Open up your mind and say, ahh...

If you’ve always wanted to build a Burt Rutan designed aircraft, it’s about to get a lot easier. From the VariViggen to SpaceShipTwo, most of the most important designs to fly over Mojave during the past 35+ years will soon be available for just about anybody to build with Legos.

The project began two years ago as a collaboration between Burt Rutan’s son Jeff, and his grandson (Jeff’s nephew), Cole. When a then 10 year old Cole first saw WhiteKnightTwo in 2008, he wanted to build a lego version of the largest ever aircraft to come out of a Scaled Composites hangar. Using 3-D design software, Jeff worked out the plans to build a model out of Legos, but suggested they start with the smaller SpaceShipTwo to get started. They ended up building three of the next generation spacecraft, giving one to the famous designer for Christmas.

Jeff Rutan told the Experimental Aviation Association after successfully building SpaceShipTwo from Legos, they saw now reason to stop.

“Then we thought it would be cool to make a bunch of these” Jeff says, “and sell some plans books so other kids could build these with their own LEGOs.”

Now he has plans for 46 Rutan/Scaled Composites aircraft including a few variations on some popular designs and one or two that are the offspring or related to the Rutan/Scaled/Mojave community.

After more than three decades at the leading edge of aerospace design, Rutan recently retired from Scaled Composites, sold his pyramid home in Mojave, California and moved to Idaho. And while many in the industry can’t help to think that there will still be some new designs on the way, there is no doubt that his history of creative and unorthodox designs have left a indelible mark in the aerospace world.

Built entirely of single and double width Lego bricks, the models – especially the smaller ones – are instantly recognizable, albeit low-resolution versions of the smooth, composite full size aircraft they are based on. The plans for all 46 are made at 1/30 scale, providing a good comparison of the various sizes. According to the EAA, Jeff is still looking for a publisher for the plans, but hopes to have them available by next year.

In addition to the VariViggen and SpaceShipTwo, other classic Rutan designs available include several versions of the Long-EZ, the high flying Proteus, the around-the-world Voyager and perhaps his most interesting design, the Boomerang .pdf. Even the Firebird has been worked out in Lego form only weeks after the Scaled Composites design was announced to the public.

In honor of his contribution, Rutan will be honored at Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin next month. There are plans in place to have all of the Lego models on display at the EAA Museum during the show.

Photos: Jeff Rutan via EAA

I love simple plans. Today, Rob and I were talking about our two big summer launches, and in so doing, we started with discussions about expectations of revenue, and then went into what was the brief thumbnail of the project. The graphic above (if you can’t see it, click here) is a simplified sketch of how that talk started. This next graphic is a sketch of another project:

In both cases, the idea of creating a simple plan is that Rob and I can start working on it at once. With this in place, we know that we have to get Anne to help us find some venues for our “Two Portlands” event. We know that Josh will probably have to create a logo/graphic set for the summer event series. We can start pushing these things together and start figuring out what the actual actionable tasks will be.

Simple is the Key

When most people try working on their business, they get overly complex. When I started New Marketing Labs (now part of the Pulse Network, we started by picking four services we’d offer. Why did we pick those? Was it some really huge market research that told me people wanted those services? No. We just launched what we thought we could fulfill and what we thought would make our clients money.

When starting Kitchen Table Companies, Joe Sorge and I had one set of ideas as to what was going to happen, and what turned out to be true was completely different. But because we had a simple plan, launched it, and then started working on what we could fix and adapt, we got to that point a lot faster.

What Are Your Plans Like?

How big are your plans? Are you writing 15,000 word reports, spending hours upon hours doing market research, or worse yet, stalling because you think you need all that to launch? How’s that working for you?

Do you have a system that helps you execute? Share with the gang here, okay?

Apple has amended and expanded its intellectual property right complaint against Samsung to include more products and more patents.

In April, Apple filed suit against the Korean giant, alleging that products like the Galaxy S series of smartphones and the original Galaxy Tab copied the look and feel of Apple products, violating the Cupertino company’s patents and intellectual property.

In the amended complaint, Apple has added a number of handsets — including Droid Charge 4G (which Mashable recently reviewed) and the Galaxy S II.

We decided to take a look at some of the Samsung products Apple claims violate its intellectual property to see just how similar the design and UI aesthetic is to the big fruit.

via MacRumors

Do dads really have an influence on the musical tastes of their offspring? This amusing flowchart, created for Father’s Day in honor of dads who rock, predicts the kind of music you prefer by the tunes your father listened to when you were growing up.

However, as a parent, I realize that many times my influence on my teenager has an opposite effect. So the music Dad listened to probably influenced your musical tastes, but if you’re a rebellious contrarian, that exposure might have convinced you to seek out music that’s exactly opposite. Sounds like fodder for another infographic.

SEE ALSO: 10 Excellent Free eCards for Father’s Day

If you’re lucky, your dad exposed you to a variety of music during your formative years, giving you instant familiarity with lots of the music you hear in today’s media-saturated environment. That musical prowess would be yet another blessing to thank your dear old dad for on Father’s Day.

Infographic courtesy Sonos, image courtesy of iStockphoto

Amateur and professional iPhotographers have a little-known tool in their mobile belt. The iPhone 4 offers “HDR” functionality that can help you get the most out of the phone’s built-in camera.

Here we take an in-depth look at the feature and offer advice for when it’s best to use it and — just as importantly — when it’s not.

Have a look through these tips and let us know in the comments how you put your photography talents to use.

---

What is HDR?

---

“High Dynamic Range” (HDR) Imaging is the practice of using “exposure bracketing” to create an image with a better representation of light and dark areas than the camera could capture on standard settings.

Used correctly it will create an image that’s more akin to what your eye — which more efficiently processes extremes of light — would see, rather than what the camera’s sensor can photograph.

Typically this is done by capturing three images — a standard exposure, a shot that is one exposure stop too light and a shot that’s one exposure stop too dark — and then combining all three.

---

HDR on the iPhone

---

In its HDR mode, the iPhone 4 automatically recreates this process by taking three photos at different exposure levels, then layering the shots together to create one image with (theoretically) the best elements of each.

You can turn on the HDR functionality of your iPhone when in the camera by tapping the HDR icon at the top of the screen.

With HDR set to “on,” your iPhone will capture the original image and an HDR version, both of which you’ll find saved in your Camera Roll. You can change your iPhone’s settings to discard the original image but we find it useful for comparisons.

If it’s not obvious to you which is the HDR image, look for the HDR icon at the top of the screen above the photo.

---

DO Use HDR…

---

Here are three scenarios for when hitting up that HDR button would be a good idea.

---

… When There’s Strong Backlight

---

In the non-HDR image above you can see very little detail in the shadow as the camera has not coped well with the bright light coming from the doorway. The HDR pic has much more even lighting overall and shows significantly more detail. This will also be the case if you’re photographing a light object against a dark background.

---

…For Landscapes

---

Here you can see the HDR functionality has handled the contrasts of sunlight and shadow much better than the non-HDR image above. The foreground is severely bleached out in the original image and the areas of shadow much darker. The HDR setting has fixed these issues. You will also find that HDR adds detail to the sky where the standard camera would struggle with the contrast between the sky and the land.

---

… For Portraits in Strong Sunlight

---

Strong sunlight is not great for portraits as it can create harsh shadows and unflattering glare. In this self-portrait you can see that the skin tone has been evened out, the glare on the cheeks improved and the shadow cast by the hat made softer.

---

DON’T Use HDR…

---

There are some situations in which HDR is actually a hindrance rather than a help. Here are three to be aware of.

---

…If There’s a Risk Your Subject Will Move

---

Because the iPhone snaps three pics consecutively, if anything in the frame moves (or if you’re not holding the iPhone steady enough) you’re likely to end up with a blur or ghosting in your image. In our example images you can see that even though the three HDR images are taken milliseconds apart, just a slight breeze moving the buttercups was enough to spoil the shot.

---

…If You Want Strong Contrast

---

HDR takes extremes of light and creates a middle ground. This can be great in many scenarios but not if you want to capture striking contrasts. Here we wanted to capture the vibrant green leaves against the lighter foliage in the background and the brightness of the sky. The non-HDR image (above) has achieved this much better than the HDR snap below, in which the light has been toned down and the background detail filled in for an overall muddier final shot.

---

…If You Want Vivid or Accurate Colors

---

The iPhone’s camera generally deals well with color, giving nicely saturated results. Add in HDR however, and the colors you see in the final image aren’t likely to be true-to-life, or particularly vivid. In these images you can see the non-HDR photo above has bolder colors while the HDR shot below has darkened some tones and dulled the effect.

---

In Summary

---

The iPhone 4′s HDR functionality is a handy tool to have on board. It can be useful in certain situations but the key is to know when — and why — to activate it. We hope this article has helped, but with almost all photography the best way to get familar with the tech is to shoot as much as you can — so grab your iPhone, get out there and get snapping!

---