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Blast off homework boredom! See DIY dad's NASA-themed desk for his son

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Jeff Highsmith’s Mission Control desk incorporates actual audio clips from the Apollo 11 mission.

Jeff Highsmith of Raleigh, N.C., is a self-proclaimed “tinkerer extraordinaire.” His monthly video series atMakezine.com, “Making Fun with Jeff Highsmith,” showcases his love of toys, gadgets and imaginative ways to play with them. Past episodes have featured a rear-view hair trimmer and a pneumatic transport system for the tooth fairy, but he may have outdone himself with his latest project.

When Jeff decided to build a homework desk for his older son, he knew it had to be inspiring — a spot where both of his boys would want to spend a good amount of time. Dozens of buttons, knobs, switches and more than 500 LED lights later, he created a NASA-themed Mission Control Desk.

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The desk isn’t the ideal project for a DIY novice, as it took Highsmith—a scientist and inventor, of sorts—two months to create.

“It was a stressful two months of designing and building in moments found between my other roles,” Jeff told TODAY. But the beauty is in the details. The entire desk is interactive—from the world map that tracks the spaceship’s route, to the soundboard panel that makes six different rocket noises, to the iPad which serves as an extra display panel. Jeff even incorporated actual audio clips from the Apollo 11 mission, and events from the Apollo 12 mission, which had to use an auxiliary signaling system after being damaged by lightning during takeoff.

“My son loves it,” Jeff reported. “He and his brother take turns working the desk and flying toy spaceships at arm's length around the room.”

If you’re wondering what it’s like to live with a tinkerer extraordinaire, Jeff said of his family, “They appreciate my creativity and tolerate my occasional eccentricities. Our home is not besieged with crazy contraptions, but there are definite signs of a resident maker in every room.”

In fact, we should stay tuned for more! Jeff tells us that he’s working on a companion spacecraft in his other son’s room. “I'm planning some gameplay between the two, such as an audio communication link and a video feedback from ‘space.’ I'll probably tie some of the switches and displays together, but I want to leave enough flexibility for the boys to play how they like.”

Out. Of. This. World. Watch the video below—which has garnered some 225,000 views in less than a week—for all the impressive DIY details.

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To give money to the homeless or to not give money to the homeless? It�s an age-old quandary that an Oregon nonprofit may have solved.

Sanctity of Hope, a Portland organization, has invented a new currency for homeless people. Donors buy tokens from the nonprofit, dole them out to people living on the streets and they can then be exchanged at stores for food and other goods they might need, according to KATU.

This innovative system allows do-gooders the opportunity to give to the homeless, without worrying how they will spend the cash, and it also pushes panhandlers to spend their �money� wisely.

It's a model that would let donors breathe easy, especially considering stories we've seen lately about some less-than-honest panhandlers.

The people of Lexington, Ky., for example, were horrified last month when they learned that Gary Thompson, a beggar who had been getting around in a wheelchair and speaking with a slurred speech, was neither homeless, nor disabled, LEX18 reported. The story became even more disturbing when Thompson revealed to reporters that he earns about $100,000 a year.

Sanctity of Hope�s token system could potentially reduce such scams.

â��We choose to donate money based on the level of perceived need,â�� Derek Thompson wrote in the Atlantic in 2011. â��Beggars known this, so there is an incentive on their part to exaggerate their need, by either lying about their circumstances or letting their appearance visibly deteriorate rather than seek help.â��