there you have it my somewhat pessimistic view on breakfast.  Next time you have breakfast think about this post and see if you agree.

Evil incarnate