Guru Alison and I performed some, uh, innovative 2.0 surgery on an old childhood friend. The result: a real-time Twittering, talking, live-streaming social media phenomenon. I worked with my team at the Drexel Music and Entertainment Technology Lab to develop Teddy’s text-to-speech software.

MATERIALS:

* Animatronic Teddy Bear
* USB Bluetooth Adapter
* Programmable Circuit Board
* Programmable source code
* USB Cable
* Bluetooth music adapter
* An H Bridge Integrated Circuit Chip
* 5V Voltage Regulator
* LM386 OP AMP
* Mono Mini Jack Socket
* Mini to Mini Jack Cable
* DC 6V Power adapter
* Power adapter Socket
* 4 AA batteries
* Text-to-speech software
* Twitter Account
* Internet Connection (FiOS recommended)
* Common Screwdriver
* Needle Nose Pliers
* Wire Strippers & Cutters
* Bread Board
* Solid Core Wire
* Led, Capacitor & Resistors
* Soldering Gun & Solder (Optional)

Maybe you've even done Mother Earth a favor and e-cycled that squeaky old doorstop of a cassette player instead of throwing it out.

But what about the cassettes themselves? The garage sale shoppers didn't want 'em ("C'mon lady, it's Meatloaf for 25 cents!") but you feel guilty chucking all that plastic in the landfill...and the big, frizzy hair on some of those 80s cassette covers is pretty fun to look at still...

Well, video-maker loup226 has come up with a fun, easy solution to the problem of all those miles of dusty, analog shelf-hoggers -- make a Jacob's Ladder. These simple folk toys date back to the Pilgrim days, but are still a lot of fun for kids to make and play with. (Seriously -- can you walk by one of these things without picking it up and trying it?)

You may notice that loup226 uses new cassettes in this video...so unless you're one of those OCD collector-types who leaves everything in the shrink-wrap, you might want to secure your old cassette cases closed with some cellophane tape first.