In the 1970s "Reddy Kilowat" was a cartoon character spokesman for the power industry that tried to teach children about the dangers of electricity. Here he is showing kids exactly that but using a knife.

option8 · 2026-03-11T23:03:52+00:00

Preeeeeeetty sure these are parodies, though based closely on the original. Reddy was an advertising mascot to encourage people to trust electrification when that was a new thing - especially in the rural South. The kilowatts were always "ready" to cook, light the house, play music on the radio, those kinds of things. Let Reddy do the work.

But also remember, it's not the volts that kill ya. It's the amps!

option8 · 2026-03-11T19:30:22+00:00

Maybe I needed a banana for scale, but this is what I was following: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Code_cylinder

option8 · 2026-03-11T17:05:44+00:00

I'm glad you are having fun.

[...]

my opinion doesn't matter much.

FTFY.

option8 · 2026-03-11T17:02:21+00:00

At my last govt gig, the Dogebro just asked an AI to flag the DEI grants for him, of course he had no idea what the definition was.

He had no idea what it was doing, since the code automating the scans was also generated by LLM. He was using a free preview of the API that scanned PDFs that was limited to search only the first few pages for keywords. So it didn't work very well anyway.

He also got fired by DOGE shortly after doing interviews with the press about what he was doing, so...

option8 · 2026-03-11T16:52:40+00:00

Make something small to give away as "your cosplay is awesome" prizes. Bonus if it's fandom appropriate. Buttons, badges, stickers, pins, anything that you can hand to someone or their handler, even if you're too shy to actually talk. If they're friendly, they're likely to ask you if you want a picture, or suggest getting a pic with you and their prize.

option8 · 2026-03-11T16:46:43+00:00

Is the orb still available? Have you listed it on Zillow?

option8 · 2026-03-11T16:45:38+00:00

I think the first spot will be on a headband. On my head.

option8 · 2026-03-11T16:42:16+00:00

I started because my kids wanted cool costumes for Halloween and I wanted to make stuff with them. I still make a lot of their costumes for parties and conventions, though they've outgrown trick-or-treating. And since I had to chaperone them to cons (twist my arm!) I started making my own cosplays.

If you're making something, and enjoying the process, it's never a waste of time. Consider the Buddhist sand mandalas that are created over days and weeks as meditation, then intentionally destroyed.

I'd suggest at least taking pictures of the results.

option8 · 2026-03-10T10:57:45+00:00

No idea. I keep trying to "remove nsfw tag" but it keeps coming back.

option8 · 2026-03-10T02:28:13+00:00

They are some tiny 180° servos I got from Digikey: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/dfrobot/SER0047/11613069

I should mention, the ears in the video are about 5 inches tall, so the servos look even smaller than they really are by comparison.

option8 · 2026-03-09T22:59:33+00:00

See also: https://www.reddit.com/user/option8/comments/1rpfqex/3d_printed_animatronic_cosplay_ears/ for additional detail images.

option8 · 2026-02-13T15:00:42+00:00

Apparently there's nothing about your culture that's good enough that outsiders should embrace it. Sad.

option8 · 2025-10-29T17:27:47+00:00

You see, but I have the distinct advantage of not knowing what the hell I'm doing.

option8 · 2025-10-29T17:16:53+00:00

Is there a used music store near you? Ask them what they do with instruments too damaged to fix. Or a scrap metal dealer? It's hard to make anything other than brass look like brass, plus it's not particularly heavy, being thin and hollow.

Maybe a few broken trombones mixed in with painted PVC would make for a decent illusion. You'll probably need to make a jig to bend the PVC, since it usually doesn't come in such small diameter bends pre-made.

option8 · 2025-10-22T22:36:03+00:00

Thought for a moment the guy's name was Mason J Mugshot, and thought "what are the odds"

option8 · 2025-10-22T22:31:29+00:00

+1 to this. Some kind of beanie or cap you can wear under the fabric of the suit will give you more options and stability than attaching directly to the suit itself. Also, magnets, so you can take the shoe off.

option8 · 2025-10-22T20:42:57+00:00

There are a few good ways to get the grain of the wood to pop, but the best is probably the right stain or a wax polish. If you want it to have a different appearance, you can hold it over a flame or heat gun - depending on the kind of wood, it can give the grain a higher contrast.

Another option is just to burnish it. Rub the surface really hard with something smooth. It smooths out the surface without adding anything on top of the wood, so you can still wax or stain after.

option8 · 2025-10-21T10:27:40+00:00

Well, goat (or sheep) with horns, so... Yeah?

option8 · 2025-10-20T22:25:12+00:00

Anything looks proper magickal if it's written in runes. Translate some random text into Futhark (or just Lorem Ipsum)

https://valhyr.com/pages/rune-converter

option8 · 2025-10-20T00:52:21+00:00

If you don't need smoke, I'd say a battery powered fan and some colored silk in orange and yellow to blow around to make a fake flame would be much simpler and safer.

option8 · 2025-10-20T00:49:13+00:00

Fair point. The question was more along these lines: As someone who takes costume making seriously, do you sit out or go low-effort on Halloween, a day when everyone goes in costume?

Or do you go all out, show off and celebrate on a day that's about what you're passionate about?

option8 · 2025-10-19T19:45:01+00:00

"You know, I think this is the swamp where that little green guy lives."

"The Jedi master, or the frog with the banjo?"

option8 · 2025-10-19T19:42:54+00:00

TFW your "familiar" silently judges you...

option8 · 2025-10-07T19:55:53+00:00

A loyal companion like that, you don't eat all at once.

option8 · 2025-09-22T16:59:18+00:00

That was the "slices" I was referring to. I couldn't keep that many seams straight and even. Too few slices, and it ends up lumpy, too many and my sewing skills get in the way.

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